Crazy Joe's Psych Notes

"Past, Present, and Promise" is the first program in the DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY series. It provides an introduction to and overview of psychology, from its origins in the nineteenth century to current study of the brain’s biochemistry. You’ll explore the development of psychology in general and some of the paths scientists take to determine relationships among the mind, the brain, and behavior. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes. Like many sciences, psychology has evolved with technology, giving doctors and researchers new tools to measure human behavior and analyze its causes. In this program, Dr. Mahzarin Banaji from Yale University uses the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure how quickly positive or negative values are associated with white or black faces. Her subjects are shown a series of words and pictures and instructed to respond immediately by pushing a button to indicate their most automatic, reflex-like reactions. For example, they may be told to press a button in their right hand if the automatic association is good and to press a button in their left hand if the association is bad. The speed with which the subjects respond is an important element of the experiment because these quick, unconscious connections can reveal biases that differ from conscious beliefs. The IAT results are matched against functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data to track activity in the amygdala, the region of the brain that responds to fearful or negative images. By correlating data on the buttons subjects pushed with fMRI information about activity in the amygdala, Dr. Banaji and her colleagues have found some interesting results. The majority of the white American respondents showed an unconscious association of white with good and black with bad, while the African American respondents showed mixed results. Half more quickly associated black with good, and the other half associated white with good. Tracking brain activity in controlled experiments reveals not only the region of the brain at work, but also the power of images and messages in our culture on the subconscious human psyche, bringing psychologists one step closer to understanding human behavior. For more info on this topic visit http://psy101.MyUCCedu.com

For more info on this topic visit http://psy101.MyUCCedu.com

Psychoanalysis is a body of knowledge developed by Sigmund Freud and his followers, devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior. It has three applications: 1. a method of investigation of the mind; 2. a systematized body of knowledge about human behavior; 3. a method of treatment of psychological or emotional illness. Under the broad umbrella of psychoanalysis there are at least 20 different theoretical orientations regarding the underlying theory of understanding of human mentation and human development. The various approaches in treatment called "psychoanalytic" vary as much as the different theories do. In addition, the term refers to a method of studying child development. Freudian psychoanalysis refers to a specific type of treatment in which the "analysand" (analytic patient) verbalizes thoughts, including free associations, fantasies, and dreams, from which the analyst formulates the unconscious conflicts causing the patient's symptoms and character problems, and interprets them for the patient to create insight for resolution of the problems. The specifics of the analyst's interventions typically include confronting and clarifying the patient's pathological defenses, wishes and guilt. Through the analysis of conflicts, including those contributing to resistance and those involving transference onto the analyst of distorted reactions, psychoanalytic treatment can clarify how patients unconsciously are their own worst enemies: how unconscious, symbolic reactions that have been stimulated by experience are causing symptoms. For more info on this topic visit http://psy101.MyUCCedu.com

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory Psychoanalytic Theory holds that the human mind has three parts, or forces: 1. the unconscious mind, which includes the id, with its pleasure principle; 2. the conscious ego, with its reality principle; 3. And the often unconscious superego, with its morality principle. The primitive id contains the persons’ instinctive drives towards sensuality and aggression. Freud believed that human psychosexual development takes place in five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. The superego is acquired as a result of the Oedipus complex, which all children are assumed to undergo between ages 3 and 6. The central problem in mental disorders, according to classical psychoanalytic theory is anxiety. Id, Ego, and Superego Freud conceived of the human personality and mind as having three major components, which he called the id, the ego, and the superego. The Internal Battle The three parts of the mind are often in conflict, and Freud regarded this Intrapsychic conflict as the essence of human personality. One result of the conflict is anxiety, which is produced in the ego. When ever the demands of the id are dangerous or the disapprovals of the superego are intense. Anxiety arouses the ego to fight the impulses or thoughts that have created it. In one way or another—by using repression and the other defense mechanisms (see chapter 12 notes), by turning the mind’s attention elsewhere, by gratifying some other impulse of the id—the ego defends itself against the threat posed by the id or the superego and minimizes the anxiety. Psychosexual Development Freud believed that human psychosexual development takes place in five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. For more info on this topic visit http://psy101.MyUCCedu.com

What research methods do Psychologist use? In studying behavior, Psychologist employ naturalistic observation, interviews, case histories, questionnaires, surveys, standardized tests, physiological measures, correlation, and experiments. Observation Methods: Naturalistic Observation: a method of study in that involves observing behavior in normal, everyday settings. Participant observation: Psychologist that take an active part in a social situation, perhaps deliberate role playing to see how other people behave. Controlled/ Structured Observation: Survey Methods Questionnaire: a highly structured pencil and paper interview Structured Interview: An in-depth question and answer session in which an individual’s life or problems are probed. Case Histories: a compilation of the history of an individual based on the interviews and other sources of information. Survey (Telephone): The administration of a questionnaire to relatively large numbers of people. For more info on this topic visit http://psy101.MyUCCedu.com