PSYC 1010 SUMMARY – University of Newcastle | PSYC1010 SUMMARY

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PSYC 1010 SUMMARY – University of Newcastle History and Research methods • Common mistakes made by an amateur psychologist include; confirmation bias, complexyfying and simplifying, groupi... ng/stereotyping and anthromorphising. • Psychology is the study of behaviour – a relatively new paradigm, however. • All started as a philosophy: Cartesian Dualism: the churches in the early days dominated European countries and science was somewhat swept under the carpet. Renae Descartes came up with a compromise that the brain and the body can be studied; however the “mind” (soul) will be left untouched. British Empiricism: Henry VIII – legendary – there is no mind, all thoughts are the result of science based physiology (the brain and the CNS) and that all behaviours come from sensory experiences. Physiology: The nervous system began to become understood – Galvani (physiologist) – the CNS actions can be seen via electric current to the muscles – experiment on the frog (it was electrocuted and jumped). Muller: removed isolated animals organs – tested responses to chemicals – concluded that the brain is highly specialised. Broca: Language area of the brain – after the American civil war uncovered those men whom fell off their horses suffered damage to the left side of the brain lost their ability to speak. An autopsy conducted by Broca confirmed this. Fritz and Hitzig: via electrical stimulation discovered specific areas of the brain. Herman Von Helmholtz: mental phenomena = (explained by) combination of both physics and physiology. Weber: perceptual phenomena can be measured by both biology and physiology. Gustav Theodor Fechner: developed “the rats and stats approach” to psychology. Introduced hypothesis based experimentation, descriptive statistics, measuring the mind and had vies about consciousness that inspired Freud. Structuralism (Titchner): Analysed the adult mind (defined as experiences from birth to now) – biggest thing was Introspection – looking into one’s self. Functionalism (William James): Thoughts and knowledge are instruments in the daily struggle to survive and live. Not surprisingly very Darwin Oriented – Behaviours are evolutionary. They also advocated against a trial and error approach suggested by the structuralist. Behaviourism: Focused on the interaction between the environment and behaviour; • Thorndike: Cats in a box • Pavlov: the founder and salivating dogs • Watson – little albert Thorndike: Cats in a box Pavlov: the founder and salivating dogs Watson – little Albert ethology">Ethology: Said screw you behaviourist! All you are figuring out is animal “lab behaviour” you need to go into their environment to understand, how they truly operate. Gestalt: German – a combination of physics and ethology. Post WW2 – NO MORE FREUD!!! Clinical: due to PSTD from what soldiers had seen in the war and no more Freud there was a separation from psychiatry and the need to practice clinically. Cognitive: the introduction of linguistics and computer science – greater technology – greater understanding of cognitive development. Social: Deals with the influence of groups on individuals. • Issues relating to research methods include the following: • Issues relating to research methods include the following: Experimenter (Person “conducting” the experiment) bias: Ethnocentrism: taking into account only a western perspective – for example • Ethnocentrism: taking into account only a western perspective – for example, all textbooks are usually based on American university students and will very rarely take into account any other cultures. • Androcentrism: Taking a Male based approach – most research has only ever • Androcentrism: Taking a Male based approach – most research has only ever, used males, assumes male superiority, generalises conclusions to females. • Racism: assuming that one race (i.e. the white race) is superior to any other • Racism: assuming that one race (i.e. the white race) is superior to any other race. Participant (person involved in the experiment) bias: Obeying Demand Characteristics: participant knows what is expected by the • Obeying Demand Characteristics: participant knows what is expected by the researcher and try to live up to such an expectation – affects the reliability and possibly the validity of the study. • Social Desirability Bias: over reporting the good and under reporting the bad – • Social Desirability Bias: over reporting the good and under reporting the bad – done so to not seem “weird” so to speak Common mistakes made by an amateur psychologist include; confirmation bias, Module 1: Developmental Psychology Physical and Cognitive development Developmental psychology is; the study of sensory, perceptual, cognitive and social • Developmental psychology is; the study of the sensory, perceptual, cognitive and social ability during infancy adolescence and adulthood. The 5 main areas covered are physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral. • Physical development consists of the prenatal period; conception to birth, infancy; birth to 2 years, childhood; 2-11 years, adolescence; 11-18 years and adulthood; 18+ years: Prenatal period: divided into 3 stages: ¬ Zygote: is the first 2 weeks, 100 cells are formed by the end, 3 layers of cells and implantation into th utero wall ¬ Embryo: 2-8 weeks, cell differentiation, formation of the major body systems, first signs of a recognisable human being and reflexes in response to external stimuli begun, small brain waves and sexual development also begins ¬ Foetal: final stage (starts at 8 weeks and lasts until birth), by 3 months there are functioning organs and by 4 months walking and sleeping, clearly felt by mother and sex differences obvious and by 7th month all is good an ready to go Factors that can have an adverse effect of prenatal development include; • Mothers diet • Drugs • Alcohol • Smoking - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- Validity o Extent to which diagnosis is related to predictive of a network of diagnostic hypotheses. o The DSM is somewhat valid as the diagnostic categories are broke into the 4 areas. Ethnicity and Culture o Cultural and ethnic factors can play a major role in diagnosis and treatment:  May influence the way in which patient describes symptoms and/or response to treatment The DSM overall o Using a definition is unavoidable and necessary o When we choose a definition it is based upon the society we live; ethics, values, morals, laws, feelings, emotions and appeals Stress and Health What is stress? o A mental or physical strain resulting from adjustive demands or challenges o There are 4 main types of stress:  Distress o Condition characterized by emotional and/or physical strain. o Appears to be the everyday type of stress “I am stressed out today”  Eustress o Is ‘pleasurable’ stress – is caused mental and or physical strain on the body that brings about a thrill – for example going on a rollercoaster or sky diving.  Hypostress o Characterized by having too much stress such as boredom  Hyperstress o Is an excessive demand on one’s coping ability – for example losing a loved one or getting divorced is the stress that could easily lead to a form of depression. Types of stress reactions o Physiological – bowel movements for example. o Emotional – Stomach bugs etc. o Cognitive – Things that we think about and; o Behavioral – The way we then go on the behave. Domains of stress o Social/Familial: Marriage, birth and death etc. o Occupational: job insecurity – too much or too little work. o Health: Illness and Pain. o Financial: Chronic Debt o Environmental Conditions: Extreme heat and extreme cold Stressors o Are the things that cause stress to occur. o Demanding or threatening situations. o Types of stressors include; microstressors, major negative events and catastrophic events. o Stress can be real and/or perceived (e.g. an actual physical danger vs. phobia). o Stress can have both a + or – effect on behavior. o Stress is a behavioral adaptation that helped our ancestors fight or flee. o Modern society – far too many stressors – causing negative effects on health. Hans Selye 1956 o Described the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) o Stress chemicals called Glucocorticoids are involved in the response. This is the long-term stress or the vigilant response to stress. o GAS consists of 3 stages:  Alarm Reaction: Referred to as the fight or flight stage. The body is more susceptible to disease or injury because it is geared up to deal with crisis. Person in this stage will experience things like stomach aches and sleeping difficulties.  Resistance: with continued level of stress body will develop new level of homeostasis – makes a new norm of stress.  Exhaustion: Chronic stress reduces body ability to deal with it – which is when depression may move in for the kill and cement itself permanently. Psychological Stressors o Change can cause stress or relieve stress. o Conflict; opposing thoughts, feelings or behaviors o Frustration: can’t get what you want. o Pressure: both internal and external demands. Transactional Model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) o Potential Stressor (external event) o Primary Appraisal: is this event +, neutral or – how bad? o Secondary Appraisal: Do I have the resources or skills to handle the event? o If not – Distress. o Stress is the relationship between the person and the environment, that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding their resources and endangering their well-being. o Things within the environment are not stressors, they all, however have the potential to be stressors based on the individual. o The above model is continual process of appraisal and reappraisal. Stress vs. Strain o Stress: any changes. o Strain: the impact of changes on health. o Resiliency: the ability to endure stress. How does stress affect health? o Increase HR o Breathing deeper and Faster o Perspiration increases. o Greater release of stress hormone Stressful lifestyles and impaired health o A behavior pattern characterized by high levels of competitiveness and hostility – greater risk of heart disease, hence certain personalities can very well cause greater levels of stress – the level of stress one will accumulate varies from individual to individual (e.g. Heidi is having her life ruined by her daughter, whereas Robert has none of that crap). Coping With Stress Avoidance o Pretending it does not exist. Resistant o Fight against stress, Environmental factors – time and support, organizational factors – policies and rules and individual factors – education and training. Confront/Approach/Adapt o Work to identify the real cause and either eliminate or change it – me and Heidi. o Hence coping is:  The process of managing a discrepancy between the demands of the situation and the available resources.  The ongoing process of appraisal and reappraisal.  Purpose is too; alter stress problem or regulate the emotional response.  Velo-Cardial Facial syndrome – deletion of the 22 chromosome, [Show More]

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