Class notes
Class notes intro to psychology unit 1
- Course
- PBSI 107 (PBSI107)
- Institution
- Texas A&M University
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Chapter 1Pursuit of the truth but only one piece of the puzzle
Hypothesis^^ all about perspective
Psych tries to understand behavior and mental processes to apply the understanding in the service of human welfare
Science and application
Major areas
- Biological
- Personality
- Developmental
- Cognitive
- Social
- Clinical
Zero chance of making an impact if there is an immediate reaction of no you’re wrong
50% chance of making an impact if there is validation, not agreement, but seeing the other pov
Wilhelm Wundt
- First actual psychology lab ever: 1879
o A very young science
o Incremental progress
o Multiple diverse perspectives
o Converging and advancing over time
- Used the theoretical framework for structuralism
o Breaking consciousness (being able to think about an action and think back on that action)
down into basic elements of sensation and feeling (self-awareness)
Structuralism: great way to have better conversations with other people. Separating into smaller pieces, and then
“digging in”
- Developed introspection: “looking inward”
o Examining and measuring one’s thoughts and mental activities (wundt)
o Also physical sensations (tichner)
o Deals with avoidance
- Sensation (physical experience of emotions)
o Quality
o Intensity
o Clearness
- “feelings”
o Pleasure-displeasure
o Relaxation-tension
o Excited-depressed
Functionalism: how does it function (help, or what simply what does it do) for individuals
- Ask why this species experiences [insert emotion/feeling here] without judgement
- How consciousness helps people adapt to their environments
- How do mental processes guide people’s ability to make decisions
o William James
§ James-Lange theory of emotions
- How are different concepts are adaptive?
- Anxiety is adaptive, changes with your environment and causes a drive
- How they function in society?
o The anxiety drive helps you succeed, piece of the puzzle of humanity (has a function)
, Gestalt (1910)
- Against breaking down consciousness into its components
- The whole of conscious experience is not equal to the sum of its parts
- Ignores the key feature that humans are hardwired to look for patterns
- Gestalt vs structuralism: when do you see the trees; when do you see the forest and realize there is
also outer space
Sigmund Freud (1900)
- Constant unconscious conflicts within a person determines behavior and mental health
- Conflicts primarily between the impulse to satisfy personal desires and the need to live by
society’s rules
Psychoanalysis: “insight” therapy for fear and anxiety. Therapy focusing on bringing unconscious material into
conscious awareness (hypnosis, free association)
- Early childhood
- Repression
- Unconscious motivations
o Id, Ego, and Superego
- “Untestable”
- Dreams: royal road to the unconscious
- Other psychoanalysis
o Carl Rogers: unconditional positive regard
o Jung: collective unconscious
Behaviorism
- Overt behavior is the “only appropriate subject matter” (hated psychoanalysis)
o John Watson
- Behavior is primarily the result of learning
- Learning history, patterns of rewards and punishments influence behavior (like a dog lol)
o B.F. Skinner
- Note: this avoids unconscious and conscious thought
Other approaches (today)
- Cognitive approach
o Emphasizes the influence of thoughts and mental processes and how they relate to behavior
o Thoughts and mind like a computer (outside stimuli, filter it, and create an outward response)
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Biopsychology
o Links mental processes to activities in the nervous system, brain, and other bodily systems
- Evolutionary approach
o Focus on how behavior and mental processes emerge as adaptations to increase survival
o Part of the issue is it cannot be supported by science/evidence
- Cultural approach
o Focus on how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
o Define: “milieu”
- Interdependent vs independent
Chapter 2
The goals of psychology/science
- Describe
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