Psychology

Simply Psychology Notes Chapter 1 – What is Psychology' * The scientific study of behaviour. British Psychological Society defines psychology as “the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour.” * Key argument – behaviourists said the best way for psychology to become a science was to focus on behaviour – can be observed and measured. * Before behaviourism, most psychologists argued that psychology should be based on people’s reports of their thoughts and feelings – introspection. Was dismissed by behaviourists as unscientific because we cannot observe and measure mental processes. * Most psychologists are interested in the internal processes producing behaviour – not necessarily the behaviour itself. * E.g. Psychologists studying the extreme reactions of anxious patients to stressful circumstances do not only focus on their patient’s behaviour, mainly interested in understanding WHY anxious patients behave as they do. * Task of understanding human (and animal) behaviour is a challenging one. Important reason for this is because our behaviour is typically determined by several different things, including the following: * The specific stimuli presented to us. * Our genetic endowment, what we have inherited from our parents. * Our physiological system. * Our cognitive system (perceptions, thoughts, memories). * The social environment. * The cultural environment. * Our previous life experiences (including childhood). * Our personal characteristics (intelligence, personality, mental health). Key Terms * Psychology – a scientific discipline designed to understand the behaviour of humans and other species. * Behaviourism – an approach to psychology started in the United States by John Watson, according to which psychologists should focus on observable stimuli and responses. * Introspection – study of the human mind based on people’s reports of their thoughts and feelings. * Behaviour is determined by many factors. Concrete example – “Road Rage.” A motorist becomes angry, starts physically attacking another motorist who has frustrated him/her in some way. Understanding a man who exhibits road rage – some behaviour may depend on genes that have been inherited – aggressive personality' Possibly childhood experiences e.g. presence of violence within the family. Possibly dependable on man’s clinical history e.g. history of psychopathic or anti-social behaviour). Possibly his thoughts/feelings (the other motorist reminds him of someone he despises). Man’s physiological state – e.g. internal bodily state may be highly aroused/agitated because he is already late for an important appointment. May depend on culture – expressing aggression by physically attacking someone is less acceptable in some cultures than others. * Key point of example – no single “correct” interpretation of the man’s road rage. Most points contributed to behaviour, therefore, psychological scope is very broad – this needs to be to understand human behaviour. * Psychology is a multidisciplinary science, enriched by physiologists, neuroscientists, sociologists, biologists, biochemists, anthropologists and others. “Psychology is just common sense'” * People feel they have understanding of psychology as a result of daily dealings with people. * One main task of psychologists is to predict behaviour – also important in everyday life. * Is better if we can anticipate how people will react in a given situation because the more contented and rewarding social interactions will be. * Tendency to underestimate achievements of psychology due to the fact that most people are amateur psychologists. * It can be argued that if findings of psychology are in line with common sense, then they tell us nothing we didn’t already know. * On the other hand, if the findings disagree with common sense, the frequent reaction is – “ I don’t believe it!” * Misleading to assume common sense forms a coherent set of assumptions about behaviour. * This can easily be seen in proverbs, is possible to think of several pairs of proverbs that express opposite meanings to each other. E.g. “look before you leap” can be contrasted with “he who hesitates is lost.” And “many hands make light work” is the opposite of “too many cooks spoil the broth.” * Common sense involves too many incompatible views, therefore not a sound basis for understanding human behaviour. Hindsight Bias * It is wrong to assume that findings in psychology just confirm common sense. Key Terms * Hindsight bias – the tendency to be wise after the event using the benefit of hindsight. Cross – cultural differences * For many years, research in psychology has been dominated by the United States. * Rosenzweig (1992) – 92% of world’s 56,000 researchers in psychology are Americans. * American’s impact on textbooks in psychology is often even greater. E.g. Baron and Byrne’s (1991) textbook on social psychology – 94% of studies referred to were from North America, compared to 2% - Europe, 1% - Australasia, 3% - rest of the world. * Strong American dominance within psychology, does this matter' It doesn’t if the findings obtained in American studies are the same as those obtained in other parts of the world. It does matter if there are substantial differences in behaviour in different countries. * A lot of evidence indicating Americans often differ from the inhabitants of other countries. E.g. Hofstede (1980) studied workers from 40 different countries who belonged to large multinational company – assessed the degree of individualism, emphasis on individual needs and self development, rather than on group needs. * Workers in US had highest score for individualism of any country, workers in UK came 3rd. * Cultural psychology – different cultures are studied and compared. * What is a culture' Consists of shared beliefs, attitudes and practices. * Culture is not the same as a country: there are several cultures within most large countries e.g. UK, US * Neglect by psychologists of most of the world’s cultures restricts understanding of human behaviour. Key Terms * Cross – cultural psychology – the systematic study of similarities and differences in cultures around the world. Why is psychology interesting' * Psychology has various unique advantages over other academic subjects. Most people are very interested in other people. Want to understand them better, develop deeper, more fulfilling relationships with them. * Develop a further understanding of themselves in the hope they will cope better with their own lives. * Major reason why psychology is interesting – has many applications to everyday life. * Perhaps most important application is clinical psychology. * Sigmund Freud – developed psychoanalysis – consisted of various wide-ranging theories about human behaviour. Also an influential form of treatment for mental disorders. * He said psychological forms of treatment (psychoanalysis) could allow patients with mental disorders to lead fuller, happier lives. * Psychoanalysis is no longer considered one of the most effective forms of treatment as clinical psychology has developed enormously since. * Now definite proof clinical psychology is of great value in treating mental disorders. * Psychology has been applied in many other areas: * Educational psychologists – make use of knowledge about human nature, about the processes involved in learning, helping children experiencing learning difficulties. * Occupational psychologists – focus on stress at work. Stress-related illnesses cost the British industry billions of pounds a year in lost production and human misery, work stress is clearly an important issue. * Occupational psychologists are increasingly successful at devising programmes of stress management that allow workers to function more effectively and with less stress. * Psychology is interesting because psychologists try to make sense of various clues about human behaviour. * Development of psychology over time can be illustrated by considering long-term memory. * Was thought there was a single long-term memory system, holding all the information we possess. * Was also thought that patients with amnesia (problems with long-term memory caused by brain injury) suffered from damage to this single long-term memory system. * Has since been found patients with amnesia have good long-term memory for many things (riding a bike, playing piano). * These new findings caused psychologists to change their minds. They now assume there is more than one long-term memory system. Only the memory system concerned with general knowledge and personal experiences is damaged in patients with amnesia. Key Terms * Psychoanalysis – Freud’s set of theories about human behaviour; also the form of treatment for mental disorders he devised. * Amnesia – a condition produced by brain damage in which there are major problems with long-term memory. Summary * Psychology used to be based mainly on introspection, but is now based on attempts to understand human behaviour. * Psychology differs substantially from common sense: common sense is not coherent and many psychological findings differ greatly from what most people would have predicted. * Sometimes we mistakenly claim that the findings of psychology are unsurprising because of the benefit of hindsight – hindsight bias. * Important cross-cultural differences in human behaviour are often ignored by psychologists. E.g. Western societies tend to be more individualistic than Eastern societies. * Psychology is increasingly applied to everyday life. Some of the main applications are to be found in clinical, educational and occupational settings. * Psychology has changed considerably over time. Open University Starting With Psychology (Y163) Introduction – Welcome * American psychologist – Edwin Boring – “The most important and greatest puzzle which every man faces is himself and secondarily, other persons.” (Boring, 1950) * Assumed that Boring was talking about women as well as men in this quote. * The word ‘psychology’ is derived from the Greek psyche which means ‘soul’ or ‘mind’ and logos which means ‘study’. Today British Psychological Society defines psychology as ‘The scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour’. (British Psychological Society, 2007) Influences on people’s minds and behaviour * Be asking more questions rather than finding straightforward answers. * Reason for this being when studying psychology, are studying people, and people are complicated and can be changeable. * Single simple explanation for human behaviour is almost impossible. Boys’ toys and girls’ toys Most children, when given free choice of toys, tend to select the toys that are thought to be appropriate for their sex. Why do they behave this way' Comment Lots of possible explanations for this: * Because boys and girls are biologically different. Girls naturally more motherly and pick dolls, boys naturally more interested in cars and trucks. * I think that sometimes boys might want to play with dolls but think because they are a boy they should pick boys’ toys. * To do with upbringing, as the adults around them tend to give girls dolls and boys trucks. * Children also influenced by friends. Boys will make fun of other boys who play with dolls. * Has a lot to do with TV and particularly adverts aimed at children – to sell dolls, ads use girls, not boys. In trying to understand children’s behaviour, there are a number of explanations that suggest reasons for choice of toys could be related to: * Child’s biological sex * What they think is right kind of behaviour for their sex * Upbringing and way they are treated by adults and friends * Wider cultural influence from TV and other forms of media How do psychologists do psychology' * Main distinction between everyday people and psychologists – everyday people base explanations on opinion or common sense assumptions, psychologists base theirs on evidence. * Psychologists have carried out much research, some contradicts common sense assumptions and some supports common sense assumptions. * Important point is that they have done this by collecting evidence using recognised procedures. * Partly through use of recognised procedures or research methods that psychology can claim to be the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour. * Participants – people who take part in a research study. Case Studies * Case study is in-depth study of one individual or small group of individuals. * Psychologists usually gather evidence from interviews with individual being studied but may also talk to other people close to the individual or observe individual’s behaviour or maybe consult past records – school reports/medical notes. * This method often used for investigating people who are different in some way. E.g. may have brain damage as result of an accident or may have a remarkable memory. Observation Observational study – psychologists simply observes participants, often in an everyday setting. E.g. psychologists might watch children in a nursery to identify and record different types of play activity. Surveys and Interviews * This type of research, psychologist asks people questions. Sometimes they have set pre-prepared questions so everyone is asked the same thing. * Other occasion, questions could be varied to take account of what participant has to say. Experiment * In an experiment, researcher intervenes in a situation by deliberately changing one thing and seeing what effect it has. * Sometimes a control group is used to compare with experimental group. * E.g. if psychologist wants to find out if caffeine can improve memory they could give two groups of participants same memory test but experimental group is given strong cup of coffee before test. * Results of experimental group can be compared with control group, who didn’t get coffee, to see if there’s a difference in memory test scores. What makes us happy' * Until very recently psychology had very little to say about happiness. More concerned with unhappiness, depression and anxiety. * In past decade, study of happiness has been attracting attention from a number of psychologists in an attempt to measure happiness and identity strategies we can all use to increase our personal happiness levels. * This fast growing field of happiness studies is called positive psychology. * Positive psychology – a movement in psychology which emphasises what is right with people rather than what is wrong with them. * One of the first things that must be done before investigating a topic is to define it. * A simple definition of happiness is as a positive feeling covering a range of emotions from joy to contentment. * Conversely, unhappiness is a negative feeling associated with a range of feelings from sadness to depression. * When we are happy we want the feeling to continue. * When we are unhappy we want the feeling to stop. * However, happiness and unhappiness cannot be viewed as opposite or mutually exclusive – sometimes we experience confusing mixture of emotions when we feel happy and sad at the same time. * The pursuit of happiness appears to be a universal phenomenon. * When people are interviewed about what they want most in life, the majority state that they want to be happy. * We would all like to feel happier simply because it is a pleasant feeling, are also wider benefits associated with happiness. * Happy people have better health, are more productive, are more successful, have better relationships with others and are generally more helpful and caring. * Conversely, unhappy people are more prone to illness and they tend to be withdrawn and inactive. * This is what makes happiness and how to increase happiness such a worthwhile subject for psychology to investigate. Investigating the brain * Biological psychology – branch of psychology that studies link between biology and psychological events. * Plasticity – the ability of the brain to adapt to changing circumstances. * Corpus Callosum – a bundle of nerve cells which connect one hemisphere of the brain with the other. A quick tour of the brain * Outermost layer of the brain is slightly grey in colour – ‘grey matter’. * Brain divided into two halves/hemispheres with division running from the front to back of brain. * Two hemispheres, look the same, so have similar structure. Differences in the way they function so they control different responses. * Left hemisphere controls/receives information from right side of body. * Right hemisphere controls/receives information from left side of body. * Two hemispheres are joined together by bundle of approx. 200 million nerve cells – pass messages between the two hemispheres. * Connecting bundle of cells is called corpus callosum. * To describe the brain, think of it as three layers: * Innermost part – central core – responsible for basic functions such as heart rate, sleep, reflexes. * Next layer – limbic system – contains number of structures that surround top of central core – involved in emotional responses. * Two cerebral hemispheres (together the cerebrum) fit like a cap over most of the rest of the brain. * Surface layer of cerebrum – cortex – although only 3-4 mm, vitally important in controlling some very important functions – thoughts, memory, language. * Brain is made up of billions of nerve cells called neurons – specifically designed to receive information or send out signals to other parts of the body. * Neurons pass messages to each other by releasing chemicals which affect neighbouring neuron so that it in turn will release chemicals and pass message on. * These chemicals are called neurotransmitters. * Central core – the most central part of the brain consisting of structures which regulate basic functions. * Limbic system – a group of interconnected structures in the middle of the brain that are especially concerned with emotion and motivation. * Cerebrum/cerebral hemispheres – the largest part of the brain, consisting of two lobes/hemisphere. The cerebrum processes information from the senses and controls voluntary movements and thinking. * Cortex – outer layer of the brain. * Neuron – type of cell that forms part of the nervous system and which is specialised for processing information. * Neurotransmitter – a chemical that is released from a neuron and influences a neighbouring cell. Memories are made of this * “You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realise that memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all...Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing... (Luis Bunuel) * Luis Bunuel – Spanish film-maker, quote has great poignancy, writing about his mother’s loss of memory-as she is losing her memory, he is losing his mother. * Difficult to overestimate importance of memory in our lives. * Allows us to learn and therefore profit from previous experiences, also defines who we are. Case Study – Clive’s Story * Clive Wearing has probably worst case of memory loss/amnesia ever recorded, caused by common cold sore virus. * Wednesday 27th March 1985, woke up very confused, high temperature. * Doctor diagnosed flu, explained that the high temperature/lack of sleep were causing the confusion. * Was given sleeping pill, wife told to go to work as Clive would sleep for at least eight hours. * When Deborah (wife) got home, house was empty and Clive was missing. * Found by police, taken to hospital, later Deborah was given correct diagnosis. * In extremely rare cases, cold sore virus can attack brain rather than mouth and cause a swelling of the brain, so brain tissue starts to press against bones of the skull. * Virus damaged several parts of his brain. * One of most affected areas was part that plays vital role when recalling old memories and forming new memories. * This is called the hippocampus – made up of two seahorse-shaped structures near centre of brain. * Was 46 years old when illness struck. * Was a noted musician, academic and conductor, had successful career with BBC Radio 3. * Illness has left him completely unable to form new memories and with very little recall of his life before illness. * Constantly states he’s just woken up after years of unconsciousness. * Especially in the years immediately after event was distressed, confused and angry. Described condition as: “One night 20 years long with no dreams and no thoughts. My brain has been totally inactive, day and night exactly the same. There’s no difference between this and death. (Wearing, 2005) * His wife provided him with diary in hope that writing down what was happening could help him hold on to enough of the past to make sense of the present. * Within minutes of making entries he has forgotten that he’s made it, entry not true, crosses it out to make a new entry. * For years his entries were just pages and pages of crossings out as he wrote down what he believed was his first thought since gaining consciousness. * Can remember very few things about past, can remember his name, some facts about childhood and going to Cambridge University. * Knows he has children but can’t remember how many or their ages. * Most important memory he’s managed to hold on to is his wife Deborah. * However, if Deborah leaves the room for a few moments, when she returns he greets her with huge joy as if they’d been apart for years. * Neurologist Oliver Sacks (1985) wrote about a man with a similar case of amnesia and asked whether his illness had left him as a ‘spiritual casualty’ and ‘de-souled’ him. * Deborah still believes that the essence of her husband is still there and capable of making important human connections: “I realised that we are not just brain and processes. Clive had lost all that and yet he was still Clive. Even when we didn’t see one another, when we were six months apart and only spoke on the telephone, nothing had changed. Even when he was at his worst, most acute state, he still had that huge overwhelming love for me. That was what survived when everything else was taken away.” (Deborah Wearing, 2005) * He is still able to read music, play the piano and conduct a choir even though he has no memory of doing these things in the past. * Seems to be most at peace when playing the piano. Amnesia – partial or complete loss of memory. Hippocampus – a curved seahorse-shaped structure near the centre of the brain which plays an important role in emotional behaviour and memory. Neurologist – a doctor who specialises in the diagnoses and treatment of disorders of the nervous system. * Perhaps we don’t just have a single memory but instead we have different types of memories for storing different types of information. Different types of memory * Psychologists have described three different types of memory and named them: * Episodic memory – is our memory for our personal past experiences. We use this type of memory when we recall what we had for breakfast or playing with a childhood friend. * Semantic memory – is our memory for factual knowledge such as two plus two equals four or the capital of France is Paris. * Procedural memory – is our memory of how to do things such as ride a bike or play the piano. * Clive’s episodic memory was almost totally destroyed as he could recall very little of his past life. * Semantic memory also suffered some damages as he gets confused about simple factual information. * Procedural memory was unaffected as evidenced by his ability to play the piano. * Know from other studies that area of brain mainly responsible for efficient working of procedural memory is a fist-sized structure at the lower back of the brain called the cerebellum. * Damage in this area can also lead to problems with balance, difficulties in making precise movements e.g. picking up a small object and difficulties in acquiring new skills. * Cerebellum – fist-sized structure located at the lower back of the brain which is involved in the control of movement. Hurt Feelings * Affect is term psychologists use when talking about feelings/emotions. e.g. if someone was very depressed or extremely elated without obvious cause the psychologist would describe them as having an affective disorder. Case Study – Phinea’s Story * September 1848, Phinea’s Gage was involved in horrendous and very well-known accident whilst working on the American railway. * Workers were using explosives to clear way for new railway. * One explosion went wrong, a tamping iron (metal rod, 3cm in diameter) blasted through Phinea’s head. * Iron entered just under left cheekbone and exited through top of skull having passed through brain. * Survived, recovered and showed little change in intellectual abilities. * Emotional responses were very different from what they’d been before. * Had been a quiet/capable/responsible foreman. After accident he was difficult/impulsive/quick tempered with a tendency to curse and swear that he’d never shown before. * Seems most damage from injuries was done to front of brain. Area just behind forehead, contains pre-frontal lobes. * Outstanding feature of the incident is that although he suffered serious and extensive brain damage, he not only lived but also retained most of his intellectual skills. * Damage had resulted in change in personality/difficulties in controlling emotional responses. * Case provided early evidence that prefrontal lobes have role to play in ensuring our behaviour is socially appropriate. * Capgras delusion – a disorder in which a person believes that someone they know, usually a close family member, has been replaced by an identical looking imposter. A brain of two halves * Perception – the interpretation and understanding of information received from the senses. * Spatial ability – the ability to mentally manipulate figures in space. * Hemispherical specialisation – the specialisation of the left and right hemispheres of the brain so that different functions are associated more with one hemisphere than the other. * Two hemispheres may also differ, in extent to which they control certain functions e.g. speech/daydreaming/recognising someone’s face. * Some functions may be more under control of one hemisphere, so that hemisphere will dominate the other. * Other functions may be shared equally by both hemispheres. E.g. speech area usually located in left hemisphere, except in some, but not all, left-handed people – may have areas controlling speech on both the left and right hemispheres. * Conversely both hemispheres play a role in vision although is right hemisphere that receives information from left visual field and left hemisphere that receives information from right visual field. * Not all brains organised in same way – another finding is that males (esp. right-handed) have greater left hemisphere dominance for speech than females. * If a man suffers damage in speech area of left hemisphere, will have greater impact on speech compared to a woman who has suffered similar damage. * There will be some differences between people in way their brains are organised, is a range of evidence that suggests that generally the two hemispheres are dominant in different areas : * Left hemisphere, dominates for speech/writing/mathematical ability/logic/analysis. * Right hemisphere, dominates for perception/spatial ability/musical/artistic abilities/imagery/dreaming. * Right hemisphere seems to be more emotional and negative compared to positive and rational left hemisphere – hemispherical specialisation. The story of the split-brain patients (screen & object) 1. * If a word is flashed on right side of the screen will a person with a split brain be able to: Name the word' Yes Pick out corresponding object from behind screen with their right hand' Yes Pick out corresponding object from behind screen with their left hand' No 2. * If a word is flashed