Essay on Psychology Notes 1

Submitted By AfgKhurshid1
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Tuesday Oct 7, 2014
1 Psychology Notes New Unit

What is Psychology?
Psychology is the study of the human mind and its mental states

It includes the study of characteristics of temperament and behaviour of a person or group.

Psychologists aim to describe, predict, and control behavior and mental processes

They study individuals and groups

Schools of Thought in Psychology
Exploring the Different Perspectives

Four schools of Thought:
1. Humanist Psychologists
2. Cognitive Psychology
3. Psychodynamic Psychology
4. Behavioural Psychologists

Psychodynamic Theorists
Focus on resolving a patient’s conflicted conscious and unconscious issues

Based on Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory

The Key to understanding human behaviour and relationships is by unlocking the unconscious mind
The conscious mind is everything we are aware of and that which we can talk about rationally

Believe that early childhood experiences are important in understanding a person’s personality, motivations and behaviours
Other Psychoanalytic Theorist
Karen Horney – Does not believe personality is strongly influenced by unresolved sexual conflicts and she wanted more female representation
Carl Jung – Frist to categorize into types
Behavioural Psychologists
Believe that psychologist need evidence obtained through experimentation to understand and change human behaviour
Emphasize the importance of observable behaviour and using scientifically proven intervention
Rely heavily on experimentation (ex. Classical and operant conditioning)
Key Theorists
John B. Watson-Little Albert
Ivan Pavlov-Classical conditioning
B.F. Skinner-Operant conditioning (The Skinner box experiment)
Questions on Little Albert Experiment
What do you think are some ethical concerns with this experiment?
Was not ethical.
How do you think this experiment affected Albert when he grew up?
He was really scared of things

Behaviourists use techniques such as classical conditioning and using positive and negative