Psychology Psychology = The science of the mind; the science of behavior. Both a basic and applied science. - Meaning: the science of how and why organisms do what they do; why does a wolf howl at the moon and children rebel against their parents; why do birds sing and moths fly to the flame.

Psychology Roots Natural Selection & Comparative Biology: Brain Philosophy: William James (1842-1910 Harvard Professor) set the path for modern day psychology Physics: Light and Sound; the sensory organs can mislead Physiology: The actual function of the body and nerves. - Mental Illness: Phineous Gage was a 19th century railroad worker that severed his frontal lobe and became very aggressive. Descartes (1596-1650): The body and mind are 2 separate entities.

Theory and Principle Theory: is a statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and happen the way they do. Principle: is a rule or law, such as the principle that if you study you will get better grades.

The Brain as a Mechanism The idea that the brain is some form of complex hardware, to be analyzed like any other – by taking it apart, by seeing how the parts connect, and by testing what each of the parts does separately was seriously suggested by René Descartes (1596-1610) a French philosopher. It is this framework that we use today.

Descartes and the Reflex Concept Descartes reflex concept theory was challenged that humans have choice and that there would have to be a central switching system if the brain was a mechanism. If all human action was explained mechanically then what was left for the soul? Descartes later suggested that the brain worked semi-mechanically along with the soul for reasoning and choice.

Descartes and the Reflex Concept All action, whether human or animal, is a response to an event in the outside world. It is that something from the outside world that excites one of the senses and in turn, excites a nerve that transmits the excitation to the brain, which then diverts the excitation to a muscle and makes the muscle contract; causing reflex.

Psychology and the Brain All that we do, all that we know, and all that we feel are made possible by the functioning of the brain. Memory Innate Capacities Communication Social Behaviors Emotion

Memory Our memories carry the records of all our experiences, and these experiences play a dramatic role in shaping who we are, how we feel, and how we act. But we are not always dependent upon our experiences, some achievements are dependent upon our innate capacities.

Innate Capacities An innate capacity is an experience/achievement that is present at birth. Visual Cliff with Infant

Communication The majority of the subject matter of psychology is inherently social. This is true for both animals and humans because all animals interact with other members of their species, whether as mates, parents, offspring, or competitors. Communication is a form of this interaction. Ex: The courting songs of birds

Social Behaviors Humans have a more complex form of communication and social behaviors. The main difference is that humans have more varied forms of interaction. Ex: the male peacock can only fan its feathers as a form of courting, but the human male has many forms of courting. In part, this reflects the belief that human social behavior is based on one person’s appraisal of how another will respond to his/her actions; “If I do this then he will think this…”.

Emotions Emotions document the enormous range of psychology. For thousands of years people have been asking and wondering about emotions and up until the last century there was no true way to research emotions. Questions to later be addressed: Are emotional reactions inevitable and universal? Are emotions shaped by culture and personal experience? Do emotions influence our “rational” thinking?