Five levels of human need — lower must be met before higher motivate
Hungry people aren't worried about self-esteem. Unsafe people aren't thinking about belonging. Work upward from survival needs to growth needs.
1
Physiological — food, water, sleep
2
Safety — security, stability
3
Belonging — relationships, love
4
Esteem — respect, achievement
5
Self-actualization — reaching full potential
Freud's Psychic Structure
Freud: Id (devil) + Superego (angel) = Ego (you)
Freud's Psychic Structure
Visualize the devil, you, and an angel — Id, Ego, Superego
Id: unconscious, pleasure principle, wants it NOW. Superego: moral conscience, idealistic. Ego: rational mediator, reality principle — navigates between id and superego.
Classical: Pavlov. Operant: Skinner. Both = learned associations.
Conditioning Types
Two types of behaviorist learning — both involve associations
Classical (Pavlov): pair neutral stimulus with unconditioned → conditioned response (dog salivates at bell). Operant (Skinner): behavior shaped by consequences — reinforcement increases, punishment decreases.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism: only observable behavior matters — Skinner, Watson, Pavlov
Behaviorism
Psychology as the science of observable behavior — not mental states
Watson and Skinner rejected internal mental states as unscientific. Only observable, measurable behavior counts. Led to behavior modification therapy. Largely replaced by cognitive psychology in the 1970s.
Social Learning Theory
Bandura: Social Learning Theory — people learn by OBSERVING others. Bobo doll experiment.
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura — we learn by watching, not just doing
Bandura's Bobo doll study: children who watched adults hit an inflatable doll imitated the aggression. Key concepts: observational learning, modeling, vicarious reinforcement. Self-efficacy: belief in your own ability to succeed — predicts motivation and performance. Bridges behaviorism and cognitive psychology.
The 'third force' — optimistic, person-centered, growth-focused
Reaction against psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Carl Rogers: people need unconditional positive regard (acceptance without conditions) to grow. Person-centered therapy. Maslow: hierarchy of needs, self-actualization. Key assumption: humans are inherently good and capable of growth.
Aaron Beck: depression involves cognitive triad — negative automatic thoughts about self ('I'm worthless'), world ('nothing works out'), and future ('it will always be this way'). Cognitive distortions: all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, catastrophizing. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targets these.
Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Figure-ground, proximity, similarity.
Gestalt Psychology
How we perceive whole patterns rather than individual parts
German school: the brain organizes sensory input into coherent wholes. Figure-ground: perceive one element as foreground against a background. Proximity: nearby objects grouped together. Similarity: similar objects grouped together. Closure: fill in gaps to perceive complete shapes. Continuity: prefer smooth, continuous patterns.
Bowlby's Attachment Theory
Attachment theory: Bowlby — early bonds with caregivers shape all future relationships
Bowlby's Attachment Theory
The evolutionary basis of the parent-child bond
John Bowlby: attachment is an evolutionary adaptation — infants who stayed close to caregivers survived. Internal working model: mental representation of relationships formed in infancy shapes adult relationships. Secure base: caregiver provides safety for exploration. Disruption: maternal deprivation can cause lasting harm.
Biological/Neuroscience Perspective
Biological perspective: genes, brain, hormones, and neurotransmitters explain behavior
Biological/Neuroscience Perspective
Behavior as the product of biology — genes, brain, and chemistry
Twin studies: identical twins raised apart show similar traits → evidence for genetic influence. Brain damage case studies (Phineas Gage: iron rod through frontal lobe → personality change). Neurotransmitter imbalances: low serotonin → depression. Hormones: cortisol (stress), testosterone (aggression).
Early Schools of Psychology
Structuralism (Wundt) vs Functionalism (James): what the mind IS vs what it DOES
Early Schools of Psychology
The first two systematic approaches to psychology
Structuralism (Wundt, Titchener): analyze the basic elements of conscious experience through introspection — what is the structure of the mind? Functionalism (William James): how does the mind function to help organisms adapt? What do mental processes DO? Functionalism led to behaviorism, applied psychology, and educational psychology.