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UNIVERSIDAD DE

SAN MARTÍN DE PORRES

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA COMUNICACIÓN, TURISMO Y DE PSICOLOGÍA

ESCUELA PROFESIONAL DE PSICOLOGÍA

ASIGNATURA :

TECHNICAL ENGLISH FOR PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS

CICLO II SEMESTRE 2005- II

Elaborado por:

ESTHER BUENO OLIVERA

LIMA –PERU
2005
Centro de Reproducción de Documentos de la USMP Material
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INTRODUCCIÓN

1. ASPECTOS ESTRUCTURALES DEL TEXTO ACADEMICO O CIENTÍFICO


Para leer y traducir la información científica en inglés, es necesario tratar de entender qué es un
discurso o texto científico y; esto significa señalar sus aspectos estructurales.
Todo texto contiene los siguientes aspectos:
a) Un Nivel Sintáctico que incluye: la Frase Nominal, la Frase Verbal y unidades mayores
como la Oración Simple, la Oración Compuesta, la Oración Compleja y esta última, en
conexión con otras similares que forman la Oración Compuesta Compleja.
b) Un Nivel Morfológico que incluye Morfemas Flexivas, los cuales indican el género, el
número, la persona, el tiempo, el aspecto y la voz.
Morfemas Derivativas que incluyen los prefijos, sufijos e infijos, las cuales tienen la
función de cambiar la clase de la palabra.
c) Nivel Semántico que es la definición del término, el valor conceptual y lexical; la distinción
entre sinonimia, polisemia, homonimia, antonimia e hiponimia, así como la forma y función
de las palabras; el significado denotativo y connotativo, las metáforas y otras analogías.

Sin embargo, los tres niveles están estrechamente unidos, dependen uno del otro.
En el Nivel del Mensaje, el texto académico tiene claves contextuales, i.e., oraciones que
contienen los siguientes aspectos:
• La idea principal • La información extralingüística
• Ideas subsidiarias o detalles • La generalización
• La tesis • La clasificación
• La referencia • La descripción
• La inferencia y la implicancia • La hipótesis
• La comparación y el contraste • El argumento y la discusión
• La analogía y la similitud • El enfoque del autor, su opinión, su
• La definición intención.

Señalar estos aspectos cada vez que uno realiza la lectura y traducción de textos académicos será
de gran valor porque permitirá sacar el máximo provecho al texto escrito en inglés.
Nuestro Curso de Revisión Gramatical en los dos niveles ha tratado de cumplir con los aspectos
sintáctico y semántico. Se ha realizado tal versión gramatical ensayando la traducción y la
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interpretación de oraciones de diferente complejidad. La ininteligibilidad de la traducción


interlingual se salva con la traducción intralingual, porque la traducción mot par mot funciona
muy mínimamente, entonces la traducción oblicua es más bien la interpretación semántica de la
oración.
¿Cómo manejar el aspecto lexical?
La palabra, pues, no siempre revela la clave de la comprensión de una proposición o un
enunciado. Se tiene al frente el carácter polisémico de los términos, los cuales adquieren su valor
semántico por contexto; la no existencia de una sinonimia absoluta, es decir, cuando un término
es válido en un contexto, no lo es en otro, p.e. “answer” y “reply” son sinónimos, sin embargo,
se puede decir:

“I had two answers wrong in my last exam”, pero no se puede usar “reply” en ese mismo
contexto.
Entonces será necesario estar atentos a problemas como se han señalado. Hay otra situación en el
aspecto lexical. Se trata de los cognados. Estas son palabras que tienen raíces latinas y griegas
que en el desarrollo del idioma inglés fueron incorporadas, y para suerte nuestra, estas abarcan un
promedio del 30% aproximadamente, lo que facilita la comprensión del texto según la frecuencia
de las mismas en el párrafo. Pero también existen “cognados falsos”, cuya forma es similar al
castellano, pero el significado es diferente.

Ejemplos de cognados verdaderos:


Literature ‘literatura’
División ‘división’
Idea ‘idea’
Composition ‘composición’
Psychology ‘psicología’
Pardon ‘perdón’
etc., etc

Cognados falsos:
Library ‘biblioteca’
Lecture ‘conferencia’
Grocery ‘abarrotes’
Realize ‘darse cuenta’
Actually ‘ realmente’
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Motion ‘movimiento’ etc


La mala comprensión de estos últimos puede distorsionar la traducción de todo un párrafo. El
buen manejo del diccionario evitará este problema.
¿Cuándo y cómo debemos usar un diccionario bilingüe?
El diccionario es un instrumento de trabajo muy importante, pero su empleo excesivo revela algo
muy importante; que el usuario no ha tenido oportunidad de estudiar los aspectos estructurales a
nivel lingüístico y semántico, que se han señalado líneas arriba. Si maneja bien el análisis
oracional, donde están contenidos el sujeto (Frase Nominal), el verbo (Frase Verbal), cada uno
con sus diferentes modificadores y auxiliares respectivamente, palabras lexicales y funcionales
que por su forma ya conocida nos revelan, la persona, el tiempo, la voz, etc., reduce al máximo el
uso excesivo del diccionario.
Entonces es aconsejable emplear el diccionario cuando:
a) Ya se ha intentado deducir el significado por contexto.
b) Al encontrarse con un significado que no encaja, buscar una que sea adecuado para tal
contexto.
c) Ubicar o comprobar a qué parte del discurso pertenece el término, si es verbo, adjetivo,
adverbio, etc.
Cuando tenga el diccionario en mano es necesario que lea las instrucciones del manejo. Porque
cada autor o editor, usa diferentes claves para el mejor empleo de los mismos.

Por ejemplo si lee una entrada le da el heterónimo, es decir, lo que llamamos comúnmente el
significado; la misma indica la pronunciación, la parte del discurso (o categoría gramatical), el
género, y si es verbo, el tiempo, transitivo o intransitivo. Una entrada polisémica, algunas veces
indica el contexto y la situación en que emplea tal variante, etc. Algunos diccionarios incluyen
modismos (expresiones que al traducir literalmente no tendrán sentido). En casos de necesidad se
tendrá que recurrir a un diccionario de modismos.
Ejemplos de modismos:
Once in a time ‘de vez en cuando’
At once ‘de inmediato’
As a matter of fact ‘a propósito’
Verbos Compuestos como:
Call on ‘visitar’
Call off ‘cancelar’
Look after ‘cuidar’, ‘atender’, etc.
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¿Cómo se presentan las claves contextuales?


El discurso académico tiene determinadas expresiones que permiten ubicar sus diferentes
aspectos, como secuencias sintácticas, palabras y expresiones que introducen un texto, tales
como:
This study attempts to...
The findings of this study state that ….
There is a considerable evidence to support that…

Y conectores de oraciones complejas como: as a result, accordingly, hence, therefore, etc. que
indican inferencia o conclusión.

La definición o la descripción usa principalmente el verbo To Be.


Ejemplo:
“The cell body is a microscopic speck of nerve protoplasm from which the processes of the
neuron extend…”(1)

Ejemplo de un texto donde se observa la distribución de un vocabulario técnico:


Un párrafo de THE NERVOUS SYSTEM..(2)
“Nervous integration is accomplished through the action of nerve cells (neurons) which are in
functional relation. In the organisms studied by psychologists, the nervous system appears to
consist of large and small nerves which are branches of a main trunk nerve called the central axis
(the spinal cord the brain). In reality, these nerve units are bundles of individual nerve fibers
(…)”.
Cognados:
nervous psychologists
integration system
action consist
nerve central
neurons spinal
functional individual
relation fibers
organisms reality

Esto nos muestra de manera fehaciente que un gran porcentaje de términos es ya obvio para el
lector, habrá comprendido en un porcentaje relativo, aunque, las palabras solas no encierran el
mensaje, sino las relaciones entre ellas. Entonces, en su exploración del texto anotará toda
palabra desconocida por él para su posterior interpretación con la ayuda del diccionario bilingüe.
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La lista debe ser como sigue:

accomplish main
through trunk
cells called
appears which
large axis
small brain
branches bundles

Aquí pareciera haber casi igual porcentaje de palabras desconocidas que los cognados, sin
embargo, esto es relativo en la medida que un artículo total tiene un porcentaje aproximado del
30 de cognados. Además, algunas palabras que por su origen latino o griego son cognados, pero
no se puede tomar muy apresuradamente, ya que puede no haber correspondencia directa p.e.
trunk no es truncar, ni cord, entendemos como cordón, sino como médula, los cuales ya se han
mencionado lineas antes.

2. ASPECTO CONTRASTIVO DE LA LECTURA


Cuando revisamos las estructuras sintácticas a nivel de la frase y la oración, observamos el orden
de los constituyentes. Los modificadores del sustantivo a nivel de la frase nominal van antes de
éste como en:

A big animal - Un animal grande


An anxious woman - Una mujer ansiosa
Those ten studious girls - Esas diez chicas estudiosas

En la voz pasiva:
The research was completed last week
La investigación se completó la semana pasada
Es más recomendable que decir fue completado.

Behaviorism was developed in USA


El conductismo se desarrolló en los EE.UU.

Trucks are made in Brazil


Se fabrican camiones en Brasil.
Y no: Los camiones son fabricados en Brasil, porque tendría otro sentido.
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Las oraciones pasivas que tienen objeto indirecto, como en:


She was given a prize for her research

No debemos traducir:
Ella fue dada un premio por su investigación.
Sino:
A ella le dieron un premio por su investigación.

He was sent some journals


A él le enviaron algunas revistas (científicas)
They were explained all the lessons
A ellos les explicaron todas las lecciones

Si la oración pasiva con objeto indirecto lleva agente, se debe trasladar al castellano sólo en voz
activa, como en:

The patient was given a medicine by the doctor


El médico dio un medicamento al paciente

The practitioner was given a prize by the hospital Director


El Director del hospital dio un premio al profesional

2.1 Evitar los calcos


Hay palabras, expresiones y hasta oraciones que tienen aparente correspondencia simétrica,
por su forma, con el castellano. Sin embargo no debemos traducir de manera irresponsable;
hay equivalentes para sustituir, sólo si es un préstamo conceptual o no hay palabra o expresión
para reemplazar se debe recurrir al calco. Esto permite mantener las normas del castellano y no
contaminar innecesariamente.
Ejemplo de calcos innecesarios y distorsionantes son:

“disturbar” de dirturb (perturbar)


“deprivación” de deprivation (privación)
“behaviorismo” de behaviorism (conductismo)
“a su turno” de in turn (a su vez)
“envolver” de involve (involucrar)
“está siendo observado, resuelto, visto, etc.” de it´s being observed, etc.
(Se está observando, resolviendo, viendo)
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En algunos casos, la especialidad acepta ciertos términos del inglés por razones de
particularizar el léxico cuando parece muy natural, tal es el caso de “asertivo” de assertive,
“asertividad” de assertiveness, y otros prefieren usar “afirmativo” y “afirmación”. Dependerá
del alcance del profesor, si se quiere evitar los calcos innecesarios.

PRACTICE 1

Read and translate the following sentences

1. The girl has long, blond hair


____________________________________________________________
2. The next two houses are new
____________________________________________________________
3. The small yellow car is Peter’s
____________________________________________________________
4. I have an old friend here
____________________________________________________________
5. The tiny being that makes up our body is the cell.
____________________________________________________________
6. Our body is made of bones, muscles, organs and other elements
____________________________________________________________
7. After nine months the sperm cell and egg cell joined together the baby is born
____________________________________________________________
8. Twins start growing when two sperm cells and two egg cells join together
____________________________________________________________
9. Organs are made of tissues
____________________________________________________________
10. The thyroid, sex and adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system.
___________________________________________________________
11. Some flowers were given to Miss Torres
__________________________________________________________
12. The Dean of the faculty was sent hundreds of congratulations
____________________________________________________________
13. Lots of books were written by him
____________________________________________________________
14. The new tests were standardized by the teachers
____________________________________________________________
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15. A great deal of food and water is needed in Lima


____________________________________________________________
16. Thousand of students were tested in July this year
____________________________________________________________
17. Different behavioral aspects of the students were assessed
____________________________________________________________
18. The consumption of alcohol and the failure of condom use are considered in the study
____________________________________________________________
19. The academic achievement and other variables will be taken in account
____________________________________________________________
20. All the books in the library were checked and coded over again.
____________________________________________________________

CONNECTED SPEECH
Las oraciones complejas son aquellas que llevan unos o más cláusulas subordinadas, las cuales
pueden ser nominales, adjetivales o adverbiales.

EXERCISE 1

Lea y traduzca las siguientes oraciones con cláusulas adjetivales (adjetive clauses).
1. The man who visited our faculty comes from Mexico.

____________________________________________________________

2. Dr. Watson, who applied behaviorism to education, was American

3. The professor whom I want to talk to is very busy.

____________________________________________________________

4. Dr. Salgado, whose book I’m reading is a good researcher.

____________________________________________________________

5. We met some students who came to visit us last week.

____________________________________________________________

6. The place where there was a press conference was full of people.

____________________________________________________________

7. The author whose paper I read was my teacher last year.

____________________________________________________________
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8. The day when Dr. Olson gave a lecture about multiculturalism was Friday.

____________________________________________________________

9. The questionnaire whish we obtained by telephone call was very useful for the

analysis.

____________________________________________________________

10. The lady who told us that she had been in hospital for long was my aunt.

____________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 2

Lea y traduzca las siguientes oraciones con cláusulas nominales (noun clauses).

1. James said that his friend was sick


____________________________________________________________
2. What I see is a very new book
____________________________________________________________
3. The woman affirms that there will be a seminar over mental health.
____________________________________________________________

4. Where you want to go doesn’t make any difference.


____________________________________________________________
5. What I said was very important.
____________________________________________________________
6. Mary insisted that she had a very important question.
____________________________________________________________
7. Betty always says that English is necessary to be updated in psychology.
____________________________________________________________
8. Wherever you study isn’t the point. What you need is to be studious.
____________________________________________________________
9. Dr. Gomez told us that practice is complementary in learning.
____________________________________________________________
10. Miss Vidal affirmed that there had been an accident near the faculty the day before.
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____________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 3

Lea y traduzca las siguientes oraciones con cláusulas adverbiales.

1. When we arrived in Ayacucho, we observed very different cultural behaviors of the


people.
____________________________________________________________
2. The student went home as soon as he finished up his test.
____________________________________________________________
3. She will come to class whether or not she has her assignments done.
____________________________________________________________
4. If you study consciously, you will become an excellent psychologist.
____________________________________________________________
5. All the children played while Miss Perez was at the cafeteria.
____________________________________________________________
6. Whenever she is at the library, she tries to work a tot with her assignments.
____________________________________________________________
7. You should read all the chapter so that you can get a good achievement.
____________________________________________________________
8. If he had had the opportunity, he would have achieved in medicine.
____________________________________________________________
9. Miss Rodriguez has read all the book, so she can answer all the questions about the
topic.
____________________________________________________________
10. After you listen to the teacher’s explanation, you can take down the important ideas.
____________________________________________________________

SPECIAL SELECTION OF READINGS ON PSYCHOLOGY

Use a notebook, and carry out the advices given about the way of dealing with technical and
scientific texts in English.
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Take into account the following steps:


1. Explore the text, so that you can try to understand by using your previous knowledge
about the topic, and signal the aspects which are new.
2. Make up a list of new words or expressions
3. Take a good bilingual dictionary or a glossary and work out the meanings
4. Use that vocabulary and read the text over again to understand the main ideas.
5. By using your own words write the topic in Spanish.

Reading 1: The Ear And Hearing

The ear is able to collect the sound waves produced in the environment. They move through
. the inside parts of the ear toward the nerve cells. The nerves pass the message of the sound
waves to the brain, so you hear.

The eardrum is a tough sheet of cells inside the ear. The sheet is stretched tight like the skin
across the top of a drum. When sound waves enter the ear, they hit the eardrum. The eardrum
begins to move quickly – or vibrate – the way a drum does when it is hit. This vibration
causes three tiny bones in your ear to vibrate, too. They in turn cause vibrations in a liquid that
fills the deepest part of the ear. The moving liquid presses on the hearing nerve cells, which
pass the sound message on to the brain.

The parts of the accessory apparatus are: outer ear, canal, eardrum, middle ear, malleus or
hammer, incus or anvil semicircular canals, Eustachian tube, cochlea (spiral cavity).

Comprehension exercise

I. Write TRUE or FALSE in the statements:

1. The middle ear collects the message from the environment _________
2. Before you hear the message, the nerve cells pass them to the brain _________
3. The eardrum similar is to a drum because it makes sound _________
4. The hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup are in the middle ear. _________
5. The vibrations of three tiny bones make in turn vibrate a liquid
deep inside the ear. _________
6. The function of the outer ear is to transport the sound waves to the brain _________

Word study: Match the words with their meanings.(Use your dictionary if necessary. Copy
the letter of the meanings on the lines)
1.a.hear
very inside part (of_____________
the ear) 7. deepest part (of the ear) _____________
2. move _____________ 8. tough sheet _____________
3. eardrum _____________ 9. pinna or concha _____________
4. collect _____________ 10. sound waves _____________
5. cause _____________ 11. tiny bones _____________
6. across the top _____________ 12. cochlea _____________
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b. the effect produced in the ear by the sound waves coming into the ear.
c. crossing the top of something like a drum.
d. make something happen
e. exterior part of the ear that gathers the sound vibration.
f. a piece of something flat like a thin leather.
g. to gather (to put from different parts into one place.)
h. movement of sound making waves.
i. to go from one place to another
j. the tympanic membrane.
k. very small bones, which vibrate when eardrum vibrates
l. a spiral structure resembling a snail’s shell

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE REVIEW.


Observe the sentences similar to those used in the text.
When sound waves enter the ear, they hit the eardrum.
When the liquid in the deepest part of the ear vibrates, they move on the hearing nerve
cells
These clauses are conditional. The adverb WHEN could be substituted by IF.
Examples:
If the there is a damage in the nerve cells, deafness will be total in one ear or both.
People may grow deaf if they are exposed to very loud noise.

EXERCISE

Join the clauses by using the connective adverb WHEN or IF where suitable.

1. You will understand the names of tiny bones. You observe the tools: stirrup, anvil,
hammer as real objects (if)
……………………………………………………………………………….. ……
2. The sound waves reach the nerve cells. They pass the message of the sound waves to the
brain. (when)
………….…………………………………………………………………………..
3. The eardrum is hit by the sound waves. It vibrates. (when)
………………………………………………………………………………..
4. You aren’t careful about strident sounds .You may grow deaf. (if)
………………………………………………………………………………..
5. People become blind. Hearing develops to compensate it. (when)
………………………………………………………………………………..
PARTS OF THE EAR.
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The Ear and Hearing

Translate the sentences.

1. In human beings, hearing is performed by the ears, which also perform the function of
balance.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. The ear is an organ for hearing and balance. It consists of three parts: the outer ear, the middle
ear, and the inner ear.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. The outer and middle ear mostly collect and transmit sound.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. The inner ear analyzes sound waves and contains an apparatus that maintains the body's balance

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. We use our senses to learn what is going on in the World around us.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Today, communication is one of man’s most important skills, and communication depends on
the sense of hearing.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. Hearing is a complicated process, as you can see by all of the tiny parts of the ear that are
involved.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Reading 2: Left-Handed People

Some people are left-handed, but most are right-handed. A few people also can use either
hand, they are called ambidextrous. Many scientists think that each side of the brain controls
. the muscles on the opposite side of your brain.

In most people the left side of the brain is more powerful than the right side.
These people have better control over the muscles on their side. If the left
side is dominant, they are right-handed. If the right side of the brain is dominant, you are left-
handed. If both sides are about equal, you may be ambidextrous.

Not very long ago, parents and teachers used to try and change left-handed children into right-
handed. Today scientists know that it is best for left-handed children to stay the way they are.
Forcing them to use their right hand confuse the two sides of the brain.

Comprehension Exercise.

Answer the questions:

1. What side of the brain is more dominant in most people?

..……………………………………………………………………………….

2. What do we call those who can use both hands with about equal ability?

……………………………………………………………………………………

3. Should we force left-handed children to become right-handed? Why?

……………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………..

4. When are you left-handed?

………………………………………………………………………………………

5. When are you right-handed?

………………………………………………………………………………………
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6. What do scientist think about left-handed children today?

………………………………………………………………………………………

Word study.

Copy the words before their meanings.

Ambidextrous, muscles, right-handed, powerful, left-handed, stay, way

………………………….. dominant
………………………….. people who use both hands
………………………….. people who use the right hand only
………………………….. tissues of the body which give us force to move.
…………………………. manner (we do things) or behave
…………………………. people who use the left hand only.
…………………………. remain , not change.

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE REVIEW.


Read the sentences and observe the verbs and auxiliaries.

If the left side of your brain is dominant, you are right-handed


You are left-handed if the right side of your brain is dominant
We call these clauses zero conditional because they show the verbs in present tense in both
clauses.
In other cases, the conditional shows the verb in present, while the consequence, the
auxiliaries, will, can or may.

Examples:
If you change a left-handed child into a right-handed one, you will( can, may) make him
confuse the two sides of his brain.

EXERCISE
Complete the sentences with the appropriate clause, which are below.

1. If people are ambidextrous,……………………………………………………………..


2. You may be more efficient if …………………………………………………………..
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3. They can swim in the pool, if …………………………………………………………..


4. That student will pass the exam if …………………………………………………….
5. He will learn a lot of vocabulary if…………………………………………………….
6. If he takes a lot of exercise, ………………………………………………………….

- they train with an instructor


- she studies all her lessons
- they can do more things than with only one hand
- he reads and uses his dictionary
- he can get powerful muscles
- you use both hands

Left-Handed People
Translate the sentences

1. One in every 10 people is left-handed, and males are one and a half times more likely to be left-
handed then females.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………..…………………………………………………………………………………
2. Most tools, utensils, office equipment and dishes are made for the right-handed person.

…………………………….…………………………………………………………………………
3. In general, being left-handed means having a dominant right side of the brain.

……………………………………….……………………………………………………………….

4. The problem most lefthanders have is that the world is configured for right handed people.

………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………….

5. Medical researchers have searched long and hard for what causes people to be left handed or
right handed.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. The researchers have concluded that left handed people are left handed for the same reason as
brown eye people have brown eyes.
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. To be ambidextrous means to be equally dextrous with either hand. That is, the ability to use both
hands with equal skill and coordination.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………

Being Left Handed

One out of every ten people walking down the street is left-handed. Everywhere they go, left-
handed people come across tools that were designed for right handed persons.
From scissors to camcorders to screw drivers to hockey sticks to baseball gloves, lefties learn early
on that they need to develop skills to live in a world designed for right handed people.
If you are a right-handed person, try this experiment sometime: Grab a scissors with your left hand
and try cutting a piece of paper. Don't be surprised if the experience feels extremely awkward.
Thankfully, there are companies that make left-handed scissors, left handed camcorders, and other
left-handed tools. But often times left-handed persons find themselves in a situation where they
have no choice but to use something designed for right-handed persons.
In ages past, society was not sympathetic to left-handed persons. Young students who preferred
using their left hand to write were punished for doing so. Some of these students eventually learned
to write with their right hand, but only after enormous effort.
These days parents and teachers are far more accepting and understanding. In almost every school
in the world, students who are left handed are allowed to continue using their left hand to write.
Medical researchers have searched long and hard for what causes people to be left handed or right
handed. The researchers have concluded that left handed people are left handed for the same reason
as brown eyed people have brown eyes. It's just one of those things that shows up in one out of
every ten people.

DRAW THE HUMAN BODY SHOWING THE BRAIN SIDES AND THE MUSCLES
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Reading 3: The Nervous System

The body’s circuitry, the nervous system, consists of billions of individual cells called
neurons. Neurons usually receive signals from other neurons through their branching dendrites
.
and cell body, then combine these signals in the cell body and transmit electrical impulses, the
action potential, down their axon.

When these signals reach the end of the axon, they stimulate the release of chemical
messengers, called neurotransmitters. These molecules traverse the tiny synaptic gap between
neurons and combine with receptor sites on neighboring neurons, thus passing on their
excitatory or inhibitory messages.

Neurotransmitters are now being studied to discern their importance for humor and emotion.
The central nervous system’s (CNS) neurons in the brain and spinal cord communicate with
the peripheral nervous system’s (PNS) sensory and motor neurons. The PNS consist of the
somatic nervous system, which directs voluntary movements and reflexes, and the automatic
neuron system, whose sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions control our involuntary
muscle movements and our glands.

Comprehension exercise
Answer the questions with complete information.

1. What does the nervous system consist of?


…………………………………………………………………………………….
2 What do nervous system’s neurons and the spinal cord accomplish?.
…………………………………………………………………………………….
3. How do neurons usually receive signals from other neurons.
…………………………………………………………………………………….
4. What happens when the signal reach the end of the axon ?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
5. What are the neurotransmitters being studied for?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
6. What PNS consist of?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
20

WORD STUDY.
Enrich your vocabulary by matching the concepts with their meanings . Write them
where they correspond.

nervous system axon sensory neurons reflex threshold synapse neuron

neurotransmitters motor neurons sympathetic nervous system

central nervous system parasympathetic nervous system acetylcholine lesion.

1. .…………………………………… a neurotransmitter that, among its functions, triggers


muscle contraction.
2. .…………………………………….. The body’s speedy, electrochemical
communication system.
3. .…………………………………….. a simple automatic inborn response to a sensory
stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.
4. .………………………………………neurons that carry incoming information from the
sense receptors to the central nervous system.
5. ………………………………………………the division of the autonomic nervous
system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations .
6. ………………………………………………..The division of autonomic nervous system
that calms the body, conserving its energy.
7. …………………………Tissue destruction .
8. ……………………………………………… chemical messengers that traverse the
synaptic gaps between neurons.
9. …………………………… a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
10. .…………………………………………. The neurons that carry outgoing information
from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.
11. . ……………………………… the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron
and the dendrite or cell of the receiving neuron.
12. . ……………………………… the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
13. . …………………………the extension of a neuron ending in branching terminal fibers
through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
21

14. .……………………………………. The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural


impulse.

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE REVIEW.


Read the sentences :
When these signals reach the end of the axon, they stimulate the release of chemical
messengers…
When molecules traverse the tiny synaptic gap between neurons, they combine with
receptor sites on neighboring neurons.

These clauses are called adverb clauses. These kind of clauses use adverbs as connectors.
They show the time when the action or condition occurs.

Reading 4: Vision and the Visual Phenomenon

The stimulus for vision is radiant energy. The small portion of existing radiant energy, to
. which visual receptors are sensitive, is discriminated as to brightness and to color by the
human organism.

Rod and cone cells located in the retina are the sensitive receptors for light. An extensive
accessory apparatus, commonly called the eye, serves to focus and otherwise control the
light stimulus.

The rod and cone cells appear to have somewhat different functions, though numerous
interrelationships are in evidence. The differences between rod and cone functions give rise to
the duplicity theory of vision.

Perception of form and space is accomplished through both physiological and psychological
cues. The physiological cues are sometimes called primary since they are built in structures,
whereas the psychological cues are learned, and are called secondary. In case of conflict the
learned cues are likely to take precedence.

Perception is greatly influenced by the dynamics of the organism. Attitudes, expectations,


experience, all mold the stimulus into a meaningful perception.
22

Comprehension exercise.

Answer the questions:

1. What stimulates vision?


………………………………………………………………………………….
2. What causes the duplicity of theory of vision?
………………………………………………………………………………….
3. How is the perception of form and space accomplished?
……………………………………………………………………………….
4. Why are physiological cues called primary in vision?
………………………………………………………………………………..
5. Why are psychological cues called secondary?
………………………………………………………………………………..
6. In what way is perception greatly influenced by the dynamics of organism.
………………………………………………………………………………..

WORD STUDY.
Write the parts of the accessory apparatus of vision before the references given .

Cornea, the aqueous humor, lens, the vitreous humor, the iris,

………………………………. A transparent liquid holding the outer part of the eye.


………………………………. Which is accommodated by the action of ciliary
muscles to focus light from different distances on the retina.
……………………………….. A transparent supporting liquid.
……………………………….. An inner layer of nerve cells surrounded by the
choroid and sclerotic coats.
……………………………….. is a muscle which contracts and expands under
different intensities of light stimulation to form the papillary opening.
………………………………..Lights waves travel inward through it.
23

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE REVIEW.

Read the sentences :

The psychological cues are sometimes called secondary…

Perception of form and space is accomplished through both physiological and


Psychological cues.

The structure is called passive voice, how is it formed?

WRITE THE RULE HERE:

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
EXERCISE
Change the active voice to passive voice in the sentences below.

1. Scientists sometimes call the psychological cues primary.

The psychological cues are sometimes called primary by scientists

2. Attitudes , expectations, experience, mold the stimulus into a meaningful perception.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. Many of my classmates observe the accessory apparatus of vision and audition.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. The dynamics of the organism influence perception greatly.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

5. The human organism discriminates as to brightness and to color the small portion
of existing radiant energy to which visual receptors are sensitive. (use it)

………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. The radiant energy stimulates the vision.


24

………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. We write a lot of exercises in class and at home.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

8. Some people in Peru speak more than one language

………………………………………………………………………………………….

9. Mr. Torres teaches psychopathology in the afternoon.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

10. Jasmine observed the little boy’s behavior during the game.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

THE EYE

Traduzca lo siguiente:

1. The Iris is a circular band of muscles that controls the size of the pupil. The pigmentation of the
iris gives “colour” to the eye. Blue eyes have the least amount of pigment; brown eyes have the
most.

…………...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................................

2. The pupil is the opening in the centre of the iris. The size of the pupil determines the amount of
light that enters the eye.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. The cornea is the clear protective coating on the front of the eye that allows light to pass through
it without distortion.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. The sclera is the "white" part of the eye.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. The part of the sclera in front of the coloured part of the eye is called the cornea.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
25

6. Pupil is the dark centre of the iris.


……………………..…………………………………………………………………………………..
7. The pupil decides how much light is need for the eye to see properly. It changes sizes to adjust
for changes in light.
……………………………………………………………………………………………

8. Macula is the small central area of the retina that provides vision for fine work and reading.

……………………………………………………………………………………
9. The vitreous humor is the clear jelly–like substance that fills the middle part of the eye
…………………………………………………………………………………………….

10. The aqueous is the watery fluid that fills the space between the cornea and the iris.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

DRAW AND LABEL THE PARTS OF THE ACCESSORY APPARATUS OF VISION


OR EYE.
26

Reading 5: The Brain

It is said that brain is the headquarters of a giant message system called the nervous system.
The brain gets messages from every part of the one’s body by way of special long cells called
.
nerves. Then it sends back its own message through the nerves to different parts of the body
giving directions what to do.
Each of the brain’s three basic regions – the brainstem, the limbic system, and the cerebral
cortex – represents a stage of brain evolution.
The brainstem begins where the spinal cord swells to from the medulla, which controls
heartbeat and breathing. The cerebellum, attached to the rear of the brainstem, coordinates
muscle movement. Within the brainstem, the reticular formation controls arousal and
attention. On top of the brainstem is the thalamus, the brain’s sensory switchboard.
Between the brainstem and cerebral cortex is the limbic system, which has been linked
primarily to memory, emotions, and drives. For example, one of its neural centers, the
amygdale, is involved in aggressive and fearful responses.
Also in the limbic system, the hypothalamus has been linked to various bodily maintenance
functions, to pleasurable rewards, and to the control of the endocrine system. The endocrine
system releases hormones, which travel through the bloodstream to target organs and tissues,
where the effect emotional stages, growth, and other body functions.
The five senses are distributed in the following way:
Vision , in the primary visual cortex
Smell, in the olfactory bulb.
Touch, in the primary sensory cortex
Taste, in the taste cortex.
Hearing, in the primary
Comprehension Exercise auditory cortex.

Complete the statements:

1. The brain is like a ………………………………………………………….called


the nervous system.
2. The special long cells are called ………………………………………………..

3. The brain receives and ………………… back messages to ……………………


parts of the …………………………………..
4. The three basic regions of the brain ,…………………………………………….
………………………………represent stages of ………………………………
5. The cerebellum is attached to………………………………………., this
coordinates the……………………………………..
6. The reticular formation inside the brainstem controls the…………………………
and ………………………………
7. The thalamus is located ………………………………………………………….,
27

and it is the brain’s ………………………….. switchboard.


8. The limbic system is located between ……………………………………………
and …………………………………
9. The limbic system has been linked primary to ………………………………….,
………………………………………, and ……………………………………….
10. The ………………………………is involved in aggressive and fearful…………..
11. The hypothalamus has been linked to ………………………….. rewards and to
the control of the ……………………………… system.
12. The endocrine system releases ………………………………….. These chemical
Substances travel through the………………………………. to………………….
Organs and tissues, where the affect……………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………...
and other body function take place.

WORD STUDY
Mach the words or expressions with their meanings and enrich your vocabulary
_____________________________________________________________________
a. frontal lobes b. Amygdala c. Hypothalamus d. cerebral cortex e. Parietal lobes
f. sensory cortex g. aphasia h. Endocrine system i. Broca’s area j. cerebellum
k. corpus callosum l. Medulla m. Wernike’s area n. thalamus o. limbic system
p. motor cortex q. Hypothalamus r. brainstem s. adrenal glands. t. Cerebral cortex.

1. The largest bundle of neural fibers connecting and carrying messages between the
two brain hemisphere. ( )
2. An area of the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension ( )
3. Impairment of language usually caused by the left hemisphere damage either to
Broca’s area or Wernike’s area. ( )
4. An aera at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements ( )
5. The area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body
sensations. ( )
6. A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys, whose function is to secrete
Epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenalin) ( )
7. A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities
(Eating, drinking, body temperature), helps to govern the endocrine system via the
pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward. ( )
8. Two almond-shaped neural centers in the limbic system that are linked to
emotion. ( )
9. The body’s “slow,” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secretes
hormones into the bloodstream. ( )
10. A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and
cerebral hemispheres, associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and
drives such as those of food and sex. ( )
28

11. The brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of brainstem, directs message to the
sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and
medulla.( )
12. The central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the
skull; it is the oldest part of the brain and it is responsible for automatic survival
functions. ( )
13. The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing. ( )
14. The “little brain” attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary
movement and balance.( )
15. The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres;
the body’s ultimate control and information processing center. ( )

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE REVIEW.


Read the sentences below:

Between the brainstem and the cerebral cortex is the limbic system, which has been linked
primarily to memory, emotions, and drives.

The endocrine system releases hormones, which travel through the bloodstream to target
organs and tissues.
These clauses are called Adjective Clauses. They subordinated to the main clause, and is
connected to this through the relative pronoun WHICH. ‘That’ is similar.

EXERCISE
Join the clauses with the relative pronoun which or that.
1. The adrenalin helps you deal with stressful situations
It is released by the adrenal glands.
……………………………………………………………………………..................
2. The brain controls everything you do and think about.
It is the center of the nervous system.
……………………………………………………………………………..................
3. The cerebellum coordinates the muscle movement.
It is attached to the rear of the brainstem.
……………………………………………………………………………..................
4. The book is really interesting
I bought it yesterday.
……………………………………………………………………………..................
5. The pictures belong to Professor
29

They are on the desk.


……………………………………………………………………………..................

Reading 6 : " Sensation and Perception "

Specialized receptor cells are sensitive to certain kinds of energy changes in the environment. Each
cell has a threshold, and energy changes less than this threshold value are not capable of exciting
the neuron. There is a difference between the neurophysical threshold and the psychological
threshold. The proper functioning of higher organisms is much more dependent upon differential
thresholds, the ability to detect differences in stimuli of the same kind, than upon absolute
thresholds, the ability to detect existence of a stimulus.

A stimulus, and the resulting sensation, may vary in quality, intensity, extensity, and duration.
Whether we attend to a stimulus or not depends upon its clearness, a function of the amount of
separation of figure and ground. Most distinguishing characteristics are a product of the
individual's experience, but there are a number of rather specific determiners which seem to operate
without learning.
The basic difference between the recalled sensitivities (such as memories, images, and ideas) is the
clearness which accompanies these sensitivities as reported.

Comprensión de Lectura.

1. Escribe las ideas principales del texto.

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

2. ¿De que depende que respondamos a un estímulo o no?


________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

3. ¿En que varía el estímulo?

Reading 7: " Birth, Growth, and Maturation "

All organisms are composed of cells. The number of such cells and the differentiation of them as to
structure and function are determined by the gene structure. This gene structure determines the
ultimate capacity of the organism. The degree to which this ultimate capacity is fulfilled is
determined by food required to nourish the various cells, the hormone secretions of the endocrine
glands, land exercise or training.
30

In the human being the organism gets its start in the uterus of the mother. Nourishment is provided
through the placenta which connects mother and child. By the time of birth the organism's
structures are differentiated, though sometimes in rudimentary form, and a certain amount of
reception of stimuli and reaction thereto is possible. From birth onward physical growth,
maturation of structure and function, and experience, all interact to enable the individual to function
in his environment.

Comprensión de Lectura

1. ¿Cuáles son las ideas principales de la lectura?

2. ¿Qué es lo que determina la estructura del gen?

3. ¿Cómo es proveído el alimento al feto?

Reading 8 : " What is learning ? "

Learning may be defined as the development and modification of the tendencies that govern the
psychological functions. Such learning may be studied from several points of view - the basic
nature of the learning process, retention and forgetting, the limits of learning, the role of practice in
learning, the importance of various kinds of motives, and the application of learned techniques or
materials.

Learning takes place when for a given task or situation the amount accomplished is increased, the
time required for a definite increase is reduced, or the number of errors is reduced. Forgetting is
indicated when the opposite happenings occur.

Learning is studied by means of problem boxes, mazes, discrimination apparatus, delayed reaction
apparatus, conditioning apparatus, memory drums, pursuit meters, multiple-choice problems, and
everyday activities.

Learning is greatly influenced by drive and motivation, repetition and practice, generalization and
opportunity to transfer, and numerous rather specific factors such as meaningfulness of material,
sense modality involved, and method used. The same factors influence retention of learned
material.
31

Comprensión de Lectura

1. ¿Cómo podemos definir al Aprendizaje?

2. ¿Cómo se realiza el aprendizaje?

3. ¿Cómo esta influenciado el aprendizaje?

4. ¿Desde que puntos de vista puede ser estudiado el aprendizaje?

Reading 9: " Retention and Forgetting "

Any measurable degree of persistence of material learned is considered evidence of retention.


There are five principal ways in which retention is measured:
1.- Recall
2.- Recognition
3.- Reconstruction
4.- Relearning
5.- Transfer
These measures are not interchangeable ( Luh, 1922 )

Curves of Retention. Ebbinghaus (1885), studying retention of nonsense syllables by the savings
method (relearning), developed a curve of retention. He found that the amount retained dropped
rapidly at first, then less and less rapidly, giving a negatively accelerated curve. This curve has
often been used as the curve of retention. Most curves of retention do show a similar form, but
certain curves depart markedly.

Factors in Retention. Most of the factors found important to learning are also important for
retention, but there are some additional important factors for retention.

Individual Differences. More intelligent individuals usually retain more than less intelligent. Rapid
learners retain more than slow learners ( Gillete, 1936 ).

Exceptional memorizers sometimes appear. Investigation reveals that persons with this ability
usually restrict their performance to some very narrow range of materials, practice at every
opportunity, and operate under very high motivation.
32

Type of Material Involved. Meaningful material is retained much more easily than nonmeaningful
material. Similarly, integrated habits such as perceptual-motor activities of typing or bicycle-riding
seem less likely to show the sharp initial drop in retention. The evidence on superior retention of
perceptual motor activities is equivocal since it is extremely difficult to equate them with verbal-
ideational tasks and to control such factors in learning as motivation and repetition.
Pleasantly toned materials are generally shown to be retained slightly better than unpleasantly toned
materials or indifferent materials ( Barret, 1938; Sharp, 1938 )

Degree of Original Learning. As original learning increases, retention increases. Thus, if repetition
is continued past the point of successful response ( commonly called overlearning ), retention is
increased ( Ebbinghaus, 1885; Krueger,1929 ).

Recitation during learning. Retention is greater where recitation has been used in the learning task.
( Gates, 1927; Forlano,1936 )

Intent to Remember. Learning with the intent to remember results in greater retention than more
learning with the intent to learn. This factor even persists for specific time intervals. Thus, Geyer
(1930) found recall to be less when a recall test came either sooner or later than expected.

Comprensión de Lectura

1. Qué ideas principales ha podido obtener de la lectura?

2. ¿Por que es importante la curva de retención?

3. ¿Cuales son los cinco factores principales de retención?

4. ¿Es importante el tipo de material utilizado? ¿Por que?

5. ¿Que es mejor estudiar por estudiar o para acordarse? ¿Por que?


33

Reading 10: " Personality "

Personality is a catchall term with a multitude of definitions. These generally add up to some
description of the result of interaction of one human being with another. Most attempts to describe
and measure personality have been in terms of traits or characteristics. Whether the whole
personality can be broken down into some sum of interaction of these traits or characteristics is still
a highly debatable question.

Many attempts to define and measure personality have had their beginnings in the extreme cases,
which are concentrated in hospitals, because their unsatisfactory social adjustment has led to their
institutionalization. The traits or other factors developed through such definition and measurement
may not represent the extreme of any true continuum or set of continua.

A tremendous number of personality inventories and other tests have been developed in an attempt
to define and measure personality. The latest development is the projective technique.
Since the dawn of recorded history, attempts have been made to associate the physical
characteristics of the individual, particularly his body build, with the personality. To date, all
classifications based on physique have failed to hold up under careful experimentation. However,
there is clearly some relationship, though this may be that both physique and personality are related
to some common underlying factor.

Those afflicted with mental disorders have been the subject of great interest to psychologists
throughout the years. The prevalence of mental disorder is difficult to determine, partially because
of the social stigma which is still attached to mental disease and partially because of the difficulty
of making a diagnosis.

Personality theorists are handicapped by the difficulty of definition. By far the most popular theory
in terms of its relation to therapy is the psychoanalytical theory of Freud, though this has had many
modifications since the original promulgation.

Personality description in particular is likely to fall heir to the mistake of dividing all people into
two categories. People are said to be introverts or extroverts as if there were a bimodal distribution.
In reality, introverts and extroverts are the extremes of a continuum and a vast majority of people
are somewhere between these two extremes.

Reading 11 : " What is Psychology? "

Psychology's Roots Beginning with the first psychological laboratory, founded in 1879 by German
philosopher and physiologist Wilhelm Wundt, psychology's modern roots can be found in many
disciplines and countries. Psychology's basic issues and research activities lead us to define the
field as the science of behavior and mental processes.
Perspectives on Behavior and Mental Processes There are many perspectives on human nature.
Within psychology, the biological, behavioral, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, and social-
34

cultural perspectives are complementary. Each has its own purposes, questions and limits.
Together they provide a fuller understanding of mind and behavior.

Psychology's Subfields: Psychologists' activities are widely varied, ranging from the diagnoses and
therapies of clinical psychologist to the basic research conducted by biological, developmental, or
personality psychologists to the applied research of industrial/organizational psychologists.

Reading 12: “Psychology’s Methods”

To describe, predict, and explain behavior and mental processes, psychologist use three basic
research methods: description, correlation, and experimentation.

Description Through case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observations, psychologists observe and
describe behavior and mental processes.

Correlation: The strength of relationship between one factor and another is expressed in their
correlation. Knowing how closely two things are correlated tells us how much one predicts the
other. But correlation is only a measure of relationship; it does not reveal cause and effect.

Experimentation: To discover cause-and-effect relationships, psychologists conduct experiments.


By constructing a controlled reality, experimenters can manipulate one or two factors and discover
how these independent variables affect a particular behavior, the dependent variable. In many
experiments, control is achieved by randomly assigning people either to be experimental subjects,
who are exposed to the treatment, or control subjects, who are not exposed.

Reading 13 : " Psychology's Pioneers "

Psychology is a young science with roots in many disciplines, from physiology to philosophy.
Wilhelm Wundt, who founded the first psychology laboratory in 1879 at Germany's University of
Leipzig, was both a physiologist and a philosopher. Ivan Pavlov, who pioneered the study of
learning, was a Russian physiologist, Sigmund Freud, renowned personality theorist, was an
Austrian physician. Jean Piaget, this century's most influential observer of children, was a Swiss
biologist. William James, author of an important 1890 psychology textbook, was an American
philosopher.
This list of pioneering psychologists illustrates that psychology has its origins not only in many
disciplines, but also in many countries. Today, psychology's researchers and students, like its
historic pioneers, are citizens of many lands. In the last few decades, psychology has flourished
more in North America, where there are now about 200,000 psychologist, than in Third World
countries such as China ( 2000 psychologists ), Nicaragua ( 500 psychologists ), or Nigeria ( fewer
than 100 psychologists )
( Akin - Ogundeji, 1991; Antaki, 1989; DeAngelis, 1988; Vetter, 1989 ). Worldwide, however, the
field is thriving, form Australia and New Zealand to Western Europe to the developing nations.
With research ranging from recording nerve cell activity to studying the effectiveness of
psychotherapy, psychology is difficult to define. Psychology began as the science of mental life.
Just over a century ago, Wilhelm Wundt's Basic research tool was introspection ( self-examination)
of one's own emotional states and mental processes. Wundt focused on inner sensations, feelings,
and thoughts. Thus, until the 1920s, psychology was defined as " the science of mental life "
35

From the 1920s into the 1960s, American psychologists led by John Watson redefined psychology
as “the science of observable behavior ". After all, they said, science is rooted in observation. You
cannot observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but you can observe people's outer behavior in
reaction to external stimulation.
In the 1960's, psychology began to recapture its initial interest in conscious and unconscious mental
processes. Many psychologists now study how our minds process and retain information. To
encompass psychology's concern both with overt behavior and covert thoughts and feelings, we
define Psychology as the science of behavior and mental processes.
The controversy over the relative contribution of genes and experience, called the nature-nurture
issue, will reappear throughout this book. Clearly, the influences on us are both internal and
external. The issue is their relative importance and how they interact.
This debate is longstanding. The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle took opposite
sides. Plato assumed that character and intelligence are largely inherited and that ideas are inborn.
But Aristotle argued that there is nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external
world through the senses. In the 1600s, philosophers John Locke and René Descartes took up the
debate. Locke believed that the mind is a blank slate at birth and that most knowledge comes in
through the senses. Descartes believed that knowledge is not dependent on sense experience. In
our own time the nature-nurture debate continues. Thus, the question of internal and external
influences weaves a thread from the ancient past to our time. Psychology is a young science but an
old subject.

Comprensión de Lectura..

Realiza un resumen con las ideas principales de la lectura.

Que decian cada uno de estos filosofos :

• Platon:

• Aristóteles:

• Locke :

• Descartes:

• Watson :
36

Reading 14 : " Thinking and Problem- Solving "

Thinking is implicit behavior whose existence is revealed by some explicit behavior usually
observed in attacks on problem situations. There is apparently some explicit behavior involved
directly, since sensitive instruments show minimal movements associated with speech and voice or
show muscular movements occurring in search for and detection of objects or solutions. On the
higher levels, thinking is largely symbolic and objects themselves are seldom manipulated.
Thinking is rather clearly differentiated from logic since thinking itself may not be logical.
Experimental study of thinking has been largely through development of problem situations such as
puzzle boxes, mazes, and other activities which require choice or plan in order to affect a solution

Reading 15: " The Emotion "

A situation which is out of the ordinary for the individual is likely to result in emotional activity.
This emotional activity in its outward appearance is generally random and disorganized, is
accompanied by feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness, and is universally associated with
marked changes in the chemistry of the body. In general, the body chemistry changes are such as to
prepare the body for violent and intensive action.
Emotional activity and the corresponding bodily changes may be learned. That is, the original
stimulus situation may be transferred and conditioned to a variety of stimuli, even symbolic, so that
some portion of the original situation is reintegrated.
The strong physiological reactions which normally are counterparts of emotion are frequently
inhibited by the culture in which we live. Behavior is thus changed, and unsatisfactory solutions
are sometimes developed. If these solutions are counter to our society, the individual is termed
abnormal in behavior.
Proper control of emotions consists largely of having personally and socially acceptable responses
to emotional situations and of minimizing emotion-arousing situations.
37

Both implicit and explicit behaviors under emotional conditions have been rather thoroughly
charted. As yet, we have no completely accepted theory which accounts for all of these facts. The
two best known and most nearly complete are the James-Lange theory and the Cannon-Bard theory.

Reading 16: “Social Reactions in Emotion "

Considering the effect of emotion on our bodies, it would appear that the best response to emotion
would be to take immediate action. If frightened, run or fight; if in love, take appropriate action; if
unhappy, cry. However, society frowns upon strong emotionally tinged behavior, except in
carefully prescribed situations. Even where strong behavior is accepted, the reaction must be in an
appropriate direction. The soldier may show anger in war but must not show fear. If the individual
is to avoid exhibiting socially unacceptable behavior, and yet reduce the emotional tensions aroused
by the situation, some adjustment must be made. Adjustment to situations which are emotionally
undesirable is most likely to take one of three directions:
1.- The individual tries to escape from the situation by avoiding it, either physically or mentally,
2.- The individual tries to overcome the situation,
3.- The individual attempts to derive pleasure from what is normally and unpleasant situation.
The last named of these is generally considered abnormal in our society, if it is recognized. The
second, if successful, obviously corrects the situation. The first exists in great profusion and in
many disguises. A brief definition of some of these may increase our insight into different
personalities. It is perfectly natural to try to escape from thwarting situations. Whether or not this
is a desirable behavior depends upon a number of factors. The type of escape mechanism used is
one factor, and the ability of the individual to cope with the situation if he did not try to escape is
another.
Migration. The simplest type of escape reaction is migration, literally running away from the
situation.
Rationalization. Frequently associated with migration is the process of rationalization in which
socially acceptable reasons are developed to cover the " loss of face " which might come from
simple withdrawal.
Daydreaming. Virtually everyone daydreams to some extent, but the consistent daydreamer builds a
dream world to the extent that he is quite lost to reality.
Projection. In this form of escape from emotional pressure the individual blames other individuals
or even inanimate objects for his misfortunes.
38

Compensation. The individual compensates for his shortcomings in the emotionally disturbing area
by diligent practice devoted to improvement in areas in which he knows he can be successful. Such
an individual is then likely to label the things which he cannot do as not worthy doing.

Reading 17 : Stress

What Is Stress?
Stress is what you feel when you are worried or uncomfortable about something. This worry in your
mind can make your body feel bad. You may feel angry, frustrated, scared, or afraid - which can
give you a stomach-ache or a headache.
When you're stressed you may not feel like sleeping or eating. You also may feel cranky or have
trouble paying attention at school and remembering things at home.
What Causes Stress?
Plenty of things can cause stress in a kid's life. The trick is to remember that some types of stress
are good and others are bad. Good or normal stress might show up when you're called on in class or
when you have to give a report. Have you ever gotten butterflies in your stomach or sweaty
hands? Those can be signs of good stress - the kind of stress that can help you to get things done.
For example, you may do a better job on your book report if the anxiety inspires you to prepare well
before you get up and read it to the class.
But bad stress can happen if the stressful feelings keep going over time. You may not feel well if
your parents are fighting, if a family member is sick, if you're having problems at school, or if
you're going through anything else that makes you upset every day. That kind of stress isn't going to
help you, and it can actually make you sick.
Once you recognize that you're feeling stressed, there are several things you can do. You can try
talking about what's bothering you with an adult you trust, like a parent or teacher. Bring up what's
been on your mind and how it makes you feel. An adult may have ideas about how to solve
whatever is worrying you or making you uncomfortable.
39
Off-The-Job Stressors

The most common causes of stress in the family


(which involve both the physical and
psychological aspects of stress) are:
Money, sex, childbearing, and lack of com-
munication. These home stresses will usually
affect work as much as on-the-job stresses do.
After all, it's not easy for anyone to leave
troubles behind

situation and try to understand what causes their


stress. Mary's problem stems from the fact that she
works on a machine-based assembly line, which is
considered by many psychologists to be the most
stressful job in today's society. Mary is faced not only
with boring repetition, but she must also keep up with
the machine. The machine governs Mary and,
therefore, intensifies her stress.
John's stress is different because it concerns physical
stressors involving ergonomics. He is physically
uncomfortable. Simply because John's chair does not
support his back properly, the positioning of the
screen and keyboard of his video display terminal is
off, or the glare from the lights is picked up on the
screen, John must deal with unnecessary stress
SYMPTOMS

When you become confused, excited or frightened your body goes through a
process of readying its defence mechanisms. A part of your brain releases a
message which triggers an outpouring of adrenalin to help you deal with your
stressful situation. At this point, a "fight or flight" response occurs. Your body is
induced by some outside force to prepare itself for fight or flight.
This is exactly the way the caveman dealt with stressful situations. If he suddenly
happened upon a tiger, the caveman would immediately be charged with adrenalin and
then use up that adrenalin by either fighting the animal or running from it.
Nowadays this response is not as useful as it was then. If you are stuck in a traffic
jam, you can't fight it and you certainly can't run from it. So you restrain your feelings.
And the tension from the stress builds. If then, a little later you are faced with another
stressful situation, the process will begin again. The adrenalin will shoot out and your
body will again prepare on fight or flight.
It all comes down to the amount of remaining adrenalin lowing within your body.
That extra adrenalin depletes your body of its necessary vitamins and minerals. Such a
chemical upset within your body may lead to depression, emotional outbursts,
sleeplessness, and frequent headaches and nausea. Eventually, if the duration of the
chemical imbalances are long enough and frequent enough, the stress can be seen in
your heart rate and blood pressure. Ulcers, coronary heart diseases, strokes, perhaps
even cancer at an early age may occur.
STRESS RELIEF METHODS
READ AND TRANSLATE

Understanding the various methods of relief that you can use will help you cope with day-to-
day stresses. These methods are actually preventive measures. If you try to implement some of
these measures into your daily work routine, you can save yourself from serious problems that
could come up later.

Concentrate On The Good


Don't dwell on the negative aspects of a situation.

Keep Busy
When you're not at work, find other things to do to keep yourself occupied. Join a sailing club
or read a book

Exercise
This may very well be the best way to relieve tension from stress. Try jogging or aerobic
exercises before or after work. Or for more immediate relief, do isometric exercises right at
those moments when you feel stressed. Those few exercises done during your breaks work off
that excess adrenalin.

Learn To Relax
Just breathing in a relaxed manner can lessen tension. Many people find yoga or other
stretching exercises to be excellent stress-relievers.

Be Flexible
If there is a possibility that your plan of action may fall through, be prepared to try something
else. Don't let a change in plans disrupt your entire day.

Weekend Vacation
A change of scenery will do anyone good.

Talk It Out
Try not to bottle up your feelings. On the other hand, it is not necessary to yell and scream to
release your anger.
Watch For Weak Moments
If you can recognize what kind of situation will cause you stress, you can be better prepared to
deal with it.
Probably some of the most relaxing things you can think of are, in reality, the most harmful.
Believe it or not, smoking a cigarette, munching on a candy bar, enjoying a cup of coffee, or
having a drink all raise your level of stress

Cigarettes
Nicotine is a stimulant. When you go for a cigarette to calm your nerves, you are actually
doing the opposite. You are building stress upon stress.

High Sugar Foods


Same thing. Sugar speeds up your body mechanisms in the same way nicotine does. You
always think of sugar as quick energy. Right? Add that quick energy to an already high
level of adrenalin and you're going to be feeling extremely nervous and stressful.

Coffee

When they say caffeine keeps you awake, they don't just mean it keeps your eyes open. It
speeds up your whole system which leads to ... stress.

Alcohol

Alcohol is an easy food source. It fills you up so that you often have no desire to eat. When
you substitute drinking for eating, your body is depleted of its necessary vitamins and
minerals. This deficiency upsets your chemical balance which causes you to behave in an
emotional and often irrational manner.

Are You Too Busy?


If you're feeling tired and stressed because you have too much going on, like lots of after-school
activities, you might feel better if you drop something, even if it's just for a semester or so.
Sometimes lots of activities - even if they're all fun - can make you feel stressed by keeping you
busy all the time. On the other hand, if problems at home are bugging you, some (but not too
many!) after-school activities may actually help you relax and feel better.
There are also relaxation exercises that you can use to get rid of stress. The easiest one to do is to
inhale (breathe in) slowly and deeply through your nose, and then exhale (breathe out) slowly
through your mouth. Do this two to four times, but don't take in too much air too quickly because it
can make you feel dizzy.

Comprensión de lectura

1.¿Porqué puedes sentirte estresado?

2.¿Qué puedes hacer para librarte del estrés?

3.¿Qué ejercicios puedes hacer para librarte del estrés? Explique

Reading 20: “Creativity and Intelligence”

Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. The outlets for creativity
vary by culture. Samoan culture encourages creativity in dance, Balinese culture in music, the
African Ashanti culture is wood carvings (Lubart, 1990). In each, creativity means expressing
familiar themes in novel ways.
Studies of creative people suggest four other components (Sternberg, 1988; Sternberg & Lubart,
1990). The first is expertise - a well-developed base of knowledge. “Chance favors only the
prepared mind ", observed Louis Pasteur. The second is imaginative thinking skills - an ability to
see things in new ways, to recognize patterns, to make connections. To be creative you must first
master the basic elements of a problem, and then redefine the problem in a new way. Copernicus
first developed expertise regarding the solar system's sun and planets, then defined the system as
revolving around the sun, not the earth.
Creativity's third ingredient is a venturesome personality - one that tolerates ambiguity and risk,
perseveres in overcoming obstacles, and seeks new experiences rather than following the pack.
Inventors, for example, have a knack for persisting after failures, as Thomas Edison did in trying
countless substances for his light bulb filament.
The fourth component is what psychologist Teresa Amabile calls the intrinsic motivation principle
of creativity: “People will be most creative when they feel motivated primarily by the interest,
enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself - and not by external pressures " ( Amabile
& Hennessey, 1988 ). Creative people focus not so much on extrinsic motivators - meeting
deadlines, impressing people, or making money - as on the intrinsic pleasure and challenge of their
work.

¿Cuales son los componentes de la creatividad? Explica cada uno de ellos

Reading 21: “Intelligence”

It is misleading to deify concepts such as “intelligence " and " giftedness " - to regard these abstract
concept as if they were real, concrete things. To most psychologists, intelligence is the capacity for
goal-directed and adaptive behavior.

Some psychologists argue that intelligent behavior ( say, a person's ability to adapt successfully to
the demands of school or work ) is culturally relative; others contend that intelligence is a culture-
free ability to solve all sorts of problems.

Psychologists agree that people have specific abilities, such as verbal and mathematical aptitudes.
However, they debate whether a general intelligence (g) factor runs through them all. Factor
analysis and studies of special conditions, such as savant syndrome, have identified clusters of
mental aptitudes.

Is Intelligence Speedy Information Processing?


Recently, psychologists have linked people's intelligence to their basic capacities for processing
information. Some psychologists are studying the components that make up problem-solving skill,
others the speed with which people's brains can process information. There does seem to be at least
a modest tendency for highly intelligent people to have quick-witted reactions.

Comprensión de Lectura

1. ¿La inteligencia esta definida culturalmente?

2. ¿La inteligencia es una habilidad general o varias habilidades especificas?

3. ¿Podríamos definir a la Inteligencia como la rapidez con que procesamos la información? ¿Qué
dicen los psicólogos al respecto?

Reading 22: “The Challenged”


At one extreme are people whose intelligence scores fall below 70. To be labeled mentally retarded
a child must have both a low test score and difficulty adapting to the normal demands of living
independently. Only about 1 percent of the population meets both criteria, with males
outnumbering females by 50 percent (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). Most such
mentally challenged individuals can, with support, live in the mainstream society.
Some mental retardation, characteristic of only 4 percent of the retarded, usually results from
known physical causes, such as Down syndrome, a disorder attributed to an extra chromosome in
the person's genetic makeup.
During the last two centuries the pendulum of opinion about how best to care for the retarded has
made a complete swing. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the mentally challenged were cared for
at home. The most severely disabled often died, but the mildly retarded found a place in a farm-
based society. Then, in the United States, residential schools for slow learners were established.
By the twentieth century, many of these institutions had become warehouses providing residents no
privacy, little attention, and no hope. Parents were often told to separate themselves permanently
from a retarded child before they became attached.
Now in the last half of this century, the pendulum has swung back to normalization - allowing
mentally impaired people to live in their own communities as normally as their functioning permits.
We educate mildly retarded children in less restrictive environments and we integrate, or
mainstream, many into regular classrooms. Most grow up with their own families until moving into
a protected living arrangement, such as a group home. The hope, and often the reality, is a happier
and more dignified life.

1. ¿Qué logros se han realizado referente al cuidado de los niños con problemas mentales a través de los años?

Reading 23 : “ Symbolic Behavior ”


In higher organisms, and particularly in man, symbols are substituted for a great number of direct
environmental stimulations, and symbolic processes, including determination of possible action,
take the place of over actions.
Symbols as Substitute Stimuli. The conditioned response represents one of the simplest cases of
substitute stimuli based on symbols. The previously indifferent stimulus becomes capable of
eliciting the response which originally was evoked only by some reflex adequate stimulus.
Verbal symbols, both oral and written, develop meaning only through the process of being
associated with reactions to objects, events, or relationships, or to other symbols for which meaning
has previously been acquired.
Symbols as Substitute Responses. Verbal symbols are an example of the use of symbols as
substitute responses. Most of our preparatory acts are symbolic responses rather than direct. A
hungry individual sits at a table and orders food from a menu instead of going to the restaurant
kitchen for direct satisfaction. The infant's cries which express hunger, pain, or displeasure become
meaningful symbolic responses to need states long before the child is able to use what are
commonly thought of as verbal symbols.
Reintegration. The symbolic processes are tremendously enhanced by the phenomenon of
reintegration. In reintegration a part of the antecedent stimulus situation is sufficient to provoke the
complete response. Reintegration operates for verbal, muscular, glandular, or visceral responses.
Thus, hearing a tune may arouse emotional states, approaching or withdrawing reactions,
verbalizations, etc., connected with the tune in prior experiences.

Reading 24: “Instinctive Behavior ”

Behavior is usually termed “instinctive ", particularly by the layman, if it occurs without apparent
opportunity to learn, if it seems to appear regularly at some stage in maturation, or if it appears to be
virtually universal to the species. The type of behavior involved is usually a chain of reflexes or a
sequence of activities, much of which is determined by the structure of the organism. Earlier
contemporary psychologist had much to say activities of organisms to instinct. Present-day
research, particularly in the field of learning, has been gradually reducing the list of activities
considered to be instinctive. For example, Kuo ( 1930 ) studied the origin of the cat's responses
toward rats and mice. He showed that kittens reared with rodents and not permitted to observe
other cats killing rats during the early part of their life were very unlikely ever to kill a rat. This
held, even though special attempt were made to train these kittens to kill rodents after the kittens
had reached maturity.
Migrations, pecking in various birds, suckling of the child, cocoon-building by insects, nest-
building, etc., have all been studied extensively. Though all the explanations are not worked out, it
appears clear that there is no instinctive behavior in man and probably not in animals. What is
commonly regarded as instinctive behavior is due either to structure of the organism or to
environmental factors. Most research shows that the supposed instinct changes if the environment
is changed.
Two things to note particularly are:
1. So-called instinctive behavior depends upon maturation of inherited neural patterns.
2. Behavior which is apparently instinctive in nature improves with practice, and the finished act is
usually a product of both maturation and learning.

Reading 25 : Social Psychology Social Thinking

Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations. We generally explain people's behavior by


attributing it either to internal dispositions or to external situations. In accounting for others'
actions, we often underestimate the influence of the situation, thus committing the fundamental
attribution error. When we explain our own behavior, however, we more often point to the situation
and not to ourselves.
Attitudes and Actions. Attitudes predict behavior only under certain conditions, as when other
influences are minimized, when the attitude is specific to the behavior, and when people are aware
of their attitudes. Studies of the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and of role playing reveal that our
actions can also modify our attitudes, especially when we feel responsible for those actions.
Cognitive dissonance theorists explain that behavior shapes attitudes because people feel discomfort
when their actions go against their feelings and beliefs; they reduce discomfort by bringing their
attitudes more into line with what they have done.

Reading 26 : " Social Influence "

Conformity and Obedience As suggestibility studies demonstrate, when we are unsure about our
judgments, we are likely to adjust them toward the group standard. Solomon Asch found that under
certain conditions people will conform to a group's judgment even when it is clearly incorrect. We
may conform either to gain social approval (normative social influence ) or because we welcome
the information that others provide ( informational social influence ). In Milgram's famous
experiments, people torn between obeying an experimenter and responding to another’s pleas
usually chose to obey orders, even though obedience supposedly meant harming the other person.
Such is the potency of social influence.

Group Influence Experiments on social facilitation reveal that the presence of either observers or
co-actors can arouse individual, boosting their performance on easy tasks but hindering it on
difficult ones. When people pool their efforts toward a group goal, social loafing may occur as
individual’s free-ride on others' efforts. When a group experience arouses people and makes them
anonymous, they may become less self-aware and self-restrained, a psychological state known as
desindividualization.
Within groups, discussions among like-minded members often produce group polarization, and
enhancement of the group's prevailing attitudes. This is one cause of groupthink, the tendency for
harmony-seeking groups to make unrealistic decisions after suppressing unwelcome information.
The power of the group is great, but so is the power of the person. Even a small minority
sometimes sways a group, especially when expressing its views consistently.

Reading 27: Theories of Personality

The Behavior Theory of Watson ( 1924 )


According to Watson, personality is a development of conditioned reactions. Abnormal and normal
attitudes and reactions are due to adaptive and no adaptive conditioning of objects, activities, and
persons of the environment. Though the theory is seldom set forth as such in today's writings, much
of our educational theory and practice is definitely based on such a theory.

The Psychoanalytical Theory of Freud ( 1883 )


Freud held that the motivation of life is the libido, which is sexual energy undifferentiated from
hunger at birth ( sex and food-getting instincts ). Libido striving is pleasure-seeking and avoidance
of pain ( pleasure-pain principle ), which comes into conflict with social custom ( gregarious
instinct ), leading to a recognition of reality ( reality principle ) and adjustment in various ways.
Repression of the primitive pleasure-pain impulses may force them into the unconscious and cause
a " flight from reality " into neuroses or psychoses. Conflict between libido striving and reality
determines the development of personality in a normal or abnormal direction.

Adler's Theory of Psychic Compensation ( 1917 )


At the foundation of Adler's theory is the doctrine of Minderwertikgeit, or organic and psychic
inferiority. According to Adler, at some time before birth all organs of the body strive
independently for nutrition. At birth they begin to function together according to the laws of
compensation. Psychic inferiority has its basis in organic inferiority, and mind is the instrument by
which compensation for organic defects, such as in vision or audition, is accomplished. When
compensation is difficult the person does not take a “flight from reality "( Freud ), but he builds up
an avoidance in the face of reality. There is a life plan for avoiding tendencies and rationalizations
of activity. All life begins with feelings of inferiority, and the measure of adjustment is the degree
and kind of compensation effected by the individual.

Introvert-Extrovert Type Theory of Jung ( 1903 )


Best known of the type theories, Jung's classifies all persons into the " extrovert " and " introvert "
personality. Libido, according to Jung, is defined as psychic energy. In the extrovert, psychic
energy is directed outward toward objects, activities, and people. In the introvert, it is directed
inward in fantasy, daydreaming, and thoughts about oneself.

Lewin's Topological Theory of Personality ( 1936 )


According to Lewin the interactions between and individual and his environment quite normally
result in conflict. There are only three basic types of conflict:
1. Approach-approach conflicts, in which the individual is motivated toward two
positive stimuli of about equal strength
2. Avoidance-avoidance conflicts, in which the individual is motivated away from
two negative stimuli of about equal strength, and
3. Approach-avoidance conflicts, in which the field contains one positive stimulus
and one negative stimulus. This last named is considered most likely to underlie anxiety and
unresolved tensions.

Comprensión de Lectura :

• Describe cada una de las teorías y sus diferencias.

Reading 28 : " Social Relations "


Aggression

Aggressive behavior, like all behavior, is a product of nature and nurture. Although psychologists
dismiss the idea that aggression is instinctual, aggressiveness is genetically influenced. Moreover,
certain areas of the brain, when stimulated, activate or inhibit aggression, and these neural areas are
biochemical influenced.
A variety of psychological factors also influence aggression. Aversive events heighten people's
hostility. Such stimuli are especially likely to trigger aggression in those rewarded for their own
aggression or those who have learned aggression form role models or observed violent media
portrayals of aggressive models. Such factors desensitize people to cruelty and prime them to
behave aggressively when provoked.

Altruism
In response to incidents of bystander nonintervention in emergencies, social psychologists
undertook experiments that revealed a bystander effect: Any given bystander is less likely to help if
others are present. The bystander effect is most likely to occur when the presence of others inhibits
one's (1) noticing the event, (2) interpreting it as an emergency, or (3) assuming responsibility for
helping. Many factors, including mood, also influence willingness to help someone in distress.
Both psychological and biological explanations have been offered for why we help others. Social
exchange theory proposes that our social behaviors - even our helpful acts - maximize our benefits
(which may include our own good feelings) and minimize our costs. Our desire to help is also
affected by social norms, which prescribe reciprocating the help we receive and being socially
responsible toward those in need. Sociobiologists believe that a genetic predisposition to preserve
our genes, through devotion to those with whom we share them, underlies altruism.

Attraction
Three factors are known to influence our liking for one another. Geographical proximity is
conducive to attraction, partly because mere exposure to novel stimuli enhances liking. Physical
attractiveness influences social opportunities and the way one is perceived. As acquaintanceship
moves toward friendship, similarity of attitudes and interests greatly increases liking.
We can view passionate love as an aroused state that we cognitively label as love. The strong
affection of companionate love, which often emerges as a relationship matures, is enhanced by an
equitable relationship and by intimate self-disclosure.

Reading 29: Personality Disorders

A personality disorder is identified by a pervasive pattern of experience and behaviour that is


abnormal with respect to any two of the following: thinking, mood, personal relations, and the
control of impulses.

The character of a person is shown through his or her personality -- by the way an individual thinks,
feels, and behaves. When the behaviour is inflexible, maladaptive, and antisocial, then that
individual is diagnosed with a personality disorder.

Most personality disorders begin as problems in personal development and character which peak
during adolescence and then are defined as personality disorders.

Personality disorders are not illnesses in a strict sense as they do not disrupt emotional, intellectual,
or perceptual functioning. However, those with personality disorders suffer a life that is not
positive, proactive, or fulfilling. Not surprisingly, personality disorders are also associated with
failures to reach potential.
Currently, there are 10 distinct personality disorders which are the following:

• Antisocial Personality Disorder: Lack of regard for the moral or legal standards in the local
culture, marked inability to get along with others or abide by societal rules. Sometimes
called psychopaths or sociopaths.
• Avoidant Personality Disorder: Marked social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and
extremely sensitive to criticism.
• Borderline Personality Disorder: Lack of one's own identity, with rapid changes in mood,
intense unstable interpersonal relationships, marked impulsively, instability in affect and in
self image.
• Dependent Personality Disorder: Extreme need of other people, to a point where the person
is unable to make any decisions or take an independent stand on his or her own. Fear of
separation and submissive behaviour. Marked lack of decisiveness and self-confidence.
• Histrionic Personality Disorder: Exaggerated and often inappropriate displays of emotional
reactions, approaching theatricality, in everyday behaviour. Sudden and rapidly shifting
emotion expressions.
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Behaviour or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy,
a need to be admired by others, an inability to see the viewpoints of others, and
hypersensitive to the opinions of others.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: Characterized by perfectionism and
inflexibility; preoccupation with uncontrollable patterns of thought and action.
• Paranoid Personality Disorder: Marked distrust of others, including the belief, without
reason, that others are exploiting, harming, or trying to deceive him or her; lack of trust;
belief of others' betrayal; belief in hidden meanings; unforgiving and grudge holding.
• Schizoid Personality Disorder: Primarily characterized by a very limited range of emotion,
both in expression of and experiencing; indifferent to social relationships.
• Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Peculiarities of thinking, odd beliefs, and eccentricities
of appearance, behaviour, interpersonal style, and thought (e.g., belief in psychic
phenomena and having magical powers).
According to Dr. Sam Vaknin,, individuals with personality disorders have many things in
common:

• Self-centeredness that manifests itself through a me-first, self-preoccupied attitude


• Lack of individual accountability that results in a victim mentality and blaming others,
society and the universe for their problems
• Lack of perspective-taking and empathy
• Manipulative and exploitative behaviour
• Unhappiness, suffering from depression and other mood and anxiety disorders
• Vulnerability to other mental disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive tendencies and panic
attacks
• Distorted or superficial understanding of self and others' perceptions, being unable to see his
or her objectionable, unacceptable, disagreeable, or self-destructive behaviours or the issues
that may have contributed to the personality disorder
• Socially maladaptive, changing the rules of the game, introducing new variables, or
otherwise influencing the external world to conform to their own needs
• No hallucinations, delusions or thought disorders (except for the brief psychotic episodes of
Borderline Personality Disorder)

Vaknin does not propose a unified theory of psychopathology as there is still much to learn about
the workings of the world and our place in it. Each personality disorder shows its own unique
manifestations through a story or narrative (see Metaphors of the Mind), but we do not have
enough information or verifying capability to determine whether they spring from a common
psychodynamic source.

It is important to note that some people diagnosed with borderline, antisocial, schizoid, and
obsessive-compulsive personality disorders may be suffering from an underlying biological
disturbance (anatomical, electrical, or neurochemical). A strong genetic link has been found in
antisocial and borderline personality disorders (see Genetics and Mental Disorders, The
Chemistry of Personality and The Biology of Borderline Personality Disorder).

Reading 30: Treatment of Personality Disorders

Dr. David B. Adams of Atlanta Medical Psychology says that therapists have the most
difficulties with those suffering from personality disorders. They are difficult to please, block
effective communication, avoid development of a trusting relationship, [and] cannot be relied upon
for accurate history regarding problems or how problems arose (The Psychological Letter,
February 2000).

According to the Surgeon General, mental disorders are treatable. An armamentarium of


efficacious treatments is available to ameliorate symptoms . . . Most treatments fall under two
general categories, psychosocial and pharmacological. Moreover, the combination of the two —
known as multimodal therapy — can sometimes be even more effective than each individually. (See
Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General.)

By reading the DSM-IV's definition of personality disorders, it seems that these conditions are not
treatable. However, when individuals choose to be in control of their lives and are committed to
changing their lives, healing is possible. Therapy and medications can help, but it is the
individual's decision to take accountability for his or her own life that makes the difference.
To heal, individuals must first have the desire to change in order to break through that enduring
pattern of a personality disorder. Individuals need to want to gain insight into and face their inner
experience and behaviour. (These issues may concern severe or repeated trauma during
childhood, such as abuse.)

This involves changing their thinking--about themselves, their relationships, and the world. This
also involves changing their behaviour, for that which is not acted upon is not learned.

Then, with a support system (e.g., therapy, self-help groups, friends, family, medication), they can
free themselves from their imprisoned life.

Reading 31: The Limbic System

The limbic system is a complex set of structures that lies on both sides and underneath the thalamus,
just under the cerebrum. It includes the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the amygdale, and several
other nearby areas. It appears to be primarily responsible for our emotional life, and has a lot to do
with the formation of memories. In this drawing, you are looking at the brain cut in half, but with
the brain stem intact. The part of the limbic system shown is that which is along the left side of the
thalamus (hippocampus and amygdale) and just under the front of the thalamus (hypothalamus)

" GRAMMAR REVIEW "


" THIS, THESE, THAT, THOSE "

I.- Choose This or These. II.- Choose That or Those


1.- ............... is your brief. 1.- Is ............. lady here now?
2.- ............... words are new. 2.- Does ............... seem difficult?
3.- ............... lesson is simple 3.- Are .................. children here?
4.- ............... are very heavy. 4.- Does ............... go in ...............
5.- ............... goes on .................. lines. drawers.
5.- Does ............... woman know you?
" SOME & ANY "

I.- Use Some or Any in the blank spaces below.


1.- There are ....................... students in the classroom now.
2.- Are there ....................... children in the yard?
3.- Pat had ....................... trouble with his homework last night.
4.- The students didn't have ................... difficulty with the lesson.
5.- Your brother has ........................ important messages for you.

" THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE "

I.- Use the simple present tense of each verb. Write the verb in the blank space.
1.- ( work ) I ....work...... in the main office.
2.- ( work ) Mr. Wilson ..................... very hard.
3.- ( have ) Mrs. Smith ..................... a beautiful house.
4.- ( write ) John and Peter .................... a report.
5.- ( read ) We ..................... the newspaper

II.-Write Do or Does in the blank space in each sentence.


1.- .......Do....... the students study hard every day?
2.- ................... Mr. Brown go to his office every day?
3.- ................... you want cream and sugar in your coffee?
4.- ................... your English lessons seem easy?
5.- ................... Mary and Julia work in the same company?

III.-Write Don't or Doesn't in the blank space in each sentence.


1.- We ..................... listen to the radio every night.
2.- The boys ...................study at the library every day.
3.- Miss Peters ................... write reports for her boss.
4.- The tall man ...................... work in a factory.
5.- The girls ........................ always eat at that cafeteria.

" THE PRESENT CONTINUOS "

I.- Write am, is, or are in the blank space in each sentence.
1.- Mr. Perez ......is....... talking to visitors right now.
2.- I .......... sitting at my desk at this moment.
3.- The students ..................... listening to the teacher carefully.
4.- Everyone ........................ working very hard.
5.- They ...................... making too much noise in this moment.

II.- Use the continuous present tense of each verb. Write the verb in the blank space.
1.- ( watch ) Gina ................................. TV with his little brother.
2.- ( dictate ) Mr. Adams ............................ a letter right now.
3.- ( talk/laugh ) The young boys ............................. at the same time.
4.- ( help ) My friend ................................me with the exercise in this moment.
5.- ( rest ) The team ................................ for a few minutes.

III.- Write Am, Is, Are in the blanks


1.- .............. Mrs. Stewart talking to someone right now?
2.- .............. they hitting the floor with hammers?
3.- .............. it raining very hard in this moment?
4.- .............. Linda and her friends having a good time at the party?
5.- .............. you doing the exercises right now?

" THE SIMPLE PAST & THE PAST CONTINUOUS "

I.- Use the past tense form of the verb in parentheses in each sentence.
1.- They ( sell ) their house
..............................................................................................

2.- Professor Brady ( teach ) a different class last year


...............................................................................................

3.- My classmate ( put ) the dictionary beside the manual.


...............................................................................................

4.- The rain ( stop ) in the middle of the afternoon.


...............................................................................................

5.- Tim ( get ) and e-mail from his girlfriend.


...............................................................................................

II.- Change the following statements to questions.


1.- They finished the work.
................................................................................................

2.- Mr. Salas explained the meaning of the word to her.


................................................................................................

3.- There were many people at the concert last night.


................................................................................................

4.- Dr. Rosas interviewed the new patient.


.................................................................................................

5.- Our friends went to the movies with us last Saturday.


.................................................................................................

III.- Write Was or Were in the blank spaces of the following sentences.
1.- The sun ................ shining and the birds .................. singing.
2.- It ............... raining, so we didn't go out.
3.- In 1969 they ................. living in France.
4.- I .............. working at 11.30 last night.
5.- Sally ...............wearing a new jacket yesterday.

" THE FUTURE TENSE "

I.- Use the future tense, with GOING TO, of the verb in parenthesis in each sentence.
1.- Paul ( leave ) early tomorrow.
...........................................................................................................

2.- Everybody ( be ) ready at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.


...........................................................................................................

3.- My friends ( meet ) me at the airport at six o'clock.


...........................................................................................................

4.- We ( have ) an important holiday next month.


..........................................................................................................

5.- The student ( write ) a report.


..........................................................................................................

II.- Write down the sentences above again, using WILL.


1.- .........................................................................................................

2.- .........................................................................................................

3.- .........................................................................................................

4.- ........................................................................................................

5.- ........................................................................................................

III.- Change the following sentences to the future tense.


1.- We ate lunch with our neighbours.
...........................................................................................................

2.- Bill sold his camera to Tom and bought a new one.
............................................................................................................

3.- The Wilson’s got up early and had breakfast at seven o'clock.
...........................................................................................................

4.- The little boy played with his new toys.


...........................................................................................................

5.- Betty read the whole book in two days.


............................................................................................................

" THE PRESENT PERFECT & THE PAST SIMPLE "


I.- Use the correct form of the verb in parentheses in each sentence. Choose between the past
tense and the present perfect tense.
1.- The weather ( be ) terrible ever since last Saturday.
...........................................................................................................

2.- That fellow ( work ) here for the past three weeks.
...........................................................................................................

3.- Mr. and Mrs. Roberts ( live ) in San Francisco from 1956 to 1985.
............................................................................................................
4.- The O’Neill’s ( go ) to Belgium during their vacation.
............................................................................................................

5.- Fred ( have ) a little trouble with his boss last week.
............................................................................................................

" WH-QUESTIONS "

I.- Write questions:


1.- I'm thinking about something.
What ....................................................................................................

2.- She danced with somebody.


Who......................................................................................................

3.- They're looking for something.


What ...................................................................................................

4.- My cousin Ann is 24.


How ......................................................................................................

5.- The train station was two miles away.


How .....................................................................................................

6.- Alice has gone to Europe with her parents.


Where .................................................................................................

7.- I'm going to go because the football match will be interesting.


Why ....................................................................................................

" THE COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE FORM "

I.- Write the sentences again using the adjective given, in its comparative or superlative form.
1.- Everyone else was ( nervous ) as you were.
...............................................................................................................
2.- Mr. Stone is ( popular ) man in that organization.
................................................................................................................

3.- Los Angeles is ( far ) from here than Philadelphia.


................................................................................................................

4.- I didn't have ( good ) luck with it as Mark did.


...............................................................................................................
5.- Our house is ( old ) than Mr. Carter's.
…………………………………………………………………………
GLOSSARY
 Absolute threshold. The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus.
 Achievement motivation. A desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of things,
people, or ideas; doe attaining a high standard.
 Acquisition. The initial stage of learning, during which a response is established and gradually
strengthened. In classical conditioning, the phase in which a stimulus comes to evoke a
conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
 Adolescence. The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to
independence.
 Adrenal glands. A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete the
hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenalin), which help to arouse the
body in times of stress.
 Aggression. A methodical, logical rule or procedure for solving a particular problem. May be
contrasted with the usually speedier, but also more error prone use of heuristics.
 Alzheimer’s disease. A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual
deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.
 Amnesia. Loss of memory. Psychogenic amnesia, a dissociate disorder, is selective memory
loss often brought on by extreme stress.
 Anal stage. The second of Freud’s psychosexual stages, from about 18 months to 3 years,
during which pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination, retention, and control.
 Anorexia nervosa. As eating disorder in which a normal weight person (usually an adolescent
female) diets to become significantly (15 percent or more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat,
continues to starve.
 Antisocial personality. A personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a
lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be
aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
 Aphasia. Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s
area(impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).
 Assimilation. Interpreting one’ new experiences in terns of one’s existing schemas.
 Automatic processing. Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such a space, time,
and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
 Aversive conditioning. A type of counter conditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such
as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol).
 Behaviorism. The view that (1) psychology should be an objective science that (2) studies only
overt behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologist today agree
with (1) but not (2).
 Biofeedback. A system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information
regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension.
 Bipolar disorder. A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness
and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.
 Brainstem. The central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the
skull; it the oldest part of the brain and is responsible for automatic survival functions.
 Bystander effect. The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other
bystanders are present.
 Catharsis. Emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that “releasing”
aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.
 Central nervous system (CNS). The brain and spinal cord.
 Cerebral cortex. The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral
hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information processing center.
 Cognitive psychology. The filed of psychology that studies mental representations and the
processing of information. Topics include the mental activities that underlie problem solving,
judgments, decision making, and language.
 Collectivism. Giving priority to the goals of one’s groups (often one’s extended family or work
group) and defining one’s identity accordingly.
 Conduction deafness. Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts
sound waves to the cochlea.
 Control condition. The condition of an experiment in which the experimental treatment is
absent; serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
 Culture. The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of
people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
 Defense mechanisms. In psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing
anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.
 Delta waves. The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.
 Depressants. Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and
slow body functions.
 Eclectic approach. An approach to psychotherapy that takes advantage of techniques from the
various forms of therapy, depending on the client’s problems.
 Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Shock treatment. A biomedical therapy for severely
depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized
patient.
 Empathy. The ability to understand and feel what another feels, to put oneself in someone
else’s shoes
 Equilibrium. The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.
 Gender identity. One’s sense of being male or female. Note: one’s gender identity is distinct
one’s sexual orientation (as heterosexual or homosexual) and from the strength of one’s gender-
typing.
 Generalization. The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the
conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses.
 Grouping. The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making
group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.
 Hindsight bias. The tendency to believe one would have foreseen how something turned out,
after learning the outcome.
 Hospice. An organization whose largely volunteer staff provides support for dying people and
their families either in special facilities or in people’s own homes.
 Identification. The process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate to solidify a
sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.
 Imprinting. The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period
very early in life.
 Informational social influence. Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s
opinions about reality.
 Intelligence. The capacity for goal-directed and adaptive behavior. Involves the abilities to
profit from experience, solve problems, reason, and successfully meet challenges and achieve
goals.
 Interaction effect. A result in which the effect of one factor depends on the level of another.
 Internal locus of control. The perception that ones controls one’s own fate.
 Language. Our spoken, written or gestured words and how we combine them to communicate
meaning.
 Latent learning. Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to
demonstrate.
 Lens. The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the
retina.
 Lobotomy. A now-rare psychosurgical procedure one used to calm uncontrollably emotional or
violent patients. In this procedure the nerves that connect the frontal lobes to the emotion-
controlling centers of the inner brain are cut.
 Menopause. The time of natural cessation of menstruation, also refers to the biological and
psychological changes experienced during a woman’s years of declining ability to reproduce.
 Mental set. A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially a way that has
been successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem.
 Mirror-image perceptions. Distinct but similar views of one another often held by parties in
conflict; each views itself as moral and peace-loving, the other as evil and aggressive.
 Motivation. The forces that energize and direct behavior.
 Naturalistic observation. Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations
without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
 Nervous system. The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all
the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
 Normative social influence. Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or
avoid disapproval.
 Operant behavior. Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.
 Parallel processing. Information processing in which several aspects of a problem are
processed simultaneously, the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many
functions, including vision; contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers
and of conscious problems solving.
 Perception. The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to
recognize meaningful objects and events.
 Perceptual adaptation. In vision the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even
inverted visual filed.
 Perceptual set. A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
 Personality. An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
 Phonemes. The smallest distinctive sound units in a spoken language.
 Pitch. A tone’s highness or lowness; depends on frequency.
 Prejudice. An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.
Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to
discriminatory action.
 Projection. In psychoanalytic theory, the defense mechanism by which people disguise their
own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.
 Psychological disorder. A condition in which behavior is judged atypical, disturbing,
maladaptive, and unjustifiable.
 Psychosexual stages. The childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital)
during which, according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous
zones.
 Rationalization. In psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism that offers self-justifying
explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions.
 Reliability. The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency
of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.
 Replication. Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different subjects in
different situations, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other subjects and
circumstances.
 Resistance. In psychoanalysis the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material.
 Retrieval. The process of getting information out of memory storage.
 Schizophrenia. A group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by disorganized and
deluded thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.
 Sensory interaction. The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of
food influences its taste.
 Signal detection. The task of judging the presence of a faint stimulus (“signal”). Signal
detection researchers assume there Is no single absolute threshold, because the detection of a
weak signal depends partly on a persona’s experience, expectation, motivation, and level of
fatigue.
 Sociobiology. The study of the evolution of social behavior using the principles of natural
selection; it assumes that natural selection favors genetically influenced social behaviors that
contribute to the preservation and spread of one’s genes.
 Spacing effect. The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention
than massed study or practice.
 Stimulants. Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines and
cocaine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.
 Systematic desensitization. A type of counter conditioning that associates a pleasant, relaxed
state with gradually increasing anxiety. Triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias-
 Thinking (or cognition). Mental activity associated with understanding, processing, and
communicating knowledge.
 Transference. In psychoanalysis, the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with
other relationship (such as love or hatred for a parent).
 Unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally –
naturally and automatically- triggers a response without conditioning.

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