Transcript File

Psychology
Studying the mind of the individual
Who are these Psychologists?
• They study how and why humans act as they
do
• Instead of studying how humans function in
cultures or societies, psychologists focus on
the individual, and the personal and unique
experiences that influence how the individual
acts and thinks
Types of Psychology
1. Experimental Psychology
• The branch of the discipline that sets up
experiments to see how individuals act in
particular situations
• Question - Would you help a complete
stranger that was being threatened with
violence from another person?
The Case of Kitty Genovese
• The Case of Kitty Genovese - Kitty was murdered on the street
outside her New York City apartment after loud shouting was
heard - 38 people witnessed the murder but did nothing to
stop it
• Psychologists have long been interested in our unwillingness
to get involved in uncomfortable situations even if someone’s
personal safety is at risk
• People have a tendency see themselves as bystanders in such
situations rather than as ACTORS
• ACTORS are people who become active participants in a
situation
Types of Psychology
2. Clinical Psychology
• the branch of the discipline that develops
programs for treating individuals suffering
from mental illnesses and behavioural
disorders
• Eg. Psychologists treat dangerous offenders in
federal prisons in an attempt to prevent them
from reoffending on release
Psychological Schools of Thought
Like the other social sciences, psychology
has been divided into a number of schools
of thought:
1. Psychoanalytic Theory
2. Behaviouralism
3. Learning Theory
1. Psychoanalytic Theory
• The mind is divided into two parts: the
conscious and the unconscious
• We are aware of our conscious but not aware
of our unconscious
• According to psychologists, our unconscious
mind has more influence than our conscious
mind on our personalities and our behaviour
The Unconscious Mind
The Unconscious mind is divided into three
parts:
1. Id – which encourages us to seek physical
satisfaction
2. Superego – prompts us to do the moral
thing, not the one that feels best
3. Ego – the referee between the two and deals
with external reality, this is our most
conscious self
Sigmund Freud
• The founder of
psychoanalytic theory
• He believed our early
childhood experiences,
usually involving our
relationships with parents
and family, are stored in our
unconscious mind
• While we are normally
unaware of these
memories, they can have a
powerful influence on the
way we function
Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
•
Adler believed that
difficulties people
encounter in gaining selfesteem and recognition, if
not overcome by the
normal means lead to
compensatory behaviour
and resultant personality
disorders which are now
widely referred to as an
inferiority complex.
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
• Responsible for the
identification of the
Extroverted (outwardlooking) and Introverted
(inward-looking) personality
types.
• Worked closely with Freud
but split later in their
careers
• The other aspect of Jung's
work which has been very
influential is his approach to
the analysis of dreams.
2. Behaviouralism
• Behaviourlists believe that psychologists can predict
and control or modify human behaviour by
identifying the factors that motivate it in the first
place
• Behaviourists placed particular stress on the early
childhood years, and the rules or practices parents
use to raise their children because they believe these
methods have a huge influence on the character of
individuals even into adulthood
Charles B. Watson (1878-1958)
• The founder of
behaviouralism
• He used animal
experiments to determine
whether strict of flexible
learning patterns are more
effective
• He believed children should
be brought up using strictly
scheduled, rules-based
models.
Benjamin Spock (1903-1998)
• He believed that a
permissive approach to
child rearing, rather
than a strict one, would
result in successful,
well-adjusted adults.
• He encouraged parents
to be loving, flexible
and supportive
3. Learning Theory
• Learning Theorists agree that humans are
born with little instinct but much learning
potential
• They believe that most human behaviour is
learned, especially in children and youth
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
• Pavlov’s experiments with
dogs showed that is was
possible to get a dog to
associate the sound of a bell
with the imminent arrival of
food
• At the sound of a bell, the
dog would salivate in
anticipation
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• Skinner proved that pigeons
could be trained to peck at
a particular coloured disk to
get food rewards
• Rats received food rewards
for pressing a bar in a
complicated sequence
leading many theorists to
believe that learning was a
STIMULUS-RESPONSE effect
• He believed that if the
subject is correctly
stimulated it will give the
appropriate response
Albert Bandura (Born in 1925)
• Bandura concluded that learning is
largely a modeling experience
• When humans observe behaviour –
either acceptable or unacceptable –
they are more likely to practice it
• Experimented with children who
observed adults hitting a Bobo doll
and who were either rewarded or
reprimanded for their behaviour.
• Children learn through the
experiences of others.
• Question - What does this mean to
us?
Psychology and Social Change
Questions a Psychologist would ask:
• What must people do to successfully change
their behaviours?
• What factors make behaviour modification
programs successful?
• Do most people need help changing their
behaviours, or can they be self-changers?
Activity
• On a piece of paper, draw a five point scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Rank the following
statements on this scale according to your opinion.
– World hunger is a serious problem that needs attention.
– Our country needs to address the growing number of people living
below the poverty line.
– The right to vote is one of the most valuable rights of Canadian
citizens.
– Our government should spend less money on the military and more
money on addressing the issue of global warming.
– In order for world peace to exist, we all need to take a more active role
in helping our fellow man/woman.
• Turn your paper over, and answer the next series of questions
with “Yes” or “No.”
– Do you personally do anything to lessen world hunger (eg. Donate
food or money, work at a food bank, write your local representative)?
– Do you personally do anything to help the poor or homeless (eg. Work
at a homeless shelter, donate clothing or money)?
– Did you take part in the last election (student vote, research parties
and their platforms, etc)?
– Do you personally convey your feelings about global warming to the
government (eg. By writing you local MPP, protesting, etc.)?
– Have you done something recently to help a person in need (eg.
Donate blood, volunteer at a retirement home, food bank, etc.)?
Question: Are your answers for each pair of questions consistent? If not,
how does this make you feel? Will you alter your behaviour as a
result?
Changing our Minds
There is a strong connection between people’s
attitudes (what they think) and behaviours
(what they do).
• Do people’s attitudes need to be changed
before their behaviour can change?
• Ex. People’s attitudes towards smoking or
drinking and driving
Cognitive Dissonance / Consistency
• Most people strive for cognitive consistency
(avoiding attitudes that conflict with each
other)
• When two attitudes conflict, we feel
discomfort, which makes us want to change
our attitudes to regain cognitive consistency
• This theory is called cognitive dissonance
theory
Examples of Cognitive Dissonance
Ex. Person X smokes, but also believes smoking
causes cancer – these attitudes conflict and may
lead them to avoid reading articles that discuss
smoking and health.
If X has a relative that dies from cancer caused by
smoking, this leads to increased conflict and
dissonance, which may lead them to quit – a
change in behaviour!
Why People Change
Read pp. 53 – 59 and complete the following chart
Models of
Behaviour
Behaviour
Modification
(Skinner)
Personal and
Collective
Unconscious
(Jung)
Heirarchy of
Human Needs
(Maslow)
Gender
Relationships
(Woodman)
Why People Change
Examples
Activity
Student X is just entering grade 12 at SJAM, and has struggled through
her high school career so far. She is very bright, but her transcript
shows that most of her marks are in the mid 50’s and 60’s. She has
a habit of procrastinating and handing assignments in late. She has
done especially poorly in math, where she has had Mr. Z as a
teacher for the last 2 years. She frequently asks teachers to leave
the room and often complains about being hungry in class. Often,
when her teachers ask her to do something, she responds by
saying, “why bother” or simply putting her head down on the desk
and pretending to sleep. Her school records show that when she
was young, she moved 8 times and had difficulty adjusting to her
new schools each time.
• What can Student X do to succeed in school and reach her full potential?
• Explain what Skinner, Jung, Maslow and Woodman would say about the
origins of X’s behaviour, and what methods they may use to change it.