Tuesday July 13, 2004
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?

Psychology: Study of Behavior?

Aspects of Understanding Psychology/Behavior

--> Altering Behavior  Ex: Doug's Three year old
--> Prediction of Behavior Ex: Product Placement in Grocery Stores, Election Predictions Etc..

Study of the Human Mind is included within psychology studies
--> Sleep Studies = R.E.M. Studies etc... (the sleepers were still behaving)

What is the mind? = Not an equal substitute for counsciousness?
--> Data processing but also much more.
--> Self Awareness

Death is an end of consciousness.

Psychologists study consciousness, cognition, the mind (aren't quite sure where to get their hands on it),
and how the mind  developes.



Brain Tissue ----------------> Concsiousness
               Transition

The transition is not understood very well/ at all. It is assumed the complexity of the brain is the reason for 
consciousness.

Study of the Biological underpinnings of the different psychological effects etc...

Neurosteroids - simple roids that work on the brain.

Allopregnanolene is one of these. It is 10 times more present in the female system.

During pregnancy the levels of Allo skyrocket up.
About 8 hours after birth they plumbett below normal (This can account for post partum depression)

In 1879 Welhelm Wumdt started psychology, its a young science. Grew from the life sciences.
Structuralism - the inner working of the mind. "Intraspection"
He would take individuals and give them things to think about. Psych was struggling to be 
recognized as a science. However intraspection is very specialized to each subject. Sky is blue
has different meaning to different people. It was also non recreatable.

There was a qualitative research wave designed to cater to counselor/patient specificity. -
The specific intraspection necessary for that certain case.

Pavlov studied gastro-intestinal system.
Saliva - how much does a dog salivate

His statements about behavior were quantifiable.
This led to a different wave of Psychology being launched towards the goal of prediccting
and controlling behavior.

Behaviorism began to flourish. Two things happened to hurt that.

- Watson married a student.(he then was kicked out of the psych realm and worked for ad agencies)

- Behaviorism is fine but we should examine the way the brain's biology is affecing perceptions

---> Gestaldt Psychology - How the brain fills in gaps between things that aren't there.

      /\                                                                                /\
           This isn't a triangle but three angles. THe brain sees it as a triangle     /  \
    /_  _\							 		      /____\

Stimulus does not predict perception.
Ex: Dating relationships, and humour

At this time Darwin and Evolution began to unfluence the thoughts of the psych community.
---> Micro Evolution - fundamental facts, parts of you in your parents, dog breed cross breeding
     etc...

---> Macro Evolution - The idea that different sections of a species can grow individual traits
     slowly over time due to different stimuli that are specific to that geography or something
     of that nature until so many changes have been made that the one group now prefers to 
     or physically can only mate with its own kind.

Gould took the problems of Macro-E  - Intermediate stages in fossil record didn't occur. Then 
suggested sudden dramatic even to help spur changes in them.

Psych bit into this idea heavily

Strong similarities in behavior due to genetics (that we possess as a selective advantage)

This is argument for macro evo's suggesting similarity
indicates link and predictability.

Ex: Mice get drunk and do this, so humans could also they must be linked.