psychology

  • Introduction to Psychology 

Psychology- Scientific study of the human mind and its functions

Psyche- SOUL/ Study of the soul 

Man’s innermost being, Self Awareness - Others awareness is LIMITED, aim for transcendental

  • All emotions have a purpose

  • It is healthy to feel

  • Motivation

  • Empathy- Feeling Artificial?

  • History of Psychology

PEOPLE

Kantian Spectacles-  ( You can never escape your perspective)

  1. Stone ages( Demonic Possession)- Trephination: bore a hole in skull to let the evil spirit out

  2. Middle ages ( exorcism drive the devil out)- Witches: pact with devil and killed, asylums: retreats from the world to “protect” people, overcrowded and inhumane

  3. Philippe Pinel- Behavior/ mental suffering/ illness was caused by an underlying physical illness "unshackle them!”, remove from cells, give them good medical care, touch grass

Medical Model PROS

  • Scientific advancement exciting

  • Hope- treat, develop treatments 

  • Understand root causes 

  • knowledge/ explanation

  • Quick easy fix, comfort

  • Put blame in physical body

  • Reduces Stigma ( also takes away responsibility, sense of power) 

  • Legitimacy 

THE 4D’S 

  1. Deviance- behaviors, thoughts and emotions may be considered abnormal when they differ from societies or cultures norms or values 

  2. Dysfunction- BTE (behavior, thoughts, emotions) interfere with daily function/ basic human functions eat, sleep, long term relationships, work, school

  3. Distress- BTE that cause significant personal destress miserable state of being

  4. Danger- BTE pose a risk, a danger to self or others 

  • Research Methods 

  • Step 1: Literature Review - Look at what's already been done, add to conversation

  • Step 2: Hypothesis - Your variables needs to be operationally defined “BE PRECISE” 

Goals 

  1. Description- tell WHAT occurs, 1st step in understanding 

  2. Explanation- WHY a behavior or mental process occurs or  CAUSES

  3. Prediction- Identify when and under what conditions a behavior or MP is likely to occur

  4. Change- Apply psych knowledge to prevent unwanted outcomes or bring about desired goals 

Research Design

Descriptive Research- Observe and record without manipulating variables

Naturalistic Observation- Observe in natural setting don’t interfere 

(Jane Goodall)

Negatives- Can’t trigger behaviors, Time consuming, Lack Control 

Survey/ Interview 

  • Ask people to report their behaviors, Opinions, and Attitudes 

  • ^ Negatives

  • Will people participate

  • Truthful? Not honest

  • Word Choice matters (influence your results)

Case Study

  • Rare disorders or phenomena, study person or group people intensively

  1. Archival Research

  • Study previously recorded data

  1. Correlational Research

  1. Measure degree of relationship between 2 or more variables in order to determine how well one predicts another 

  2. Correlational Coefficient- A # from -1 to 1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship. 

  • Positive, They increase or decrease together

  • Negative, Move in opposite directions, when 1 goes up the other goes down

  • Number = Strength    1= Perfect

As strong as can be,  !CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION!

  1. Experimental research

  • “Gold Standard”

Determine Causation

  • Manipulate variables to determine cause+ Effect

  • Independent- MANipulate 

  • Dependent- Measure

  • Experimental group (of participants) they are manipulated

  • Control Groups (of participants) is NOT the effects of Marajuana on memory

IV- amount of Maraj. 

DV- Memory

Experimental groups= People smoking Maraj. 

Control Group= People smoking oregano

Watch for cofunding variables- Stimulus an experimenter madessently introduces into research setting that may affect outcome of study= ERROR RESULTS

EX: lighting in room, time of day  

Effects of caffeine(IV)  on reaction(DV) time: IV: caffeine   DV: Reaction time

Informed Consent= All participants must sign and agree 

  • Made aware of nature of study 

  • What to expect 

  • Factors that might influence willingness to participate 

  • Biopsychology

  • Free will vs Determinism 

  • Determinism= Nature vs Nurture

  • Nature= Genes and Biology

  • Nurture= Upbringings and experiences (how parents raised you and your programming) 

  • Twins= one egg + 1 sperm

  • Fraternal Twins= 2 eggs + 2 sperms (share 50% of GENES) JUST SIBLINGS!!!

Adoptive Studies

  • Heritability- Percentage of variation in a population attributed to genetic factors rather than environment it contributes nothing = 0%

Completely caused by genetics= 100% 

Height - 90%

IQ = 80%

  • Nature endows what nurture engages (genetic testing)

Recessive

  • To be expressive, both genes need to be the recessive genes

Dominant 

  • Always expressed 

Polygenic

  • Characteristics controlled by multiple genes 

Evolutionary Psych

  • Application of principles of evolution to explain behavior and mental processes 

DARWIN

Natural selection- Particular genetic trait gives organism reproductive advantage 

Limbic System

  • Interconnected brain structures plays crucial role in regulation emotions,  memory, motivation,  and behavior 

Basal Ganglia

  • Group of subcortical nuclei in forebrain that are primarily responsible for motor control and motor learning 

Personality traits, cognitive abilities, psych disorders, habits in part determined by genetic factors 

  • Neural Basis of Behavior

Schizophrenia

  • 1% chance of Schizophrenia in general population 

  • NURTURE ALONE- 3% (change being raised by adoptive parents not being biological it goes up 2%)

  • NATURE ALONE- 9% ( biological parents have it) 

  • NATURE VS NURTURE - 17% 

  • Neurotransmitters 

Psych Disorders

  • Disositive Identity Disorder DID

  • Anti Social Personality Disorder ASPD

  • Bi polar BP

  • Borderline Personality Disorder BPD

  • Schizophrenia 

  • OCD

  • Autism 

Pros

  • Don’t feel as alone

  • “Feeling normal” 

  • Helps us with self understanding

  • Hope access to treatment 

Cons 

  • Put into a box, not heard or understood 

  • Over simplified, and dismissive ( one box fits all) 

  • Stigma: Social shame 

Fear (Schizophrenia, Anti- Social) 

  • Don’t understand 

  • Misstreament 

  • Don’t know the triggers dangerous??  

Cohesive system of meaning that’s characteristics for each disorder

  • As a  psychiatrist allow yourself to encounter then and stand in their shoes, how are they seeing the world 

Play Sherlock

  • How do they connect the dots 

  • Figure out their pattern of thinking 

  1. 1974- APA declassified being gay as a mental disorder

  • Deviance (YES)

  • Dysfunction(NO)

  • Distress(NO)

  • Danger (NO)

  1. Anxiety Disorders- Most frequently occurring 2 + often occur together tumble weed

  2. Panic Disorder- High heart rate, fear response, panic attacks, brief attacks of intense apprehension, trembling, dizzy, dissociation, having a feeling of impending doom- feeling that you’re going to die 

  3. (GAD) Generalized Anxiety Disorder- Free floating anxiety, can’t identify cause, chronic, uncontrollable, constant automatic fear reactions, wired but tired, headaches, muscle tension, insomnia, heart palpations, stomach issues

DUCK- floating on water (no one knows you’re treading under the surface, but your trying so hard and tired) 

Phobias

  • Agoraphobia- Fear of public places, refuse to leave home, Fear of having a panic attack in public

  • Specific phobia- EX: needles, spiders, heights, melted cheese, holes, bees

  • Social Anxiety Disorder ( social phobia)- Fear of public speaking, judgements

  • Nervous System Organization

  1. Thoulness- Sense of smell is uniquely tied to memory and emotion 

  2. Hypothalamus- master of pituitary, regulated body's internal environment (EX: Temperature *by controlling the endocrine system, master gland of endocrine system= Pituitary) 

  3. Hippocampus- forming and retrieving memories (EX: HIPPO great memoriesand CAMPUS college aka campus = Smart and good memories*) 

  4. Amygdala- Production and regulation of emotions especially fear and aggression 

Cerebral Cortex *CORTEX=BARK

  • Responsible for most complex behavior and higher mental processes (ESSENCE FOR LIFE)

  • Last structure in the nervous system to develop

  • In terms of evolution

  • In terms of individual development ( brain develops around 25 years old)

Fish- NO cortex 

Reptiles- A TINY bit 

Mammals- YES

Humans- A BUNCH

2 Cerebral Hemispheres 

  • Connected by thick ribbon like structures of neural fibers, allows for direct communication CORPUS CALLOSUM

CORPS = BODY!!!

4 lobes of the Brain 

  1. Occipital- vision, visual perception (back of head) 

  2. Temporal lobe- above the ears, hearing, language comprehension 

  3. Parietal bone- receive and interpret bodily sensations, pressure, pain, touch, temp, location of body parts Front of Somatosensory Cortex ( soma= body, store) 

  4. Frontal Lobe- Motor control, speech, higher function, thinking, personality, emotion memory, motivation creativity, self awareness. *Distinguishes us from other animals* Magic of the Magic!!!! What makes you YOU

Language = LEFT SIDE OF BRAIN 

Wernikes Area- Temporal lobe, language comprehension

  • Developing plan for speech and understanding 

  • If there is a problem in this area….. “I called mother on the TV and did not understand the door” UNAWARE OF PROBLEM

  • Normal rate, syntax 

  • WORD SALAD: Incoherent +  grammar, talking excessively 

Brocals (LEFT)-  Frontal lobe: Back of frontal you find  motor cortex 

Speech Production- Carry out your plan

problem in that area = Speech is slow and drawn out 

“Catch train home” (mainly verbs + nouns) 

  • Are aware of problems, speech is meaningful !FRUSTRATING!

  • The Brain/ Mind 

  • Cognition= THOUGHTS

  • Cogito Ergo Sum - “ I think therefore I am” (Rene Descartes (1637)

How Can The Mind Influence The Body/ Brain? 

  • Psychosomatic Illness - SEIZURES 

  • Feeling frightened- Your heart will RACE 

  • Embarrassed- You’ll start to BLUSH

  • Thinking Happy thoughts- Start to SMILE

The Mind 

- Consciousness 

- Self awareness

- Immaterial substitution 

- Distinct from body 

- Essence- Thought, imagine, feeling, and willing

- Subjective 

The Brain

-The Body, Organ center of the nervous system

-Objective 

Body and Brain can influence the mind 

  • Labotomy 

  • Stroke

  • Brain Chemistry (Neurotransmiters) affect feelings 

  • Depression ( Low levels of Serotonin) 

  • Medications/ Drugs

  • Gestures/ body position

  • Physical trauma/ Experience 

  1. Physicalist monism - Only Physical entities exist and mental Processes will eventually be explained in terms of them as science evolves 

  2. Mind and Body Dualism - Mind and Body/ Brain are 2 distinct entities that interact with each other to make a person 

  3. Idealism- Mind exists and the external/ Physical world is either mental itself or an illusion created by the mind 

  4. Neutral Monism - Both mind and matter/ Body/ Brain, are aspects of a distinct essence that is itself identical to neither of them

Natural Sciences

  • Naturwissenchaften 

  • Nature- Objective reality, focuses on the tangible and measurable aspects of human experience 

  • Focused on explaining

  • WHY QUESTIONS

  • Physical bodies 

Human Sciences

  • Geisteswissenschaften 

  • HOW QUESTIONS

  • Sciences of the spirit 

  • Focused on understanding meaningful phenomenon

  • Intentional actions, thoughts, meaningful/structures

  • We create… societies and legal systems 

What do we value? 

  • We don't like uncertainty

  • We cant control/ power to fix things

  • Not alone 

  • It’s not what we study, but how we study it that makes us a science

Levels Of Explanation

  • Cognitive explanation- Thoughts, Knowledge, and Beliefs (They believed they were worthless)

  • Emotional explanation - Affects, Moods, Feelings, and Felt Depressed

  • Motivation Explanation- Drive, Needs, Goals (no longer wanted to live)  

  • Social Explanation- Relationships, Social Pressure, Someone told them to “do it”