Author: Benson, Nigel
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Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour of humans and animals.
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Psychiatrists have a Medical Degree, plus a Psychiatric Qualification, and belong to a Medical Association. (Only they have the authority to prescribe drugs.) But some Psychologists also specialize, with extra training, in helping people with mental disorders – they are Clinical Psychologists.
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Two problems with surveys, indeed ALL research: are they RELIABLE, i.e. consistent, and VALID, i.e. accurate?
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Karl Popper (1902-94) set up a criterion: THEORIES can be divided into those that are SCIENTIFIC (i.e. disprovable) and those that are NON-SCIENTIFIC (i.e. not disprovable).
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One very important aspect of this process is that a Theory can only be DISPROVED, it cannot be PROVED…
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Although we often use the word “prove” in everyday life, strictly speaking, NOTHING CAN BE PROVED. This is simply because NO amount of evidence is sufficient – there’s always the possibility of new, conflicting, evidence.
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good Scientist looks for evidence to DISPROVE a Theory.
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Psychologists use a variety of statistical tests – t-test, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Chi-squared, etc. – depending on the circumstances.
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Psychology was officially born in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) opened the first recognized laboratory for the study of human behaviour in Leipzig, Germany.
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Wundt (pronounced “Voont”, quickly) was the first to use the term “Experimental Psychology”.
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But the Greeks were often reluctant to MEASURE things. Plato and Aristotle both believed that the truth could be found through thinking rather than doing.
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The Philosopher who most directly contributed to Psychology was René Descartes
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Before Descartes it was mainly believed that the Mind and Body are distinct (Platonic Dualism), with the Mind influencing the Body BUT NOT the other way round.
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the Mind produces 2 kinds of ideas. “Derived ideas arise from external stimuli on the senses – the sound of a bell, the sight of a tree.” “Innate ideas come from the mind or consciousness – the self, perfection, infinity, God…” This led to the Nature-Nurture Debate – whether certain behaviour is mainly inborn or learned.
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Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) turned Hume’s Associationism on its head, saying already existing (i.e. “a priori”) concepts of “cause” enable us to have objective experiences.
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Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781) presents the case for combining new experiences with existing ideas,
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Kant described three mental activities: Knowing, Feeling and Willing.
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There isn’t so much one theory of evolution but a set of 4 sub-theories.
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Evolution isn’t just the backbone of biology, explaining the structure and function of living creatures, it’s also very useful to Psychologists explaining such behaviour as courtship rituals and territory defence.
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Galton calculated the high PROBABILITY that eminent men will father eminent sons.
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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903, another Englishman
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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903, another Englishman) who invented Social Darwinism.
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Historically, Functionalism was an important bridge between Structuralism and Behaviourism – and the other current Perspectives.
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“Psychodynamic” means “active mind”. There is mental struggle – especially in the hidden unconscious mind. In practice, this often simply means applying the Psychoanalytic theories of Freud
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But Freud wasn’t only interested in mental disorders: he spent his life trying to produce a coherent set of theories to explain ALL human behaviour.
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In strict Freudian terms, it’s wrong to say “Subconscious” when referring to the Unconscious.
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“Libido” is often used today to mean “sex drive”, but this is a corruption or, at least, over-simplification of Freud’s meaning. It is the INBORN ENERGY we have that motivates and enables us to survive – sexual activity is one manifestation
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The Reality Principle. To survive, we must sometimes be realistic and plan for the future.
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The Superego is the “conscience” or “moral watchdog” that stops us from doing wrong, especially in the sense of being anti-social.
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Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience.
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Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a Russian physiologist who founded the Institute of Experimental Medicine in 1890, studied digestion.
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Classical Conditioning explains virtually all learning that involves REFLEXES – heart-rate, perspiration, muscle-tension, etc.
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Classical Conditioning is the basis of BEHAVIOUR THERAPY.
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Sadism is sexual pleasure from inflicting physical or mental suffering, named after the Marquis De Sade (1740-1814) – who, eventually, could only get satisfaction by causing pain.
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The Law of Exercise – repetition strengthens learning.
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The Law of Effect – the effect of reward is to strengthen learning.
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He said emotions are simply environmental STIMULI and internal measurable RESPONSES, e.g. pulse rate, perspiration, blushing.
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Variable Ratio is “strongest” – responses continue longest before extinction
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Skinner found that the optimum period between response and reinforcement is about half a second, i.e. almost immediately
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This also explains one reason why the penal system often doesn’t work. For instance, a burglar steals from a house. Three months later… the police arrest him. One year later… he is convicted in court. This is far too slow!
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In general, punishment is simply less effective because it causes SLOWER and LESS learned responses.
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Punishment often causes the individual to AVOID BEING PUNISHED rather than stop the undesired behaviour…
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Punishment can cause the individual to associate the punishment with the PUNISHER, rather than the BEHAVIOUR
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Punishment may train an individual about what NOT to do, but it doesn’t train WHAT to do.
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According to Skinner, each individual has his or her own needs. Therefore, which reinforcement will “work”, or not, must be found by experimenting with that particular animal or person.
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Skinner realized that a lot of so-called “Problem” or “Naughty” children were really just normal, healthy, active children who had frequently been inadvertently “mis-trained” by their parents, teachers, etc.
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Skinner’s “Three-Stage Method” has been applied not just to training but to education generally.
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Teachers decide what they want each child to achieve. They write down Behavioural Objectives.
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Not everyone agreed with Watson and Skinner’s Radical Behaviourism – that all behaviour can be explained by Stimulus, Response and Reinforcement.
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Julian Rotter (b. 1916) invented the term Social Learning Theory (1947) when studying social interactions in laboratory conditions.
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An important question for Rotter is: Where is your Locus of Control?
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Subsequent variations by Bandura – showing realistic and cartoon aggression on film – clearly showed that children can be strongly influenced by violence on TV and in the cinema.
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Education and Training can also benefit: the teacher or trainer acts as a “Model” for the students.