Ap Psychology Unit 1 Summary

PSYCHOLOGY
Unit 1

Introduction to Psychology

Psychology: Psychology is the systematic study of behaviour and mental processes including perception, cognition and emotion.

- Cognition: is thinking, knowing and processing information - Emotion: changes in facial expressions and adoptive behaviour

Behaviour: is any observable action made by a living person or animal. There are now 2 types of behaviour – overt and covert.

- Overt: observable actions and responses (eating and talking)

- Covert: internal activities (thinking, remembering)

Psychology is a Science because… • It develops hypothesis’ which can be tested through research • It uses research procedures • It relies on systematic data
… • Because of his concerns about the killings of the Jew in the Holocaust • Wanted to know what factors led individuals to obey the orders of others and when they would allow their conscious to guide their behaviour • He raised questions about peoples abilities to commit and justify anti-social or inhumane acts commanded by someone with ‘legitimate authority’ such as Hitler • Milgram suggested that when the commands for an action come from someone else, we are able to rationalise that it is not our responsibility for their behaviour

Factors Affecting Obedience…

- Social Proximity: this refers to the social distance between people as influencing their willingness to conform. The further away someone is from another, the greater the likelihood of that person obeying and acting against them

- Legitimacy of Authority Figures: This refers to how legitimate or respected an individual or institution is as influencing someone’s willingness to obey

- Group Pressure: how a group has influence over an individual to change their own beliefs and behaviour to fit in with the majority.

Types of
- Orienting Response: tendency to respond to a novel (new or unusual) stimulus (object or event) in the environment by directing our attention toward the stimulus. The orienting response is present at birth.
Psychological changes associated with Preferential Looking: • Increase in pupil size • Slight decrease in heart rate • Brainwave changes • Increased activity in specific parts of the brain involved with visual perception

Habituation: tendency to get used to and therefore ignore a stimulus when it is experienced repeatedly.

Dishabituation: an infant’s renewed interest in a new stimulus, following habituation of an old stimulus.

Infants Perceptual