1.  Definition of Psychology – The scientific study of mental activity (MIND) and behavior, which depend on the processing in the brain.

2.  Approaches and Theories:

• Biological – Our genes, DNA, and physical makeup influence our personality and behavior. Twin studies show strong evidence that personality has a biological component.

• Cognitive – Jean Piaget

  How we process, store, and use information influences our behavior. Thinking is another form of behavior. Language, problem-solving, memory. 

• Humanistic – Carl Rogers

  You have the freedom to choose your destiny. Emphasizes FREE WILL 

• Person-Centered - A method of helping others focus on the the person, not their problem

• Unconditional Positive Regard - Loved regardless of his or her actions 

• Behaviorism – John Watson

  A person’s behavior is determined by the rewards and consequences they get from the environment. 

  You are a product of your environment 

  Observable behavior 

• The Trait Theory – OCEAN (online test you did for me on the Big Five Traits) 

  Personality traits are stable across time, especially after age 30

  Help to predict all kinds of different behaviors 

  Openness, Conscientious, Extraverted, Agreeable, and Neurotic 

• Personality

  Projective measures: personality tests that examine unconscious processes 

  by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli

• Inkblot tests

• Self-Report Measures: personality tests that use questionnaires to let people respond to items that reveal traits and behaviors (NEO Personality Inventory)

• Twin Studies

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Abraham Maslow 

  Lower needs to be met first 

• Self-Actualization - reaching your maximum potential 

• BIO>SAFE>BELONG>ESTEEM>SELF

• Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytical – Sigmund Freud believed hidden motives influenced personality 

• Unconscious - contains material the mind cannot easily retrieve  

• The conscious level of our mental activity consists of the thoughts that we are aware of (ego)

• The preconscious level consists of content that is not currently in our awareness but that could be brought to awareness. (superego)

• 3 Divisions of the Mind –

  • Id – (pleasure principle) selfish. Its goals are to avoid pain and get pleasure 

  • Ego – (reality principle) Its goals are to satisfy the id’s demands and superego's wishes 

  • Superego – the conscience. Controls morals and guilty feelings. 

• Defense Mechanisms – processes used to get rid of ego anxiety or stress.

  • Repression – motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses. Excluding source of anxiety from awareness.

  • Denial – Motivated forgetting of current distressing experiences. Refusing to acknowledge the source of anxiety.

  • Rationalization- Providing reasonable-sounding explanations for unreasonable behaviors or failures. Creating a seemingly logical reason or excuse for behavior that might otherwise be shameful. 

  • Reaction formation – Transforming an anxiety-producing experience into its opposite. Warding off an uncomfortable thought by overemphasizing its opposite. Love-hate. 

  • Displacement – Directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a more acceptable one.  Shifting the attention of emotion from one object to another, easier target. 

  • Sublimation - Transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired and socially valued goal. Channeling socially unacceptable impulses into constructive, even admirable behavior. 

• Locus of Control: people’s perception of whether they control the rewards and punishments they experience 

• Internal locus – own actions influence the events and outcomes

• External locus - other forces (outside of your control)influence the events and outcomes

3.   Methods of Research:

• Survey (Self Report Questionnaires) – a descriptive method that consists of obtaining self-reports from research participants. 

• Case Study – Involve intensive examination of a few unique people or organizations. 

• Correlation – Examine how variables are naturally related in the real world. 

  • Positive Correlation – as one increases, so does the other 

  • Negative Correlation – as one increases, the other decreases 

  • Zero Correlation - no relationship between variables 

• Experiment – Research methods that test a causal hypothesis by manipulating independent variables and measuring the effects on dependent variables

  • Hypothesis – educated guess 

  • Independent Variable – manipulated (cause)

  • Dependent Variable – affected by the manipulation (effect)

4.  The Brain and Nervous System:

5.  Sleep and Drugs:

• REM Sleep – dream stage 

• Circadian Rhythm – regulation of biological cycles into regular, daily patterns 

• Stage 1 - theta waves (drifting off) light sleep   Stage 2 -  K-complexes  regular sleep                   Stage 3 -  delta waves                        Stage 4 -  deep sleep

• Insomnia – the repeated inability to sleep 

• Sleep Apnea – snore a lot 

• Narcolepsy – can't stay awake during normal waking hours 

• Night Terrors – sudden waken episodes characterized by screaming 

6.  Learning:

• Classical Conditioning – Ivan Pavlov

type of learned response in which a neutral object comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces a response 

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)- anything not previously associated with the unconditioned response (metronome)

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)- a stimulus that naturally elicits a response without any prior learning (food)

• Unconditioned Response (UR)- a response that does not have to be learned such as a reflex (salivation)

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)- a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place

• Conditioned Response (CR)- a response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned 

• Operant Conditioning –  B.F. Skinner

how animals operate on their environments to produce effects 

• Reinforcement – makes a behavior more likely to be repeated 

  • Positive Reinforcement – add stimulus, increases behavior 

  • Negative Reinforcement – removes stimulus, increases behavior 

• Punishment – makes a behavior less likely to occur again

• Habituation – decrease in behavioral response after lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus

7.  Mental Disorders: