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Please focus on these topics

What is Psychology?Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. The word “psychology” comes from the Greek words “psyche” meaning life, and “ logos” meaning explanation. • the scientific study of behaviors & mental processes• makes use of the scientific method• empirical - relies on research findings to answer questions and draw conclusions

The Most Important Approaches (Schools) of Psychology School of psychology Description Important

contributors

Structuralism Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic elements or “structures” of psychological experience

Wilhelm Wundt, Edward B. Titchener

Functionalism To understand why animals and humans have developed the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess

William James

Psychodynamic Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior

Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erickson

Behaviorism Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the mind, and therefore that psychologists should limit their attention to the study of behavior itself

John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner

Cognitive The study of mental processes, including perception, thinking, memory, and judgments

Hermann Ebbinghaus, Sir Frederic Bartlett, Jean Piaget

Social-cultural The study of how the social situations and the cultures in which people find themselves influence thinking and behavior

Fritz Heider, Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter

Self Reading:Psychologists at Work page 7,8,9Recap Page 13Evaluation Quiz Page 13

Today’s Perspectives in Psychology

Read Page 18-20Recap and evaluation quiz Page 22

Conducting Psychological Researcharchival research Research in whichexisting data, such as census documents,college records, and newspaperclippings, are examined to test ahypothesis.

naturalistic observation Research inwhich an investigator simply observessome naturally occurring behavior anddoes not make a change in the situation.

survey research Research in whichpeople chosen to represent a largerpopulation are asked a series ofquestions about their behavior,thoughts, or attitudes.

case study An in-depth, intensiveinvestigation of an individual or smallgroup of people.

variables Behaviors, events, or othercharacteristics that can change, or vary,in some way.

independent variable The variablethat is manipulated by anexperimenter.

dependent variable The variable thatis measured and is expected to changeas a result of changes caused by theexperimenter’s manipulation of theindependent variable.

correlational research Research inwhich the relationship between twosets of variables is examined to determine whether they are associated, or “correlated.”

experiment The investigation of the relationship between two (or more) variables by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation.

experimental manipulation The change that an experimenter deliberately produces in a situation.

p. 37-48

Experimental Research

treatment The manipulation implemented by the experimenter.

experimental group Any group participating in an experiment that receives a treatment.

control group A group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment.

The Ethics of Research

informed consent A document signed by participants affirming thatthey have been told the basic outlines of the study and are aware of what their participation will involve.

Read M O D U L E 6

Research involving animals is controversial but, when conducted within ethical guidelines, yields significant benefits for humans.

experimental bias Factors that distorthow the independent variable affects thedependent variable in an experiment.

placebo A false treatment, such as apill, “drug,” or other substance,without any significant chemicalproperties or active ingredient.

I. What is an attitude?

A. Attitude: a favorable or unfavorable evaluative reactiontoward something or someone (developed, maintained, andchanged via the interactive relationship among one’sthoughts, feelings, and behaviors).

B. Three Components of an Attitude: 1) Cognitive: what a person believes about the source of the attitude. 2) Affective: how a person feels about the source of the attitude. 3) Behavioral: how a person acts towards the source of the attitude.

INITIAL ATTITUDE = I don’t like psychology. Cognitive component = I believe psychology is uninteresting.

Affective component = Being in this psychology class makes me angry.

Behavioral component = I stop attending my psychology class.

ATTITUDE MAINTAINED = I don’t like psychology.Behavioral consequence of maintained attitude = I do notbecome a psychology major.

Affective component = Being in this psychology class makes me angry.

Cognitive component = I believe psychology is uninteresting.

Behavioral component = I stop attending my psychology class.

ATTITUDE MAINTAINED = I don’t like psychology.Behavioral consequence of maintained attitude = I do notbecome a psychology major.

1.

2.

B. Theory of Planned Behavior: one’s attitudes, perceivedsocial norms, and feelings of control, together determine one’sintentions and guide behavior.

Spontaneous Behavior

• Sometimes people’s attitudes will result in a spontaneous (unplanned) behavior.

• Example: If you hate cockroaches then you don’t have to think about what to do when you see one.

• Reason: Some attitudes are more accessible (memorable) than others.

Beliefs

• Beliefs are assumptions or convictions you hold as true about something, concept or person based on: Values Attitudes

Behavior

The manner of conducting oneself. The response of an individual or

group to it’s environment.

Learning Approaches

Behaviourist• Learning theorists: Thorndike, Pavlov, Watson,

Guthrie, Hull, Tolman, Skinner• View of the learning process: Change in Behaviour• Locus of learning: Stimuli in external environment• Purpose in Education: Produce behavioural change in

desired direction• Educator's role: Arranges environment to elicit desired

response• Manifestations in adult learning: Behavioural

objectives Competency –based education Skill development and training

Cognitivist• Learning theorists: Koffka, Kohler, Lewin, Piaget,

Ausubel, Bruner, Gagne• View of the learning process: Internal mental process

(including insight, information processing, memory, perception

• Locus of learning: Internal cognitive structuring• Purpose in Education: Develop capacity and skills to

learn better• Educator's role: Structures content of learning activity• Manifestations in adult learning: Cognitive

development Intelligence, learning and memory as function of age Learning how to learn

Humanist• Learning theorists: Maslow, Rogers• View of the learning process: A personal act to fulfill

potential.• Locus of learning: Affective and cognitive needs• Purpose in Education: Become selfactualized,

autonomous• Educator's role: Facilitates development of the whole

person• Manifestations in adult learning: Andragogy (art and

science to teaching adults to learn) Self-directed learning

Social and situational• Learning theorists: Bandura, Lave and Wenger, Salomon• View of the learning process: Interaction /observation in

social contexts. Movement from• the periphery to the centre of a community of practice• Locus of learning: Learning is in relationship between

people and environment.• Purpose in Education: Full participation in communities of

practice and utilization of resources• Educator's role: Works to establish communities of practice

in which conversation and participatio can occur.• Manifestations in adult learning: Socialization Social

participation Associationalism Conversation

Figure 7.3 Models of selective attention

Human Memory

Levels of Processing:Craik and Lockhart (1972)

• Incoming information processed at different levels

• Deeper processing = longer lasting memory codes

• Encoding levels:– Structural = shallow– Phonemic = intermediate– Semantic = deep

Figure 7.4 Levels-of-processing theory

The Psychoanalytic Approach: Sigmund Freud and the Neo-Freudians

• Sigmund Freud• Ideas based on case studies of patients, reading

literature, and self-analysis• Personality is product of driving forces, often

conflicting and sometimes unconscious

The Levels of Awareness

• Three levels of consciousness that influence behavior• Conscious level: thoughts, perceptions, explanations

of behavior; aware of these• Preconscious level: holding place for easily accessible

memories, thoughts, impulses; could become aware, if necessary

• Unconscious level: thoughts, impulses, memories, behaviors; not aware

The Structure of Personality

• Personality as energy system comprised of three structures

• Id: unconscious energy force, seeks pleasure & gratification; basic instincts– Pleasure principle

• Ego: negotiator between id & demands of societal norms and expectations– Reality principle

• Superego: moral conscience, judges right & wrong

How the Id, Ego, and Superego Work Together

• In healthy personalities all three serve different functions and work together

• Problems arise when one structure overwhelms the other(s)– Freudian slips: unconscious impulse from id

expressed before ego can control– Defense mechanisms: protect ego by reducing

anxiety when faced with (sometimes opposing) demands of id and superego

Personality Development Psychodynamic Approach- Freud

• Psyche: Freud’s term for the personality; contains id, ego, and superego

• Id: composed of the basic biological drives, such as hunger, thirst, sexual impulses, survival - INSTINCT– Pleasure principal- demands immediate gratification

• Superego (conscience): values, morals, religious beliefs, ideals of parents and society – NORMS, CULTURE, BELIEF PRACTICES

• Develops around age 4

Ego to the RescueEGO= the reality principle

Develops after first year of life

Id and Superego in conflictCreates anxiety

Ego encourages id to seek gratification through realistic and socially acceptable meansEgo creates defense mechanisms, which distorts

id’s impulses into socially acceptable forms

Freud: Levels of AwarenessUnconscious: Holds repressed memories

and emotions and the id’s instinctual drives

Conscious: Everything you are aware of at a given moment including thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and memories

Preconscious: Material that can easily be brought into awareness

“this was a lie and a swindle for which he blamed Freud entirely, whom he then called names like swindler, sly, schemer. . . . He said that he had never been a student of Freud or a disciple or a follower. He made it clear from the beginning that he didn’t agree with Freud and that he had his own opinions” (Maslow, 1962, p. 125)

The older man was Alfred Adler, who battled throughout his professional life to dispel the notion that he had ever been a follower of Freud.

Alfred Adler and Individual Psychology

Adler’s individual psychology presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily on the notion of social interest, that is, a feeling of oneness with all humankind. In addition to Adler’s more optimistic look at people, several other differences made the relationship between Freud and Adler quite fragile.

Freud commented about Adler .. “an abnormal individual driven mad by ambition” (quoted in Gay, 1988, p. 223).

Freud, Adler and Individual Psychology 1. Freud reduced all motivation to sex and aggression, whereas Adler saw

people as being motivated mostly by social influences and by their striving for superiority or success.

2. Freud assumed that people have little or no choice in shaping their personality, whereas Adler believed that people are largely responsible for who they are.

3. Freud’s assumption that present behavior is caused by past experiences was directly opposed to Adler’s notion that present behavior is shaped by people’s view of the future.

4. In contrast to Freud, who placed very heavy emphasis on unconscious components of behavior, Adler believed that psychologically healthy people are usually aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it.

When theoretical and personal differences between Adler and Freud emerged, Adler left the Freud circle and established an opposing theory, which became

known as individual psychology.

Individual Psychology The following is adapted from a list that represents the final statement of individual psychology (Adler, 1964).

1.The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is the striving for success or superiority.2.People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality.3.Personality is unified and self-consistent.4.The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social interest.5.The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s style of life.6.Style of life is molded by people’s creative power.

Adler’s Individual Psychology TheoryKey Points

• Inferiority complex– Drives us toward superiority

• Compensation- a good thing• Over-compensation- not so healthy• Superiority- living up to your highest potential

– Explains motivation• Large focus on early childhood experiences

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

The Physiology of AffectSource book for these slides: Principles of Social Psychology, v. 1.0 by Charles Stangor

Our emotions are determined in part by responses of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS)—the division of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in preparing the body to respond to threats by activating the organs and the glands in the endocrine system. The SNS works in opposition to the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), the division of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in resting, digesting, relaxing, and recovering. When it is activated, the SNS provides us with energy to respond to our environment. The liver puts extra sugar into the bloodstream, the heart pumps more blood, our pupils dilate to help us see better, respiration increases, and we begin to perspire to cool the body. The sympathetic nervous system also acts to release stress hormones including epinephrine and norepinephrine. At the same time, the action of the PNS is decreased.

The Physiology of Affect - cont.

• We experience the activation of the SNS as arousal—changes in bodily sensations, including increased blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, and respiration. Arousal is the feeling that accompanies strong emotions. I’m sure you can remember a time when you were in love, angry, afraid, or very sad and experienced the arousal that accompanied the emotion. Perhaps you remember feeling flushed, feeling your heart pounding, feeling sick to your stomach, or having trouble breathing.

The arousal that we experience as part of our emotional experience is caused by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

What is a schema?

A schema is a mental process responsible for activities as simple as naming and labelling, and as complex as creating experiments. Schemas guide behavior.For example, a baby sees his first horse:

Schemas

• An organized body of knowledge• Represents generic concepts• Composed of abstract and perceptual knowledge• Used to guide encoding, organization, and

retrieval of knowledge• Shapes and shaped by experiences• Reflect prototypical properties of experiences• Relatively stable

Prototypes

WingsWings

FeathersFeathers

BeakBeak

WormsWorms

ChirpsChirps

Average or best example of members of a category

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hashaseatseats

hashashashas

makesmakes

Then he sees…

Assimilation: fitting new information into existing schemas

Assimilation

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Accommodation

Cows

Horses

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Accommodation

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Horses

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Categories become increasingly complex as children learn

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Mammals

Fish

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Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

In Children

Piaget’s Background

• Born: August 9, 1896• Died: Sept. 16, 1980• Birth Place:

– Neuchatel, Switzerland

• Education:– Received PhD from University of

Neuchatel

• Married in 1923 to Valentine Chatenay and bore 3 children

• (Piaget, 1952)

Characteristics of Piaget’s Stages

1. Each stage is a structured whole and in a state of equilibrium

The stages are qualitative within the structures and quantitative between structures

2. Each stage derives from the previous stage and incorporate and transform to prepare for the next

No going back

Characteristics Continued

3. The stages follow an invariant sequence. There is no skipping stages.

4. The stages are universal. Culture does not impact the stages. Children

everywhere go through the same stages no matter what their cultural background is.

Characteristics Continued

5. Each stage is a coming into being. There is a gradual

progression from stage to stage (Brainerd, 1978).

Stages of Development

• Piaget’s theory identifies four developmental stages and the processes by which children progress through them.

• The four stages are:1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 24 months)2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years old)3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years old)4. Formal Operational Stage (11-15 years old)(Brainerd, 1978).

Sensorimotor Stage

• In this period, intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use of symbols.

• Knowledge of the world is limited (but developing) because it is based on physical interactions and experiences.

• Some symbolic abilities are developed at the end of this stage.

6 Stages of Sensorimotor Stage

1. Modification of reflexes (0-1months) Strengthens and

differentiates reflexes

2. Primary Circular Reaction (1-4 months) Circular pattern of having

a stimulus and responding

Focus is on own body

3. Secondary Circular Reaction (4-8 months) Focus is on the outside

world

4. Coordination of Secondary Schema (8-12 months)Goal oriented behaviorApply ability to other things

6 Stages Continued5. Tertiary Circular Reaction (12-18

months)Active potentialExplore object’s potential

6. Invention of New Means through Mental Combinations (18-24 months)Child moves from overt to covert

thoughtsThe child can use mental

representation instead of physical objects (Piaget, 1952; Brainerd, 1978).

Preoperational Stage(2-7 years old)

• In this period, intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols.

• Language use matures.• Memory and imagination are developed.• Thinking is done in a non-logically

nonreversible manner• Ego centric thinking predominates

Pre-Operational Stage Continued

• Semiotic Function– Language develops– Uses symbols to

represent ideas– Verbal and written

language develops• Egocentrism

– It is all about them– They can not

differentiate between themselves and the world

• Rigidity of Thought– Centration: focus on one

aspect of an object• Semi-logical Reasoning

– They get the general idea

• Limited social cognition

Preoperational Stage Continued• Morality of Constraint

– No bending of the rules

• Morality of Co-Operation– They bend the rules a

little bit

Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)

• Operation: internalized action part of organized structure.

• Mentally carried out actions• Intelligence is demonstrated through logical

and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects.

• Egocentric thought diminishes.• Operational thinking develops.

Concrete Operational Stage Cont’d

• Piaget’s Water Conservation Task

• Consist of two beakers of different sizes, one with water

• Demonstrates the following:– Reversibility-pour water

in beaker of different size and realize that it is still the same amount.

– Compensation- even though one beaker is taller than the other, water is higher because the glass is thinner

– Addition and subtraction

– Starts out with liquid, then mass, then space

Formal Operational Stage (11-15 years old)

• Intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts.

• There could be a return to egocentric thought early in the period.

• Many people do not think formally during adulthood.

• Many people do not make it to this stage.

Formal Operations Continued

• Children formulate hypothesis by taking concrete operations and generate hypothesis about logical relations

• Pendulum Swing– The process is more

important than the solution (Piaget, 1952; Brainerd, 1978).

Cognitive Equilibrium

• Balance between organization and adaptation– Always organized can

lead to little or no growth

– Always adapting can lead to little or no knowledge (Piaget, 1952; Brainerd, 1978).

Cognitive Adaptation

• Allows the child to erect more and more cognitive structures through either– Assimilation: fit reality into current cognitive

organization– Accommodation: adjust cognitive organization to

fit reality (Piaget, 1952; Brainerd, 1978).

How Piaget’s Theory Impacts Learning

• Curriculum: Educators must plan a developmentally appropriate curriculum that enhances their student’s logical and conceptual growth.

• Instruction: Teachers must emphasize the critical role that experiences, or interactions with the surrounding environment play in student learning (Bybee & Sund, 1982).

Social Learning• The study of learning is closely associated with the

behaviorist school of psychology, which includes the psychologists John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. For behaviorists, the fundamental aspect of learning is the process of conditioning—the ability to connect stimuli (the changes that occur in the environment) with responses (behaviors or other actions). The behaviorists described two types of conditioning that are particularly important in behaviorism: operant conditioning (also known as instrumental conditioning) and classical conditioning (also known as respondent conditioning). When applied to human behavior, these two processes are frequently called, respectively, operant learning and associational learning.

operant learning (operant conditioning)If a child touches a hot radiator, she quickly learns that the radiator is

dangerous and is not likely to touch it again. If we have unpleasant experiences with people from a certain state or country, or a positive relationship with a person who has blonde hair or green eyes, we may develop negative or positive attitudes about people with these particular characteristics and attempt to reduce or increase our interactions with them. These changes in our understanding of our environments represent operant learning—the principle that we learn new information as a result of the consequences of our behavior. According to operant learning principles, experiences that are followed by positive emotions (reinforcements or rewards) are likely to be repeated, whereas experiences that are followed by negative emotions (punishments) are less likely to be repeated. In operant learning, the person learns from the consequences of his or her own actions.

How do we know which behaviors are most appropriate in a social situation? We learn, in part, because we have positively reinforced for engaging in the appropriate ones and negatively reinforced for engaging in the inappropriate ones.

Associational Learning (classical conditioning)• Associational learning occurs when an object or event comes to be

associated with a natural response, such as an automatic behavior or a positive or negative emotion. If you’ve ever become hungry when you drive by one of your favorite pizza stores, it is probably because the sight of the pizzeria has become associated with your experiences of enjoying the pizzas. We may enjoy smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, and eating not only because they give us pleasure themselves but also because they have been associated with pleasant social experiences in the past.

• Associational learning also influences our knowledge and judgments about other people. For instance, research has shown that people view men and women who are seen alongside other people who are attractive, or who are said to have attractive girlfriends or boyfriends, more favorably than they do the same people who are seen alongside more average-looking others . This liking is due to associational learning—we have positive feelings toward the people simply because those people are associated with the positive features of the attractive others.

Associational learning is also implicated in the development of unfair and unjustified racial prejudices. We may dislike people from certain racial or ethnic groups because we frequently see them portrayed in the media as associated with violence, drug use, or terrorism. And we may avoid people with certain physical characteristics simply because they remind us of other people we do not like.

Observational LearningIn addition to operant and associational learning, people learn by

observing the behavior of others. This is known as observational learning (modeling). To demonstrate the importance of observational learning in children, Bandura and Walters (1959) made a film of a young woman beating up a bobo doll—an inflatable balloon with a weight in the bottom that makes it bob back up when you knock it down. The woman violently hit the doll, shouting “sockeroo!” She also kicked it, sat on it, and hit it with a hammer.

Bandura showed his film to groups of nursery school children and then let them play in a room in which there were some really fun toys. To create some frustration in the children, Bandura let the children play with the fun toys for only a couple of minutes before taking them away. Then Bandura gave the children a chance to play with the bobo doll. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that many of the children imitated the young woman in the film. They punched the bobo doll, shouted “sockeroo,” and hit the doll with a hammer.

Observational Learningcont.

• Observational learning is useful because it allows people to learn without having to actually engage in what might be a risky behavior. As Bandura put it,

• the prospects for [human] survival would be slim indeed if one could learn only by suffering the consequences of trial and error. For this reason, one does not teach children to swim, adolescents to drive automobiles, and novice medical students to perform surgery by having them discover the appropriate behavior through the consequences of their successes and failures. The more costly and hazardous the possible mistakes, the heavier is the reliance on observational learning from competent learners. (1977, p. 12).

• Bandura considered observational learning to be a fundamental determinant of all social behavior and argued that it is most likely to lead to learning when people pay attention to the behavior of models and are highly motivated to imitate the models.