PSYCHOLOGY

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Dr. Nzar Lec: -1-
27-Sep-06

Introduction

Definition: is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes

Most students find psychology fascinating because it asks questions that

touch virtually every aspect of our lives:

• How does the way your parents raised you affect the way you’ll
raise your own children?
• What is the best treatment for drug dependency?
• Can a man care for an infant as capably as a woman can?

• Can you remember a traumatic experience in more detail under

hypnosis?
• How should a nuclear power plant be designed to minimize human
error?
• What effects does prolonged stress have on the immune system?
• Is psychotherapy more effective than drugs in treating depression?
• psychologists are conducting research to find answers to these and
many more questions
• Psychology also affects our lives through its influence on laws and
public policy.

Psychological theories and research have influenced laws dealing with

discrimination, capital punishment, courtroom practices, pornography,
sexual behaviour, and personal responsibility for actions.

• Because psychology affects so many aspects of our lives, even

people who do not intend to specialize in it need to know
something about this dynamic field.
• An introductory course in psychology should give you a better
understanding of why people think, feel, and act as they do, as well
as insights into your own attitudes and reactions.

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Definition: is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes

Many topics fit this definition:

• BRAIN DAMAGE AND FACE RECOGNITION: when people

suffer from brain damage, their behaviour is affected. People might
not be able to recognize familiar faces as a result of damage to a
particular region on the right side of the brain- yet they can do just
about everything else normally, a condition called prosopagnosia.
• Example: a man complained to a waiter that someone was staring
at him, only to be informed that he was looking in mirror!

• ATTRIBUTING TRAITS TO PEOPLE:

During a reception party a famous person was asked to make a donation
to the Martyrs. He donated one million Iraqi dinars. Would you think the
man was generous, or would you think he had been pressured into
making the donation because so many people were watching him?
When explaining the behaviour of others, people tend to overestimate the
causal effect of personality traits and underestimate those of situational
factors--- a mistake social psychologists call the fundamental
attribution error

• CHILDHOOD AMNESIA:
Almost no one can accurately recall events from the first 3 years of life, a
phenomenon called childhood amnesia.
This particularly striking because our first 3 years are so rich in
experience: we develop from helpless newborns to crawling, babbling
infants to walking, talking children. But these remarkable transitions
leave few traces in our memories.

• Obesity:
About a quarter of US adults are obese; their weight is 30% or more
above the level that would be appropriate for their body structure and
height.
Psychologists are interested in what factors lead people to eat too much.
One factor seems to be a history of deprivation.

• EFFECTS OF MEDIA VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN’S

AGRESSION:
Wether watching violence on television causes children to be more
aggressive has been controversial. Some believe that watching violence
has a cathartic effect. It may actually reduce agression by allowing
children to express it vicariously and get it out of their systems.
Children who watched violent cartoons became more aggressive in their
interactions with peers, but the children who viewed nonviolent cartoons
showed no change in aggressive behaviour.

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