CMMK 1087 Human Skills

Week 7

Introduction to Psychology
 WEEK 7 AGENDA

• What is psychology?
• Social learning and moral development theories
• Personality and social psychology theories
• Stress and problematic behaviour modification
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Introduce the concept of psychology and behavior and define what is

psychology
• Discuss and explain why study psychology and behavior and its link to the
world
• Explain and outline what psychology and behavior have to do with this
program and it links to business
• Introduce and describe the Social Learning and Moral Development Theory
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY AND
BEHAVIOUR

Can you guess what the experiment was about and what it showed?
What makes the experiment a psychological experiment?
 WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

• Psychology is the study of behaviour and mental processes, including our

thoughts, feelings, and actions
• You can also think of it as the study of human behaviour patterns and how to modify
these patterns when necessary
• Unlike ethics, psychology is also a science, which means that its theories and
concepts are backed up by the scientific method (hypothesis,
observe/experiment, refine predictions)
• Where ethics offers rationales for demonstrating good behaviour, psychology
establishes norms of successful and problematic behaviour
 WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

• The study of behaviour and mental processes, which includes every aspect of
human thoughts, feelings, and actions, Charles Morris and Albert Maisto
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn7-JZq0Yxs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1VOZhwRvWo
• “What are some of the stereotypes about this concept?”
• What kind of science is Psychology?

• Canadian Psychology Association’s website and click on CPA Sections

http://www.cpa.ca/aboutcpa/cpasections/
 PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

Development
Develop a
Create of
Theory
Predictions Hypothesis
Careful,
Based upon Lead to
Systematic
your Theory testing and
Observation
observation

Example: Are males or females more aggressive

 WHY STUDY PSYCHOLOGY?

• As a Profession, Career
• Personal benefits in daily life (“Why am I thinking, feeling, acting the way I
do?”) transferred to various professions (Managing, Marketing, Nursing, etc.)
• A logical extension of ethics
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

• The idea that humans learn from observing modelled behaviour

• Alfred Bandura moves beyond Pavlov and B.F. Skinner
• The Bobo doll experiments, 1961
• The importance of motivation
B.F. Skinner:
Skinner Box Experiments.
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

• Social learning theory helps us understand soft skills behaviours because it

shows that most human behviour is learned by modelling earlier behaviours
we’ve witnessed among authority/adult figures
• Alfred Bandura proved this theory in his 1960s “Bobo doll” experiments in which
children who witnessed adults acting violently towards a doll replicated (and added to)
this negative behaviour
• Bandura’s social learning theory moved beyond the earlier-accepted
psychological theory of learning known as behaviourism, which saw learning
as stemming from a replication of behaviours that are rewarded
 THE RESULTS

• Human behaviour was simply a result of conditioning – i.e. we learn to make

or not do something because of its consequences (Early 20 th Century)
• Later experiments and theories found that observational learning is more
important than conditioning. We learn by observing people who model a
behaviour.
Alfred Bandura:
Effect of violence in the
media.
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

• Moral development theory shows that morality (our tendency to act ethically)
develops in childhood and adolescence, as we move from a pre-conventional
stage of moral reasoning in which things are all about us to a conventional stage
of moral reasoning in which things are about what society and others expect
• Lawrence Kohlberg proved this theory in his 1950s “moral dilemma” experiments in
which children and later teens were presented with ethical dilemmas and asked how
they would solve them
• While most adults progress from pre-conventional to conventional, a small
minority go further attaining post-conventional moral development, in which
decisions are based on what’s intrinsically right, no matter what laws, rules or
custom may say
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

• Doing right vs. wrong develops

gradually thru childhood
• 1956, 72 boys ages 10 – 16
• Provided choice in
moral/ethical dilemmas
• Heinz dilemma, right/wrong
Laurence stealing drugs for a sick wife
Kohlberg: • 58 boys tested every 3 years for
20 years
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
6 STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
3 LEVELS OF MORAL REASONING

1. PRE-CONVENTIONAL STAGE OF MORAL

REASONING:

• Interpret behaviour in terms of consequences

(judge right/wrong behavoiur based on reward and
punishment)
• Make moral choices based on what satisfies own
need
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
6 STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
3 LEVELS OF MORAL REASONING

2. CONVENTIONAL STAGE OF MORAL

REASONING:

• right behaviour as that which pleases or helps

others and is approved by them (move from
morality/consequences to morality/intentions)
• abstract social virtues, such as being a ‘good
citizen’ and respecting authority
• Both require empathy
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
6 STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
3 LEVELS OF MORAL REASONING

3. POST-CONVENTIONAL STAGE OF
MORAL REASONING:
• Only 10–15% of all people achieve this stage
• moves beyond the conformity of conventional
morality and recognizes that sometimes individual
rights are more important than laws or rules that
seek to restrict them
• equality and respect for all trumps all other
considerations
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
CRITICISMS

• If only 10 – 15% reach the 3rd stage are all others underdeveloped?
• Cultural differences (justice versus suffering/compassion
• Sexists (Carol Gilligan) justice versus personal relationships (not one is morally
superior to the other)

• Beyond Kohlberg: the “judgment-action

gap”
• Difference between what a person judges versus what they do about it
 PERSONALITY THEORY

• Besides doing what we do from having observed others as well as progressing through
distinct moral development stages, psychologists offer another theory: personality
• Personality is our unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that is stable and endures
slightly differently for each person
• There are three main personality theories
• Psychodynamic theory says our personality is already contained within us at birth – well-known
examples of such a theory include Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney, Erikson
• Trait theory says our personality is a unique combination of fundamental traits including
extraversion/introversion; agreeableness/disagreeableness; etc.
• Cognitive-social theory says our personality is ;ess consistent and more a response to the
situations we find ourselves in
 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

• Besides doing what we do from having observed others, progressing through distinct
moral development stages, and due to our personality, psychologists offer one final
explanation: social psychology
• Social psychology explains what we’re thinking when we interact with others; put another way,
it explains how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by those of other people
• Three main social psychology phenomena exist that influence soft skills:
• Attitudes: our beliefs/feelings/tendencies towards something or someone. Whether or not
attitudes lead directly to behaviour is contested. People with higher self-monitoring levels can
ignore their attitudes and behave conventionally, whereas people with lower self-monitoring
levels tend to behave as per their attitude. Attitude change is possible via self-reflection, new
information, and cognitive dissonance.
 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY cont’d

• Social influences: The ways in which other people can affect our attitudes and actions.
Three common influences are conformity – thinking or doing what the majority believes;
compliance – changing your behaviour as a result of a request from someone else; and
obedience – changing your behaviour in response to a command from another person.
• Social actions: Social influences that take place when people are physically with us
(conformity, compliance and obedience don’t require physical presence). Three common
actions are deindividuation – aka bystander effect, a loss of sense of personal responsibility
that comes from being immersed in a large anonymous group; altruistic behaviour – doing
things for others without the expectation of anything in return; and various group dynamics
– including positive ones like leadership and negative ones like groupthink, in which
members of a group go along with the majority instead of “rocking the boat” even if what
they think is right or would be more effective.
 STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES

• Psychiatrists and psychotherapists regularly deal with situational issues among their
clients, the most common one being stress – the state of being faced with a tense of
threatening situation that requires us to change/adapt our behaviour
• Not surprisingly, being stressed is one cause of non-attention to soft skills
• Stress has numerous sources, not all of which are negative. The main causes of
negative stress are change (e.g. new job), everyday hassles (e.g. frustration from
commuting), and self-imposed stress (e.g. ambition).
• Coping strategies for stress include direct coping (intentional effort made to lessen
uncomfortable situation), defensive coping (deceiving ourselves about stress to reduce
pressure), and proactive coping (planning ahead to avoid future stressful situations)
 MODIFYING PROBLEMATIC
BEHAVIOURS

• When coping strategies are not enough to deal with stress or problematic behaviour (e.g., in
personal relationships, in the workplace), people require professional intervention via
psychotherapy
• Therapies come in three main types:
• Insight therapies such as psychoanalysis involve us speaking directly (in person or virtually) with a
therapist to become more aware of our feelings, conflicts and problematic behaviour patterns
• Behaviour therapies such as conditioning and modelling are less interested in discovering insights
into our feelings and behaviorus and more on teaching people new, more satisfyijg ways of behaving
• Cognitive therapies such as CBT try to change the way we think (e.g., eliminate distorted and self-
defeating ideas about ourselves) by offering coping strategies and behaviours for difficult situations