PSYCHOLOGY

Primary/Unlearnt/ Physiological/ Biological Motives   •  The major primary motives are: •  Hunger •  Thirst •  Fatigue and sleep •  Pain •  Sex •  Excretion •  Air •  Warmth and cold Hunger •  The most urgent and desirable need in all organisms including human and animals.  •  Eating is related to the homeostatic mechanism of the body. •  Psychologists have done research on animals to observe the level of motivation, which showed that internal system, not only regulates the quantity of food intake but also the kind of food that has been taken. •  The systems that involved in when to eat and how much to eat is a complicated phenomena. •  It is a proven fact that hunger is not only related with the empty stomach; people whose stomach has been removed still experienced the sensation of it. •  The animals have taken larger amount of food whenit contains low level ofnutrients as compared to highly nut...

Memory Disorders/Dysfunctions Memory loss has long been considered as a result of aging, but now physicians believe that there must be some pathological reasons as well, that cause memoryimpairment: “Memory Cognitive Impairment” (MCI). Although the suffering individuals are capable of doing every day tasks independently, they also heavily rely on using diaries, calendars, reminders etc. Amnesia •  Greek word which means “forgetfulness”. •  Loss of memory with other mental difficulties •  In old age, people are unable to retrieve memories. •  Includes two types of amnesia.   1.  Retrograde amnesia 2.  Anterograde amnesia]   Dementia •  Severe and rare disease, mostly affects people in their 60’s and the risk is doubled every 5 years after 60; at 80, one out of every five people develops dementia. •  Symptoms may include repeating things several times, speech problems, intellectual problems, and inability to remember the skills le...

Theories of Forgetting Why do we forget??? o Several theories have been posed to explain this phenomenon: 1.  Decay theory of forgetting 2.  Interference theory of forgetting 3.  Repression Decay Theory of Forgetting The oldest concept which states that stored information decays and is disintegrated with the passage of time. Criticism against the decay theory 1) It can be taken as a general explanation of how forgetting takes place, but can not be accepted as the actual reason, i.e. the process of forgetting. 2) At times recollection of memories occurs after a long passage of time, which is an experimentally proven fact, and this theory fails to explain this phenomenon.   As decay theory could not explain the actual process of forgetting, another theory emerged, called interference theory of forgetting. Interference Theory of Forgetting •  Interference results when the recall of the learned phenomena is blocked/ displaced by other information. • ...

Single Process Approach Some psychologists do not agree with the idea of three sequential stages of memory; they had a single process approach i.e., levels-of- processing theory.   Levels-of- Processing Theory •  What is most important in the process of memorizing or learning material is the degree to which the material is mentally analyzed. •  How much of new information will be remembered will be determined by the extent or amount of information processing that takes place when new material is encountered. •  The information will be more and more likely to beremembered as the initial processing becomes more and more intense. Information that is paid little attention will not be processed thoroughly, will remain at the shallow level of memory, and will be forgotten soon. On the other hand information that receives greater attention is processed thoroughly; such information enters the deeper level of memory. Shallow Level Memory This is the physical and sens...

Long-Term Memory This system stores information on a permanent or relatively permanent basis; the information thus stored may or may not be retrieved easily. The term long-term memoryis somewhat broad meaning phrase because it can refer to facts learned a few minutes ago, personalmemories many decades old, or skills learned with practice. Generally, however, long-term memory describes a system in the brain that can store vast amounts of information on a relatively enduring basis. When you play cricket, remember what you had for dinner last night, recall your first birthday party, and remember how to play a board game, or to sing along to a favorite song; for all this you draw on information and skills stored in long-term memory.   Psychologists have different theories about how information enters long-term memory. The traditional view is that information enters short-term memory and, depending on how it is processed, may then be transferred to long-term memory. However, another ...

i.  Sensory Memory ii.  Short - term Memory iii.  Long - term Memory  •  These three are not separate, mutually exclusive, entities found in separate brain centers; •  They differ in terms of the functions they perform and their capacity for retaining information for a specific period of time i.e., for how long can they keep the information stored. •  These are abstract divisions on the basis of their primary characteristics. Sensory Memory   •  Storage of memory lasting for a while; this is the initial momentary stage. •  Sensory memory refers to the initial, momentary recording of information in our sensory systems.   When sensations strike our eyes, they linger briefly inthe visual system. This kind of sensory memory is called iconic memory and refers to the usually brief visual persistence of information as it is being interpreted by the visual system. Echoic memory isthe name applied to the same phenomenon in the a...

Memory refers to the processes by which people and other organisms encode, store, and retrieve information. Memory is critical tohumans and all other living organisms. Practically all of our daily activities—talking, understanding, reading, and socializing—depend on our having learnt and stored information about our environments. Memory allows us to retrieve events from the distant past or from moments ago. It enables us to learn new skills and to form habits. Without the ability to access past experiences or information, we would be unable to comprehend language, recognize our friends and family members, find our way home, or even tie a shoelace. Life would be a series of disconnected experiences, each one new and unfamiliar. Without any sort of memory, it would be impossible for humans to survive. Philosophers, psychologists, writers, and other thinkers have long been fascinated by memory. They have always been wondering about, and working on problems like:   •How does the bra...

In case of humans and animals: •Spatial memory is used for identifying and recognizing the features of their environment e.g. cats find their way back home. •Spatial memory is used for finding important goal objects in their environment. •Spatial memory is used for planning route through an environment.   Use of Cognitive Maps by Animals •Birds coming back to the same place and point after a season •Pigeons carrying messages •Cats coming back home even after a number of days have passed  Use of cognitive maps by humans •Cognitive maps of surroundings, primarily based on particular landmarks are developed by people too. •In their initial encounter with a new environment, they develop cognitive maps based upon specific paths. •As the familiarity with the environment increase, “abstract cognitive maps” are developed i.e., overall conception of environment is developed. •Used by interior designers for planning space and arrangements in the absence of any actual objects....

(Also known as the cognitive Perspective or Model) After having gone through the classical and operant conditioning approaches ask yourself: •  Did we learn, all that we know, as a result of mere association of stimulus and response; or was it learnt just because we were reinforced for it?????Can learning take place as a result of some other processes? •  Why does a soldier keep resisting the strong enemy without caring for his life even when he can escape? •  Why would an artist donate his paintings to a charity school and not sell them in the market when he could have earned hundreds of thousands? All human intellectual activities and potentials, i.e. thinking, communicating, problem solving, and learning require mental processes and knowledge. It is more than just stimulus-response association or reward and punishment. •  In the 1970's much of psychology returned to the study of the mind. Cognitive psychology had a similar interest. It studied memory, infor...

•Children •Animals •Mentally handicapped Applications of Operant Conditioning in Real Life Situations •  Child rearing. •  Classroom management. •  Teaching of skills. •  Animal taming. •  Advertising. •  Psychological intervention and Psycho- therapy: behavior modification, assertiveness training, and token economy. Child Rearing Things to remember: •If you make rules, stick to them; if you can not stick to them then don’t make rules. •Provide immediate reinforcement as promised. •Consider no reinforcement along with positive/ negative reinforcement and punishment. Classroom Management •In different situations positive/negative reinforcement, punishment, and no reinforcement work. •The same rules apply as is in child rearing. Significant results in case of: •  Discipline •  Memorization e.g. learning tables •  Vocabulary •  New skills Shaping procedures are of special help in classroom settings. Organizational Behavior •Fixed ...

Negative Rein forcer •A stimulus whose removal reinforces and leads to a higher likelihood that the response bringing about this removal will be repeated: in simpler terms it means repeating a behavior in order to get rid of a negative stimulus. Punishment Punishment is an unpleasant or painful stimulus whose introduction following a certain behavior decreases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.  No reinforcement This also deters or stops a behavior from being repeated. Schedules of Reinforcement •The procedures involving specific frequency and timing of reinforcing a desired behavior SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT Continuous Versus Partial Schedules Continuous Schedule Reinforcing the behavior every time it is repeated. Partial Schedule The behavior is reinforced but not every time. Fixed Ratio Schedule The organism is reinforced only after a specific number of responses is made e.g. salary after 7 days. Variable Ratio Schedule The organism is reinf...

The stage when the stimulus in question generates a conditioned response; The stage of initial learning when responses are established and then gradually strengthened as a result of repeated pairing and presentation. •  This is when classical conditioningcan be said to have taken place.Extinction •  The unlearning of the conditioned response by weakening it, leading to its disappearance; using the same principles as those for learning the response. •  The state when the conditioned stimulus i.e. bell, buzzer, gong etc does not accompany the unconditioned stimulus e.g. food. •  The response gradually diminishes, extinguishes, or declines, as the UCS repeatedly does not appear with the CS. Spontaneous Recovery •  Does the response disappear permanently, once extinction has taken place? Not always! •  Pavlovian experiments showed that some days after extinction, the dog salivated again on hearing the bell/ buzzer. Consider the case of someone w...

•  Type of learning in which a voluntary response becomes stronger or weaker depending on its positive or negative consequences. •  The organism plays an active role and ‘operates’on environment to produce the desired outcome. Operant conditioning forms an association between a behavior and a consequence. Consequences have to be immediate, or clearly linked to the behavior. With verbal humans, we can explain the connection between the consequence and the behavior, even if they are separated in time. For example, you might tell your friends that you'll buy dinner for them since they helped you move, or a parent might explain that the child can't go to summer camp because of her bad grades. With very young children, humans who don't have verbal skills, and animals, you can't explain the connection between the consequence and the behavior. For the animal, the consequence has to be immediate.   Four Possible Consequences There are four possible consequences of any...

A type of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus starts eliciting a response that was originally the response to a natural stimulus i.e., a stimulus that was meant to produce that response; it so happens because the neutral stimulus had been closely associated with the natural stimulus. Basic Terminology in Classical Conditioning: i.Reflex •  An automatic, unlearned response resulting from a specific stimulus. ii. Un Conditioned Stimulus (UCS) A stimulus that elicits a response reflexively, naturally, and reliably. iii. Un Conditioned Response (UCR) •  A natural, reflexive, reliable, response of the UCS. iv. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) •  A primarily neutral stimulus which, when paired with the UCS, starts evoking a response (different from its own natural response) and the same as UCR. v. Conditioned Response (CR) •  After conditioning, the CS begins to elicit a new, learned response i.e., CR. John.B.Watson: (1878- 1958) •...

•  Learning is commonly understood as the act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill. For a layperson it is knowledge or skill gained through schooling or study. With reference to Psychology; it is the behavioral modification especially through experience or conditioning   •  The best definition of learning is that:Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior, and the frequency of its occurrence; this change is not automatic and results from practice or experience   •  Learning usually refers to improved performance, acquisition of skills, and a positive change in behavior; however the change may also be negative in nature   •  Learning is distinguished from behavioral changes arising from such processes as maturation and illness, but does apply to motor skills, such as driving a car, to intellectual skills, such as reading, and to attitudes and values, such as prejudice.   •  There is evidence that neurotic s...

•  Unconscious wishes that cannot be fulfilled in real life and are repressed, find an expression in the dreams.   •  The manifest content represents the latent content. However the manifest part is different from the latent part, and represents the unfulfilled wishes in a symbolic form.   •  The psychoanalyst is trained in digging out the hidden content, and can bring it to the conscious level. Reverse Learning Theory •  There are loads of irrelevant information that accumulates in our mental repertoire throughout the day. If we let this information keep piling up, it will confuse us and hinder clearer thinking. Dreams are a way of getting rid of this accumulation.   •  Dreams do not mean anything more than a scavenger.   •  We are in a way unlearning what we had learn unintentionally. Dreams-for-Survival Theory •  Dreams are a source of reconsidering and reprocessing important information.   •  Dreams ...

Circadian Rhythm •  An internal pace maker and biological control system: Biological processes that repeatedly occur on roughly a 24-hour cycle. e.g. sleep, body temperature etc.   •  Circadian Rhythm may vary from person to person in terms of its pattern; some people feel like going to sleep early and some late; even during the day some need a midday nap and some do not. REM: Rapid Eye Movement Sleep •  Sleep characterized by rapid movement of the eyes. •  REM dominates a little more than twenty percent of an adult’s sleeping time. •  Occurs during stage-1 sleep. •  Eyes move back and forth. •  Sleep is very deep and the major muscles seem as if paralyzed. •  Difficult to wake up the person during REM sleep. •  Usually people dream during REM. •  It is thought that eyes move back and forth duringREM because they are following the action-taking place in dreams. •  REM sleep plays an important part in a person’s life, b...

Significance of Wakefulness, Sleep, and Fatigue Wakefulness is the productive part of our life. At the same time sleep is also an essential aspect. When we are awake, we are consuming our physical energy, and after some time we begin to experience fatigue. All these are the various faces of consciousness .Psychologists agree that we may experience different states of consciousness at different times of the day. Consciousness •  The awareness of the sensations, thoughts, feelings and emotions, events, and surroundings that are experienced by a person. Consciousness is the subjective experience and understanding of both the environment around our private internal world, unobservable to outside and us. The nature of consciousness spans several dimensions. It can range from our perceptions while wide-awake to the dreams we have during sleep, with wide variation in how aware we are of outside stimuli. Some psychologists argue that ‘consciousness’ is a term that should be applied ...