These notes cover the whole introduction of psychology and the evolution of psychology used in the first test of the year. These are in depth and clear notes that can be used to help summarise content. These notes helped me get 100% for my first psychology semester test.
Psychology: is the scientific study of the mind, mental processes,
and behaviour.
, Even though these concepts are used every day, this is a very
scientific manner of them.
Scientific manner is made up of systematic methods used to
identify, analyse, and describe different concepts.
The word ‘Psychology’ comes from the Greek words psyche (soul)
and logos (study). A study of the human mind.
Where does the mind originate? The brain.
What does the mind do? It promotes human consciousness.
What does the brain do? It produces mental processes such as
thought, memory, perception, and reasoning. It also influences
behaviour.
What are mental processes? They are activities in the brain that are
necessary to produce a series of systematic actions, changes, and
functions.
Functions are thoughts, memory, perception etc.
Mental processes lead to specific results.
Thoughts influence behaviour, disturbance in thoughts cause a
disturbance in behaviour.
Behaviour: Any response carried out by an organism.
Behaviour cannot simply be defined by the terms ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Examples of behaviour are Brain reacting on stimuli input, Person
responds to feeling, body responds to chemical.
Behaviour is an action. It can either be a reaction (like stepping on a
snake) or a functional pattern in a system (automatic bodily reaction
such as your body feeling tired (something you can’t control)).
Predominant theoretical, researched, and substantiated views
Birth of psychology: Rock paintings 25000 BCE (evidence of mental
processes). Possible psychological disorders 9000 BCE (Trepanation
– to release demons, witchcraft blah blah blah. Basically, evidence
of humans trying to cure behaviour)
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