Transcript Scope of Psychology - Western Washington University

Historical view
• Psychology come from the study of two
disparate yet connected fields, Philosophy
and biology.
Modern View
• Psychology is the study of behavior (in its
broadest context).
Philosophical view
• The Platonic allegory of Cupid and
Psyche, the passions that rule mankind.
Classical religious people
• The soul as seen from the hands of
Augustine and Aquinas
Two ways at looking at man and
how he interprets his world
• Socratic/Platonic view.
• All knowledge is already contained in the
individual.
• Do not use your sensory experience to
understand the world around you.
Meno’s Slave
• Through question and answer Socrates
showed that an untrained slave could
show he understood the relationship
between the hypotenuse and the two sides
of a square.
Cave allegory
• Prisoners are chained to a wall.
• They see shadows on the wall and depict
this as real.
• The shadows are only reflections of
people before a fire outside the mouth of
the cave.
The issue for Psychology
• What distinguishes the
barbarian from nonbarbarian?
• The non-barbarian is locked in
argument with his fellow nonbarbarian.
What is the argument all about?
• The answer to four specific
questions.
Question 1
• The problem of knowledge:
how is it that I know
anything (reason).
Types of knowing
• Experiential knowledge
• Intuitive knowledge
Question 2
• What does one know?
• The problem of reason.
• What is the one thing each of
you know without error?
• Your own existence.
• Descartes “Cogito ergo sum”
Question 3
• How should I behave, i.e.
origin of individual conduct
(morality)?
Question 4
The problem of governance?
Scope of Psychology
The organism as a whole
• How is the individual effected by…….?
The Central Nervous System
(CNS)
• The brain and peripheral nervous system
is the organ system of behavior.
• Anesthetize the brain anesthetizes
behavior at all levels.
3 methods of studying the brain
•
Record
Levels of analysis
• Single neurons
• Multiple neurons
• Thousands of neurons
Reading the Living Brain
• Electroencephalography -- EEG
(cont.)
Method 2
• Lesion: to cut or remove
An example
• Kluver – Busy syndrome in monkeys
• Removal bilaterally of the temporal pole in
monkeys.
Behavioral Changes Post Surgery
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High Oral behavior
Pacing in the light
Passivity
High sexual activity
Kling – Riggs study (cats)
• Again removal of the “tip” of
the temporal pole
Behavioral changes
• Extreme well directed
aggressiveness.
Method 3 of brain study
• Stimulation
Scientific Method
Develop an idea
The idea
• ASSUME: LEARNING IS A GENETIC
PROCESS
Rework the idea until a
testable hypothesis
can be construed.
Reworked idea
• THE ABILITY TO RUN A MAZE WITH NO
ERRORS IS GENETICALLY
DETERMINED
• ASK THE QUESTION: WHAT IS THE
MOST APPROPRIATE ANIMAL TO USE
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION
PROPOSED BY THE HYPOTHESIS?
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Humans?
Rats?
Fruit flies?
Squid – Octopus?
• RATS WHO RUN A MAZE WITH THE
FEWEST ERROR TRIALS ARE BETTER
LEARNERS THAN RATS WHO MAKE
MORE ERRORS IN THE SAME NUMBER
OF TRIALS.
How do I manipulate genes?
How do I manipulate learning?
• Selective breeding manipulates genes:
• Breed fast learners to fast learners, slow
learners to slow learners.
• Can the individual be used as its own
control or do I need a control group.
• Use groups: fast learners against slow
learners. After 20 generations there should
be two groups of maze learners with no
overlap between groups.
• What is the most appropriate statistical
procedure I need to use.