CCN1017 Introduction to Psychology

Lecture 1 & 2 The Evolution of Psychology

Lecturer: May Poon
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Lesson Plan
(A) Course Overview (B) Pretest (C) Definition, Aims, & Scope (D) What do Psychologists do? (E) Contemporary Perspectives (F) Conclusion, References, & Web Resources
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(B) Pretest
A Pretest of Your Psychological Knowledge & Conceptions of Psychology Read each statement below and decide whether you think it is generally True, generally False, except for the last question.

1. The people who threaten suicide ( ) are rarely the ones who actually commit suicide ( 2. Typically, we use only 10% of our brains.
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(B) Pretest
3. Infants can recognize their own mothers voice on the day of birth. 4. When hypnotized ( ), people can be made to perform feats of strength (successful completion of something needing skill, strength or courage) that would ordinarily be impossible. 5. After finishing a test, you should: a) go back, rethink your answers, and consider changing some of them b) stick with your first impulse ( )

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(C) Definition, Aims, & Scope: What?

Psyche (

): the human mind

~ology (

Includes behaviors and mental processes

), Objective (), Well-controlled ()

Systematic (

Actions, thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc.

) : the scientific study () )

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Psychology is ______________
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(C) Definition, Aims, & Scope: Why?

Psychology Aims at
1) Description: What is happening?

2) Explanation: Why is it happening?

3) _____________: What will happen again? 4) Control / Change: How can it be changed?

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Meditation Could Boost Compassion, Study Suggests

HuffPost Posted: 04/02/2013

Meditation ( ) doesnt just make you a better person mentally and physically, but it could also make you a better person when it comes to compassion ( / ).

A new study from Northeastern University and Harvard University researchers shows that meditation can improve compassion and do-gooder behavior. The new findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.

For the study, researchers tested study participants' compassionate behavior after they underwent meditation sessions. Specifically, they did eight-week-long training sessions in two meditation types, after which they were tested to see if they would help someone (who was really an actor) in pain and using crutches ( ) while sitting in a fake waiting room.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/meditation-compassion-do-good_n_2993793.html 2014/2/14 CCN1017_S2_1314_L1&2_(Intro) 7

Meditation Could Boost Compassion, Study Suggests

HuffPost Posted: 04/02/2013

Researchers found that only 15 percent of people who did not undergo meditation training helped the person with the crutches. But up to half of those who went through the training helped the person. "The truly surprising aspect of this finding is that meditation made people willing to act virtuous -- to help another who was suffering even in the face of a norm not to do so," study researcher David DeSteno, a psychological scientist at Northeastern University, said in a statement. "The fact that the other actors were ignoring the pain creates a 'bystandereffect' ( ) that normally tends to reduce helping. People often wonder 'Why should I help someone if no one else is?'

Recently, a study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience showed that meditation's effect on brain processing of emotions may take place even when a person isn't meditating. Specifically, they found that the amygdala's ( emotional stimuli is altered by meditation.

) response to
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(C) Definition, Aims, & Scope: What?

Social aspects
Interpersonal relationships () Culture () Environment ()

Psychological aspects

Feeling () Thinking () Behaviors ()

Biological aspects
Genetics () & Brain functioning () Human as a bio-psychosocial entity ( ) Behaviors: ______________________ & nature-and-nurture
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(D) What do Psychologists do? Professional Fields

____________________ psychologists (
Assess and treat mental disorders

Counseling psychologists (
Assist those in distress

/ ) )

Educational psychologists (

Work with schools and students

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Hong Kong Psychological Society

(D) What do Psychologists do? Professional Fields

http://www.hkps. org.hk/index.php

Industrial/Organizational psychologists ( Work with business and industry

The British Psychological Society

http://www.bps.org. uk/

Experimental psychologists (

The Australian Psychological Society

Conduct research in psychology

http://www.psychology.org.au/
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(D) What do Psychologists do? Professional Fields

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(D) What do Psychologists do? Major Academic Areas

Physiological ( ) Psychology Experimental Psychology Psychometrics Cognitive ( Psychology

Genetic factors, role of brain and endocrine system Laboratory research: e.g., sensation, perception, learning, emotion and motivation Psychological testing and statistical analyses Memory, information processing, reasoning, intelligence, etc.

),

Developmental Psychology Personality

Human development across lifespan Consistency and distinctiveness of individuals characteristics

Social Psychology Interpersonal and social influences

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Figure 1.2 Work Settings and Subfields of Psychology (Source: Ciccarelli & White, 3rd ed., p.17)
(a) There are many different work settings for psychologists. Although not obvious from the chart, many psychologists work in more than one setting. For example, a clinical psychologist may work in a hospital setting and teach at a university or college. (Tsapogas et al., 2006) (b) This pie chart shows the specialty areas of psychologists who recently received their doctorates. (Hoffer et al., 2007)

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives

The birth of the field

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: The birth of the field

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

() )

________________ of Psychology

Established the 1st formal laboratory for psychological research in Germany in 1879 Make 1879 as psychologys date of birth

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 1) Psychodynamic Model (

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Believes behavior to be motivated by inner forces (innate instincts e.g. sex & aggression) over which an individual has little control

Emphasizes on _____________________ processes influencing behavior

Sigmund Freud (founder of Psychoanalysis)

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 2) Behavioral Model (

Focuses on observable behavior & stimulus-response (S-R) relationships

()
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Emphasizes on the importance of environmental forces (i.e. reward, punishment) in shaping behavior Key figures: J. B. Watson (founder of Behaviorism), B.F. Skinner
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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 3) Humanistic Model ( )

Self-actualization (
Carl Rogers

Believes people in control of their lives - _____________________ Emphasizes on personal growth, & unique qualities of humans

Early founders: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 4) Cognitive Model (

Focuses on how people know, understand & think about the world

______________ = mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge

( 35)
Key figures: Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 5) Biological Model ( )

Views behavior from the perspective of biological events occurring in the body (e.g., brain activity, hormones, & genetics)

()
(L) Normal Brain Image (R) Alzheimer's Brain image W/ arrows

Key figures: James Olds, Roger Sperry

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 6) Evolutionary Model(

Examines behavioral processes in terms of their _________________ value for members of a species over the course of many generations Natural selection ( ) favors behaviors & physical characteristics that enhance organisms reproductive success
Charles Darwin
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Key figures: David Buss, Martin Daly

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(E) Contemporary Perspectives: 7) Sociocultural model (

Focuses on the all interpersonal, societal, cultural ( ) , and ethnic factors that affect ones behavior or cognition

Key figures: Lev Vygosky, Urie Bronfenbrenner

Standard of physical attractiveness vary across culture

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(F) Conclusion, References, & Web Resources

Overview of the subject / course Introduction to Psychology
What? Why? Scope?

Historical development & Major perspectives Next topic How do we study psychology?
Research Methods (

) (Ch. 1)
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Questions & Answers

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(F) Conclusion, References, & Web Resources

Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2009). Psychology (International edition, 2nd ed). Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson/Prentice Hall. Kalat, J. W. (2002). What is psychology? In Introduction to psychology (6th ed., pp. 3-27). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning.

**Pastorino, E., & Doyle-Portillo, S. M. (2012). What is psychology? In What is psychology? (International edition, 3nd ed.). Canada: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. **Assigned Readings Pastorino & Doyle-Portillo (Ch. 1 pp.2-20)
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(F) Conclusion, References, & Web Resources

General Topics 1) Psychology: Themes & Variations, Briefer version Book Companion Site
http://www.wadsworth.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&flag=student&product_isbn_is sn=9780495811350&disciplinenumber=3083&te mplate=ASIA Quizzes of each chapter, cool stuff (e.g. experiments & psychological tests, etc.), & many useful web links (e.g. research, careers, organizations, etc.) related to psychology are available in this book site.

2) Psychology, First edition

http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_ciccarelli_psychology_1 Online quizzes, glossary, flashcards, web links, etc., for each chapter are available on this book site.

3) Shippensburg Psychology Click Online Resources

http://psychurls.wikispaces.com/ A comprehensive ( ) list of online resources with many useful information related to psychology provided by Shippensburg University

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(F) Conclusion, References, & Web Resources

4) Educational Portal Online psychology courses & videos
http://education-portal.com/academy/course/psychology-101.html A free online course with lots of video links to explain concepts and theories

Resources from PolyU Library 4) Subject Guide for Psychology

http://libguides.lb.polyu.edu.hk/psychology?hs=a This subject guide introduces you to some sources of information in Psychology held in the Pao Yue-Kong Library of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. All of the materials can be found in the Library Catalogue.

5) Databases
http://www.lib.polyu.edu.hk/databases/s-psychology Psychology-related eresources on research reports, articles, or books, etc.

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