Chapter 1 Psychology: The Science of Behaviour
Psychology = The scientific study of behaviour and the factors that influence it.
Taking into account Biological, Individual and Environmental factors.
Two types of research:
Basic and Applied Science
o Basic research: Knowledge gained purely for its own sake. The goals are to describe how people behave and to identify factors that influence it. Research maybe carried out in lab or real world
e.g. Robbers Cave Jigsaw case study - showed how competition leads to hostility but could be reduced by making them dependent on each other.
o Applied research: Knowledge gained to solve specific practical problems. Uses principles discovered via basic research to solve practical problems.
Goals of Psychology
Four basic goals:
DEuPIc
o Describe how people and animals behave
o Explain and understand the causes of the behaviour
o Predict how people and animals behave under certain conditions
o Influence or control the behaviour through knowledge and control of causes
Importance of Perspectives
Diverse viewpoints allows for enriched understanding of behaviour and its causes
Six different perspectives: biological, cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioural, humanistic, and sociocultural.
PBS & HBC
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Psychodynamic - unconscious forces motivating behaviour
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Behavioural - role of external environment on out action
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Sociocultural - culture and behaviour relate
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Humanistic - self actualization and free will
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Biological - physical side of human nature, brain and genes
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Cognitive - thought process
The Biological Perspective
Focuses on the physical side of human nature
o Emphasizes role of brain, including biochemical processes
Mind-body dualism: The belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to the physical laws that govern the body
o No amount of research on the body could ever explain the mind
o Ancient widely-held view, especially by Greeks
Monism: The belief that the mind and body are one, and mental events are a product of physical events
o Modern view by most scientists
Discovery of Brain-Behaviour Relations
Late 1700s, Luigi Galvani discovered severed leg of frog moved with electrical current applied to it
o Defied prior belief that bodily movements were caused by soul
By 1870, researchers applied electrical stimulation directly to brains of animals
o Stimulation of specific areas on brain resulted in movements of particular muscles
Karl Lashley damaged specific regions of brain and studied effects on learning and memory abilities in animals trained to run through mazes
In 1929, invention of electroencephalogram (EEG) allowed researchers to measure electrical activity of large areas of brain
Evolution and Behaviour
Darwins theory of natural selection demonstrated that inheritable characteristics that increase likelihood of survival will be maintained. Proposed that humans and apes arose from the same ancestor.
Evolutionary psychology focuses on role of evolution in development of human behaviour
o Psychologists stress organisms biology determine its behavioural capabilities and behaviour
Sociobiology holds that complex social behaviours are built into human species as products of evolution
o Natural selection favors behaviours that increase ability to pass on genes (aggression, competition, dominance in males, cooperation and nurturing in females, etc.)
o Sociobiologists believe that ones genetic survival is more important than ones own physical survival (altruism)
o Criticized for overemphasizing innate biological factors at expense of cultural and social learning factors in explaining complex human social behaviour
Behaviour Genetics
Study of how behavioural tendencies are influenced by genetic factors
Animals can be bred not only for physical, but also behavioural traits (aggression, intelligence, etc.)
Identical twins, with identical genetic makeup, are very similar in behaviour compared to fraternal twins
o Found even when identical twins reared in different homes
The Cognitive Perspective
Views humans as information processors and problem solvers whose actions are governed by thought and planning. What sets humans apart is that we have mental capabilities.
o Studies how mental processes influence our motives, emotions, and behaviour
Several schools and individuals contributed to modern cognitive perspective:
o Structuralism
Analysis of mind in terms of its basic elements
Studied sensations through introspection (looking within)Patients were exposed to stimuli and asked to explain their experiences.
Wilhelm Wundt wanted to model study of the mind after physical and biological sciences. Believed mind could be studied via breaking it down to its basic parts, this was called structuralism. Believed sensations were basic elements of consciousness.
Founded first laboratory of experimental psychology in 1879
Functionalism
Psychology should study the functions of consciousness (the whys) rather than its structure- (the Whats)
Influenced partly by Darwins evolutionary theory (adaption to succeed)
William James broad functionalist approach helped widen the scope of psychology to include biological/mental processes and behaviour
Gestalt Psychology
Concerned with how elements of experience are organized into wholes
Opposite of structuralism
Wolfgang Kohler concluded that ability to perceive relationships is the essence of intelligence
Defined insight as sudden perception of a useful relationship or solution to a problem
Demonstrated insight by observing chimpanzee use various items in a cage to reach a banana at the top
o Jean Piaget
Studied how children think, reason, and solve problems
Concerned with how the mind and its development contribute to our ability to adapt to our environment
o Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck
Attempted to understand how mental distortions and irrational thought patterns create emotional problems
Emphasized that distress and maladaptive behaviour are caused by the ways situations are thought about, not by external situations
Modern Cognitive Science
Artificial intelligence develops computer models of complex human thought, reasoning, and problem solving
Interested in how people produce and recognize speech and how creative solutions to problems are produced
Social constructivism: What we consider reality is in large part our own mental creation
o Little shared reality exists apart from what groups of people socially construct through subjective meaning they give to their experiences
o Believe male and female sex roles created not by nature, but by shared world view that exists within social groups
The Psychodynamic Perspective
Searches for causes of behaviour within workings of personality, emphasizing role of unconscious processes and unresolved conflicts from past
Sigmund Freud emphasized role of complex psychological forces in controlling human behaviour
o Focused on hysteria, condition where physical symptoms develop without organic cause
o Found improvement in patients after they reported and relived painful childhood sexual experiences
o Led Freud to believe that most of human behaviour is influenced by unconscious forces
o Believed repression was a defense mechanism to keep anxiety-arousing impulses, feelings, and memories in unconscious depth of mind
o All behaviour is a reflection of unconscious internal struggle between conflicting psychological forces of impulse and defenses
Freud opposed laboratory research, and depended on clinical observations and personal self-analysis
The Behavioural Perspective
Focuses on the role of the external environment in shaping and governing our actions
o Behaviour influenced by learned habits and by stimuli in the environment
History rooted in school of philosophy known as British Empiricism
o All ideas and knowledge are gained empirically
o John Locke: The human mind is initially a white paper, to be furnished by experience
o Observation overrules reasoning, since seeing is believing while reasoning has potential for error
o Pavlov found involuntary learning in dogs from external stimulus
John Watson lead movement of behaviourism in 1920s
o Proper subject matter of psychology is observable behaviour, not unobservable inner consciousness
o Devoted efforts to discovering laws that govern learning and performance
B. F. Skinner believed mental events, images, and feelings from within are behaviours and not causes
Behaviour modification techniques alter problem behaviours and increase positive behaviours through alterations in environmental factors
Cognitive behaviourism is an attempt to bridge gap between behavioural and cognitive perspectives
o Environment exerts effects on behaviour by affecting thoughts
o Mental abilities allow control of behaviour and influence of environment (control varies from environment person and person environment)
The Humanistic Perspective
Emphasizes free will, innate tendencies towards growth, and attempt to find ultimate meaning in ones existence
o Rejected images of behaviour control from unconscious forces
Understand role of internal personality processes, but stress importance of conscious motives, freedom, and choice
Active force toward growth and self-actualization (reaching individual potential)
Terror management theory constructs reality, often involving afterlife and sense of order and stability, to have sense of personal value
The Sociocultural Perspective
Focuses on the manner in which culture is transmitted to its members and on similarities/differences that occur among people from diverse cultures
Culture: Enduring values, beliefs, behaviours, and traditions shared among a large group of people
Each culture develops social norms
o Norms: Rules that specify what is acceptable and expected behaviour
Humans have need to develop cultures
o Introduce order and particular world view into social system, creating predictability, guidelines for thought and behaviour, and a map for life
Margaret Mead found striking differences in normal behaviour among men and women of three tribes
oCultural expectations and learning experiences can affect behaviour
One of most important differences in cultures is emphasis on individualism vs. collectivism
o Individualism North America, Europe
o Collectivism Asia, Africa, South America
Perspectives in Historical Context
1879 Structuralism (Wilhelm Wundt)
End of 19th
End of 19 century Functionalism (William James)
th
1920s Behaviourism (B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov, John Watson) century Psychodynamic (Sigmund Freud)
1960s Cognitive (Allan Paivio)
Always Biological
Integrating the Perspectives
Three levels of analysis for describing various aspects of behaviour and classifying casual factors: Biological, Psychological, Environmental
Biological
o Everything psychological is biological
o Can analyze behaviour in terms of brain processes, hormones, and genetics
o Cannot explain experiences and feelings
Psychological
o Can analyze role of thought, memory, planning, and problem solving
o Takes into account motivational, emotional, and personality processes that influence people
Environmental
o Takes into account the environment, past and present, and personal and cultural that shape and stimulate behaviour
Example: Depression
o Biological Genetic factors, disrupted brain rhythms, chemical factors
o Psychological Pessimism, severe losses/rejections from past
o Environmental Non-rewarding environment, loss of social support