1. Some Commonly Held Opinions
Each of the following statements represents a commonly held opinion. You will probably agree with some and disagree with others. Read each statement carefully; then, using the scale below, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement.
0 = disagree strongly
1 = disagree somewhat
2 = disagree slightly
3 = agree slightly
4 = agree somewhat
5 = agree strongly

2. Some Commonly Held Opinions
1. Most people have an accurate understanding of the reasons for their own behavior. 2. Most people are consistent from situation to situation in the way they react to things. 3. Heredity plays the major role in determining IQ. 4. Great accomplishments in life, like those of great authors and painters, are usually motivated by unconscious forces. 5. A person who was shy as a child will also tend to be shy as an adult.

3. Some Commonly Held Opinions
6. Differences in male and female behavior are more the result of socialization than biology. 7. People typically have a good sense of their own strengths and weaknesses. 8. People's values and attitudes remain pretty much the same throughout their lives. 9. Psychological disorders are primarily the result of biological factors, such as brain abnormality or genetic predisposition. 10. Most people have an inaccurate self-concept, tending to see themselves either too favorably or too unfavorably.

4. Some Commonly Held Opinions
11. Knowing that a person behaved honestly in one situation tells you little about whether he or she will behave honestly in a different situation. 12. Aggression is part of human nature and thus will always be part of social life. 13. Most people make major life decisions logically and rationally. 14. A troubled adolescent is likely to be a troubled adult. 15. The basic causes of people's behavior can be traced to their past experiences.

5. Is Human Nature Fixed or Changeable?
Using the scale below, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.
1 = strongly agree
2 = agree
3 = mostly agree
4 = mostly disagree
5 = disagree
6 = strongly disagree

6. Is Human Nature Fixed or Changeable?
1. The kind of person someone is, is something very basic and can't be changed very much. 2. People can do things differently, but the important parts of who they are can't really be changed. 3. Everyone, no matter who the person is, can significantly change his or her basic characteristics. 4. As much as I hate to admit it, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. People can't really change their deepest attributes. 5. People can substantially change who they are. 6. Everyone is a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that. 7. No matter what kind of person someone is, he or she can always change significantly. 8. All people can change their most basic qualities.

7. Some Videos Pavlov(3 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI
Eddie Izard and Pavlov’s cat  (raunchy!)
Freud
Everett

8. Some strategies Things I’m looking for this period…
A notebook for your reading and class notes
The book… (I’ll get better at letting you know when you need it…)
Materials out and ready for class

9. …a long past but a short history.
Psychology…
…a long past
but a short history.

10. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
Is the mind connected to the body or are they separate?
Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?

11. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots

12. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Psychological Science Is Born
Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig (c. 1879)
Wilhelm Wundt

13. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Psychological Science Is Born
Empiricism
Knowledge comes from experience via the senses
Science flourishes through observation and experiment

14. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Psychological Science Is Born
New science (1879) created from application of physiology/biology to age-old questions of philosophy

15. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Definition of Psychology
The science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings)

16. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
Inherent problems
Unreliable
Non-verifiable
Look inside one’s self to identify sensations, images, feelings. Problem is: required smart, verbal people. Very unreliable and non-verifiable.

17. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Functionalism
focused on how behavioral processes function
how they enable an organism to
adapt
survive
flourish
Thinking evolved because it was adaptive – it contributed to our ancestor’s survival. Consciousness serves a function – consider our past, adjust to present and plan future. Encouraged explorations of down-to-earth emotions, memories, will power, habits, and moment to moment streams of consciousness
William James

18. The Evolution of Psychology
Up to 1920s
“science of mental processes”
1920s-1960s
“science of observable behavior”
1960s-present
“science of behavior and mental processes”
Synopsis of where we’ve been and where we’re going…..

19. Key Issues that drive modern psychology
Stability vs. Change
Do our individual traits persist as we age?
Do we become older versions of our younger selves?
Do we change and if so, how? Why?
Is it up to us or is it out of our control?
Rationality vs. Irrationality
How much of our perceptions of the world around us are accurate?
How do we make the rational into the irrational (affected or altered by our own minds)

20. Key Issues that drive modern psychology
Nature vs. Nurture (the biggest and most persistent)
The relative contribution that genes and experience make to development of psychological traits and behaviors
How are differences in intelligence, personality and psychological disorders influenced by heredity and environment?
How are humans alike (because of common biology) and different (because of their different environments)?

21. Key Issues that drive modern psychology
Nature vs. Nurture (the biggest and most persistent)
Natural selection
principle that those inherited trait variations contributing to survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
Activity 1-3 / 1-4 / small discussions

22. Perspectives in Psychology

23. Perspectives in Psychology: Anger

24. Perspectives in Psychology
Neuroscience perspective
Study the brain circuits that produce physical state of red in the face and hot under the collar
Evolutionary perspective
Study how anger facilitated survival or genes
Behavior genetics perspective
Study how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament
Psychodynamic perspective
How are outbursts an outlet for unconscious hostility or frustration?

25. Perspectives in Psychology
Behavioral perspective
Study facial expressions and body gestures that accompany anger, or study which external stimuli might result in angry responses
Cognitive perspective
How does our interpretation of a situation affect our response (anger) and how does our response affect our interpretation
Social-cultural perspective
Which kinds of situations produce anger and how does anger vary across cultures

26. Psychodynamic – early 1900s
Behavior controlled by unconscious fears, drives, and conflicts
Sigmund Freud
personality developed through unconscious experiences: id, ego, superego

28. Pavlov(3 min)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI
Eddie Izard and Pavlov’s cat  (raunchy!)
Freud

29. Behavioral – early 1900s
Behavior controlled by events in the environment
Investigated observable behavior
Ivan Pavlov
Pavlov’s Dog
John Watson
Little Albert
B.F. Skinner
Operant Conditioning Chamber (Skinner Box)

30. Humanistic – 1950s
Behavior controlled by internal growth and self-concept
Abraham Maslow
Hierarchy of Needs
Carl Rogers
Unconditional Positive Regard
Behaviors evolve and are self-directed (free will)

31. Cognitive – 1960s Behavior product of learning
Jean Piaget
Noam Chomsky
How we learn (process, store, retrieve, and use information)
How learning influences our behavior

32. Neuroscience – most modern
Behavior controlled by neurological functions
Roger Sperry
Biological interactions of the body and mind (brain and CNS)

33. Social-Cultural Behavior product of societal influences
Solomon Asch
how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

34. Evolutionary – newest perspective
Behavior product of genetics
(inherited traits)
Charles Darwin
Natural selection of traits promotes perpetuation of genes

35. Perspectives Hand Mnemonic
Neuroscience
Behavioral
Socio-Cultural
Cognitive
Humanistic
Psycho-dynamic
Evolutionary

36. Psychological Perspectives
Rewiring the Brain?
Worksheet: 7 Perspectives
Rewiring the Brain loink after test

37. Perspectives Practice
Peter has some emotional problems and is acting out in school. His teacher notices that – while bright- he lacks self-esteem. He is left alone at home and is not eating properly. She found out recently that he is also homeless. She believes that with time and help, he can reach his full potential.
What perspective might she use to explain or deal with his behavior?

38. Perspectives Practice
Peter has some emotional problems and is acting out in school. After he begins taking medication, he begins to slow down and focus on his work. He seems to be doing better, but his mood is “off” and he is not his “happy-go-lucky” self.
What perspective might she use to explain or deal with his behavior?

39. Perspectives Practice
Peter has some emotional problems and is acting out in school. Upon doing some test, they discover that he excels in visual learning and visual learning cues, while textual cues seem to be a problem. They also learn he may have dyslexia.
What perspective might she use to explain or deal with his behavior?

40. Perspectives Practice
Peter has some emotional problems and is acting out in school. After further investigation into his past, we discover that both his father and grandfather suffered from aggressive tendencies – including Oppositional Defiant Disorder – and had not received help for their illness.
What perspective might she use to explain or deal with his behavior?
Beth

41. Psychology Perspectives
Death Penalty – For or Against?
The Andrea Yates Story: 60 minutes
Andrea Yates Activity sheet