WHAT CONTROLS BEHAVIOUR- GENES OR ENVIRONMENT?

Read and answer the following scenario  questions and make a conclusion on- What controls human behaviour- genes or environment?

Identical twins have the same genetic make up who have always been together; is their behaviour completely the same? Explain your answer in terms of what makes their behaviour similar and what makes in different.

Identical twins who are separated at birth; is their behaviour going to be completely different? Explain your answer in terms of what makes it similar or different?

Give practical examples.

NEUROTRANSIMITTERS

Nervous system is made up of millions and millions of neurons which need to communicate to each other to execute body functions. In the diagram above two neurons are meeting, so where they meet they are not in direct contact, there is a space between them known as the synapse. for the neurons to communicate one of them releases a chemical known as a neurotransmitter to pass the message/ nerve impulse to the next neuron, hence messages are carried around.

There are several types of neurotransmitters, some of them makes it possible for the next neuron to transmit impulses (excitatory) while some terminates the impulse ( inhibitory).

Language of the brain

The brain has a language. What is that language and how does it speak?

Here is the answer: Language is used for communication. Only when people can speak the same language is communication effective. The brain is made up of different units which all work together to control human behaviour. For the units /parts of the brain to work together they communicate using the same language. This language is the nerve impulse which is generated by a stimuli and transmitted throughout the nervous system carrying various messages which in turn shape human behaviour.

NEUROTRANSMITTERS

Neurotransmitters and hormones play an important role in controlling human behaviour. For you to better understand human behaviour, you need to know the common neurotransmitters and their roles as well as the hormones found in the body and their functions. Therefore take time study the functions of the neurotransmitters and hormones.

NAMES OF NOTE IN PYSCHOLOGY

Which psychological perspectives are the following people known for?

1. S. Freud
2.C. Rogers
3.A. Maslow
4.W. James
5. M. Wertheimer
6. W. Wundt

FUNNY BEHAVIOUR

Thabo is at the verge of divorcing his wife Sipho, who seems to have forgotten everything about their past. Sipho suffered a serious head injury recently and is behaving in a way that the husband describe as funny, not even remembering their wedding.

How can you explain Sipho's behaviour and help save her marriage?

NEURON/ NERVE CELL

The neuron is the basic element of the nervous system. For one to understand the basic elements of behaviour one needs to understand the nervous system and the neuron in turn. Study the structure of the neuron in detail and describe the function of each structure.

DISCUSSION SCENARIOS

Tsepiso accidentally stepped on a sharp nail; she suddenly jumps into the sky away from the nail. Use your understanding of the Neuroscience psychology to explain Tselios’s behaviour.                 

Shortly after he was born, Jacob's arms and legs started jerking every 20 minutes. Weeks later; he could not focus on his mother's face. The diagnosis was uncontrollable epileptic seizures involving his entire brain. He underwent brain surgery at 5months in which 20% of his brain was removed.

Do you think the surgery was successful in treating the seizures and why?               

    

LECTURE 1

15/01/15

LECTURE 1- INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY- BSC 101

Learning outcomes

Ø  Define psychology

Ø  Discuss the importance of psychology in Nursing

Ø  Describe the historical development of Psychology as a science

Ø  Outline the three early perspectives of psychology

Ø  Outline the five modern perspectives of psychology

Overview

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Thus it focuses on

ü  what people do

ü  their thinking

ü  emotions (feelings)

ü  reasoning processes

ü  memories

ü  perceptions

ü  biological processes

Psychologists describe, predict and explain human behavior and mental processes as well as help change and improve human lives as well as the world.

Historical development of psychology

Psychology can be traced back to the ancient Greek times through to the 18^th century.

Formal beginning of psychology as a scientific discipline developed in the late 19^th century with the following developments in sequence

1.Wilhelm Wundt set up the first experimental laboratory devoted to psychological phenomena in Germany in 1879 to study the building blocks of the mind. This led to the development of the psychological perspective known as structuralism.

2. William James set up his own laboratory in the USA in the early 1900s and developed the psychological perspective functionalism

3. Hermann Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer in Germany developed the perspective Gestalt psychology

Early psychological perspectives

There are three main psychological perspectives

1. Structuralism developed by Wundt

2. Functionalism developed by James

3. Gestalt psychology developed by H. Ebbinghaus and M. Wertheimer

Structuralism (focused on the structure of the mind)

It is defined as Wundt’s’ psychological approach which focuses on uncovering the fundamental mental components of consciousness, thinking and other kinds of mental states and activities.

This was developed using a procedure known as introspection which is:

A procedure used to study the structure of the mind in which subjects are asked to describe in detail what they are experiencing when they are exposed to a stimulus.

Due to lack of sufficient evidence to support these perspective, other approaches were developed to replace it.

Functionalism (focused on the function of the mind)

It is defined as an early approach to psychology that concentrated on what the mind does- the functions of mental activity and the role of behavior in allowing people to adapt to their environments.

-The focus was on what the mind does and how behavior functions

Gestalt (geh SHTALLT)

It is defined as an approach that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a whole sense rather than on the individual elements of perception.

-Looked at how people look at things as a whole rather than the individual parts that make up thinking.

Modern Psychological perspectives

There are five major perspectives emphasising different aspects of behavior and mental processes taking our understanding of behavior in different directions.

1. Neuroscience

2. Psychodynamic

3. Behavioural

4. Cognitive

5. Humanistic

These try to explain and predict human behavior based on certain scientific bases.

Neuroscience perspective

-The approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, the nervous system and other biological functions.

-It considers how humans functions physiologically that is how nerve cells are joined together, how the inheritance of certain characteristics from parents influence behavior

Psychodynamic perspective (Sigmund Freud)

-The approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control.

-The approach views dreams and slips of the tongue as indication of what a person is truly feeling within the unconscious.

Behavioral Perspective (John B. Watson and B.F.Skinner)

The approach that suggests that observable behavior, measurable behavior should be the focus of study.

The approach looks at behavior from the outside rather than the inside. Watson believed that it was possible to elicit any desired type of behavior by controlling the person’s environment. For example he said if given any offspring’s he could train them to be anything from a beggar to lawyers.

Cognitive perspective

The approach that focuses on how people think, understand and know about the world.

The emphasis is on learning how people comprehend and represent the world within themselves and how our ways of thinking about the world influence our behavior.

Humanistic perspective (Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow)

The approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop and be in control of their lives and behavior.

People will always try to reach their potential if they are given the opportunity, in other words they have free will (the ability to freely make decisions about one’s behavior.

TUTORIAL 1 Psychological Issues and Controversies

As psychology is about human behavior and mental processes, debate on the extent to which human behavior is influenced by

a.     Nature  and nurture

b.     Conscious and Unconscious

c.      Observable behavior  and  internal mental processes

d.     Free will  and determinism

e.     Individual differences and Universal principles