Intro to Psychology

• Psychology


  Root words psyche, or mind, and logos, or study
• Scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• Rene Descartes (nativist view), John Locke (empiricist view)


  17th Century
• Wilhelm Wundt is the Father of Psychology
• Wilhelm Wundt established the 1st psychological laboratory at University of Leipzig in Germany
• Granville Stanley Hall established the 1st Psychology Laboratory in the US at Johns Hopkins University
• Granville Stanley Hall founded the 1st American journal of psychology
• Francis Galton studied individual differences leading to the development of intelligence tests
• 1st Department of psychology in UP under the school of education

  1926
• University of Santo Tomas was the first institution to offer undergraduate, masteral and doctoral degrees in psychology
• Elias Bumatay & Agustin Alonzo founded the PAP


  1962
• Focus of psychology in the Philippines shifted to more indigenous psychology

  1970s
• Virgilio Enriquez aimed to indigenize PH. Psychology PSSP (Pampansang samahan ng sikolohiyang pilipino) was established
• Neurons


  Fundamental unit of the nervous system, specialized cell that transmits electrical and chemical signals
• Main parts of neurons

  • Cell body, Dendrites, Axon
• Nerve impulse transmission


  Stimulus evokes reaction, Sensory Neurons send signal to the rest of the nervous system, Electrical Signal generated for the heart to pump, Synapse is the points of contact between neurons, Chemical Signal transmitted through chemosensory modalities, Neurotransmitters facilitate communication between neurons
• Neurotransmitters


  • Serotonin associated with happiness, focus and calmness
  • Oxytocin associated with social bonding, sexual behavior, birth and maternal behavior
  • Dopamine associated with rewards and motivation
  • Endorphins help relieve pain, reduce stress and improve sense of well-being
• Sympathetic


  Controls "fight-or-flight" responses
• Parasympathetic


  Responsible for the body's rest and digestion response when the body is relaxed, resting, or feeding
• Endocrine system regulates how much of each hormone is released
• Human development is the scientific study of how people change and stay the same over time
• Quantitative change refers to variation in number, sizes, amount (Examples: changes in height, weight)
• Endocrine System


  Regulates how much of each hormone is released
• Human Development


  Scientific study of how people change and stay the same over time
• Quantitative Change


  Refers to variation in number, sizes, amount
• Quantitative Change


  • Changes in height, weight, age, vocabulary, IQ scores
• Qualitative Change


  Refers to a shift in kind, structure, organization such as behavior
• Life Span Stages


  • Prenatal, Infancy, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Adolescences, Young Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, Late Adulthood
• Normative Influences


  Biological and environmental influences on development that occur in a similar manner for most individuals in a given group
• Normative Influences


  • Age graded, History-graded
• Non-Normative Life Events


  Occurrences not common to most people; unusual events that impact people's lives
• Non-Normative Life Events


  • Major illness, Tragedy
• Ecological Theory of Bronfenbrenner


  A child develops within a complex, dynamic system of relationships, affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment
• Microsystem


  Primary relationships, interactions, activities, and roles experienced by a person in their immediate surroundings
• Mesosystem


  Connections, or interrelationships among microsystems in which the person is involved
• Exosystem


  Settings that do not directly involve the person but affect their development
• Macrosystem


  Larger variables of culture, historical context, social class, religion, government policies
• Chronosystem


  Influence of historical time shaping a person's environment and life experiences
• Jean Piaget


  Swiss biologist, philosopher, and psychologist who described children's thinking as unique and important
• Children seek to better understand their world by interacting with the environment