Section 1 : Definitions of Terms

Psychology: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Structuralism: Sensation, perception, attention.

Functionalism: How people adapt to their environment.

Psychoanalysis: To uncover the unconscious.

Behaviorism: Study what we can to observe behavior.

Humanism: People can take control of their own life.

Cognitive Psychology: Mental processes, memory, learning, thinking.

Research Psychology: To discover new knowledge.

Applied Psychology: To apply knowledge to a particular environment.

Clinical Psychology: To help people define and deal with problems.

Analytical Psychology: Symbolism and human psyche, focuses on the quest for psychological
wholeness.

Developmental Psychology: Field of psychology that studies how the human body changes over time
(Mentally & Physically).

Archetypes: Images, objects, or themes connected to a concept, such as anything that could represent
failure.

Classical Conditioning: Pairing an unconditioned stimulus to a desired response, such as a bell and
arriving at class on time.

Client-centered Therapy: “Talk therapy” gets people to understand themselves through guided
discussions about themselves.

Cognition: The set of all mental abilities: attention, concentration, knowledge, memory, etc.

Conditioned Response: A response to a stimulus that has been created (not naturally occurring).

Conditioned Stimulus: A stimulus that has been paired with a response (not naturally occurring).
Identity Crisis: A conflict of personal and expected identity traits, often occurring during
adolescence/young adulthood.

Neurotic Disorder: A disorder due to poor adjustment due to changes in environment/life. (OCD,
phobias, anxiety).

Operant Conditioning: Learned behavior to achieve or avoid consequences, such as blowing on hot food
to not burn your mouth.

Self-actualization: Reaching the full potential of yourself, in order to live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Unconditioned Response: A natural or unconditioned response to stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus: A natural or unconditioned stimulus that gets a response.

Cognitive Dissonance: A conflict between who you are/think you should be, not being OK with yourself.

Drive Reduction Theory: The reduction of one’s drive to do or get something, drive is reduced when
needs/desires are satisfied.

Fundamental Attribution Error: Over emphasizing personal characteristics and downplaying

situational factors.

Heredity: Traits that are genetically inherited, or a measure of how inheritable various traits are.

Phobia: A fear of something, rooted in a past experience or a traumatic event.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: An anxiety disorder that can occur after a traumatic event(s), usually
marked by heightened arousal.

Bystander Effect: The more people witness a person in distress, the less likely that person is to get help.

Cross-cultural Psychology: The study of psychology across a diverse range of cultures and cultural
conditions.

Deindividuation: The loss of a sense of self, or self-awareness when in a group situation, such as during
a riot.

Ingroup: The way in which members of a specific group are defined and identified.

Outgroup: The way in which members not belonging to a particular group are defined and identified.

Stigma: A negative view on something/someone, usually due to prevailing social norms, or personal
experience.
Logotherapy: A form of psychotherapy that tries to help the patient find the aim and meaning of his or
her own life as a human being without accessing the medical aspect of mental health.

Cognition: The mental processes in the brain associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering.

Psychodynamic Theory: An approach to therapy that focuses on resolving a patient’s conflicted

conscious and unconscious feelings.

Psychoanalytic Theory: Sigmund Freud’s theory that all human behavior is influenced by early
childhood and that childhood experiences influence the unconscious mind throughout life.

Unconscious: Information processing in our mind that we are not aware of; according to Freud, it holds
our unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and memories; according to Jung, it includes patterns of memories,
instincts, and experiences common to all.

Conscious: Information that we are always aware of; our conscious mind performs the thinking when we
take in new information.

Ego: Freud’s term for the rational part of the mind, which operates on the reality principle.

Id: Freud's term for the instinctual part of the mind, which operates on the pleasure principle.

Superego: Freud’s term for the moral center of the mind.

Defence Mechanism: The ego’s way of distorting reality to deal with anxiety.

Repression: A process in which unacceptable desires or impulses are excluded from consciousness and
left to operate in the unconscious. Keeping distressed thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious.

Denial: A defense mechanism whereby a person refuses to recognize or acknowledge something that is
painful. Claiming or believing that what is true, is actually false.

Displacement: The shift of an emotion from its original focus to another object, person, or situation.
Diverting emotional feelings from their original source to a substitute target.

Free Association: A method used in psychoanalysis where a patient relaxes and says whatever comes to
mind.

Projection: A defense mechanism whereby a person attributes their own threatening impulses onto
someone else. Attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another.

Neo-Freudians: Psychologists who modified Freud’s psychoanalytic theory to include social and cultural
aspects.
Intellectualization: Avoiding unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspects.

Rationalization: Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior.

Regression: A reversion to immature patterns of behavior.

Sublimation: Redirecting ‘wrong’ urges into socially acceptable actions.

Reaction Formation: Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings.

Section 2: Psychologists and Their Theories

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936): Nobel Prize-winning Russian scientist who started his career studying the
digestive system. His research with the dogs showed that the dogs would drool as soon as he put food in
their mouths. But he noticed that they started drooling at other times, for example, when the dogs saw a
white coat, which Pavlov and his colleagues wore whenever they fed the dogs. This observation led him
to devise an experiment to see if other things could make a dog drool. He discovered classical
conditioning which is a learning process in which an environmental stimulus is associated with a naturally
occuring one (involuntary response). Conducted a famous experiment on dogs (salivating in relation to a
bell).

Pavlov’s Experiment: Pavlov already knew he would get an unconditioned response – drooling — when
he presented the unconditioned stimulus – food – to a dog. To test his theory, Pavlov took a previously
neutral stimulus – a bell – and began to ring it at the same time the dog received the food. After a while,
the dog began to associate the sound of the bell with receiving food, a conditioned stimulus, since it
produced the conditioned response. This type of learning response is known as classical conditioning.

John B. Watson (1878-1958): Developed Pavlov’s ideas into the school known as “behaviorism”.
Conducted an infamous experiment called “Little Albert” in which a young child was conditioned to fear
a white rat (this was generalized to other white, furry objects). The controversy behind this experiment
was that the child was never deconditioned.

Watson’s Experiment: Watson’s experiment was called “The Little Albert” experiment. Watson took
Pavlov’s research a step further by showing that emotional reactions could be classically conditioned in
people. To demonstrate this, Watson used a 9 months old child. Watson exposed the child to a series of
stimuli including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, and burning newspapers and observed the boy’s
reactions. The boy initially showed no fear to any of the objects he was shown. However, the next time
Albert was exposed to the rat, Watson made a loud noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer. Naturally,
the child began to cry after hearing the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud
noise, Albert began to expect a frightening noise whenever he saw the white rat. Soon, Albert began to
cry simply after seeing the rat.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990): American behaviorist who developed operant conditioning. Believed that
behavior is sustained by reinforcement and not by free will. Studied rat behavior via “The Skinner Box”.
Huge influence on educational thinking.

Skinner’s Experiment: Skinner’s operant conditioning experiment consisted of a chamber called the
“Skinner Box” which had a pedal on one wall that caused a little mechanism to release a food pellet into
the cage, when pressed. Inside the cage, a rat was rewarded with food each time it pressed the bar. Within
a very short time period, the rat furiously peddled away at the bar, hoarding its pile of pellets in the corner
of the cage. Through this experiment, Skinner discovered that a behavior that is followed by a reinforcing
stimulus will result in an increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.

Section 3: Four Perspectives of Psychology

Behavioral: Focuses on learning and human behavior

Major Theorists: Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner
Questions:
● How do we learn?
● How does learning shape our behavior?
● How can we influence or control behavior?
Notable Works:
● Pavlov’s Dog – Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
● Little Albert – Classical Conditioning in Humans (John B. Watson)
● The Skinner Box – Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)

Psychodynamic: Focuses on life experiences and connections between the conscious and unconscious
mind
Major Theorists: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, Erik Erikson.
Questions:
● How do childhood experiences shape our personality?
● What can our unconscious mind reveal about our conscious selves?
Notable Work:
● Free Association – Talk Therapy (Sigmund Freud)
● Archetypes – Representation of Self (Carl Jung)
● Social Roles, not Unconscious Mind (Karen Horney)
● Further Development of Psychosexual Stages ( Erik Erikson).

Humanistic: Focuses on the individual as the best source of their own help and learning (client-focused).
Major Theorists: Abraham Maslow, Viktor Frankl, Carl Rogers.
Questions:
● How can people achieve their greatest potential?
● What can we learn from our past experiences?
● How can qualitative information help us better understand humans?
Notable Work:
● Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid (Abraham Maslow)
 ● Self Actualization (Abraham Maslow)
● Logotherpay – One's meaning of existence (Viktor Frankl)
● Client Centered Therapy (Carl Rogers)

Cognitive: Focuses on the mental processes of the brains, to explain behaviors, desires, or neurotic
disorders.
Major Theorists: Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, Albert Bandura, Elizabeth Loftus.
Questions:
● How does the brain develop?
● How is behavior learned?
● Does behavior change depending on our situation?
● How do we remember?
● Does memory change over time?
Notable Work:
● The IQ Test (Jean Piaget)
● Stages of Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)
● Linguistic Theory/Grammar Structures (Noam Chomsky)
● Bobo Doll Experiment – Learned behavior (Albert Bandura)
● False/Repressed memories (Elizabeth Loftus)

Section 3: Humanistic Psychology (Pages 68, 69, 70, 71)

Humanistic psychology favored more qualitative research than quantitative research such as experiments.

Humanistic psychology prefers dairy accounts, open-ended questionnaires, and unstructured interviews
and observations.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970): One of the founders of humanistic psychology. He studied well people,
as opposed to sick people. He studied “self-actualizing: people and their “peak experiences” because he
wanted to understand how they achieved the status of having reached their full potential.

Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow is most known for his Hierarchy of Needs to describe his theory of
motivation. He based this theory on observing clients. The Hierarchy of Needs explains that basic needs
must be fulfilled before higher-order needs become more important. (Basic Needs: Physiological Needs –
Food, water, shelter, clothing | Safety Needs: Security & safety | Psychological Needs: Belongingness &
love – Intimate relationships, friends, sense of connection → Esteem Needs: Confidence, feeling of
accomplishment, respect of others | Self-fulfillment Needs: Self-actualization – Achieving one’s full
potential, experience purpose.)

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997): Viktor Frankl’s theory and therapy grew out of his experience in Auschwitz
– a Nazi concentration camp that was set up during WWII. The conditions in Auschwitz were poor and
provided little hope for its inhabitants’ survival. Frankl observed the behavior of his fellow prisoners and
saw that those who survived often did so because they had something to hold on to. He noticed that those
who had hope tended to have increased chances of survival compared to those who did not. The survivors
had meaning in their lives.

Logotherpay: Frankl used this knowledge of the power of having meaning in one’s life as the basis for a
new form of therapy. Frankl believed that everyone has an inborn inclination to seek the meaning of his or
her existence. He believed that this determination existed even in the worst of circumstances.
Logotherpay suggests that humans are motivated by a need for meaning. He believes that those who
cannot find meaning in their lives will feel empty.

Carl Rogers (1902-1987): Developed client-centered therapy. Focuses on the potential of each person to
realize his or her own growth in self-awareness and self-fulfillment. Focuses on the present and future and
gives more value to conscious thoughts.

Client-Centered Therapy: Psychotherapist creates a warm environment in which clients can express any
feeling of through without fear of judgment. As clients explore their attitudes and emotions on an issue,
they will discover underlying motivations for those attitudes. The insights gained through this approach
lead to real changes in behavior to comfort o new under sayings. Thus, this approach has been the basis of
modern psychotherapy.

Humanism in Education: Like clients in humanist therapy sessions, students are encouraged to take
responsibility for their own learning. The role of the teacher is to understand why students behave the way
they do and learn how to help them achieve growth. Students in the environment tend to be more
cooperative, creative, and independant.

Humanism in the Workplace: In a group setting, managers provide a positive, non judgemental
environment where creativity, individuality, and risk-taking are valued. This improves employee
motivation because each person’s self-esteem needs are considered.

Section 4: Applying Behavioural Psychology (Page 72)

Albert Bandura (1925–): Bandura wondered why the same situation could generate different responses
from different people or even the same person. His research led him to come up with social-cognitive
theory, a perspective on personality that takes a person's motivation, environment, and behavior into
account. His theory can be used to predict and change individual and group behavior. Bandura believes
that people learn behaviors by watching and then imitating others.

Bobo Doll Experiment: Children watched a video of an adult acting violently towards a Bobo Doll. Then
each child got to interact with the doll. Other aggressive and nonaggressive toys were also in the same
room as the doll. He discovered that the children acted just as aggressively as the adults in the video. He
also noticed that the children had increased interest in using violent toys to hit Bobo, despite the toys not
being used in the video. Another group of kids who did not watch the video of Bobo being hit, acted
non-aggressive towards the doll. These kids were less likely to behave violently towards the doll and were
not as interested in the other aggressive toys in the room.
Section 5: Case Studies (Page 262 & 291)

Case 1 – Henri Tajfel – Social Identity Theory

- Social Identity Theory is based on the assumption that individuals strive to improve their
self-image by trying to enhance their self-esteem, based on either personal identity or through
various social identities.
- Group membership helps to shape one’s identity
- Belonging to a group means protecting the core beliefs of the group and ensuring its future
survival
- Individuals are willing to join groups and, once a member, internalizes the group’s core beliefs as
their own. They begin to defend those beliefs if need be
- People develop their identity through interactions with society

Case 2 – Charles Hofling – Obedience Study

- Psychiatrist Charles Hofling conducted an obedience study in 1966 in the medical profession.
- Fake doctor was asked to order nurses to administer a fake drug in lethal amounts to a fake
patient.
- The goal of the experiment was to see if the nurses obeyed the orders or not
- 21 out of 22 nurses administered Astroten as they were instructed despite knowing it was wrong.
- Hofling conducted that people will reluctantly question authority figures and would rather be
wrong than disobey orders.

Section 6: Developmental Psychology

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Observed the stages of development of, especially children.

Stages of Development:
Oral (Birth – 18 months) → Focuses on oral pleasures, such as sucking, biting, and chewing. If
unresolved it can lead to nail biting, smoking, and overeating in adulthood.
Anal (18 months – 3 years) → Derives pleasure from learning to control anus (toilet training). If
unresolved it can lead to concern with perfection and obsessive cleanliness (anal retentive) or extreme
messiness (anal expulsive).
Phallic (3 – 6 years) → Focuses on genitals as a source of pleasure; develops Oedipus complex (boys
unconsciously desire their mothers and compete with their fathers). If unresolved it can lead to
overindulgence or avoidance of sexual behavior and weak sexual identity.
Latency (6 years – Puberty) → Plays mainly with the same-gender friends; sexual feelings are dormant.
Irresolution not applicable as sexual urges are repressed in this stage.
Gential (Puberty Onward) → Directs sexual urges toward members of the opposite sex. Irresolution not
applicable as this is the final stage.

Freud states that if an individual does not fulfill these stages in an orderly manner, they will become
fixated at the stage they did not fulfill and this may cause issues in adult life.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980): Studied stages of cognitive development. Stated that children move orderly
through the stages of cognitive development. Applicable to the building of curriculums universally for
education systems.

Stages of Cognitive Development:

Sensorimotor (Birth – 2 years) → Experiences world through senses and actions, Begins to understand
that objects exist even if they cannot be seen, Understands some symbols and languages begins.
Pre-operational (2 – 6 years) → Develops language and use of symbols, memory, and imagination.
Exhibits non logical thinking, Is egocentric.
Concrete Operational (7 – 11 years) → Develops logic, Develops ability to link concrete objects to
symbols and use them, Becomes less egocentric.
Formal Operational (12 years – Adulthood) → Develops ability to logically link symbols to abstract
ideas, Early in their period they become egocentric again, Not all adults reach this stage.

Erik Erikson (1902-1994): Unlike Freud, Erikson believed humans continue to develop over their
lifetime rather than just childhood. Erikson believed that adolescents sometimes experience identity crises
depending on society and concerns of their time period.

Stages of Psychosocial Development:

Trust vs. Mistrust (Birth – 1 year) → Trust is developed when needs are dependably met. If needs are
not met, frustration and withdrawal sets in.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (2 year – 3 year) → Supportive environment fosters autonomy. If
needs are not met, loss of trust can lead to shame and doubt about independence.
Initiative vs. Guilt (3 – 5 years) → Initiative increases with sense of responsibility. If needs are not met,
anxiety about initiating tasks can lead to guilt.
Industry vs. Inferiority (6 years – Puberty) → Interested envelope in knowledge; awareness develops
that they are productive humans. If needs are not met, unsuccessful learning experiences can lead to a
sense of inferiority and worthlessness.
Identity vs. Role Confusion (Teens – 20s) → Increase concern for the way others see them. If needs are
not met, inability to settle on and identity can lead to role confusion.
Intimacy vs. Isolation (20s – Early 40s) → Well-formed identity enables the ability to form close
relationships. If needs not met, social isolation occurs if unformed identity limits experiences that could
harm ego.
Generativity vs. Stagnation (40s – 60s) → Middle ages feel a need to guide the next gen. If needs are
not met, stagnation develops out of a sense of lack of purpose.
Integrity vs. Despair (Late 60s – Onward) → Integrity is achieved if previous stages developed well. If
need not met, fear of death or dependence on others can lead to despair.