Psychology Unit Test

what is psychology?

psychology is the the study of the (individual) mind and behaviour, looking at thoughts, feelings, and actions across all stages of life.

goal of psych : describe, explain, predict, and influence behaviour.

one way psych can improve your life?

way : it helps you understand behaviours (yours and others)

why : by understanding behaviour, you can improve relationships, communicate better, and have more self-awareness.

psychology vs. psychiatry

psychology : focuses on studying and guiding behaviour, but are not medical doctors

psychiatrists : medical doctors who specialize in treating mental illnesses and prescribe medications.

schools of thought in psychology

psychoanalysis : unconscious urges and childhood experiences influence behaviour

behavioural psychology : focuses on behaviours learned from the environment

cognitive psychology : studies thinking, memory, and perception

humanistic psychology : emphasizes individual growth and self improvement

brief history of psychology

ancient greeks : thought personality came from bodily fluids (like blood)

hippocrates : connected emotions to the brain, not the heart

john locke : said the mind forms ideas based on senses

phrenology : 1800s practice of linking skull bumps to personality traits

modern psychology : began late 1800s with scientific methods (3 major branches : experimental, clinical, mental health psychology)

the brain vs. the mind

brain : the organ that controls body functions

mind : thoughts, feelings, and actions

freud and psychoanalysis

psychoanalysis : freud’s theory, early childhood shapes our unconscious mind, influencing behaviour and relationships. aims to unlock the unconscious to understand personality

freud’s theory of the mind (id, ego, superego)

id : pleasure principle (devil)

ego : reality (balance between id and superego)

superego : moral principle (right from wrong - angel)

conscious vs. unconscious mind

conscious mind : small, aware part we can see and control

unconscious mind : larger, hidden part storing thoughts, memories, and feelings we aren’t aware of

mind as an iceberg

iceberg diagram :

superego : conscious mind (above water)

ego : just below the line between conscious and unconscious mind (below surface)

id : unconscious mind (under water)

dreaming and type of dreams

REM : rem stands for rapid eye movement. it’s a phase of sleep that involves quick random movements of the eyes.

freud and jung studied dreams to understand the unconscious mind with different views of their meanings.

dream analysis

dreams can reveal hidden desires or concerns

freud saw dreams as hidden wishes from the ID that were hiding to avoid conflict with the superego.

manifest vs. latent content

manifest content : storyline you remember of a dream

latent content : meaning behind the dream

definition of personality

personality is a mix of thoughts, feelings, and actions making everyone unique.

introversion vs. extraversion

introversion : focus on internal interests, driven by isolation.

extraversion : focus on external interests, drives by social settings/interactions.

carl jung - 4 functional types

thinker (uses reason)

feeler (uses emotions)

sensor (uses all 5 senses)

intuitive (uses perception)

psychometrics and MBTI (myers briggs type indicator)

psychometrics uses test to analyze personality

MBTI expands jung’s groups into 16 personality types

hans eysenck & 2 dimensions

2 main dimensions of personality

extraversion-introversion : social or reserved

neuroticism : emotional stability

the big five

openness/close minded (independent vs. complying)

conscientiousness/unconscientiousness (organized vs. unorganized)

extraversion/introversion (outgoing vs. reserved)

agreeableness/disagreeableness (friendly vs. unkind)

neuroticism/balanced emotions (insecure vs. secure)

karen horney

a developmental psychologist who rejected freud’s focus on childhood sexual conflicts. She believed society and culture shaped women’s personalities and exposed bias against women in psychology

ivan pavlov

known for classical conditioning

dogs drooled when fed; later, they drooled at cues (lab coat)

experiment showed a neutral stimulus could trigger a response after pairing with a conditioned stimulus

classical conditioning

• neutral stimulus: Becomes conditioned stimulus after pairing.

• unconditioned stimulus : Naturally triggers response (plate of food).

• unconditioned response : Natural response to unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation).

• conditioned stimulus : Previously neutral, now triggers response.

• conditioned response : Learned response to conditioned stimulus.

example (the office):

• neutral/conditioned stimulus : Computer noise.

• conditioned response : Expecting a mint.

b.f skinner

developed true behavioursim, focusing on observable behaviours not mental processes. he studied how rewards and punishments influence behaviour using rats and pigeons

operant conditioning

operant conditioning is learning through rewards and punishments to shape behaviour.

humanism - abraham maslow

founder of humanistic psychology is known for hierarchy of needs, he studied self-actualizing people who reached their full potential and their peak experiences. each need must be met to move to the next level.

maslow’s theory

humans are driven by basic needs that build on each other

physiological needs : basics like food, water, and sleep

safety needs : feeling secure with shelter, money, and safety

love/belonging needs : friendships, family, scoail circles

esteem : self respect, feeling valued, gaining respect from others

self-actualization : creativity, acceptance, reaching full potential

logotherapy

logotherapy, a therapy helping people find meaning in life. focuses on the future and finding purpose to endure hardships

cognitive psychology

cognition : mental process of acquiring knowledge

albert bandura

a canadian psychologist apart of the “cognitive revolution” helped move psychology beyond behaviourism. he questioned why the same situation causes different responses in people. he developed social cognitive theory, which consideres motivation, environment, and behaviour and belived people learn by watching others.

bobo doll experiment

bobo doll experiment : was created to see if banduras assumptions were correct :

• tested if people learn by watching and imitating others

• children watched a video of an adult being aggressive towards a bobo doll

• afterward they played with both aggressive and non-agreesive toys

results :

• children who saw the video were aggressive and choose aggressive toys

• children who didn’t see the video were less aggressive and avoided aggressive toys

understanding the brain

brain connections :

the nervous system is made up of neurons, special cells that receive, process, and send information using electrical and chemical signals called synapses

brain hemispheres

left side : controls right side of the body; focuses on words, logic, facts, and math

right side : controls left side of the body;focuses on imagination, intuition, arts, and rhythm

henry molaison (h.m.)

h.m. was a patient under Dr. William Scoville who believed that removing henry’s hippocampus would treat his epileptic seizures

perception and sensation

our brain constantly takes in what our eyes see and interprets it to understand. perception is the process of organizing and making sense of these sensations, helping the brain work efficiently

developmental psychology - sigmud freud’s psycho sexual stages of development

libido : stages of early development based on sexual instincts (known as the ID)

• oral : birth to 18 months

• anal : 18 months to 3 years

• phallic : 3 to 6 years

• latent : 6 years to puberty

• genital : puberty onward

fixation

freud said if we focus too much on one stage of development, we can become fixated from too little or too much satisfaction which could lead to mental illness

jean piaget’s stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor : birth to 2 years

preoperational : 2 to 6 years

concrete operational : 7 to 11 years

formal operational : 12 years to adulthood

object permanence

a child’s ability to know that objects srill exist even when they can’t be seen or heard

erik erickson’s stages of psychosocial development

personality develops in a set order from infancy to adulthood. at each stage there is a crisis that can have either a positive or negative impact on personality development.

mary ainsworth and the strange situation experiment

mary ainsworth is known for her work on emotional attachment and attachment theory, focusing on relationships, especially between children and parents. her “strange situation” experiment showed how attachment affects behaviour and became a standard test at for studying infants.

attachment types

• secure (70%) : children trust caregivers, feel upset when separated, and happy when reunited

• resistant (10%) : children get very upset when parents leave, less common

• avoidant (20%) : children show no preference between caregiver and stranger, sign of neglect or abuse

• disorganized : children appears confused, dazed, or disoriented

nature versus nurture

heredity factors : refers to physical traits and aspects of personality passed down from relatives (nature = biology/DNA)

edith experiment (1950s) : aaron stern tried to prove that the right environment could create a genius. he used his daughter, playing classical music and showing her flash cards

mental health and behaviours

psychopathology : the study of mental disorders and mental illnesses

psycho : mind

pathos : illness or disease

ology : study

psychotic disorders vs. neurotic disorders

neurotic disorders : mild mental disorders with specific symptoms but no loss of reality. causes include; biological, psychological, and economic factors.

psychotic disorders : severe mental illness with loss of reality and difficulty connecting with others, leading to social problems. causes include; genetics, biochemistry, and environmental

phobias

an extreme irrational fear of something. specific phobias are a type of anxiety disorder where exposure to the feared object or situation causes extreme anxiety or panic attacks.

types of phobias

agoraphobia : fear of public places where you might feel trapped or embarrassed

social phobia : fear of being judged or watched by others

specific phobias : fear of specific things or situations like animals/insects, blood/injury, situations (driving, crowds), natural environments/heights, water