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Foundations of Behaviour - Coggle Diagram
Foundations of Behaviour
Intro
Definitions
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Science: process for knowledge acquisition based on measurement & testing
Scientific method: dynamic process - observing, predicting, measuring, analysing, reporting
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Subdisciplines
Approach
- Biological
- Behavioural: observable actions
- Cognitive: mental (thought, attention, memory, processing)
- Social: influence, persuasion, norms, culture, conflict
Applications
- Clinical: disorders, cause, treatment
- Health: medication, fitness
- Education: learning
- Sport: performance
- Forensic: witness credibility, rehab, competence
- Organisational: performance, satisfaction, job fit, recruitment
Other emphases
- Developmental: change over lifespan
- Personality: differences between individuals
Psych as science
- Make informed choices
- Use studies (including animal)
- Applied biology (evolution)
Reflexes & Instincts
Automatic behaviours
- Involuntary
- Not learned
- For survival
Instinct
- Complex patterns of behaviour
Examples
- Turtle migration
- Joey climbing into pouch
Reflexes
- Simple & immediate
- Controlled by ANS
Examples
- Fight, flight, freeze:
- Knee jerk
- Startle
- Moro: arms out, arms in, crying when falling / loss of support
- Mammalian diving: hold breath when air/water on face
- Rooting: turn head, open mouth when cheek stroked
- Sucking: suck when roof of mouth touched
- Palmar grasp: grab when something touches palm
Comparative psychology
- Similarities & differences cross-species to gain insight into behaviour
Heritability
Evolution via natural selection
- Species level
- Over long time
- More specialised / different
Principles
- Organisms reproduce (increase in number)
- Organisms inherit features from parents, but have random variation (mutations)
- Selection pressures in environment make some features more/less useful for survival
- Organisms that survive & reproduce pass on features
Concepts
- Reproductive fitness: survival to reproduce
- Selection pressure: factor that influences survival/fertility rate - vestigial reflexes from lack of selection pressure
Backwards looking: based on previous generations
Requirements
- Variable
- Heritable
- Selection pressure
Evidence
- Genetic: similarities in genotype (alleles for genes) that explain common phenotype (observable characteristics)
- Artificial selection: forward looking, e.g. dog breeding
Definitions
- Law: description of phenomenon consistent with all evidence
- Theory: testable explanation of phenomenon, consistent with all evidence
- Hypothesis: prediction of explanation of phenomenon
Emotion & Motivation
Emotion
3 elements
- Affect (feeling)
- Behaviour
- Cognitive (thoughts)
Behaviour types
- Expressive: signal emotion
- Instrumental: in response to emotion
Affect vs mood
- Affect: immediate emotion
- Mood: stable emotion
Other concepts
- Primitive: innate
** Cross cultural expression
** Blind people have same expression
- Cultural display rules: societal norms change expression of emotion through modelling & punishment
3 basic drives
- Feed = eat
- Fight/flight = prey
- Reproduce = love
Purposes
- Physiological adaptation: e.g. surprise = eyes widen, fear = retreat, disgust = screw up nose
- Social signalling: e.g. anger = stay away, sadness = vulnerable, disgust = warning, happiness = not threatening
Emotions
Disgust
- Sensitivity similar for pathogens & moral
Fear
- Fast: to keep safe - sensory -> thalamus -> amygdala
- Slow: sensory -> thalamus -> cerebral cortex -> amygdala
Jealousy
- Maximises reproductive outcomes
- Males: sexual infidelity - need females to raise their offspring, not someone else's
- Females: emotional infidelity - need males to provide for offspring, not abandon
Theories
Cannon-Bard
- Stimulus -> neurological -> physiological + subjective (emotion)
- Evidence: feel emotion with body-brain signal cut; emotions aren't always fast
Schachter-Singer - 2-factor model
- Arousal: physiological (activation/intensity)
- Appraisal: cognitive (interpretation)
Current - reciprocal relationship
- Arousal -> appraisal (Schachter-Singer)
- Appraisal -> arousal (Lazarus)
Current - circumplex model
2-dimensions
- Valence: positive / negative
- Arousal: activation / calm
James-Lange
- Stimulus -> physiological -> emotion (subjective experience)