· Web viewIf a theory fails it is either rejected or revised Prescientific Psychology Buddha...
Transcript of · Web viewIf a theory fails it is either rejected or revised Prescientific Psychology Buddha...
I. Prologue: The Story of Psychology NotesA. Psychology’s Roots
a. Psychology developed from international roots in philosophy and biologyb. It’s a science that explains how we think, feel, and actc. The definition of psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental
processesd. Behavior is anything an organism does, an action that can be observed or
recordede. Mental processes are internal and subjective experiences we infer from
behaviorsf. Psychology is a science
i. I’ve had the fact that psychology is a science drilled into my head for awhile. My cousin has a PhD in psychology and her sister always tell her it isn’t an actual science to make fun of her. She gets really mad at her
g. It’s more of questioning and answering, rather than a set of findings; It aims to describe human nature
h. Uses and tests theoriesi. If a theory works and data supports it then it is acceptedii. If a theory fails it is either rejected or revised
B. Prescientific Psychologya. Buddha pondered how sensations and perceptions combine to form ideasb. Confucius stressed power of ideas and an educated mindsc. Hebrew scholars anticipated psychology today by connecting mind and emotion to
the bodyd. Ancient Greece philosophers Socrates and Plato concluded that mind is separable
from the body and continues after the body has died. Also said knowledge was preexisting
e. Aristotle loved data and statistics. He thought that the soul is not separate from the body and that knowledge was not preexisting, it grows from experience stored in our memoriesi. Aristotle theory makes more sense to me, you have to do something to learn
something. f. Frenchmen Rene Descartes agreed with Socrates and Plato. He thought that the
mind was distinct from the bodyg. Descartes dissected animals and thought that the fluid in the brain’s cavities had
animal spirits. The spirits flowed through the brain and into nerves then to the muscles, which provoked movement. Memories were formed as experiences opened in pores in the brain where the animal spirits flowed
h. Francis Bacon became one of the founders of modern science and used a common sense approach
i. John Locke wrote that the mind was a blank state at birth, a white paper where experiences are written
j. Empiricism- view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation
C. Psychological Science Is Borna. In 1879 at Germany’s University of Leipzig Wilhelm Wundt created an apparatus
that measured the time lag between people hearing a ball hit the platform and their pressing of a key
b. It took one tenth of a second when asked to press the key as soon as the sound occurred, two tenths when asked to press it as soon as they heard the sound
c. Wundt and his under graduates created the first psychological lab D. Thinking About the Mind’s Structure
a. Structuralism- an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
b. Introspection- looking forwardc. Wundt’s student Edward Bradford Titchener aimed to engage people in self-
reflective introspection by training them to report elements of experiences when they looked at a rose, listened to a metronome, smelled a scent, or tasted a substance
d. Structuralism and introspection were unreliable, the results varied too muchE. Thinking about the Mind’s Functions
a. Functionalist William James thought it was more effective to consider evolved functions of thoughts and feelings (Why does the brain think? Why does the nose smell?)
b. Charles Darwin’s work influenced James to think they did these things because it was adaptive and necessary for survival
c. Consciousness was a function to enable us to consider past, adjust present circumstances, and plan the future
d. Functionalism- a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function, how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish
e. Functionalists encouraged explorations of down to earth emotions, memories, will power, habits, and moment to moment streams of consciousness
f. Mary Calkins joined James’s graduate seminar at Harvardg. Harvard refused to give Calkins her PhD and offered one from their sister school;
Calkins did not take the diploma because she believed she was treated unfairlyh. Margaret Floy Washburn became the first women to earn a PhD in psychology
F. Psychological Science Developsa. 1920s definition of psychology- the science of mental lifeb. John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner dismissed introspection and defined psychology as
the scientific study of observable behaviorc. You can’t observe a sensation, feeling, or a thought. You can observe and record
people’s behavior as the respond to different situations
d. Humanistic psychology was a softer response to Freudian psychology and to behaviorism (The founders Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow found it to mechanistic).
e. Rogers and Maslow emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of meeting our needs for both love and acceptance
f. Cognitive revolution supported ideas developed by earlier psychologist (internal thought process, way we receive, process, and remember
g. Cognitive psychology – the study of the interaction of thought processes and brain function; it brought new ways of treating depressioj
h. Psychology today: the scientific study of behavior and mental processesG. Contemporary Psychology
a. Psychology societies and departments and growing massive amounts in a relatively short amount of time
b. Growing and globalizingH. Psychology’s Big Debate
a. The biggest issue concerns the relative contributions of biology and experienceb. Are human traits developed through experience or are they already equipped? c. Nature vs. Nurture debated. Plato (assumed that intelligence are largely inherited and certain ideas are inborn)
vs. Aristotle (nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external world)
e. Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species proposed the idea of evolution and natural selection
f. Natural selection determined who was fit to survive and reproduce in an environment
g. Darwin believed that his theory explained animal structures and their behaviorsh. Evolution has become an important principle of both psychology and biologyi. Today’s psychologists continue the nature-nurture debate by asking questions:
i. How are differences in intelligence, personality, and psychological disorders influenced by heredity and by the environment?
ii. Is children’s grammar mostly innate or formed by experience?
j. Nurture works on what nature endowsI. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis
a. Every person is composed of smaller systemsb. Levels of analysis- offers different reasons for different things we do (So the reason
I eat can be because I’m sad or just because I’m hungry)c. Biopsychsocial approach- It considers the influences of biological, psychological, and
social-cultural factors
d. Biological Influences (genetic predispositions, genetic mutations, natural selection of adaptive physiology and behaviors)
e. Psychological influence (learned fears and other learned expectations, emotional responses, cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations)
f. Social-cultural influences (presence of others cultural, societal, and family expectations, peer and other group influences, compelling models like media)
J. Psychology’s Current Perspectivesa. Neuroscience- how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory
experiencesb. Evolutionary- how the natural selection of traits promotes the perpetuation of one’s
genesc. Behavior genetics- How much our genes and our environment influence our
individual differencesd. Psychodynamic- How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflictse. Behavioral – How we learn observable responsesf. Cognitive- How we encode, process, store, and retrieve informationg. Social-cultural- How behavior and thinking vary across situations
K. Psychology’s Subfieldsa. There’s a lot of psychology subfields (some do basic research, some do applied, and
some provide professional services)b. Biological psychologists explore the links between the brain and mindc. Developmental psychologist study our changing abilities from birth to deathd. Cognitive psychologist experiment with how we perceive, think, and solve problemse. Personality psychologists investigate investing our persistent traits f. Basic research builds knowledgeg. social psychologists explore how we view and affect one another (My cousin is a
social psychologist)h. Industrial/organizational psychologists study and advise people in the work place,
they aim to boost morale and train employees more efficientlyi. Psychology also works on issues like to how to have a happy marriage or how to
overcome anxietyj. Counseling psychologist help people cope with challenges by bring out their
strengths and resourcesk. Clinical psychologists asses and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disordersl. Psychiatrists provide physchothearpy and are medical doctors. They can prescribe
drugs to help with physical side effects of mental disordersm. Psychology can connect to math, biology, sociology, and philosophyn. They work in medical schools, law schools, theological seminaries, hospitals
factories, and officeso. Psychology influences modern culture and alters the way people think and act
AP PSYCH Vocab List: Prologue
In what sciences does psychology have its roots? Philosophy and biology
Socrates- He was a teacher and philosopher in Ancient Greece. He thought that mind was separable from the body and that knowledge was born within us
Plato- He was Socrates’ student and shared his viewpoints. He was also Aristotle’s teacher
Aristotle- He was Plato’s student and he based his principles off of logic. He thought that the mind wasn’t separable from the body and that knowledge was not born within us
Rene Descartes- A Frenchman scientist and philosopher that agreed with Socrates and Plato. He came up with the idea of animal spirits
Francis Bacon- An English philosopher who agreed with Aristotle
John Locke- He believed that the mind was a blank slate where experiences wrote their stories
G. Stanley Hall- Had the first psychology lab in the United States and was the first president of the APA
Historical Approaches- ways psychology was approached throughout history
Gestalt Psychology- The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
Max Wertheimer- One of the founders of Gesalt Psychology
Structuralism- an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the element of structure; answers the question what?
Wilhelm Wundt- Established the first psychology lab that was located in Germany; known as the father of psychology
Edward Titchener- Founder of structuralism and wanted to engage people in introspection
Introspection- looking inward
Functionalism- a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral proccesses function; answered the question why?
William James- He was a huge leader in functionalism and a professor at Harvard
Mary Calkins- Should have been the first women with a PhD in psychology but was denied her diploma by Harvard because she was a women. She was James’ student and was the first women president of the APA
Margaret Floyd Washburn- First women to receive a PhD in psychology
7 (current) Approaches of Psychology
Psychoanalysis- behavior derives from the unconscious and it cannot be observed
Sigmund Freud- Brought attention to the unconscious whcih all of her theories were built upon. He also created the five childhood sexuality stages
Carl Jung- developed anaylytical psychology and founded extraverted ininverted personalities
Alfred Adler- Put his emphasis on the feelings of inferiority
Karen Horney- Classified as a New-Freudian and believed that childhood was more social rather than sexual
Behaviorism- How we learn observable responses
John Watson- Established behaviorism
Ivan Pavlov- A Russian psychologist who discovered the conditioned reflex
BF Skinner- He dismissed introspection and defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
Edward Thorndike- He is famous for his work on learning theory that lead to the development of operant conditioning
Albert Bandura- He is known for his work across different approaches of psychology
Humanistic
Carl Rogers- emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of meeting our needs for both love acceptance.
Abraham Maslow- emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of meeting our needs for both love acceptance.
Cognitive- How we encode, process, store, and retrieve our information
Jean Piaget- Known for his studies with children
Noam Chomsky- He studied linguistics, hr actually wasn’t a psychologist
Herbert Simon- He was a founder of decision making and problem solving
Howard Gardner- Known for his work on multiple intelligences
George Miller- His concepts chunking information processing
Biological / Neuroscience- the body and the brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
Roger Sperry- Won the noble prize for his research on split brain
James Olds- He co-discovered the reward center of the brain and considered one of the founders of modern neuroscience
VS Ramachandran- He known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics
Evolutionary- How the natural selection of traits promotes perceptions of one’s genes
Charles Darwin- Father of the nature-nurture debate and came up with the idea of natural selection
David Buss- He is known for his evolutionary psychology research on human sex differences in mate selection
Sociocultural- How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
Erik Erikson- A developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings
Philip Zimbardo- Best known for his Stanford Prision study
Stanley Milgram- Known for his contrversal study called Milgram Study which demomstrated a relationship between obdience and authority
Solomon Asch- He was a Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology
Biopsychosocial- It entails thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that all play a significant role in human functioning
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist- the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations
Clinical Psychologist- Its purpose is understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction
Counseling Psychologist- Deals with thecounseling process and outcome, supervision and training, career development and counseling, and prevention and health
Psychiatrist- They can prescribe medicine, a doctor
7 Approaches Writing Assignment
One of my very close friends developed a disgusting habit our freshmen year. My friend started to gradually smoke. In the beginning it started out just a few times a day and she eventually worked herself up to a pack and half a day. As her friend it has been very hard for me to watch her do this to herself. She had to quit one of her favorite sports because she could barley run anymore. I also find it embarrassing to be out in public with her; she is constantly lighting up a cigarette and she smells awful all the time. As her friend I am concerned for her and want to know why she insists on doing this to herself say after day. I am quite sure that I can trace my friend’s reasons for her habit through the seven approaches of psychology.
Sigmund Freud developed the psycho-dynamic approach. According to Freud everything someone does is driven by the unconscious. Freud developed five psychosexual stages, with one of the stages being oral. The oral stage lasts from the time of birth to the time a person reaches the age of one and a half. At the oral stage babies love to put anything in their mouths. If a baby does not put enough into their mouth they could develop an oral fixation later on in their life. My friend could have been deprived during her oral stage and as a result feels the need to unconsciously put stuff into her mouth. My friend smokes an average of 30 cigarettes on any given day, which is more than the national average. I have also heard her say on many occasions that she will light a cigarette just to have something in her mouth. Smoking can be my friend’s way of compensating for what she missed out on during her oral stage as a baby.
The behavioral approach can also explain my friend’s desire to smoke cigarettes. Her parents are well aware that she smokes and choose not to do anything about it. Her older brother offers to buy them for her and will often sit and smoke with her. My friend’s father seems to care about her habit at all. I remember when I was over at her house a couple of weekends ago her dad’s exact words when we were talking about the subject were “Hell, I don’t care what you do. You’re only young once and now’s the time to be making mistakes. So if you wanna smoke, then smoke. Don’t let society get you down about it”. I find it very repulsive that both her brother and her father encourage it when they know the risks that it brings to her health. Her father and brother not only don’t care, they encourage the behavior. With no parental figure in her life telling her that it is not a good idea to smoke, my friend will continue to smoke.
The humanistic approach is a more positive approach rather than a negative one. Smoking it considered by the vast majority of the population to be negative or gross, so I find it hard relating this approach to her behavior. The humanistic approach deals with self-actualization, which works to fulfill one’s full potential. My friend seems to think that she is being the best that she can be while she is smoking. During the school year she claims that she cannot focus on her school work if she doesn’t smoke. After she is done smoking she says that she is more concentrated and can get her work done at a faster pace. In other words, she feels that she is at her best as soon as she finishes hitting her cigarette. She is choosing at her own free will to smoke, which appears to make her happy with life.
The cognitive approach can deal with role models. Role models are people that you wish to be like as you age. My friend I have known each other for around ten years. I remember when my friend and I were young she would always want to be like her older brother. Her brother played baseball and was the reason that she fell in love with the sport softball. I also remember that she would put on his t-shits and gym shorts and would go and ask her dad if she looked enough like him. When her brother started smoking my friend was initially very upset, she begged him to stop. Later, her brother sat her down and told her that it really couldn’t hurt him a lot; he told her he was superman and nothing could ever kill him. My friend wasn’t very old so she believed him at the time. As she grew up and started high school he let her smoke with him occasionally. The occasional smokes eventually turned into their nightly ritual. The whole time she thought she was being just like her older brother, the person that she spent the vast majority of her childhood admiring.
The biological perspective deals with the brain and how it impacts behavior. Nicotine is one of the major reasons that my friend smokes. Her brain is psychologically and chemically dependent on the drug. Her brain is not able to function without it. When out shopping and she wills see someone smoking she is not able to resist the urge to smoke. She has also trained her brain that she must smoke before every meal and also directly after the meal. If she does not smoke before eating she convinces herself that she is sick and will throw a mini-temper tantrum. As a result of her addiction her brain is not able to function as normally as it should.
The socio-culture approach can be very insightful with my friend’s reasons to smoke. As I’ve previously said her father and brother don’t seem to care if she does smoke or if she decides to quit. I do love my friend and her family, but I seem to think that her family’s values and morals are not as high as they should be. They don’t necessarily care who my friend brings home, where she stays, what she does on the weekend, what she wears, and especially not who she chooses to spend her time with. My friend was always raised with that “whatever floats your boat” type of attitude (when I say whatever it means whatever, anything and everything goes). Since she is so used to her family just not caring about most aspects of her life I am sure she did not think twice about her decision to start smoking. She doesn’t have enough guidance in life and I honestly think that her free spirit hurts her in the end.
The last approach is evolutionary, which deals with survival of the fittest and what makes humans alike. Smoking is something that a lot of people do around the state, country, and world, but it’s certainly not something that is genetic. It’s possible that my friend is doing this because she may want to fit in with some of her other friends. For example, she smokes more around one of her friends just because that friend also smokes too. Her fitting in with her friends could potentially make her feel somewhat safer and more blended in with her surroundings. We must also remember that smoking is something that would decrease the overall quality of life and lead to a shorter life. Survival of the fittest is all about trying to be the last one standing; smoking does the opposite of that.
I believe that the behavioral approach best able to explain the reasoning behind my friend’s habit. She not only has enablers but she also has encouragers. Her father will tell her to her face that it’s ok to make the mistake she’s making and continues to let her smoke. My friend’s brother will gladly go and buy her a pack of cigarettes and smoke them with her. I believe that the worst approach at explain
her habit is evolutionary. Evolution explains the adaptability of species to survive and reproduce. Smoking reduces the risk of living a longer and healthier life, which is the whole point to evolution.
I. Chapter 15: Personalitya. Personality- an individual’s characteristics pattern of thinking, feeling, and actingb. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory proposed that childhood sexuality and
unconscious motivations influence personalityc. The humanistic approach focused on our inner capacities for growth and self fulfillment
A. The Psychoanalytic Perspectivea. Freud would be considered the Elvis of psychologyb. He started off in a private practice after medical school but soon wanted to answer
disorders that made no neurological sensec. Psychoanalytic theory- it was the first comprehensive theory of personality. It included ideas
like the unconscious region of the mind, psychosexual stages, and defense mechanisms for holding anxiety at bay
B. Exploring the unconscious a. Freud discovered the unconsciousb. Unconscious- a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memoriesc. Free association- Freud told patient to just relax and say whatever is on their mindd. He believed free association could retrace steps into a patient’s childhood and get answerse. Psychoanalysis- Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to
unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
f. The mind is like an iceberg, mostly hidden. (We talked about the iceberg theory on Challenge Day my freshmen year)
g. We forcibly block stuff in our unconscious because it can be too unsettlingh. We can gain expression from the unconscious in disguised forms (daily habits)i. Freud used dreams to search into the unconscious
C. Personality Structurea. Human personality arises from a conflict between our aggressive, pleasure seeking
biological impulses and the internalized social restraints against themb. Personality is an effort to resolve basic conflictc. Id- a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that constantly strives to satisfy basic drives to
survive, reproduce, and egressd. The id operates to on pleasure principle, if not constrained by reality it seeks immediate
gratificatione. The ego operates on the reality principle. It seeks to gratify the id’s impulses in realistic
ways to bring happiness rather than painf. The superego makes the ego to not only focus on the real but also the idealg. Superego strives for perfection
D. Personality Developmenta. Personality develops during the life’s first few yearsb. Patients symptoms seemed like they were rooted in unsolved conflicts from early childhoodc. Psychosexual stages- the id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct pleasure sensitive
areas of the body that are called erogenous zones
d. Oral (0-18 months)- pleasure centers on the mouth (sucking, biting, chewing)e. Anal (18-36 months)- Pleasure focuses on bowl and bladder elimination; coping with
demands for controlf. Phallic (3-6 years)- Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelingsg. Latency (6 to puberty)- Dormant sexual feelingsh. Genital (puberty on)- Maturation of sexual interestsi. In the phallic stage boys would seek genital stimulation. They would develop both
unconscious sexual desires for their mother and would consider the father a rivalj. Children will eventually cope with the rivalry by indentifying with that rival parent (If you
can’t beat them then join them type of thing)k. During the process children’s superegos gain strength as they are incorporating their
parent’s valuesl. Gender identity- sense of being either a male or a femalem. A person who had been either orally overindulged or deprived may fixate at the oral stage
E. Defense Mechanismsa. Defense mechanisms- tactics that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting realityb. Repression- banishes anxiety or arousing thoughts/feelings from the consciousnessc. Regression- allows people to retreat to an earlier, more infantile stage of developmentd. Reaction formation- the ego unconsciously makes unacceptable proposition look like their
opposites (like hate you turns into I love you)e. Projection- disguise threatening impulses by attributing them to others (He doesn’t trust me
is a projections of either I don’t trust myself or I don’t trust him)f. Rationalization- occurs when we unconsciously generate self-justifying explanations to hide
from ourselves the real reasons for our actions (Habitual drinkers may say they just drink with their friends)
g. Displacement- Diverts sexual or aggressive impulses toward an object or a person that is psychologically more acceptable than the one that aroused the feelings
F. The Neo-Freudian and Psychodynamic Theoristsa. The neo-Freudians veered away by placing more emphasis on the conscious mind’s role in
interpreting experience and in coping with the environment and they doubted that sex and aggression were all consuming motivations
b. Alfred Adler and Karen Horney agreed with Freud that childhood is important, also believed that childhood is social, not sexual
c. Adler believed that a lot of our behavior is driven by efforts to conquer childhood feelings of inferiority
d. Horney believed that childhood anxiety was caused dependent child sense of helplessness; It triggers our need for love and security
e. Jung believed we had a collective unconsciousf. Collective unconscious- concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our
species’ historyG. Assessing Unconscious Processes
a. Freudian tradition would require an unconscious mind which contains residues from early childhood experiences (agree/disagree or true/false questions would not work; you would have to use a psychological x-ray)
b. Projective tests aim to provide such a view by presenting an ambiguous stimulant and asking test takers to describe it or tell a story about it
c. The projective test usually reveals interests or conflictsd. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- Invented by Henry Murray, it showed people ambiguous
pictures and then they had to make a story about ite. The Rorschach inkblot test involved showing ten inkblot pictures and say what we think
when we see them. It’s supposed to reflect inner feelings and conflictsf. Critics said that there was no accepted way of scoring the Rorschach testsg. The test can be viewed as a diagnostic tool, a source of suggestive leads, an icebreaker, or a
revealing interview techniqueh. Many argue that the test is limited with validity and it diagnosis many adults as pathological
H. Contradictory Evidence from Modern Researcha. Freud’s admirers and critics agree that recent research contradicts many of his ideasb. Today’s developmental psychologists that development is lifelong instead of childhood
specificc. They also doubt that children are mature enough to experience as much emotional trauma
as Freud assumedd. Also think that Freud over estimated parental influence and under estimated peer influencee. We gain gender identity earlier even without the same sex parent presentf. Slips of the tongue can be explained as completion between similar verbal choices in our
memory networksg. History has failed to support Fried’s idea that suppressed sexuality causes psychological
disordersI. Is Repression a Myth?
a. Mind represses painful experiences to the unconscious and we uncover them still intactb. Today’s researchers believe that if repression even exists it is a result of terrible traumac. A study of sixteen 5 to 10 year olds who witnessed their parents murder found that not one
repressed the memory of the incident d. Survivors of Nazi death camps remember their experience welle. High stress enhances memory for the most partf. Powerful negative emotions are remembered wellg. Traumatic events like rape and torture haunt the survivors and they can experience
flashbacksJ. The Modern Unconscious Mind
a. Freud was right about the fact that we have limited access of what goes into our mindsb. Anthony Greenwald think that is time to abandon Freud’s view of the unconscious c. The unconscious also involves:
i. The schemas that automatically control our perceptions and interpretationsii. The priming by stimuli to which we have not consciously attended
iii. The right hemisphere activity that enables the split brain patient’s left hand to carry out an instruction the patient cannot verbalize
iv. The parallel processing of different aspects of vision and thinkingv. The implicit memories that operate without conscious recall, even those with
amnesiavi. The emotions that activate instantly before conscious analysis vii. The self concept and stereo types that automatically and unconsciously influence
how we process information about ourselves and othersd. Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszynski believe that anxiety’s source the
terror resulting from our awareness of vulnerability and deathe. Terror-management theory- proposes that faith in one’s worldview and the pursuit of self-
esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of deathf. Faced with a threatening world people act to enhance their self esteem and adhere more
strongly to worldviews about the meaning of lifei. In the last moments in the World Trade Center people trapped called their loved
onesg. People tend to see their foibles and attitudes in others (Freud called it projection, they call it
false consensus effect today)K. Freud’s Ideas as Scientific Theory
a. Psychologists criticize Freud’s theory for its scientific shortcomingsb. The problem with Freud’s theory is that it offer after the fact explanations, it doesn’t predictc. Freud’s ideas- What’s good is not original and what’s original is not goodd. Freud never claimed that psychoanalysis was predictive science, he only claimed it could
find meaning in the minde. In science Freud is waning, but in popular culture he lives on
L. The Humanistic Perspectivea. Instead of focusing on sick people humanistic psychologists focused on ways for healthy
people to strive for self determination and realizationb. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rodgers offered a third force perspective that emphasized
human potential and seeing the world through the person’s eyesc. Self-actualization- according to Maslow the ultimate psychological need that arises after
basic physical and psychological needs are met and self esteem achieved; the motivation fulfill one’s potential
M. Abraham Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person a. Maslow proposed that we are motivated by a hierarchy of needsb. When our psychological needs are meant we seek security, when that is done we seek love,
when that is satisfied then we seek self esteemc. Maslow created his ideas by studying healthy creative people rather than sick onesd. He based his descriptions on people who were noted for their rich and productive lives
(Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Eleanor Roosevelt)ii. The people shared characteristics like self awareness, self accepting, open,
spontaneous, loving, caring, and not paralyzed by others opinions
iii. The people’s interests were problem-centered rather than self-centerediv. They focused their energy on a specific task that was their mission in lifev. They enjoyed a few deep relationships rather than many superficial onesvi. They had been moved by spiritual or personal peak experiences that surpassed
ordinary consciousnesse. The qualities are found in those who have learned about life enough to be compassionate
N. Carl Rodgers Peron-Centered Perspectivea. Rodgers was a humanistic psychologist who mostly agreed with Maslowb. He believed that a growth promoting climate required were genuinesses, acceptance, and
empathyc. People nurture our growth by being genuine, empathic, and acceptanced. Self concept- all the thoughts and feelings we have in response to the question “Who Am I?”
O. Assessing the Selfa. Humanistic psychologists sometimes assess personality by asking people to fill out
questionnaires and would then evaluate self concept (like describe your ideal self vs. your actual self)
b. If the ideal and actual are close then the self concept is positivec. Some humanistic psychologists view that any standardized assessment of personality is
depersonalizingd. The critics thought that interviews and intimate conversations would better understand the
personP. Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective
a. Freud and humanistic psychologist have one thing in common; their impact has been pervasive. They have influenced education and today’s popular psychology
b. Emphasis on the individual self reflects and reinforces Western culture valuesc. Critics say that humanistic perspective is vague and subjectived. Some critics say that humanistic psychology can lead to self indulgence and selfishnesse. Humanistic psychology encourages hope but fails to address evilf. Rodgers felt that no person was born evil; evil came from toxic cultural influencesg. Rollo May said that humans are both good and evil naturally
Q. The Trait Perspectivea. The trait perspective can be traced to an interview between Gordon Allport and Freudb. Allport did what Freud did not do; he described personality in terms of traitsc. Traits- peoples characteristic behaviors and conscious motivesd. Allport was concerned less with explaining traits but with describing them
R. Exploring Traitsa. Placing people on several trait dimensions, psychologists can describe countless individual
variationsS. Factor Analysis
a. Factor Analysis- identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligenceb. The Eysenks believed we can reduce our normal variations to extraversion-introversion and
emotional stability-instability, also believed that the factors are genetically influenced
T. Biology and Personalitya. Extraverts seek stimulation because their normal brain arousal is relatively lowb. Our genes influence our temperamentc. Jerome Kagen attributes differences in children’s shyness and inhibition to their automatic
nervous system reactivityd. Identical twins separated at birth show similar personalitiese. Personality occurs in animals; by selective breeding researchers can produce bold or shy
birdsU. Assessing Traits
a. Personality Inventories- longer questionnaires covering a wide range of feelings and behaviors are designed to assess several traits at once
b. MMPI- originally used to identify emotional disorders and now for many other screening purposes
c. Empirically derived test- test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups (groups were disordered patients to normal people)
d. Today’s MMPI has scales for work attitudes, family problems, and angere. Does not grantee validity because people can easily give more socially acceptable answers
V. The Big Five Factorsa. Conscientiousness (organized vs. disorganized, careful vs. careless)b. Agreeable (soft-hearted vs. ruthless, trusting vs. suspicious)c. Neuroticism (calm vs. anxious, secure vs. insecure)d. Openness (Imaginative vs. practical, Independent vs. conforming)e. Extraversion (sociable vs. retiring, fun-loving vs. sober)f. Some wonder is other dimensions like self consciousness, masculinity/femininity,
intellect/imagination, and religiosity should be addedg. In adulthood the Big Five traits are quite stableh. The Big Five represent different cultures pretty well
W. Evaluating the Trait Perspectivea. Are personality traits stable or does our behavior depend where we are and who we are
with?X. The Person-Situation Controversy
a. Some people are constantly dependable while others are unreliable, some are outgoing and others are shy
b. 152 long-term studies reveal that personality traits scores are positively correlated with results obtained 7 years later
c. Interests, Careers, and relationships change but traits usually don’td. The inconsistency in behaviors makes personality test scores a weak prediction of behaviorse. Any given question is unpredictable because it depends on a lot of variables (like intelligence
luck, and memory concentration)f. Our traits are represented in our music preferences, dorm rooms, and personal websites
Y. Consistency of Expressive Styles
a. Harvard University observers were able to predict a teachers behavior for the whole semester based off of 30 seconds of footage
b. First impressions are lasting impressionsc. Some people are naturally expressive, some are notd. Bella DePaulo ran a study where she found that inexpressive people, even when showing
expressiveness, were less expressive than expressive people are naturallye. An experiment by Maurice Levesque and David Kenny involved seating four university
women and had them state basic information on their life. The women were able to pick up who would be the most talkative
f. People who are smart and outgoing in one situation are likely to be outgoing in another oneg. Professors may perceive their students differently based on their behavior in the classroom
while peers may perceive based off of your behavior at a partyZ. The Social-Cognitive Perspective
a. Social-cognitive perspective: proposed by Albert Bandura, emphasizes the interaction of persons and their situations
b. Social-cognitive theorists believe we learn many of our behaviors by observing behaviors and acting them out
c. Emphasizes the importance of what we think about situations and how it affects our behaviors
AA. Reciprocal Influences a. Bandura called the process of interacting with our environment reciprocal determinismb. Reciprocal determinism- the interacting influences between personality and environmental
factorsc. Different people choose different environments (school you attend, books you read,
television watched, music listened to, friends)d. Our personalities shape how we interpret and react to events (anxious people are attuned
to potentially threatening situations)e. Our personalities help create situations to which we react (IF we expect someone to be mad
at us we will give them the cold shoulder)BB. Personal Control
a. Personal control- our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless b. Psychologists study the effect of personal control by correlating and experimenting
CC. Internal Versus External Locus of Controla. Julian Rotter coined the terms external locus of control and internal locus of controlb. External locus of control- the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s
personal control determine one’s fatec. Internal locus of control- the perception that one controls one’s fated. Internals achieve more in school, act independently, have better health, and feel less
depressed, and cope with stress bettere. Self-control requires attention and energy and weakens after an exertion temporarily
DD. Learned Helplessness Versus Personal Controla. People who feel helpless and oppressed often perceive control as external
b. Learned helplessness- the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
c. When animals and people experience no control over repeated bad events they often learn helplessness
d. The dogs did not try to escape the shock when they were actually able to because they couldn’t in the past
e. People given little control in prisons or nursing homes are more likely to be stressedf. When they are allowed to move stuff around their morale increasedg. Under conditions of personal freedom and empowerment people thriveh. In a study by Gabriele Oettingen and Martin Seligman before the Belin Wall was torn down,
West Berliners laughed more and sat up straighter while East Berliners slumped over with downturned mouths
EE. Optimism Versus Pessimisma. One measure of how helpless or effective you feel is where you stand on optimism-
pessimismb. Positive expectations often motivate eventual successc. Those who think they can’t do something are more likely to get lower gradesd. Health benefits from optimisme. Self-disparaging explanations of the past can depress ambitionf. Realistic anxiety over possible failures can furl energetic efforts to avoid the fateg. Excessive optimism is not good- Most college students/late adolescents see themselves less
likely to develop drinking problems or contracting the AIDS virush. People often are overconfident when incompetent (Those who don’t know what good
grammar is so they are unaware of their poor grammar)FF. Assessing Behavior in Situations
a. Social-cognitive psychologists explore how people interact with situations.b. In order to predict behavior they observe behavior in realistic situationsc. In WWII they tested potential spies in undercover conditions, rather than a written testd. Armies asses their soldiers by observing them during military exercisese. A person’s past behavior will reflect their future behaviorf. Best predictor of future grades is to look at past grades
GG. Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Perspectivea. The social-cognitive perspective focuses on how situations affect and control individualsb. Critics say that it spends to much time on the situation and ignores inner traits and emotionsc. Two men won 90 million dollars, one trembled and cried uncontrollably, the other told his
wife and then went to sleepHH. Exploring the Self
a. Possible Selves- the vision of how you dream of becoming (rich self, successful self, loved self) and fear of who you will become (unemployed self, lonely self)
b. Medical school students are more likely to get higher graders if they envision them self as a successful doctor
c. Spotlight effect- overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders
d. Thomas Gilovich demonstrated the spot light effect by having students walk into class wearing a Barry Manilow shirt. The shirt wears thought half of the peers would notice when only 23% did
e. Fewer people notice things we presumef. We remember information better if we relate it to our selves
II. The Benefits of Self-Esteema. High self esteem is a feeling of self worth and people who feel good about themselvesb. Those with high self esteem have fewer sleepless nights and are happierc. Those who have low self esteem don’t see them self as worthless but they don’t say
good things about themselves too oftend. Low self esteem comes with unhappiness and despaire. Those who don’t feel good about themselves can be thin skinned and judgmentalf. People who are down on themselves tend to be down on other people too
JJ. Culture and Self-Esteema. People that have disabilities and are minorities do not have abnormally high rates of low self
esteemb. Psychiatric Disorders in America found rates of depression and alcoholism in minorities
comparable to other Americans c. There is slightly higher rates of high self esteem among black children than white childrend. Minorities have faced discrimination in the past but maintain self esteem by valuing the
things they excel at, attribute problems to prejudice, and they do what everyone else doesKK. Self-Serving Bias
a. Carl Rodgers thought most people regarded themselves as worthlessb. Most people have a good reputation for themselvesc. People accept more responsibility for a good deed than a bad one and for successes than
failures (When getting a bad grade you blame the test)d. Most people see them as better than average (Over 90 percent of businessmen and
professors think themselves to be better than their counterpart)e. Only 79% of people thought Mother Teresa would go to heaven, but 83% thought they
themselves would go to heavenf. We justify past actions with self enhancing waysg. We have inflated confidence in our judgmentsh. We exhibit group pride (thinking our country is superior)i. We are quicker to believe flattering descriptions of ourselves rather than unflatteringj. Nazi Aryan pride is an example who excessive pride can turn badk. Defensive self esteem is fragile- it focuses on straining oneself
AP PSYCH
Vocab List Ch. 15 (Personality)
- make sure that you understand criticisms and advantages of each personality theory!!!!!!
PSYCHOANALYTIC
Sigmund Freud- creator of the psychoanalytic approach and it was based off of the unconscious
Projective tests- words images, and situations are presented to a person then the responses analyzed to tap into the unconscious
- free association- Patient relaxes and says what’s on their mind- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)-Invented by Henry Murray; it showed people ambiguous
pictures and they would have to make a story about it - Rorschach inkblot test- Showing people inkblots and asking them to describe what they see in
them, can be used to tap into the unconsciousUnconscious- Part of the mind that is inaccessible to the conscious mind and it affects behaviors and emotions
Id-a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that’s strives to survive, reproduce, and egress
Ego- operates on a reality principle. It seeks to gratify the Id’s impulses to bring happiness rather than pain
Superego- Strives for perfection
Psychosexual Stages- the Id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct pleasure sensitive areas
- Oral- pleasure seeking by the moth from birth to 18 months- Anal-pleasure focuses on a bowel and bladder movement from 18 to 36 months- Phallic- Pleasure zone in the genitals, coping with incestuous sexual feelings from 3 to 6 years
o Oedipus Complex- denotes emotions and ideas the mind keeps unconscious - Latency- dormant sexual feelings form 6 to puberty - Genital- maturing of sexual feelings from puberty onwards
Fixation- Obsessive attachment
Defense mechanisms- tactics that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting reality
- Repression-Banishes anxiety or arousing thoughts or feelings from the conscious- Regression- Allows people to retreat to an earlier more infantile stage of development
- reaction formation- The ego unconsciously makes unacceptable proposition look like their opposites
- rationalization- occurs when we unconsciously generate real reasons for our actions- displacement- Diverts sexual or aggressive to a person that is more psychologically acceptable- sublimation- Divert or modify an instinctual impulses into a more socially acceptable activities- projection- disguised threatening impulse to attributing them to others
Karen Horney-Agreed with Freud but thought childhood was social not sexual
Alfred Adler- believed what Karen Horney believed
Carl Jung- believed we had a collective unconscious
HUMANISTIC
Carl Rogers-Offered a perspective with Maslow that emphasized human potential and see the world though the person’s eyes; also created self concept
Abraham Maslow- created self-actualization and studied healthier people rather than sick ones
Self-actualization-The ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical need and psychological needs are meet and self esteem achieved one is motivated to fulfill one’s potential
Unconditional positive regard
Self-concept- all the thoughts and feeling we have to the question “Who Am I?”
TRAIT
Gordon Allport- He described personality in terms of traits
Hans Eysenck- Believed that we can reduce our normal variations to extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability and that factors are genetically inherited
Raymond Cattell- is best known for identifying the dimensions of personality
Personality Inventories
- MMPI- Used to indentify emotional disorders and now used for other screening purposes- MBTI- questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the
world and make decisions- 16 PF- It’s purpose is to discover and measure the fundamental traits of human personality
- NEO-PI-R- It’s a concise measure of the five major domains of personalityFactor analysis- identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligence
Big Five- Conscientiousness, agreeable, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE
Albert Bandura- Proposed the social-cognitive perspective and called the process of interacting with our environment reciprocal influence
Walter Mischel-
Julian Rotter- Coined the term internal and external locus of control
Martin Seligman- Had study about West Berliner over the East Berliners before the wall was torn down (the East Berliners slumped over while West Berliners sat up more straight)
Learned helplessness- The hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
Internal locus of control- The perception that one controls one’s fate
External locus of control- The perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fat
Reciprocal determinism- The interacting influences between personality and environmental practices
THE SELF
Spotlight effect- over estimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders
Self-esteem- how high or low we rate our self worth
INTEREST SURVEY
Please take time to think about and answer the following questions. Feel free to add any additional comments of your own that you would like the teacher to know about you.
1. What is most important to you?
My family, friends, and two dogs
2. If you could change one thing about this school what would it be?
I wish it could start just an hour later, an extra hour of sleep would be great!
3. What school/community activities or sports are you involved in (part-time work)?
I’m on the speech and debate team, I’m a football manager, and I’m in Masonic sponsored youth organization Jobs Daughters
4. Who has inspired you the most and why?
My best friend, she has cystic fibrosis and she sometimes gets really sick. Even when she’s sick she doesn’t let it get her down and always makes sure she isn’t missing something
5. What are your hopes for this class?
I just want to learn a lot and pass the AP test
6. What are your fears for this class?
I’m afraid I’ll get overwhelmed and have no time for a social life during the week
7. What are your current plans for after high school (college, career, interests)?
I want to go to American University and major in political science and economics, after I Graduate I want to go to law school
8. The greatest gift I have is my ability to…
I’m really good at helping people; I’m always there when my friends need someone to talk too
9. What do you have a passion for?
I have a passion for all types of animals. At my house I have two dogs and four cats. On the weekends I like to volunteer at animal shelters to make sure that the animals without homes can be adopted. I’m also a vegan so I consume no animal products at all.
10. What is your purpose in life?
I want to be able to make those who are closest to me happy
11. Who do you currently live with?
I live with my mom and my dad