PSY100 Introduction to
Psychology A
Week 1 Science and Pseudoscience
Sigmund Freud
Theories help views on childhood, personality, sexuality. Ideas of structuralism, functionalism
(behaviours are changed throughout evolution - Charles Darwin) and psychoanalysis.
Psychology - The science of metal life
Paul Bloom: The Psychology of Everything
Nature vs Nature debate
- Tabula Rasa theory the brain starts of as a blank slate
- Swiss army knife analogy with neuron connection paths
- The science supports it is nature to suffer at the sight of seeing others we love suffer (kind
impulse). How far does this compassion extend ?
- Response to strangers is typically fear or hate.
- Babies aged from 9 months become stressed at the sight of strangers; this is known as
stranger anxiety.
- 3rd response to strangers disgust. Disgust correlates with feelings towards minorities.
- We do have natural compassion that does not extend to others.
- Compassion
100 Billion neurons in a babies brain
What age does compassion arise
“A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic” - Joseph Stalin
- We are drawn down to individuals not masses
- An advertising campaign featuring a single individual with a name approximately twice
the income in contrast to a campaign delivering statistical data
We create social categories (make generalisations) when it comes to people in terms of
- Sex
- Age
- Race
- Profession
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
,Categories = stereotypes (statistical generalisation)
Often reliable if based on accurate information, often not bias due to personal perception based
on media or social propaganda. Stereotypes can have an adverse effect on the individuals they
are applied to.
Gender contrasts
- Females have more genetic cells than males
- Females in contrast to males look for more detail; males look for images and are less
indecisive and generally look for porn. Females tend to prefer romance novels
- How much you care for someone increases attraction
- 1/10th of a second for one to decide if they find one sexually attractive
- We desire kindness
Developmental Psychology: biases, compassion, sexuality
Social Psychology: How we deal and make sense of other people
Cognitive Psychology: Studies perception, faces, categories (in and out group) &
comprehension.
Potential for individuals who don’t have a conscious (e.g. killing to destroy the lives of others out
of boredom or self interest).
Aspects of our lives:
- How we understand other individuals
- Emotions
- Motivations
- Desires
- Sense of right and wrong
Beliefs are based often on assumptions which often do not hold true.
6 principles of scientific thinking
1. Extraordinary claims: require extraordinary evidence
2. Falsifiability: if a theory is meaningful it must be disproved
3. Occam’s razor: out of two statements we prefer the simpler one
4. Replicability: One thing is tested multiple for the same result
5. Ruling out rival hypotheses: evaluating the claim whilst examining
6. Correlation vs causation: two ideas cannot correlate with one another and cannot be the
main cause for each other
Pseudoscience: statements, beliefs or practices claiming to be scientific or factual however do
not follow the scientific method.
Psychology: the scientific study of the human and its functions especially affecting behaviour
5 major perspectives of psychology
1. Psychodynamic perspective
, 2. Behavioural perspective
3. Cognitive perspective
4. Humanistic perspective
5. Neuroscience perspective
It is important in study to be able to take on new evidence and protect against our biases.
Baby Albert experiment fear can be conditioned (associating traits of white mice with other
animals and santa claus)
Pavlov
Classical conditioning: stimulus causes an unlearned response
Neutral stimulus: never elicits the unlearned response by itself before original stimulus (dogs
began to anticipate food)
Salvation reflect when dogs touched food
Ticking clock as a distraction the dog became accustomed to ticking clock and presented the
same reflex and salvation levels as the presentation of food.
Regardless of stimuli the dogs could be conditioned to produce saliva (neutral stimulus e.g. bell
becomes conditioned stimulus).
Operant conditioning
Reinforcement: more likely to do something again - Positive: addition of stimulus
Punishment: less likely to do something again - Negative: removal of stimulus
Levels of analysis
- Lower levels tied to biological influences (molecular and neurochemical level).
- Middle levels tied to psychological influences (mental process and behaviour).
- Higher levels tied to environmental and social influences (personal relationships and
social supports).
Depression at different levels of analysis
Social (high): loss of important relationships and social support.
Behaviour (middle): decreased pleasure in activities and withdrawal.
Mental level (middle): depressed thoughts, sad feelings and thoughts of suicide
Neurological level (lower): neurological/physiological level: differences among people in the size
and functioning of brain structure and related mood.
Neurochemical level (lower): variation in levels of the brain's chemical messengers that
influence mood.
Molecular - brain/biological (lower): variations in peoples genes that predispose them to
depression.
Activity 1
- 10,000 basketball players
Psychology A
Week 1 Science and Pseudoscience
Sigmund Freud
Theories help views on childhood, personality, sexuality. Ideas of structuralism, functionalism
(behaviours are changed throughout evolution - Charles Darwin) and psychoanalysis.
Psychology - The science of metal life
Paul Bloom: The Psychology of Everything
Nature vs Nature debate
- Tabula Rasa theory the brain starts of as a blank slate
- Swiss army knife analogy with neuron connection paths
- The science supports it is nature to suffer at the sight of seeing others we love suffer (kind
impulse). How far does this compassion extend ?
- Response to strangers is typically fear or hate.
- Babies aged from 9 months become stressed at the sight of strangers; this is known as
stranger anxiety.
- 3rd response to strangers disgust. Disgust correlates with feelings towards minorities.
- We do have natural compassion that does not extend to others.
- Compassion
100 Billion neurons in a babies brain
What age does compassion arise
“A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic” - Joseph Stalin
- We are drawn down to individuals not masses
- An advertising campaign featuring a single individual with a name approximately twice
the income in contrast to a campaign delivering statistical data
We create social categories (make generalisations) when it comes to people in terms of
- Sex
- Age
- Race
- Profession
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
,Categories = stereotypes (statistical generalisation)
Often reliable if based on accurate information, often not bias due to personal perception based
on media or social propaganda. Stereotypes can have an adverse effect on the individuals they
are applied to.
Gender contrasts
- Females have more genetic cells than males
- Females in contrast to males look for more detail; males look for images and are less
indecisive and generally look for porn. Females tend to prefer romance novels
- How much you care for someone increases attraction
- 1/10th of a second for one to decide if they find one sexually attractive
- We desire kindness
Developmental Psychology: biases, compassion, sexuality
Social Psychology: How we deal and make sense of other people
Cognitive Psychology: Studies perception, faces, categories (in and out group) &
comprehension.
Potential for individuals who don’t have a conscious (e.g. killing to destroy the lives of others out
of boredom or self interest).
Aspects of our lives:
- How we understand other individuals
- Emotions
- Motivations
- Desires
- Sense of right and wrong
Beliefs are based often on assumptions which often do not hold true.
6 principles of scientific thinking
1. Extraordinary claims: require extraordinary evidence
2. Falsifiability: if a theory is meaningful it must be disproved
3. Occam’s razor: out of two statements we prefer the simpler one
4. Replicability: One thing is tested multiple for the same result
5. Ruling out rival hypotheses: evaluating the claim whilst examining
6. Correlation vs causation: two ideas cannot correlate with one another and cannot be the
main cause for each other
Pseudoscience: statements, beliefs or practices claiming to be scientific or factual however do
not follow the scientific method.
Psychology: the scientific study of the human and its functions especially affecting behaviour
5 major perspectives of psychology
1. Psychodynamic perspective
, 2. Behavioural perspective
3. Cognitive perspective
4. Humanistic perspective
5. Neuroscience perspective
It is important in study to be able to take on new evidence and protect against our biases.
Baby Albert experiment fear can be conditioned (associating traits of white mice with other
animals and santa claus)
Pavlov
Classical conditioning: stimulus causes an unlearned response
Neutral stimulus: never elicits the unlearned response by itself before original stimulus (dogs
began to anticipate food)
Salvation reflect when dogs touched food
Ticking clock as a distraction the dog became accustomed to ticking clock and presented the
same reflex and salvation levels as the presentation of food.
Regardless of stimuli the dogs could be conditioned to produce saliva (neutral stimulus e.g. bell
becomes conditioned stimulus).
Operant conditioning
Reinforcement: more likely to do something again - Positive: addition of stimulus
Punishment: less likely to do something again - Negative: removal of stimulus
Levels of analysis
- Lower levels tied to biological influences (molecular and neurochemical level).
- Middle levels tied to psychological influences (mental process and behaviour).
- Higher levels tied to environmental and social influences (personal relationships and
social supports).
Depression at different levels of analysis
Social (high): loss of important relationships and social support.
Behaviour (middle): decreased pleasure in activities and withdrawal.
Mental level (middle): depressed thoughts, sad feelings and thoughts of suicide
Neurological level (lower): neurological/physiological level: differences among people in the size
and functioning of brain structure and related mood.
Neurochemical level (lower): variation in levels of the brain's chemical messengers that
influence mood.
Molecular - brain/biological (lower): variations in peoples genes that predispose them to
depression.
Activity 1
- 10,000 basketball players
