Seminar Teaching Assistants Name Anne Marie Levy Thomas Sasso Jasmine Mahdy Melissa Bell Chris Upton Dan van der Werf Jeff Franson Julia Wreford Course overview Description: The overall theme of this course is the examination of human behaviour and mental processes using a scientific approach. It will survey some of the major areas of the field such as neuroscience, sensation and perception, learning, cognition, motivation, human development, personality, psychopathology, and social psychology. Lectures: Seminars: Tuesdays & Thursdays 16:30-17:20, Rozanski Hall (ROZH) 104 As assigned on your timetable. • You must attend the seminar for which you are registered, unless you made arrangements with your TA to attend another one of his/her seminars. • PSYC*1000*XXXX, where XXXX is your seminar section number Seminar Sections 0464, 0465, 0479, 0480 0461, 0467 0463, 0470 0471, 0478 0466, 0474 0472, 0473 0462, 0468 0469 E-mail a.levy@psy.uoguelph.ca t.sasso@psy.uoguelph.ca j.mahdy@psy.uoguelph.ca mbell01@uoguelph.ca c.upton@psy.uoguelph.ca d.vanderwerf@psy.uoguelph.ca j.franson@psy.uoguelph.ca j.wreford@psy.uoguelph.ca…
References: Toates, F. (2007). Biological processes and psychological explanation. In D. Miell, A. Phoenix, & K. Thomas (Eds), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 225-280). Milton Keynes: The Open University.…
Nature vs. Nurture – A debate within psychology that explores the extent to which specific aspects of behavior are inherited or learnt as a result of environmental influences.…
Over the course of the last century one of the greatest debates in psychology concerns, the basis of behaviour, specifically whether behaviour is innate i.e. genetically controlled, or whether it is learnt through the socio-cultural environment. This is often referred to as the Nature vs. Nurture debate. There are two main arguments on this issue. The ‘Nativist’ claims that all behaviour is innate believing that genes control the majority of animal behaviour. On the other hand, the empiricist position suggests that all behaviour is learned through an individuals cultural experience and conditioning – that individuals begin life as blanks slates. Extremes of both these positions are reductionist, since they explain all behaviour at one level of explanation. This debate has evolved in such a way that the modern question is not whether behaviour is innate or learned, but rather how much of behaviour, if any, is genetically determined. Most psychologists now accept that both heredity and the environment are necessary for human existence and influence our behaviour. Therefore the question has shifted to considering to what extent nature or nurture affects our behaviour and how they interact– not so much nature or nurture, as nature via nurture. The debate endures because both sides have the ability to create a scientific environment to support their cause.…
Abnormal behaviour is no different from normal behaviour in terms of how it is learned. The approach suggests that abnormal behaviours are learned through conditioning or social learning as well behaviour is determined by external events. The principles of learning theory can be used to explain many disorders for which the major characteristics are behavioural. An example of this is arachnophobia which involves avoidance, an external symptom and feelings of anxiety when in the presence of a spider, an internal symptom.…
This approach views behavior as an evolutionary adaptation. According to this, emotions and cognitions adapt to the changing time and environment.…
That behaviour can be largely explained in terms of biology, and that human genes have…
Learning initiates a multitude of definitions from basic to intricate but regardless of the variations it is simply the acquisition of knowledge. As such learning occurs in connection with the many experiences an individual encounters throughout his or her lifespan. Experiences include exposure and interactions to various stimuli, such as a loud noise or an approaching animal. Thus a stimulus can be an object, an action, or an individual perceived as starting a response. In turn a response to a stimuli triggers the acquisition of knowledge about the world around the individual causing him or her to perceive positive and negative experiences and learn from each stimuli encounter. Therefore, the majority of human as well as animal behavior is learned from such responses to various stimuli and is defined as simple stimulus learning. As such the following evaluation explains simple stimulus learning in the form of habituation as well as identifying the factors affecting perceptual learning, the effects of stimulus exposure, and the application to real life situations.…
Maladaptive thoughts, which might have led to increased stress for this student include the extent of problems. Looking at a health perspective, this student could be having anxiety, which will bring on shortness of breath rapid heart rates. This student is increasing stress while talking him or her into a heart attack. Looking at the diet, he or she may put more stress on themselves by not going to the gym and giving into the fast food. Thoughts could be “why change, it will be the same”. Maladaptive thoughts can harm a person. Reading into the negatives will lead to acting in negative ways.…
This perspective is a basic theory that our behaviour, personality, habits and some of our characteristics are shaped or learned form our surrounding environment. This perspective focuses on how our behaviours change and how positive and negative reinforcements influence behaviours. it looks to understand our behaviours and whether classical conditioning and operant condition influence our behaviours. Skinner and Pavlov and…
This course is designed to expose you to the underlying physiological mechanisms of behavior. Physiological psychology is a complex but fascinating field of study. It explores the relationship between our biological systems and behavior. Structure and function of the nervous system from the neuron to the brain, as well as the interrelationships between the brain and such behaviors as eating, sleeping, learning, memory, emotion, and mental disorders will be discussed using examples from the behavior of both humans and lower organisms.…
The scientific experiments that have been used to study people’s behaviour tend to be very reliable due to the evidence that they end up with being based on facts. However, this approach is it does not considered mental processes that can affect an individual’s behaviour. This perspective only focuses on how people learn form their own experience. People like Bandura who introduce social learning approach disagree with this perspective as he believes that people can learn from observing and learning other people’s behaviour and experiences. Furthermore, studies of a wide range of human behaviours have shown that classical and operant conditioning cannot adequately explain how people are able to solve problems without the extended period of trial and error that behaviourism would say is necessary. These findings imply that mental processes must play a part in explaining much human behaviour…
Biology and Behavior Worksheet Kyle R Friedman University of Phoenix PSY 201 University of Phoenix Material…
There are two different theories related to the behaviourist approach in psychology, both explanations provide a valid perspective on with relevant applications of these theories and evidence to support these perspectives. These specific theories focus on why an individual may behave in a certain way. Classical conditioning and operate conditioning both explain the behaviourist approach in a simplified account and can help us grasp an understanding of why an individual may choose to behave in a certain manner.…
Biological researchers often adopt a ‘reductionist’ approach to the study of human behaviour. This is a micro-level of research, which breaks down complex behaviour into smallest parts. This micro approach is criticised for being overly simplistic in explaining behaviour. However, it’s important to have detailed knowledge of the components of human behaviour in order to understand how several factors may interact to cause certain…