For MIDTERM

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 7,8,9
Recap Page 13
Evaluation Quiz Page 13
Todays Perspectives in Psychology

Read Page 18-20
Recap and evaluation quiz Page 22
Conducting Psychological Research
archival research Research in which
existing data, such as census documents,
college records, and newspaper
clippings, are examined to test a
hypothesis.
naturalistic observation Research in
which an investigator simply observes
some naturally occurring behavior and
does not make a change in the situation.
survey research Research in which
people chosen to represent a larger
population are asked a series of
questions about their behavior,
thoughts, or attitudes.
case study An in-depth, intensive
investigation of an individual or small
group of people.
variables Behaviors, events, or other
characteristics that can change, or vary,
in some way.

independent variable The variable
that is manipulated by an
experimenter.

dependent variable The variable that
is measured and is expected to change
as a result of changes caused by the
experimenters manipulation of the
independent variable.

correlational research Research in
which the relationship between two
sets 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 that
they 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 distort
how the independent variable affects the
dependent variable in an experiment.
placebo A false treatment, such as a
pill, drug, or other substance,
without any significant chemical
properties or active ingredient.
I. What is an attitude?
A. Attitude: a favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction
toward something or someone (developed, maintained, and
changed via the interactive relationship among ones
thoughts, 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 dont 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 dont like psychology.
Behavioral consequence of maintained attitude = I do not
become 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 dont like psychology.
Behavioral consequence of maintained attitude = I do not
become a psychology major.
1.
2.
B. Theory of Planned Behavior: ones attitudes, perceived
social norms, and feelings of control, together determine ones
intentions and guide behavior.
Spontaneous Behavior
Sometimes peoples attitudes will result in a
spontaneous (unplanned) behavior.
Example: If you hate cockroaches then you
dont 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 its 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: Freuds 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 Rescue
EGO= the reality principle
Develops after first year of life

Id and Superego in conflict
Creates anxiety

Ego encourages id to seek gratification through
realistic and socially acceptable means
Ego creates defense mechanisms, which distorts
ids impulses into socially acceptable forms
Freud: Levels of Awareness
Unconscious: Holds repressed memories
and emotions and the ids 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 didnt 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
Adlers 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 Adlers 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. Freuds assumption that present behavior is caused by past experiences
was directly opposed to Adlers notion that present behavior is shaped by
peoples 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 peoples behavior is the
striving for success or superiority.
2. Peoples 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
persons style of life.
6. Style of life is molded by peoples creative power.

Adlers Individual Psychology Theory
Key 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 Affect
Source 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 arousalchanges in bodily sensations,
including increased blood pressure, heart rate,
perspiration, and respiration. Arousal is the
feeling that accompanies strong emotions. Im
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
Wings
Feathers
Beak
Worms
Chirps
Average or best example of members of a category

?

has
eats
has
has
makes
Then he sees
Assimilation: fitting new information into
existing schemas
Assimilation
Accommodation
Cows
Horses
GET ncm/justsay cust-rec rate-item communit tg/stores/d tg/stores/d -favorite-lis true just-say-no
Accommodation
?
Cows
Horses
GET ncm/justsay cust-rec rate-item communit tg/stores/d tg/stores/d -favorite-lis true just-say-no
Categories become increasingly complex as children learn
Mammals
Fish
?
Piagets Theory of
Cognitive Development
In Children
Piagets 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 Piagets 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
Piagets 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 behavior
Apply ability to other things


6 Stages Continued
5. Tertiary Circular Reaction (12-18
months)
Active potential
Explore objects potential
6. Invention of New Means
through Mental Combinations
(18-24 months)
Child moves from overt to covert
thoughts
The 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 Contd
Piagets 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 Piagets Theory
Impacts Learning
Curriculum: Educators must plan a
developmentally appropriate curriculum that
enhances their students 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 conditioningthe 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 learningthe 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 youve 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 learningwe 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 Learning
In 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 dollan 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 wont
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 Learning
cont.
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.