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Psychology as a science
Psychology, scientific study of behavior and experience—that is, the study of how human beings and animals sense, think, learn, and know. Modern psychology is devoted to collecting facts about behavior and experience and systematically organizing such facts into psychological theories. These theories aid in understanding and explaining people’s behavior and sometimes in predicting and influencing their future behavior. Psychology, historically, has been divided into many brunches of study such as physiological psychology, psychoanalysis, Gestalt psychology school, social psychology, industrial psychology, etc. Physiological psychologists, for instance, study the functioning of the brain and the nervous system, and experimental psychologists use tests and make research to discover how people learn and remember. Social psychologists, for example, are interested in the ways in which people influence one another and the way they act in groups. Industrial psychologists study the behavior of people at work and the effects of the work environment. School psychologists help students make educational and career decisions. Clinical psychologists assist those who have problems in daily life or who are mentally ill. Gestalt psychology, school of psychology that deals mainly with the processes of perception. Cognition Psychology includes attention, perception, memory, reasoning, judgment, imagining, thinking, and speech. The science of psychology developed from many diverse sources, but its origins as a science may be traced to ancient Greece. Modern psychology still retains many aspects of the fields from which it grew. Some psychologists, for example, are primarily interested in physiological research, others are medically oriented, and a few try to develop a more careful philosophical understanding of psychology as a whole. Although some practitioners still insist that psychology should be concerned only with behavior—and may even deny the meaningfulness of an inner, mental life— more and more psychologists would now agree that mental life or experience is a valid psychological concern.
How to Think Like a Psychologist
Many people begin their study of psychology without a clear understanding of the subject. They may have images of a laboratory where scientists run rats through labyrinth, or they may assume that it deals only with abnormal emotional disturbances. These, however, are only small parts of the study of psychology. Psychology provides tools to help us in getting some idea about our own behavior, as well as our relationships with others. As you begin your study of psychology, you will find that it is different from any of your other classes. This is because psychology is connected to both the social sciences, such as history or economics, and the natural sciences, such as biology and chemistry. As a social science, psychology studies the influences of society on individual behavior and group relationships. As a natural science, psychology looks for biological explanations for human behavior. You will learn more about the social and biological aspects of human behavior. Your course material will help you to understand your life and the lives of those around you. In your study of psychology, you will learn to think like a scientist. Scientists constantly question their own assumptions and look for alternative clearness and conclusions. Scientists, including psychologists, use the scientific method as a problem-solving tool. It teaches them to think critically by encouraging open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, and evaluation of reasons. Using the scientific method will help you think critically and be objective when applying principles to everyday routine, people, and problems. The scientific method consists of five steps that help the scientist integrate theory and research, as well as compare empirical—or factual—data with common sense ideas. You need to identify the problem; Brainstorm possible solutions; Evaluate the proposed solutions; Choose and advice the best solution; Review the success of the solution in some period of time.
Parapsychology
(Period of Study: 1882 and 1975)
Scientists sometimes study the behavior or events that seem to have fantastic origins. In psychology, this area of study is known as parapsychology. Parapsychology is not a basic branch of psychology, but its ideas hold interest of many people. Parapsychologists think that humans have senses other than the known seven—vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch, balance, and body senses. Skeptics point that there is no real proving of parapsychology. And it has to go through testing.
In 1882, scientists established the first organization to study parapsychology, the Society of Psychical Research, in London. The American version of this society was formed in Boston three years later. These organizations focused on mediumship, or communication with those who have died. As time passed, other phenomena began to be studied, such as telepathy (the ability of people to communicate without using ordinary senses), clairvoyance (the ability to experience an event without physically being there), and psychokines is (controlling objects with the mind). Perhaps the most famous attempts to demonstrate psychokines were made by Uri Geller. Geller confirmed he could bend and break metal objects by using his mind. On non scientifically controlled occasions, Geller did appear to bend or break objects without touching them. In 1974, psychologists filmed several meetings with Geller. In one instance, Geller unbalanced a precision scale, and in another, he bend a steel band. Many people believed Geller really did all this with psychokinetic power; however, skeptics ruined this myth. The events surrounding Geller were highly mysterious; for him, they were highly useful. He began making appearances in various locations, bending spoons or similar objects. He eventually received an invitation to appear on national television, but when it was time to come, Geller didn’t come. It was found out that he had access before all of his performances to the objects he was going to bend. On television, however, his personal set of objects had been switched with a new set, and Geller had to say that something was blocking his magic “abilities.” Scientists accept the results of well designed tests, whether their hypotheses are supported or not. Geller rejected skepticism and explained that this unsatisfying result illustrates the difference between science and belief. The effects produced by parapsychological phenomena have much simpler explanations—sleight of hand to bend spoons, hidden magnets to deflect compasses, and the like. Perhaps the study of parapsychology will ruin this one day. However, for now, healthy skepticism wins.
Like Father, Like Son?
Perhaps Not . . .
Go into a busy newsagent’s and have a look at what kind of things people are reading. The chances are that women are reading about fashion, beauty, romance or relationships and men are reading about cars, photography, equipment or sport. This ought not to be a surprise. After all, these choices are also seen in typical male and female hobbies –men generally enjoy things such as looking after their cars, buying new parts for their stereos, bird-watching or playing computer games while women seem to prefer keeping in touch with friends and entertaining.
For a long time, experts through these differences between male and female interests depended on how parents brought up their children and indeed society in general. However, when we look at young babies, we see that boys and girls have interests which we can call typical ‘male’ of ‘female’ from a very early age. A baby girl, as young as 12 months old, is sympathetic when she sees She also looks sad and makes comforting sounds. Baby girls also make more eye contact and look longer at other people. Boys of the same age look longer at mechanical objects-toys that spin, light up or move. Later, when they become teen agers, boys usually enjoy putting things together and building towns or bridges or vehicles. Boys are often more selfish and aggressive when they play with other children while girls are better at joining in with others. Just like adults. So where do these difference between male and female behavior come from? Although it is true that culture and upbringing play an important role, many scientists now believe that the answers also lies in the amount of male and female hormones in the mother's body before a child's birth. Research has shown that this balance of hormones leads to three different types of brain: type E, type S and type B. People who are born with a type S or male brain are generally interested in systems: constructing and organizing things and working out how things work. They tend to be good at working out where they are, from maps, making things from plans or collecting things. Others have type E or female brain which means they are good at understanding other people’s emotions and treating people with care because they are sensitive themselves. Others are born with characteristics of both these male and female brains- this is called the type B or balanced brain.
Perhaps the most crucial thing that the researchers found out was that the type of brain you have does not have to depend on your sex. Not all men have the male brain. But on average, more males than females have a type Е brain. So, does this mean that one sort of brain is superior? No, not at all. Some people find some things easier to do than others but both sexes have their strengths and their weaknesses.
Genius and Talent
Genius is a person of extraordinary intellectual power. The word genius is used in two closely related senses. In the first sense, as popularized by U.S. psychologist Lewis M. Terman, genius refers to higher intellectual ability as measured by performance on a standardized intelligence test. Terman set the intelligence quotient for “potential genius” at 140 or over, a level reached by about 1 in 250 of the general population. Genius here means simply high intellectual ability and refers to potentiality rather than to attainment. In this sense, the term may be used to characterize “gifted” children who have not yet had an opportunity to gain eminence by achievement. In the second sense (British scientist Sir Francis Galton), “genius” is used to designate creative ability of an exceptionally high order as demonstrated by actual achievement, always provided that such achievement is not merely of transitory value or the result of accident of birth, as in the case of hereditary rulers.
Genius is distinguished from talent both quantitatively and qualitatively. Talent refers to a native aptitude for some special kind of work and implies a relatively quick and easy acquisition of a particular skill. Genius involves originality, creativeness, and the ability to think and work in areas not previously explored and thus to give the world something of value it would not otherwise possess. Although geniuses have usually left their unique mark in a particular field, studies of the early development of these people appear to show that their general intelligence is also exceptionally high. There have been a variety of attempts to explain the nature and source of genius. One theory holds that genius belongs to a separate psychobiological species, differing as much from ordinary man in his mental and emotional processes as man differs from the ape. Another theory looks upon genius as closely related to neurosis and psychosis.
Hidden Talents
They often didn’t learn to read and write until they were older. Their parents often thought they were stupid and their friends laughed at them. Some of them hated their schooldays and decided to drop out of school as soon as possible. In short, they had unhappy schooldays.
Some of the world’s greatest composers, writers and inventors had an unpleasant time at school like this. Later, when they became successful, nobody was more surprised than their old classmates. Were these people stupid? No, of course not! Some people believe that they had something in common – dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a learning disability which means that people have problems with reading and remembering written words. It is often difficult for them to memorise things. Studies show that people with dyslexia use a different part of their brain to read and remember. Experts think that the cause of dyslexia is genetic: probably somebody else in the family also had dyslexia. Statistically, about 15 percent of people are dyslexic, but not everybody who has dyslexia knows about it. Some people with dyslexia discover they have special, hidden talents, but only when they are older. A good example is Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers in history- two billion books published in 44 languages! At school she had problems with writing and often got bad marks for essays. Her parents were disappointed and wanted Agatha to leave school early. She only started writing because her older sister said she couldn’t do it! And even when she was already a famous crime writer, she sometimes felt embarrassed because she still couldn’t spell.
There are many more examples of people like Agatha Christie: Hans Christian Andersen, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and Thomas Edison; important and creative people who had problems with reading and writing when they were young. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everybody with dyslexia is a genius, but it shows that sometimes people can be a lot more intelligent than they seem.
Fears and Phobias
Fear is an important protective instinct. When there is a sign of danger certain chemicals are released into the blood. These produce physical effects that can help us to overcome danger. For example, blood is diverted to the muscles to make them stronger, sweating increases to cool the muscles and faster breathing provides more oxygen. This is why we can go “white with fear” and feel sweaty and cold at the same time. All these symptoms are natural and healthy when we are faced with danger. For many people they can even be exciting and pleasurable so long as they can be controlled. That is why we enjoy fun-fair rides or horror films. But some people experience fears for reasons that are not clear. This is very common in childhood. For example, Tom from Ealing writes, “I am nine years old and I have an awful fear of fire. I keep having nightmares about it”. Alan from Gloucestershire is scared of being alone in a dark room. “When I go to bed I close my curtains and open my door wide and have all the lights on outside my room”. Many of these childhood fears, such as fear of the dark or of storms, disappear as the child gets older. For some, thought, the fear turns into a phobia. Phobias are unreasonable fears which can be so strong that they send your mind into panic and paralyses your body. The most common phobias are a fear of heights, closed spaces, spiders or flying. But there are endless uncommon phobias too, like the fear of going to the hairdresser’s. Most phobias can be treated often by discussing them and learning to be more rational about what you fear. There are many people who have phobias but lead normal lives by facing what they fear and learning to overcome it. The important thing is to do something about controlling the fear before it begins to control you.
Most people talk about memory as if it were a thing they have, like bad eyes or a good head of hair. But your memory doesn't exist in the way a part of your body exists - it's not a "thing" you can touch. It's a concept that refers to the process of remembering. Scientists do not yet understand many things about human memory and many of the ideas and theories about it are still quite controvercial.
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of improving memory.
Most scientists agree that it is very useful to describe human memory as a set of “stores” which are "places" to put information, plus a set of processes that act on the stores. A very simple model might contain 3 different stores: The Sensory Information Store (SIS) The Short-Term Store (STS) , The Long-Term Store (LTS) and 3 processes Encoding (putting information into a store), Maintenance (keeping it "alive") Retrieval (finding encoded information).
The sensory memories act as buffers for stimuli received through the senses. For instance, information in the SIS might indicate a bright red object somewhere ahead. Attending to this information might reveal that there it is a stop-sign. Once information is processed in this way, it can be encoded into the short-term store (STS).Short-term memory. Usually, the STS is described as having a limited storage capacity (seven, plus or minus two items) that "decay" and become inaccessible after a relatively brief interval (estimates range from 12 to 30 seconds). Short-term memory acts as a scratch-pad for temporary recall of the information under process. For instance, in order to understand this sentence you need to hold in your mind the beginning of the sentence until you read the rest.
Long-term memory can store a very large number of information and can hold that information for very long periods of time. Information from the working memory is transferred to it after a few seconds.
There are two types of long-term memory: episodic memory and semantic memory. Episodic memory represents our memory of events and experiences in a serial form. It is from this memory that we can reconstruct the actual events that took place at a given point in our lives. Semantic memory, on the other end, is a structured record of facts, concepts and skills that we have acquired. The information in semantic memory is derived from that in our own episodic memory, such that we can learn new facts or concepts from our experiences.
Attention
Views on attention have passed through continuous evolution since the early work of the 1950s. The most widely known definition of attention goes back to the late 1800s. The psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910) defined it as "the taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several possible objects or trains of thought". Since that time, the questions asked about attention, consciousness and control have changed. Rather than asking “What is attention?”, people now consider “Why does attentional behaviour appear the way it is?” Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing resources. Examples include listening carefully to what someone is saying while ignoring other conversations in a room (the cocktail party effect) or listening to a cell phone conversation while driving a car. Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Attention can be organized in a model that includes such components as focused attention, sustained attention, selective attention, alternating attention, divided attention. This model has been shown to be very useful in evaluating attention in very different pathologies, correlates strongly with daily difficulties and is especially helpful in designing stimulation programs such as APT (attention process training), a rehabilitation program for neurologic patients.
“… the taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form…”- овладение в ясном и чётком виде, одним из нескольких возможных объектов мысли, осуществляемое посредством умственной деятельности.
How Attention Works For Audiences
Getting and keeping an audience's attention is probably the most important thing that a presenter must be able to do. There are other things that are important, but if the audience members are daydreaming or not listening, they just aren't going to hear you. In addition, bored audiences are noisier, and are more distracting to the presenter since they tend to talk amongst themselves, get up and leave. Once you know the basic principles, you can modify your presenting behavior to increase interest and attention.
The principle of Relevance: People will pay very close attention to something they perceive as having relevance to their own lives and concerns.
The principle of Highlighting and Linking: People often will not see the relevance of what is being said without the implications being teased out for them, and highlighted. In other words, you may be presenting something that the audience should be seeing as relevant, or important, but they don't see it as such. You need to highlight by linking the fact or piece of information to the benefit it relates to. You need to explain the importance of what you are saying.
The principle of Change: People have difficulty attending to anything that does not change or is relatively constant or repetitive. eg. We learn to tune out unchanging sound such as air conditioning, although we will notice when it goes off. That's why a monotone voice is so boring, or why it is more difficult to pay attention to a presenter at a podium than to one who is moving around (generally).
The principle of Controlled Change: The key element in generating human attention is introducing controlled change in the environment. It is the presenter's role to change things up....use AV, move, change voice tone, speed, etc. This increases enthusiasm. Destructors: People may pay attention to things that are irrelevant or trivial, since many people have trouble identifying key points or issues. People will be distracted by little things that are out of the ordinary (try leaving your zipper undone or jiggling your keys). They also will miss key points unless you help them. Suggestions for presenters:
Within the first five minutes of any presentation, the presenter must create the idea that what would be said to the audience. It is important that the presenter understand the concerns of the audience with respect to the topic and address them early. Always establish relevance from the point of view of the audience!
Even in the shortest presentation, the presenter "sends" a lot of information. The audience will only retain a portion of that information, so it is important that they retain the major points, not tangential details. Presenters can help the audience focus on the key points through verbal emphasis (tone, loudness, silence), use of overheads and diagrams for key points, etc.
It is difficult for an audience to pay attention for long periods of time with little change in the speaker's behavior. The worst tactic is to stand still, and talk in a monotonous way, or showing slide after slide, or overhead after overhead. An expert presenter, using change elements, can keep attention for very long periods of time by using him/her self as a changing vocal point for attention.
TYPES OF PARENTING STYLES
The way in which children seek independence and the way in which they resolve conflicts about becoming adults depend in large part on the parent-child relationship. Diana Baumrind (1971, 1973) observed and interviewed children and their parents. Follow-up observations when the children were 8 or 9 led to results about the impact of three parenting styles on children. In authoritarian families parents are the bosses. They do not think that they have to explain their actions or demands. In fact, such parents may believe the child has no right to question parental decisions. In democratic or authoritative families children participate in decisions affecting their lives. There is a great deal of discussion and negotiation in such families. Parents listen to their children’s reasons for wanting to go somewhere or do something and make an effort to explain their rules and demands. The children make many decisions for themselves, but the parents still have the right to veto plans of which they disapprove. In permissive or laissez-faire families children have the final say. The parents may try to guide the children but give in when the children insist on having their own way. Or the parents may simply give up their responsibilities—setting no rules about behavior, making no demands, voicing no expectations, virtually ignoring the young people in their house. Psychologists (Maccoby & Martin, 1983) later identified a fourth parenting style: uninvolved parents. These parents were typically egocentric in raising their child and seemed quite distant.
Effects of Parenting Styles
Numerous studies suggest that youth who has grown up in democratic or authoritative families is more confident of their own values and goals than other young people. This seems to come because of two reasons— the establishment of limits on the child and responding to the child with warmth and support (Bukatko & Daehler, 1992). The children of democratic families are more likely to want to make their own decisionswith or without advice. There are several reasons for this: First, the child is able to assume responsibility gradually. He or she is not afraid to exercise judgment (as in authoritarian families) or given too much responsibility too soon (as in permissive families). Second, the child is more likely to identify with parents who love and respect him or her than with parents who treat him or her as awkward or who seem uninterested. Finally, through their behavior toward the child, democratic parents present a model of responsible, cooperative independence for the growing person to imitate. Although the style parents adopt in dealing with their children influences youth development, it would be wrong to conclude that parents are the only ones responsible for the way their children turn out. Children themselves may adapt to the style their parents use, with effect for their own personal development. Parents may adopt a laissez-faire attitude simply because they find that style the easiest way to cope with a teenager who insists on having his or her own way. Youth experiencing quick physical and emotional changes may force their parents to make some regulations in their parenting style.
Too Late for Words
The Case of Genie ( Period of Study: 1981)
In 1970 an unusual discovery was made in California. A 13-year-old girl known as “Genie” had spent all 13 years of her life locked in a room isolated from the world. Her parents had kept her harnessed to a potty-chair, which allowed only small movements of her hands and feet. At night Genie was put in a type of straitjacket and forcefully placed in a wire cage. Her parents refused to communicate with her in any way and demanded Genie’s brothers and sisters avoid any form of communication with her as well. Genie was discovered by workers of social services and the police. When she was discovered, she had no bowel or bladder control, could not chew solid food, had severely damaged posture from years of sitting, and she could not speak or understand language. Nursing Genie back to physical health became the top priority. Then psychologists were to be called upon to evaluate her mental and emotional conditions, as well as to begin teaching her how to communicate.
The unfortunate case of Genie provided psychologists with some clues in defining whether language can be learned at any point in time or if there is a specific stage of development in which humans need to learn language and communication skills. The function of language has been traced to the left hemisphere of the brain. However, it is undetermined if a time period exists in early childhood that allows language to be learned easily. Placed in a hospital, Genie was described as being “a pitiful, malformed, incontinent, unsocialized, and severely malnourished creature” (Pines, 1981). Genie was given various tests that were designed to measure social maturity and school-level placement. She scored at a level equal to that of a normal 1-year-old child. As time passed, Genie learned to recognize her written name. After 7 months passed, she began to develop spoken use of the phrases “stopit” and “nomore,” one word spoken manner similar to what children use. One-word use progressed to two-word use; however, Genie’s development was slower than that of children with similar language skills.
Genie made limited progress in language development. After 7 years had passed, she had learned as much language skill as a normal child learns in 2 to 3 years. When she was 24 years old, she had the language skills of a 5-year-old. Even though Genie learned much about language, she could not fully understand grammar or the use of pronouns and was unable to control the pitch of her voice. Perhaps Genie’s time for learning language had passed; thus her brain could only understand language in a elementary form. However, the physical, emotional, and mental abuse that Genie had during her first 13 years of life played key roles in her development as a whole.
“a pitiful, malformed, incontinent, unsocialized, and severely malnourished
[mæl’nʌrɪʃt] creature”- «прискорбное, плохо сформированное, неконтролирующее себя, необщительное и плохо питающееся существо»