Chapter One

Essence of Psychology
• This chapter tries to acquaint students with the concept of psychology and
psychologists.
• Definition of psychology and related concepts, goals of psychology, historical
background and major perspectives in psychology, branches/subfields of
psychology, and research methods in psychology.

• A psychologist once asked a group of university freshmen to tell him who they
think a psychologist is. Some say someone who reads the palm of an individual
and tells the behavior of a person‟, others said “someone who is a fortune
teller‟, the rest said, “a person who can understand what someone is thinking
about at a certain time.”

• What about you? You just explore these views as you proceed through the
discussions in this chapter.
1.1. What Is Psychology?
• Psychology
• Psyche: “Mind”
• Logos: “Knowledge” or “study” or ‘line of teaching’; thus, we have ‘study of the mind’.
• Therefore, by combining the two Greek words the term "psychology" epistemologically refers to the study of the
mind, soul, or sprit and it is often represented by the Greek letter ᴪ (psi) which is read as ("sy").
• Psychologists define psychology differently based on their intentions, research findings, and background
experiences. Nowadays, most of them agree on the following
• Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and the underlying mental processes.
• Three aspects of this definition:

• Science: psychology uses scientific methods to study behavior and mental processes in both humans and
animals. This means psychologists do not study behavior with commonsense rather they follow scientific
procedures and use empirical data to study behavior and mental processes.
• Empirical evidence: Information gathered from direct observation.
• Behavior: refers to all of our outward or overt actions and reactions, such as talking, facial expressions,
movement, etc. Covert behavior which is hidden, non-observable and generally considered as a mental process
• Mental Processes: refer to all the internal, covert activities of our minds, such as thinking, feeling,
remembering, that each of us experience privately, but can not be observed directly.
 1.2. Goals of Psychology
Description: Naming and classifying various observable, measurable behaviors as objectively as possible. Description
involves observing the behavior and noticing everything about it. It is a search for answers for questions like: What is
happening?‘ Where does it happen?‘ To whom does it happen?‘ And under what circumstances does it seem to happen?
How do people think, feel, and act in various situations?”
E.g. a teacher might notice that a young freshman girl in his/her general psychology classroom is behaving oddly. She is not
turning to her homework, her results are slipping badly, and she seems to have a very negative attitude toward the course.
Explanation: While descriptions come from observable data, psychologists must go beyond what is obvious and
explain their observations. Explanation is about trying to find reasons for the observed behavior. Why is it happening?
Example: find out why the girl is behaving differently- the teacher would most likely ask her parents about her home
background, neighborhood, and her friends.
Prediction: determining what will happen in the future. In the above example, the case of the freshman girl, the
psychologist or counselor would predict (based on previous research into similar situations) that this girl may never be able
to reach her full learning potential. There’s an old saying, which very often holds true: "the best predictor of future
behavior is past behavior."
Control: Altering conditions that influence behaviors. How can it be changed? Control or modify or change the behavior
from undesirable one (such as failing in school) to a desirable one (such as academic success). Certain learning strategies
can be used to help the girl so that she will be successful in her academic endeavor.
In studying the relationship between intelligence and academic performance, a psychologist needs to control the effect of socio-economic
status of the family.
Not only do psychologists attempt to control behavior, but they also want to do so in a positive manner, they want to improve
a person’s life, not make it worse. This is not always the case, but it should always be the intention.
Historical Background and Major Perspectives in Psychology
• Psychology is a relatively new field in the realm of the sciences, only about 144
years old.
• Although it dates back to the time of Plato and Aristotle as a branch of philosophy,
it began as a science of its own in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany, with the establishment
of a psychology laboratory in the University of Leipzig by Wilhelm Wundt.
• Wundt developed the technique of objective introspection to scientifically examine
mental experiences.
• The study of human subjective experiences that were previously under the field of
philosophy alone, psychology then begun as an independent field of study and with
Wundt as its founder or "father of modern psychology.
• Once psychology begun to use the scientific method, it then went through
successive developments in which different schools of thought emerged at different
times. These schools of thought can be categorized as old and modern as described
below.
Scientific Psychology
• During the first decades of psychology’s existence as a formal discipline, psychologists came
to hold quite different views about the nature of the mind and the best ways to study it.
• Fundamental questions were raised about what should be studied in Psychology: Should
Psychology be the study of the mind, should it study Behavior, or should both mind and
Behavior be included?
• Different influential psychologists of the time held quite different views on the nature of mind
and the proper subject matter for psychology.
• Schools of thought formed around these leaders as their students adopted their ideas. These
schools of thought are known as the schools of Psychology.
• Schools, in this context, can best be thought of as groups of psychologist who held common
beliefs about both the subject matter of psychology and what methods of study should be
used.
• Most schools developed in revolt against traditional methods and beliefs at the time.
However, they did not always replace earlier schools, but sometimes existed alongside them.
• Understanding these schools can help us make sense of the multitude of ideas and methods
which currently characterize psychology.
 Early schools of psychology
A school of thought is a system of thinking about a certain issue, say, for example, about human behavior or mind. You
may, for example, think that human behavior is all the result of inheritance orit is all the result of interaction with the
environment. The first system of thinking takes a biological approach and the later takes an environmental approach.
a) Structuralism
• Aka mental chemistry
• A study of structure of mind. It is an expansion of Wundt‘s ideas by his student named Edward Titchener (1867-1927).
Titchener is the founder of structuralism.
• Wundt believed that psychology should concern itself with the elementary processes of conscious experience. The
structure of consciousness and immediate mental experiencecould be broken down into basic elements and compounds
in the same way that, in chemistry; one can describe the structure of water or air.
• Uses introspection as a method-looking inward into our consciousness‖. It is a procedure aimed at analyzing the
mental experience into three basic mental elements: images, feelings, and sensation.
• The goal of structuralists was to find out the units or elements, which make up the mind such as; sensations (sights,
sounds, tastes, smells, and touch which arise from stimulation of the sense organs); images (experiences not actually
present), and feelings ((love, fear, joy and so on) which compose the mind.
• The method of introspection proved difficult and inadequate, largely because of conflicting findings between
introspectionists in different laboratories.
• Reaching agreement on the basic elements of a particular mental experience proved an impossible task and reporting
on mental activity in humans was not quite so straight forward as observing what happens in a test tube when two
chemicals are combined.
b) Functionalism
• Introduced by William James (1848-1910), who was the first American psychologist and the author of the first
psychology textbook.
• Functionalism was influenced by biology and many of the concepts ‘borrowed’ from that discipline continue to influence
psychology today.
• The work and ideas of Charles Darwin evolutionary theory had a monumental impact on the emergence of functional
psychology. His theory of evolution provided an account of the way living organisms change and develop over time through
a process of natural selection.
• In this way a particular species might change quite extensively over several generations and, in some cases an entirely new
species could evolve.
• Influenced greatly by Darwin, he held that the function of consciousness was to enable humans to behave in ways which
would aid survival through adaptation to the environment.
• Functionalists were interested that Mind and Behavior are adaptive- they enable an individual to adjust to a changing
environment. Where these adaptive behaviours were repeated frequently they became habits. Habits, James believed,
provided stability and predictability in society.
• He developed many research methods other than introspection including questionnaires, mental tests and objective
descriptions of behavior.
• The emphasis on the importance of observing similarities and differences between varying species greatly influenced the
development of comparative psychology.
c) Gestalt psychology
• Gestalt psychology views psychology as a study of the whole mind.
• The leading proponents of Gestalt view were Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Kurt Koffka (1876-
1941) and Wolfgang Kohler (1887 -1967).
• The German word "gestalt" refers to form, whole, configuration or pattern.
• Mind should be thought of as a result of the whole pattern of sensory activity and the
relationships and organizations within their pattern.
• Gestalt psychologists acknowledge consciousness. They argued that people perceive the world in
‘wholes. They held that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Means mind is greater than
its parts (images, sensations, and feelings).
• Their goal was to understand the phenomenon of conscious experience in holistic terms and their
subject matter was subjective experience with emphasis on perception, memory and thinking.
• The tendency of the Gestalt psychologists to rely for their data on subjective observations and
reports of conscious experience, rather than carefully controlled behavioral methods, attracted
criticism from the behaviorists.
• Nonetheless the influence of gestalt psychology is great in some areas of contemporary
psychology, for example in the study of perception and problem solving.
d) Behaviorism
• This school of psychology came into being with John B. Watson (1878-1958). Other
proponents include E. Thorndike and B.F. Skinner.
• Behaviorists view psychology as a study of observable and measurable behaviors
and nothing more about hidden mental processes.
• For psychology to become scientific, it needs to get rid of dealing with subjectivity in
all its forms and rather focus on studying behavior.
• According to Watson, we cannot define consciousness any better than we can define
the soul; we cannot locate it or measure it and, therefore, it cannot be the object of
scientific study.
• Though Watson’s view of the nature of human beings was considered by critics to be
mechanistic and oversimplified, his focus on the study of observable behavior
allowed him to formulate clear hypotheses which could be tested by experimentation.
• This shift in emphasis towards the use of more objective and systematic methods
was one of his greatest contributions to psychology.
e) Psychoanalisis
• Psychology studies about the components of the unconscious part of the human mind, is the
subject matter of psychoanalysis. It contains hidden wishes, passions, guilty secrets,
unspeakable yearnings, and conflict between desire and duty.
• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is the founder of this school of thought.
• As a physician, Sigmund Freud became convinced that some of the physical illnesses of his
patients didn‘t have medical or bodily causes; but non-physical or emotional causes.
• Hysteria‘ or conversion reaction to indicate the conversion of emotional problems into bodily
problems.
• We are not aware of our unconscious urges and thought and they make themselves known in
dreams, slip of the tongue, apparent accidents and even jokes. He used clinical case studies
(hypnosis and Dream analysis) as a method. Hypnosis is done with the help of a therapist using
verbal repetition and mental images.
• In classical psychoanalysis, therapy involves Transference, the client’s projection and
displacement of thoughts and feelings on to the analyst; Free association, where the client says
whatever comes into mind, no matter how trivial or irrelevant it may seem; and dream analysis,
which involves the analyst interpreting the content of the client’s dreams.
• These schools basically differ in terms of three issues: object, goal, and methods of study:
These schools basically differ in terms of three issues: object, goal, and methods
of study:
• In their object of study, i.e. what they studied (conscious mind, unconscious mind, and overt
behavior).
• In their goal (analyze the components of the mind or observing the effect of the environment
on behavior).
• In their method (Introspection, observation, clinical case studies, etc...).
 In conclusion, the discourse made by the Structuralism, Gestalt, and functional schools
of psychology have become part of the general store of psychological knowledge; but the
schools as such, have vanished.
 Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis on the other hand are still, in modified forms among the
current psychological perspectives.
Modern Schools of Thought/Psychology
a) Psychodynamic perspective
• It has its origins in Freud's theory of psychoanalysis.
• This perspective emphasizes the unconscious dynamics within the individual
such as inner forces, conflicts or instinctual energy. The psychodynamic
approach emphasizes.
• The influence of unconscious mental behavior on everyday behavior
• The role of childhood experiences in shaping adult personality
• The role of intrapersonal conflict in determining human behavior

Psychodynamic perspective tries to dig below the surface of a person's behavior to get into
unconscious motives; psychodynamists think of themselves as archaeologists of the mind.
b) Behavioral Perspective
• It emphasizes the role learning experiences play in shaping the behavior of
an organism. It is concerned with how the environment affects the person‘s
actions.
• Behaviorists focus on environmental conditions (e.g. rewards, and
punishments) that maintain or discourage specific behaviors.
• The behavioral perspective is sometimes called the "black box" approach
in psychology because it treats the mind as less useful in understanding
human behavior and focus on what goes into and out of the box, but not
on the processes that take place inside.
• This means, behaviorists are only interested in the effects of the
environment (input) on behavior (output) but not in the process inside the
box.
c) Humanistic perspective
• Carl R. Rogers & Abraham Maslow
• Humans are born with natural/innate capacities
• Humans are conscious individuals
• Human behavior is not determined either by unconscious dynamics or the
environment.
• Emphasizes the uniqueness of human beings and focuses on human values and
subjective experiences.
• Places greater importance on the individual‘s free will.
• The goal was helping people to express themselves creatively and achieve
their full potential or self-actualization (developing the human potential to its
fullest).
d) Biological perspective
• Behavior is determined by biological processes
• It focuses on studying how bodily events or functioning of the body affects
behavior, feelings, and thoughts.
• This perspective underscores that biology and behavior interact in a
complex way; biology affecting behavior and behavior in turn affecting
Behavior
biology.
• Hormones
• Genes
• Neurotransmitters
• Etc Environmen
Biology t
• The environment and biology interact
 e) Cognitive perspective
• Cognitive styles  Behavior
• It emphasizes what goes on in people's heads; how people reason, remember,
understand language, solve problems, explain experiences and form beliefs.
This perspective is concerned about the mental processes.
• The most important contribution of this perspective has been to show how
people's thoughts and explanations affect their actions, feelings, and
choices.
• Techniques used to explore behavior from a cognitive perspective include
electrical recording of brain activity, electrical stimulation and radioactive
tracing of metabolic activity in the nervous system
 f) Socio-cultural Perspective-
• Many thoughts and behaviors are influenced by our culture.
• Psychologists need to be aware of the impact cultural diversity may
have on our behaviors.
• What is acceptable in one culture might be unacceptable in another
cultures.
• This perspective holds that humans are both the products and the
producers of culture, and our behavior always occurs in some cultural
contexts.
• Positive Psychology: Study of human strengths, virtues, and optimal
behavior
Branches of psychology
• Developmental
• Personality
• Social
• Counseling
• Clinical
• Educational
• Forensic…. the practice of psychology applied to the law. Forensic psychology is the
application of scientific knowledge and methods to help answer legal questions arising in
criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings.
• Health
• Cross-cultural
• Industrial/organizational
1.2. Research in Psychology
 Definition
Scientific method - a process of testing ideas through systematic observations,
experimentations, and statistical analysis.
Theory - is an integrated set of principles about observed facts that is intended to
describe and explain some aspects of experience
Hypotheses - is a tentative proposition about the relationship between two or more
variables or phenomena. E.g. Males have high self- confidence in making decisions
than females.
In this sense, psychological research is typically used for the following:

 Study development and external factors and the role they play on individuals' mental health.

 Study people with specific psychological disorders, symptoms, or characteristics

 Develop tests to measure specific psychological phenomenon.

 Develop treatment approaches to improve individuals' mental health.

Types of Research

Descriptive Experimental Correlational

Observational Survey Case study

Naturalistic Participant
1: Descriptive Research
A). Naturalist observation
Subjects are observed in their natural environment to get a real (not artificial) picture of how behavior occurs.
It often involves counting behaviors, such as number of aggressive acts, number of smiles, etc.
Psychologists conduct naturalistic observations at football games, day care centers, kindergartens, college
dormitories, shopping malls, restaurants, and other places people live in and frequent.

• Limitations
Observer effect: changes in a subject’s behavior caused by an awareness of being observed.
Observer bias: the researcher may not observe systematically or he/she may observe behaviors he/she
wants to observe and ignores others.

Anthropomorphic error: attributing human thoughts, feelings, or motives to animals

B. Participant observation

Becoming part of the subjects to be studied

 c. Case study (aka Clinical Method)
• Case study involves an in-depth investigation of a single subject (case)
• It provides tremendous amount of data
• However, it is not generalizable to the larger population.
• A case study provides information about one person’s fears, hopes, fantasies, traumatic
experiences, upbringing, family relationships, health, or anything that helps the psychologist
understand the person’s mind and behavior.
• A case study can involve naturalistic observations, and include psychological testing,
interviews, interviews with others, and the application of a treatment. A case study can
gather extensive information, both qualitative and quantitative and it can be helpful in better
understanding rare cases or very specific interventions.
• In case study, usually only one case is involved, severely limiting the generalization to the
rest of the population. It can also be very time consuming and can involve other problems
specific to the techniques used, including researcher bias.
d. The Survey Method
 Survey method involves data collection from a very large group of people
 Using public polling techniques to know attitudes, interests, opinions of people
 It is useful to get information on private (covert) behaviors
 Its disadvantage is that it needs a careful selection of a representative sample of
the actual population.
 The sample may not be representative enough
 Social desirability effect: a tendency to give “polite” or socially desirable
answers to an issue.
Instruments to conduct survey
 Questionnaire (self-constructed/ standardized scale)
 Interview items
 Focus group discussion checklists
Self-control scale

Gender: Male ☐ Female ☐

Religion: Christian ☐ Muslim ☐
Occupation: Teacher ☐ Merchant ☐ Farmer ☐
Religion: Muslim☐ Orthodox ☐ Catholic ☐ Protestant ☐

1=Not at all…………5 Very much

Items 1 2 3 4 5
I have a hard time breaking bad
habits
I get distracted easily
I say inappropriate things
I refuse things that are bad for me
I’m good at resisting temptations
Populatio
n Survey

Sample Conclude
 2. Correlational research
• Definition: is a research method that measures the relationship between two or more variables.
• Correlation means relationship, so the purpose of a correlational study is to determine if a relationship
exists, what direction the relationship is, and how strong it is.
• This is a useful strategy because the more strongly events are correlated (related or associated), the
more effectively we can predict one from the other. E.g. studying the relationship between
personality factors and leadership effectiveness.
• Coefficient of Correlation: Statistic ranging from –1.00 to +1.00; the sign indicates the direction of
the relationship.
• Closer the statistic is to –1.00 or to +1.00, the stronger the relationship.
• Correlation of 0.00 demonstrates no relationship between the variables.
• Positive Correlation: Increases in one variable are matched by increases in the other variable.
• Negative Correlation: Increases in one variable are matched by decreases in the other variable.
• Correlation does not demonstrate causation: Just because two variables are related does NOT mean
that one variable causes the other to occur.
• Based on results from correlational research one cannot make any assumptions of cause and effect (explain how
third variable can be involved, or how the variables can influence each other).
 3. Experimental Research
• To identify cause-and-effect relationships between variables, we conduct experiments.

• A formal trial to confirm hypothesis

 Directly vary a condition you might think affects behavior

 Create two or more groups of subjects, alike in all ways except the condition you are
varying

 Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior

Variables
• Definition: Any condition that can change and that might affect the outcome of an
experiment
Independent Variable: The independent variable is the manipulated, influential,
experimental factor. These are suspected causes for behavioral differences.
Dependent Variable: Demonstrates results of the experiment. Condition is
affected by independent variable. The dependent variable is the factor (behavior)
that is measured in an experiment. It can change as the independent variable is
manipulated.

Extraneous Variables: Conditions that a researcher wants to prevent from

affecting the outcomes of the experiment (e.g., number of hours slept before the
experiment, type of training received before the experiment).
Groups
• Experimental Group: An experimental group is a group whose experience is
manipulated.
• Control Group: The group of subjects that does NOT get the independent variable.
• Random Assignment: Subject has an equal chance of being in either the experimental
or control group.
• Experiments also involve randomly assigned experimental groups and control groups.
An experimental group is a group whose experience is manipulated.
• E.g. a researcher may need to know whether or not class size has an effect on
students‘ academic performance and hypothesizes as ―do students in small class size
have better academic performance than students in large class size?
 Research Biases
• Selection Bias – occurs when differences between groups are present at the beginning of the
experiment.
• Placebo Effect – involves the influencing of performance due to the subject’s belief about the
results. In other words, if I believe the new medication will help me feel better, I may feel better
even if the new medication is only a sugar pill. This demonstrates the power of the mind to change
a person’s perceptions of reality.
• Experimenter Bias – The same way a person’s beliefs can influence his or her perception, so can
the belief of the experimenter. If I’m doing an experiment, and really believe my treatment works,
or I really want the treatment to work because it will mean big bucks for me, I might behave in a
manner that will influence the subject.
• Controlling for Biases:
• Random Assignment, which means assigning the subjects to each group based on chance rather
than human decision.
• To control for the placebo effect, subjects are often not informed of the purpose of the experiment.
This is called a Blind study, because the subjects are blind to the expected results. To control for
experimenter biases, we can utilize a Double-Blind study, which means that both the experimenter
and the subjects are blind to the purpose and anticipated results of the study.
• Steps in experiment
1. Define problem (e.g. the effect of stress on memory among AAU students)
2. Define the population
3. Create experimental and control conditions
4. Randomization: assign half of the subjects the expt’l and the other half to the
control group
5. Intervention: give IV to the Experimental Group
6. Measurement: measure the DV
7. Comparison
• Suppose Mr. Ahmed conducted an experiment to know the effect of coffee
on sleeping. He gave 2 cups of coffee for “Group A” and 0 cup for “Group
B”. Based on this case, what is the:
• Control group
• Experimental group
• Independent Variable
• Dependent Variable
• Extraneous Variable (EV)
Suppose: A psychologist is interested in exploring the effect of tutorial support on
students‘ academic performance and assign students into two groups. Students in
group one get the tutorial support and those in group two do not. In this example,
what is the:
Dependent variable
Independent variable
Control group
Experimental group
The Scientific Method

Defining a Hypothesis Testing the Drawing

Report
problem hypothesis conclusion
Activity 1
1. Who is the father of psychology?
2. A school of psychology that believes the environment as a
determinant factor to affect behavior ________
3. A researcher stated that positive social interaction has helped him to
reduce the symptoms of depression. This goal is ____
4. A school of thought that focuses on the use of the mind _____
5. A branch of psychology that deals with the treatment of severe
psychological problems/disorders ______
6. A branch of psychology that applies psychology to the legal context
____
Activity 2
1. Suppose a researcher gave you to fill a questionnaire on JJU’s quality of
education. This method is _____
2. The correlation of -0.82 is ___ (A. Weak B. Moderate C. Very strong)
3. A process by which study small group/individuals in detail _____
4. A researcher went to a school and acted as if he is one of the teachers in order to
study them. This method is ______
5. A researcher wanted to study the effect of eating breakfast on students’ memory.
Group A students ate breakfast and gave no breakfast to group B. Then, what is:
1. IV _________
2. DV
3. Extraneous variable (s) ______ _________
4. Control group ______ 5. Experimental group _______
 Chapter Two

Sensation & Perception

Sensation and perception 40

 2.1. Introduction
• Sensation and perception are the first important dimensions of this intelligent life.
• They are starting points for all of your other psychological processes. They supply the data you use for learning and
remembering, thinking and problem solving, communicating with others, and experiencing emotions and for being aware
of yourself.
• Without access to the environment through sensation and perception, you would be like a person in a coma devoid of any
thoughts or feelings.
• Sensation: process of detecting, converting, & transmitting raw sensory information from the external & internal
environments to the brain.
• Sensation is the process whereby stimulation of receptor cells in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and surface of the skin sends
nerve impulses to the brain. Sensations are closely tied to what is happening in the sensory systems themselves.
• Stimulus (pl stimuli): specific energy needed to stimulate sense organs.
• Distal stimulus: the real object in the external world.
• Proximal stimulus: representation of the physical reality in sensory receptors.
• Perceptual object: mental representation of the physical reality.
• Perception: is process of selecting, organizing, & interpreting sensory information into meaningful patterns
• It is the process whereby the brain interprets sensations, giving them order and meaning. Thus,
hearing sounds and seeing colors is largely a sensory process, but forming a melody and
detecting patterns and shapes is largely a perceptual process. We say largely because in everyday
life, it is almost impossible to separate sensation from perception. As soon as the brain receives
sensations, it automatically interprets or perceives them, and without sensations of some kind
perception could not occur. 41
• How different is sensation from perception?

Have you heard of sayings like „ you watch but you don’t see‟;
„ you hear but you don’t listen‟, you touch but you don‟t
grasp…‟
What do these statements suggest to you?
Which one do you think refers to sensation and which one
refers to perception?

42
 The sensory laws: Sensory thresholds and sensory adaption.
The absolute threshold
• The minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected is called absolute threshold.
• Because the absolute threshold for a particular sensory experience varies, psychologists operationally define the absolute
threshold as the minimum level of stimulation that can be detected 50 percent of the time when a stimulus is presented
over and over again.
The difference threshold
• In addition to detecting the presence of a stimulus, you also detect changes in the intensity of a stimulus. The minimum
amount of change that can be detected is called difference threshold.
• Similarly, you would have to increase the intensity of the sound from your tape recorder a certain amount before you
could detect a change in its volume.
• For example, a cup of coffee would require a certain amount of additional sugar before you could detect an increase in its
sweetness.
Sensory Adaptation
• Decreased sensitivity due to repeated or constant stimulation
• If a stimulus remains constant in intensity, you will gradually stop noticing it. For example, after diving into a swimming
pool, you might shiver. Yet a few minutes later you might invite someone to join you saying, The water is fine.
• This tendency of our sensory receptors to have decreasing responsiveness to unchanging stimulus is called sensory
adaptation.
Perception
• Selectivity of perception: Attention
• Paying attention is in general a function of two factors: factors external to the
perceiver and factors internal to the perceiver.
• External factors: factors that are generally found in the objects or stimuli to be
perceived. Some of the external characteristics of objects that determine
whether you are going to attend them or not are size and intensity, repetition
(attention getting), novelty (or newness), and movement.
• Other things being constant, bigger and brighter stimuli are more likely to
capture your attention than smaller and dimmer objects. That is why
announcements and notice are written in big and block letters.
• Internal psychological states of the observer
• Set or expectancy and motives or needs. Set refers to the idea that you may be
―ready and ―Primed for certain kinds of sensory input.
• Set, or expectancy, therefore, varies from person to person. It is important not only in
the selection of sensory input for inclusion in the focus of your attention. It is also
important in organizing the selected sensory input.
• To illustrate the role of setin attention, consider the husband who is expecting an
important phone call. He will hear the telephone ring in the night while his wife does
not.
• The wife, on the other hand, may more likely to hear the baby crying than the telephone
ringing. Of course, if the wife is expecting an important cell, the reverse may be true.
• Motives and needs: There are differences between you and your friend in what you
select to perceive as a result of differences in your motives and needs. You and your
friend attend to and organize the sensory input in ways that match your respective
needs. People who are hungry, thirst, or sexually aroused are likely to pay attention to
events in the environment, which will satisfy these needs.
Perception
• Internal psychological states of the observer
• Set or expectancy and motives or needs. Set refers to the idea that you may be
―ready and ―Primed for certain kinds of sensory input.
• =Motives and needs are the second psychological factors influencing you as
an observer. There are differences between you and your friend in what you
select to perceive as a result of differences in your motives and needs. You and
your friend attend to and organize the sensory input in ways that match your
respective needs. People who are hungry, thirst, or sexually aroused are likely
to pay attention to events in the environment, which will satisfy these needs.
• Further, one’s cultural background, experiences, and learnings would affect our
perception.
 2.3. Perception
 Perception: the set of processes by which we recognize, organize, and make sense of
the sensations we receive from environmental stimuli. It is understanding and giving
meaning to sensation.
 There are three processes in perception
 Selection
 Organization interpretation
 Extra-sensory perception

Sensation and perception 47

Attention
• Attention: focusing on a Factors that increase
limited range of stimuli attention
or event. • Novelty
• Selective attention: • Size
focusing on a specific
aspect of experience • Color
while ignoring others. • Movement
• Cocktail- party- • Interest
phenomenon: when you • Frequency
give attention to a person
who calls your name in a
crowded room.
Sensation and perception 48
 2.3.2. Perceptual organization

• The process of assembling perceptual data in order to make them

meaningful.
• For example, organizing perceived colors and lines into objects
• Perceptual organization involves:
• Shape perception
• Perceptual constancy
• Depth perception

Sensation and perception 49

A. Shape Perception
• Shape perception
involves perceiving
shapes, forms, and
patterns.
a. Figure-Ground
Relationship
 Perceiving the figure (the
stimulus) from the left out
surrounding (background)

Sensation and perception 50

 b. Gestalt laws of perception

• Gestalt: a German word for • The law of closure: incomplete

pattern, form and configuration figures as a whole
• The laws are:

Sensation and perception 51

Proximity: objects that are D. Good continuation
near each other tend to be perceiving patterns as continuing even
perceived as a unit though they are disrupted, or
PPP PPP PPD discontinued.
Similarity: we tend to
group similar items (in
terms of color, shape,
size) together

CCCCBBBDDD
Sensation and perception 52
 B. Perceptual Constancies

• Perceptual Constancy: perceiving the environment as

remaining the same even in spite of changes in sensory input

• Four best-known constancies:

• Size
• Shape
• Color
• Brightness

Sensation and perception 53

Shape constancy: the same perception in spite of
the image on the retina.

Sensation and perception 54

• Different shapes but the same perception

Sensation and perception 55

Color constancy
• Believe it or not both
square “A” and “B”
have the same color.
• Relative luminance
( the amount of light
an object reflects
related to its
surrounding)
determines perceived
brightness

Sensation and perception 56

C. Depth Perception

• Depth Perception:
ability to perceive
three dimensional
space and judge
distance
• It involves binocular
and monocular cues

Sensation and perception 57

Types of illusions
• Distortions (or geometric illusions): when we
misperceive the stimuli
• Ambiguous (or reversible) figures: figures having
two or more plausible interpretations
• Paradoxical figures (or impossible objects):
paradoxical figures look ordinary enough at first,
on closer inspection we realise they cannot exist in
reality (hence ‘paradoxical’).
• Fictions: figures that create perceptions of non-
existing things

Sensation and perception 58

2.4. Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
• Extrasensory Perception (ESP): supposed “psychic”
abilities that go beyond the known senses.
Telepathy: mind to mind communication
 Clairvoyance: seeing without the eye
 Precognition: perceiving things/events before
they happen
 Psychokinesis (pk): moving things without
touching them
• ESP research is criticized for its lack of experimental
control & replicability.

Sensation and perception 59

 Chapter Three
Learning and Theories of Learning
• Almost all human behavior is learned.

• Imagine if you suddenly lost all you had ever learned. What could you do?
You would be unable to read, write, or speak. You couldn‟t feed yourself,
find your way home, and drive a car, play a game, or “party.”

• Needless to say, you would be totally incapacitated.

• Learning is involved in almost every phenomenon psychologists study and

occurs in many different ways.

• Every individual uses learning techniques and processes and directive unique
thoughts and memories to perform day-to-day functions.
• Learning is a change in behavior
• This change in behavior is relatively permanent
• It does not include change due to illness, fatigue, maturation and use of intoxicant.
• This permanent change in behavior is not because of biological factors (like hormonal
changes) that bring permanent changes in behavior; but because of experience, or practice
• The learning is not directly observable but manifests in the activities of the individual.
• It is a continuous modification of behavior throughout life
• It is pervasive, it reaches into all aspects of human life.
• Learning involves the whole person, socially, emotionally & intellectually.
• Learning is often a change in the organization of experiences.
• Learning is responsive to incentives
• Learning is an active process
• Learning is purposeful
• Learning depends on maturation, motivation and practice.
• Learning is multifaceted
Factors Influencing Learning
• Motivation: The learner‘s motivation matters the effectiveness of learning.
• Maturation: Neuro-muscular coordination is important for learning a given
task. Example, The child has to be mature before she/he is able to learn.
• Health condition of the learner
• Psychological wellbeing of the learner
• Good working conditions
• Background experiences
• Massed and distributed learning: Learning that spreads across time with
reasonable time gaps brings better results compared with crammed learning
that occurs at once or within short span of time.
3.2. Theories of Learning
• Behavioral theories
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Cognitive approaches
• Social cognitive approach
1. Classical Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov states that learning is a result of association between stimulus and response
• Classical conditioning focuses on the learning of making involuntary emotional or
physiological responses to stimuli that normally elicit no response. E.g. fear, increased
heartbeat, salivation or sweating at the sight of a hyena. Through the process of classical
conditioning, humans and animals can be trained to act involuntarily to a stimulus that
previously had no effect - or a very different effect - on them.
• Previously neutral stimulus starts to produce unlearned response after conditioning
• Classical conditioning focuses on the learning of making involuntary emotional or
physiological responses to stimuli that normally elicit no response; for example, s fear,
increased heartbeat, salivation or sweating at the sight of a hyena.
• Pavlov was studying salivation in dogs as part of a research program on digestion.
• After a dog had been brought to the laboratory a number of times, it started to salivate
before the food was placed in its mouth. The sight or smell of the food, the dish in which
the food was kept, even the sight of the person who delivered the food each day or the
sound of the person’s footsteps were enough to start the dog’s mouth watering.
Elements of Classical Conditioning
 Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): natural stimulus that produces
natural response
 Unconditioned response (UR): is natural response produced by the
UCS
 Conditioned stimulus (CS): is previously neutral stimulus that
eventually elicits conditioned response after being paired with the
UCS.
 Conditioned response (CR): is learned response to the conditioned
stimulus
 Principles of Classical Conditioning
• 
Counter conditioning

White rabbit + Cookies No fear

• Suppose a one-year old child is playing with a toy near an electrical out-let.
He sticks part of the toy into the outlet. He gets shocked, becomes
frightened, and begins to cry. For several days after that experience, he
shows fear when his mother gives him the toy and he refuses to play with it.
• What are the UCS? UCR? CS? CR?
• Show in diagram there association into three stages of processes?
Find the US, UR, NS, CS, CR in the following:

Your girl friend always uses the same shampoo.

Soon, the smell of that shampoo makes you feel
happy.

The door to your house squeaks loudly when you

open it. Soon, your dog begins wagging its tail when
the door squeaks.

The nurse says, “This won’t hurt a bit,” just before

stabbing you with a needle. The next time you hear
“This won’t hurt,” you cringe in fear.

You have a meal at a fast food restaurant that causes

food poisoning. The next time you see a sign for that
restaurant, you feel nauseated.
 2. Operant Conditioning

• According to B.F. Skinner Operant conditioning states that learning is a result of

punishment and reinforcement.
• Thorndike’s law of effect: behaviors followed by favorable consequences
become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences
become less likely
• Operant conditioning is learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or
weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences.
• An emphasis on environmental consequences is at the heart of Operant
Conditioning (also called Instrumental Conditioning).
• In operant conditioning, the organism's response operates or produces effects on
the environment. These effects, in turn, influence, whether the response will
occur again.
Reinforcements and Punishments
Reinforcement: any stimulus that increases the probability of behavior to be
repeated
Reinforcement  ↑behavior

Primary reinforcers: Food, water, light, stroking of the skin, and a comfortable air
temperature are naturally reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs. They are,
therefore, known as primary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers, in general, have the ability
to strengthen a behavior without prior learning.
Secondary Reinforcers: Behaviors can be controlled by secondary reinforcers. They
reinforce behavior because of their prior association with primary reinforcing stimuli.
Money, praise, applause, good grades, awards, and gold stars are common secondary
reinforcers.
Punishment: anything that reduces the probability of behavior to be repeated
e.g. beating reduces stealing
 Reinforcement
• Positive reinforcement: the presence of reward increases the frequency of
desired behavior.
Ex: Candy or appreciation  Study
• Negative reinforcement: the process whereby termination of an aversive
unpleasant) stimulus makes behavior more likely to occur. Eliminating
something aversive can itself be a reinforcer or a reward.
• Examples: if someone nags you all the time to study, but stops nagging when
you comply, your studying is likely to increase- because you will then avoid the
nagging. Taking aspirin reduces/eliminates headache.....You will take asprine in
the future when you experience headache.
Schedules of reinforcement

• When a response is first acquired, learning is usually most rapid if the

response is reinforced each time it occurs. This procedure is called
continuous reinforcement.
• However, once a response/behavior is learnt, it will be more resistant to
extinction if it is rewarded on an intermittent (partial) schedule of
reinforcement, which involves reinforcing only some responses, not all of
them.

• There are four types of intermittent schedules

Schedules of reinforcement

Partial
Schedules

Interval Ratio
schedule schedule

Fixed Variable Variable

Fixed ratio
interval interval ratio
• Continuous: rewarding every desirable behavior
• Partial: intermittent reward
• Fixed interval : reinforcement is given for appropriate behavior after a fixed amount of
time. Example: giving salary after every 30 days

• Variable interval : reinforcement is given after a variable amount of time

• Fixed ratio : is reinforcing a behavior after fixed number of responses or behaviors.

Example: one bottle soft for 20 bottles of soft drink

• Variable ratio : In variable ratio schedules reinforcement occurs after some average
number of responses, but the number varies from reinforcement to reinforcement.
Variable ratio schedules produce extremely high steady rates of responding. The
responses are more resistant to extinction than when a fixed ratio schedule is used.
Matching Activity

A
B
1. Paid once a week A. Fixed ratio
2. Patted on the back occasionally B. Fixed interval
3. Paid for every 10 units of work completed C. Variable ratio
4. Unpredictably wining a lottery D. Variable interval
5. Teacher gives 0.5 mark for each correct E. Continuous
answer in a class
 Punishment
• Punishment refers to unpleasant or painful stimuli that decrease the probability that a
behavior will occur again
• Positive punishment: when a behavior decreases following the application of unpleasant stimuli.
Ex: Beating  Misbehavior; getting spanking for disobeying

• Negative punishment: refers to decreases the probability of a behavior to be repeated by

removing pleasant stimuli.
Ex: Reducing salary  Absence; loosing a privilege for not studying
• Immediacy – When punishment follows immediately after the behaviour to be
punished.
• Consistency- when punishment is inconsistent the behaviour being punished is
intermittently reinforced and therefore becomes resistant to extinction.
• Intensity- In general terms severe punishments are more effective than mild ones. But,
there are studies that indicate that even less intense punishments are effective provided
that they are applied immediately and consistently.
Four Ways to Modify Behavior
Matching activity
A
1. A dog bites another aggressive dog. C
2. You mother reduces your work load B
when you study...B A. Positive reinforcement
3. You drink tea when you feel B. Negative reinforcement
depressed...B C. Positive punishment
4. A teacher reduces 10 marks after D. Negative punishment
cheating...D
5. A teacher kicks a student for cheating
C

Positive punishment: something is “added” to the mix that Negative punishment: something is “taken away” from the mix
makes the behavior less likely to continue or reoccur (i.e., an that makes the behavior less likely to continue or reoccur (i.e.,
unpleasant consequence is introduced to the subject to something pleasant is removed from the subject to discourage
discourage their behavior) their behavior).
Shaping
• For a response to be reinforced, it must first occur.
• But, suppose you to train a child to use a knife and a fork properly. Such
behaviors, and most others in everyday life, have almost no probability of
appearing spontaneously. The operant solution for this is shaping.
• Shaping is an operant conditioning procedure in which successive
approximations of a desired response are reinforced.
• You start by reinforcing a tendency in the right direction. Then you gradually
require responses that are more and more similar to the final desired response.
The responses that you reinforce on the way to the final one are called
successive approximations.
• Applications: Conditioning study behavior; conditioning and classroom
behavior, Managing Problem Behavior
 Observational learning (Social Learning Theory)
 According to psychologist Albert Bandura, a major part of human learning
consists of observational learning, which is learning by watching the behavior
of another person, or model.
 Because of its reliance on observation of others—a social phenomenon—the
perspective taken by Bandura is often referred to as a social cognitive approach
to learning (Bandura, 1999, 2004).
 Bandura observer may reproduce the behaviors of the model and receive direct
reinforcemidentifies three forms of reinforcement that can encourage
observational learning. (1) The ent. (2). The reinforcement need not be direct -
it may be vicarious reinforcement (see others reinforced for a particular
behavior and then increase his or her production of that behavior.) (3) The third
is self-reinforcement, or controlling your reinforcers-important for students and
teachers. The students and enjoy their growing competence.
Steps of observational learning
1. Attention: attending the model to learn (imitate) from the model
2. Retention: storing what we have imitated in memory to use later
3. Reproduction: reproducing (acting) what we have imitated from the
model
4. Motivation: motivation (interest) to reproduce the act of the model
Cognitive approaches to learning

• Cognitive approaches focus on thought processes involved in learning

A) Latent learning and cognitive maps: is unintended and hidden learning that is
not evident until reinforcement is presented
• ‘Latent’ means hidden, and thus latent learning is learning that occurs but is not
evident in behavior until later, when conditions for its appearance are favorable.
• It is said to occur without reinforcement of particular responses and seems to
involve changes in the way information is processed.
• E.C Tolman indicated that rats can learn cognitive maps of their environment,
even in absence of reinforcement.
• Cognitive maps (mental maps) can be learned learned because of repetition of the
route
• Such knowledge will remain hidden until they get a reason or motivated to use it
B) Insight (aka aha) learning: sudden, unexpected recognition or learning

• It is cognitive process whereby we reorganize our perception of a problem.

• It doesn’t depend on conditioning of particular behaviours for its occurrence.
Sometimes, for example, people even wake from sleep with the solution to a
problem that they had not been able to solve during the day.
• In a typical insight situation, a problem is posed, a period follows during which
no apparent progress is made, then the solution comes suddenly. What has been
learned in insight learning can also be applied easily to other similar situations.
• Human beings who solve a problem insightfully usually experience a good
feeling called an 'aha' experience.
• Wolfgang Kohler observed this among chimpanzees locked in a cage. In the
cage, there were boxes, and a bunch of banana hanged out of their reach. They
chimps tried to take the banana and failed for several times. Suddenly, they
recognized the presence of the boxes and stacked them together to take down the
bananas.
 Chapter Four:
Memory and Forgetting
Meaning and definition of memory
 Memory is retaining information for a long period
 Bridges between our past and our present
 The process of encoding, storage and retrieval
• Encoding: tencoding refers to the form (i.e. the code) in which an item of information
is to be placed in memory. It is the process by which information is initially recorded
in a form usable to memory. Transform a sensory input into a form or a memory code
that can be further processed.
• Storage: preserving information, the location in memory system in which material is
saved. Storage is the persistence of information in memory.

• Retrieval: using the preserved information. In retrieval, material in memory storage is

located, brought into awareness and used.
Memory process
The Three Stages of Memory

• Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin (1968) stated that memory has
three storages
• Sensory memory (SM)
• Short-term memory (STM)
• Long-term memory (LTM)
Sensory Memory/Sensory Register
 The entry way to memory. It is the first information storage area. Sensory
memory acts as a holding bin, retaining information until we can select items
for attention from the stream of stimuli bombarding our senses.
• It gives us a brief time to decide whether information is extraneous or
important. Sensory memory includes a number of separate subsystems, as
many as there are senses. It can hold virtually all the information reaching our
senses for a brief time.
• Information will be lost if not attended
• Capacity: contain all information reaching the sense for a brief time
• Contains: visual images (Iconic memory)- lasts about a second; and Auditory
images (Echoic memory)- lasts for about two seconds
• SM –Attention ---> STM ---Rehearsal ---> LTM
 Short-term Memory (STM)

 STM holds information for about 30 secs.

 Is part of our memory that holds the contents of our attention.

 Unlike sensory memories, short-term memories are not brief replicas of the
environmental message.
 They consist the by-products or end results of perceptual analysis.
 STM is important in a variety of tasks such as thinking, reading, speaking, and
problem solving.
 It is also called working memory, immediate memory, active memory, and primary
memory.

 STM ----Rehearsal---> LTM

 Maintenance rehearsal: simple repetition
 Elaborative rehearsal: associating new information to the already existing one
•C
•R F
•M V
•X
D
•Q
•J
N
•A S
•B W
•T
Long-Term Memory (LTM)
• Stores information for long period
• It has unlimited capacity.The vast amount of information stored in LTM enables us to learn, get
around in the environment, and build a sense of identity and personal history.
• LTM stores information for indefinite periods. It may last for days, months, years, or even a
lifetime.
• Sub-systems of LTM
• Declarative/explicit memory: the conscious recollection of information such as specific facts
or events that can be verbally communicated. It is further subdivided into semantic and episodic
memories.
Semantic memory- factual knowledge like the meaning of words, concepts and our ability to
do math.
Episodic memory- memories for events and situations from personal experience. They are
internal representations of personally experienced events.
• Non-declarative/ implicit memory- refers to a variety of phenomena of memory in which
behaviour is affected by prior experience without that experience being consciously
recollected. It is the “how to” knowledge of procedures or skills. Knowing how to comb your
hair, use a pencil, or swim
 Working memory

SM Attention
STM Rehearsal LTM

Explicit Implicit
Semanti
c
Episodic
 Factors that Affects Memory
• Serial positioning effect: a tendency to remember things things listed at
the beginning and the end (not at the middle)
• Primacy effect: remembering information that are presented first
• Recency effect: remembering most recent information
• Emotion/mood dependent memory
• Age of the learner
• Health
• Interest/motivation
• Ability to retian
Forgetting
• Psychologists use the term forgetting to refer to the apparent loss of
information already encoded and stored in the long-term memory.
• The first attempts to study forgetting were made by German psychologist
Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885/1913). Using himself as his only subject, he
memorized lists of three letter non-sense syllables- meaningless sets of two
consonants with a vowel in between, such as FIW and BOZ.
• Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve: rapid forgetting occurs in the first hours and
then declines after nine hours
• The most rapid forgetting occurs in the first hours. After nine hours, the rate
of forgetting slows and declines little, even after the passage of many days.
 Theories of Forgetting
a) Decay Theory: as a time passes memory trace (engram) fades away on
an actual physical change in the brain- occurs
b) Interference Theory: one information blocks the recall of the other
o Proactive interference: old information (e.g. grade 9 knowledge) blocks the recall of newer one (e.g.
grade 12)
o Retroactive interference: newer information blocks the recall of old information.
c) New memory for old/ displacement theory: New information entering memory can
wipe out old information. This is associated with STM because of its limited capacity.
c) Motivated forgetting: hiding unwanted threatening memories from consciousness.
Block from consciousness those memories that are too threatening and Freud called this
self-protective process Repression.
d) Cue dependent forgetting: lacking retrieval cues to remember things. It is common in
LTM.
• Mood/state dependent: memory retrieval should match the encoding mood
• Context dependent: retrieval and encoding situation should match
Improving Memory
 Pay attention-encode information properly.
 Encode information in more than one way: The more elaborate the
encoding of information, the more memorable it will be
 Over learn-studying information even after you already know.
 Add meaning: The more meaningful the material, the more likely it is to
link up with information already in long-term memory.
 Use elaborative encoding
 Monitor/test your learning
 Take break/time –minimize interference by using study breaks