Psychology Notes PDF

Preview

Summary

History of psychology + schools of thought ...

Description

- Psychology - Scientific study of behavior and mental process - Behavior - Any action that other people can observe or measure. Behavior also includes activities such as walking and talking pressing a switch, turning left or right, sleeping, eating, and drinking. - Brain activity can be measured by scientific instruments such as electroencephalograph (EEG) - Cognitive activities - Mental processes such as dreams, perceptions, thoughts, and memories. Psychologists study people’s emotions/feelings, which can affect behavior and mental processes. - Psychological constructs - used to learn more about human behavior, used to talk about something we cannot see, touch, or measure directly. - Scientists seek to observe, describe, explain, predict, and control events they study. Sports psychologists help athletes by observing and describing their behavior. Psychologists then describe behavior in terms of the feelings of anxiety and distractions that hinder the athlete's performance. - Social sciences includes history, anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology. They deal with structure of human society and the nature and interactions of the individuals who make up a society. - Theory - statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and happen the way they do - Principle - rule or law - Useful psychological theories allow psychologists to predict behavior and mental processes - Clinical Psychologists, largest group of psychologists that help people with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, or severe disorders such as schizophrenia - Trained to evaluate psychological problems through the use of interviews and psychological tests -Psychiatrist - medical doctor who specializes in treatment of psychological problems and who can prescribe medication for clients. They are different from psychologists. - Counseling Psychologists use interviews and tests to identify their clients problems. They typically treat people who have adjustment problems rather than serious psychological disorders - School psychologists identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning. Typical problems include peer group and family problems, psychological problems, and learning disorders - Educational psychologists are concerned with helping students learn and focus on course planning and instructional methods for a school system rather than focusing on individual students. Their research interests include the ways in which learning is affected by psychological factors, cultural factors, economic factors, and instructional methods. - Developing psychologists follow the physical and emotional development of a person as they age - Cognitive, such as changes from childhood to adulthood in mental images of the world outside or how children learn right from wrong

- Social changes from formation of bonds between parents and children, relationships with peers, or intimate relationships between adults Personality Psychologists - Identify characteristics and traits Social Psychologists - Concerned with people’s behavior in social situations such as the ways in which women and men typically behave in a given setting and the physical and psychological factors that attract people to one another - The reasons people tend to conform to group standards - How people’s behavior changes when they are members of a group - The reasons for and the effects of prejudice and discrimination within various groups and form one group to another Experimental Psychologists - Conduct research into basic processes, such as the function of the nervous system. Basic research that has no immediate application and is done for its own sake is used. Industrial Psychologists - Focus on the people and work. Environmental Psychologists - Focus on the ways in which people influence and are influenced by their physical environment Consumer Psychologists - Study the behavior of shoppers to explain and predict their behavior Forensic Psychologists - Work for the criminal justice system - Assist in the selection of police officers, help them cope with job stress and how to handle dangerous situations Health Psychos - Examine the ways in which behavior and mental processes are related to physical health Roots to ancient Greece - Plato was a student of Socrates in ancient Greece, record his teacher’s advice to Know Thyself - Aristotle was a student of plato, raised many questions about human behavior that is still discussed. He outlined the laws of associationism, he believed that people are motivated to seek pleasure and to avoid pain

- Hippocrates suggested that confusion and madness were caused by abnormalities in the brain Middle Ages - Tests were done to determine whether people were possessed - One of the most common was the water float test - based on the principle that pure metals sink to the bottom during the smelting process and impure metals float on the surface - Individuals suspected of being possessed were thrown into deep water - those who kept their heads above water were assumed to be impure Birth of Modern Science - English philosopher John Locke, building on principles of associationism theorized that knowledge is not inborn, but learned from experience Whilhem Wundt and Structuralism - Wilhelm and his students founded a field of experimental psychology that came to be known as structuralism - Structuralists were concerned with discovering the basic elements of consciousness - Objective sensations and subjective feelings William James and Functionalism - Focused on the relationships between experience and behavior and described his views in The Principles of Psychology - How mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment BF Skinner - Skinner added to behaviorist tradition by introducing the concept of reinforcement. He showed that when an animal is reinforced, or rewarded, for performing an action, it is more likely to perform that action again in the future. The skinner box. He shoved his daughter into a box. The Gestalt School - Based on the idea that perceptions are more than the sums of their parts Sigmund Freud - A vinnese physician who formed psychoanalysis, emphasizing the importance of unconscious motive and internal conflicts in determining human behavior Biological Perspective - Emphasizes the influence of biology on our behavior - Has shown that certain parts of the brain are highly active when we listen to music Evolutionary Perspective - Focuses on the evolution of behavior and mental processes

- People naturally resistant to certain diseases are more likely transmit their genes to future generations Cognitive Perspective - EmphasiZES THE ROLES THAT THOUGHTS PLAY IN DETERMINING BEHAVIOR STUDY OF MENTAL PROCESSES TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN NATURE THEY BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE BEHAVIOR IS INFLUENCED BY THEIR VALUES, PERSPECTIVES, AND CHOICES - The psychoanalytic perspective - Stresses the influence of unconscious forces on human behavior. Focuses on conscious choice and self direction. Learning Perspective - Emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior, social learning theory suggests that people can change their environments or create new ones Sociocultural Perspective - Studies the influences of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes. Ethnic groups are united by their cultural heritage, rate, language, or common history. The psychological issues related to ethnicity 1. Inclusions of people from various ethnic minority 2. Biliingualisms 3. Ethnic Differences in intelligence test scores 4. Ethnic differences in health problems 5. Prejudice...