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Textbook: Ch. 1 (sec. 1 + 2) - Coggle Diagram
Textbook: Ch. 1 (sec. 1 + 2)
what is psychology?
learning objective: define psychology and describe the goals and levels of analysis psychologists use.
When psychologists study mental processes and behaviour, they generally have one of four goals in mind
description
psychologists seek to articulate what they observe
also includes describing how things happen, such as babies learning to talk
explanation
a key goal is to find out the "why" of behaviors
psychologists think of hypotheses and theories to try and provide an explanation
control
psychologists also have the goal of figuring out how to limit or increase certain behaviors
whether of oneself or others
prediction
trying to predict when we will likely see a certain behavior or reaction
seeing mental processes in response to certain situations
trying to anticipate
to do any of those four goals, it is relevant to note what affects our behavior and mental processes
our thoughts, actions, and even simple tasks, require an activation and cooperation on multiple levels
Myths and Misconceptions
to evade falling into myths and misconceptions, it's good to be informed and be open to new, relevant info
culture
: (a set of) shared beliefs and practices that are practiced through generations
1.1 Indigenous Experiences
critical thinking questions
Why do you think the TRC referred to the residential school system “cultural genocide”? Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
The 94 calls to action in the TRC’s final report identify both legacy recommendations (focused on rectifying historical damage) and reconciliation recommendations (focused on improving ongoing wrongs). Which of these types of recommendations do you see as most important? Why?
in 2006, Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) was approved
acknowledging the mistreatment of indigenous people in residential schools
specifically, the trauma and suffering
IRSSA also tried making actions to help "provide" a fair and equitable future for trauma survivors and their family
later, prime minister steven harper gave a formal apology that it wouldn't happen again
a behaviour: when the children were taken away from them, they tried to move as close to the schools as possible (tried to get as close as they were allowed to)
"Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in 2008" (textbook, pg. 5)
was created to analyze the cause and consequences of the harm done in residential schools
"violation of human rights"
goal being, to try and resolve the conflict from the past
tried to gather written and oral information on the happenings at the residential school to share with the rest of the canadians
also to inform about the future implications and the
lasting impacts
of the harm done
also tried collecting info on missing children and a record of deaths at the school
94 “calls to action” were released in June 2015
"TRC formally concluded by stating that the residential school system amounted to cultural genocide (TRC, 2015)."
(textbook, pg. 5)
one step that can be taken to reconciling, is to learn the history of these residential schools and how it impacted indigenous ppl's lives
Before You Go On: What do you know?
How is behaviour different from mental processes? How are they the same?
What are the three levels of analysis in psychology?
what do you think?
What would be the focus of each of the four goals of psychology when studying the use of Facebook and other social media? How would the questions and actions of a psychologist who seeks to describe social media use differ from those of someone who wants to limit children’s and adolescents’ use levels, for example?
questions before reading
how do myths and misconceptions affect our perception of the world?
how can we ensure we don't fall into "traps" of myth?
to evade falling into myths and misconceptions, it's good to be informed and be open to new, relevant info
are there some people who ignore the truth and purposely believe myths, even though they know it's a myth?
if so, why would they?
what is meant by "levels of analysis"?
the different "lenses" in which we can analyze the reasoning or what goes on behind someone's behaviour
psychology: the study of mental processes and behavior
as a discipline, psychology includes studying (through trial-and-error) the mind and behavior
practices like brain imaging and other technological advances helped with bridging the connection between mental processes and behavior
helped also with providing a more in-depth view of how mental processes happen in different people, in different situations
behavior: observable actions in response to what's happening around them
also studies how the mind and behaviour and influenced by external factors and psychobiology
mental processes: activity in the mind of when we think, process information, and use language
it also includes complex experiences
remembering
thinking
imagining
processing information also includes observation
in the earlier times of studying psychology, the main way of "exploring" mental processes was through observing behaviour
making inferences as to what might be happening in the brain
includes studying the mind and behaviour through trial-and-error
in order to do those goals that psychologists set, we need to identify the influences on behaviour
all our thoughts and actions connect back to the three different "levels of analysis"
those 3 levels cooperate together to some extent; no one level soley influences behaviour
it's important to analyze and understand the relationship between the three levels, as it can help us understand how we function as ppl
"how the brain, the individual, and the group influence each other" (from textbook, pg. 3)
brain
psychologists look at the brain cell activity when information is transmitted and stored
they also look at how gene affect the formation of the brain's structures
brain activity
psychologists can study the brain (using technological advancements) to see which parts are "activated" when a drug is consumed
what happens in the brain
can also see brain changes as a result of a traumatic brain injury
seeing what happens to the brain when the person goes through sleep disruption, anxiety, etc.
individual
can study emotions, thoughts, and ideas to see how it influences individual behaviour
emotions, thoughts, and ideas are considered to be the "contents of
mental processes
"
considers issues like personality differences when looking at different responses to situations
analyzing at the level of an individual person includes analyzing:
consciousness
intelligence
personality
motivation
though structures of the brain and such do affect things in the individual level, it's very hard to study processes that are unique to each person (like personality and motivation), without studying psychology at the "individual level"
essentially, we cannot rely on just studying at the brain level to try and understand aspects of the individual level; it just doesn't work like that
and always, two levels are related/influencing one another in one way or another
group
this level of analysis recognizes that our environment can shape behaviour
as well as those environments being able to change
for example, the group being people who immigrate, can be studied for patterns in school performance (specifically in those who experience immigration)
or another example of research at the group level is:
or the relationship between gangster culture and mental health in adolescents
depending on which groups ppl belong in (or think they belong in) influences their behaviours and mindsets (thoughts) in "fundamental ways" (textbook, pg. 4)
something important to note in the real world: canada is made of a varied mix of cultures and "group identities"
"...is rooted in Indigenous history as well as that of early settlers and immigrants" (textbook, pg. 4)
it is crucial in appreciating the psychology of today, without learning and see how it grew from before (the history)
Psychology’s Roots in Philosophy
learning objective: Describe the influences of early myths, rituals, and ancient Greek philosophies on psychology.
Psychology’s Roots in Physiology and Psychophysics
after the 1600's, people were starting to believe that humans and the universe have fixed,
natural
laws
francis bacon
, an english philosopher and scientist popularized the scientific method
created the idea of knowledge coming from experience
empiricism
also popularized gathering data, analyzing data, and performing experiments.
René Descartes
- a modern philosopher who believed that the mind and body were separate things
said that all truths were linked to each other
believed that the natural world could be understood through mathematics and sience
also said that the mind and soul were the same thing, practically, and that the mind would live on even after the death of the body
called the mind, the "province of god"
British philosopher John Locke
: influenced by bacon and descartes' ideas, and thought that humans were born with a blank mind
so then experiences would "imprint" knowledge into the minds later
described it as
tabula rasa
, meaning: a blank slate
Herman von Helmholtz (1821–1894), a student of Müller’s
, was the first to examine reaction time?
speed of a nerve impulse, from an external stimuli, to the experience of the person
discovered that nerve impulses happen over time, instead of "suddenly" and right away
this lead to the discovery that thought and movement are related (but not the same thing)
Psychophysics tried figuring out how long it took for someone to notice a difference of light/sound after more is added, and how much sound/light it would take to have
a person notice it in the first place
work of von Helmholtz took part in the foundation of modern physiological psychology and neuroscience
psychophysics
to study the relationship between physical stimuli and their psychological effects—that is, the sensations and perceptions they affect.
developed by prominent physiologist
Johannes Müller
Gustav Fechner
, a german philosopher and physicist: found evidence that the relationship bewteen physical and mental events gave the potential for psychology to the a "quantified science"
published a book
outlined some study methods and techniques that would be used later in the (emerging) study of psychology
called
Elements of Psychophysics
considered to be one of the founders of
experimental
psychology
Before You Go On: What do you know?
What do the earliest myths have in common with today’s scientific studies?
Greek philosophers who believed reasoning would uncover ideals or core ideas were focused on which aspect of psychology?
How did the Greek philosopher Hippocrates explain mental processes and behaviour? How did Hippocrates’ research methods influence today’s study of psychology?
what do you think?
What advantages do you think a scientific approach has for explaining behaviour and mental processes compared with a supernatural approach?
questions before reading
how does psychology relate to physiology?
what is psychophysics?
what is physiology?
how did ancient greeks study psychology?
what is the psychology/science behind rituals?
humans have tried to explain some things through rituals and myths
myths
: stories of forgotten origin that tries to explain the more puzzling parts of the natural world
rituals
: "solemn" ways to "interact" with myths and celebrating religions or social events
are a representation of the human need to understand their world and the ppl around them
greek philosophy is different from the rest because it has been recorded
greek philosophers tried to find the limit to human awareness
and "determine the nature of reality"
to answer difficult questions, they came together and had discussions
developed the idea/concept that theories are never "final", and that they could always improve
Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates queried:
whether knowledge is innate or built through experience
if/how the body was connected to the mind
how the human mind worked
Hippocrates' theory of "humorism" was wrong, but he understood that rest, eating well, etc. were important to wellbeing
his theory was that these 4 things determined your personality, character, how they would react to events, and wellbeing
he was known as "the father of medicine", and acknowledged that sicknesses didn't happen because of evil spirits, or because gods were angry
also correctly identified the brain as the organ of mental life, and argued that thoughts, ideas, and feelings originated in the brain and not in the heart
plato believed that having a healthy psych could lead to uncovering of core ideas that are in every human's mind
believed that "necessarily knowledge" was innate
a healthy mind, as his definition, looks like this: a balance among intellect, emotion, and base desires and appetites.
aristotle figured out that humans came from animals; far before charles darwin
also made important theories about
sensations, dreams, sleep,
and learning