Weeks 1-3 - Module 1 Flashcards
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of the human mind, especially related to behaviour
Define behaviour
Observable actions and responses to the environment
Define science and the scientific method
The process by which we learn how things work
Behavioural psychology
Focus on our response to environmental factors
Cognitive psychology
Focus on mental processes such as thinking, memory, attention, information, and processing
Social psychology
How we influence each other
How we operate in societies
Norms, culture, persuasion, conflict
How can psychological principles be applied in the context of health?
Why people make good and bad health choices, and using that to help them lead healthier lives.
E.g. Increased consumption of fruit and veg, exercise practices
Educational psychology
Science and study of human learning, involving memory, conceptual processes, and individual differences
Personality psychology
Concerned with the differences between individuals
Organisational psychology
Specialise in workplace functioning
Forensic psychology
Concerned with the intersection of psychology and the justice system
Why are automatic responses important?
They aren’t learned - they are pure examples of behaviour in the world, free of influences like culture
Define reflex
Physical response - autonomic nervous system
Define instinct
Innate mental response, not learned
What is the fight, flight, freeze response?
Instinctual response to danger
What is comparative psychology?
How does it relate to human behaviour?
Related to non-human animals.
Can give insights into automatic responses and what they are for in humans
Moro reflex
Babies will spread arms and legs, then pull them to chest, then cry
Reflex to regain hold of mother
Palmar grasp reflex
Babies instinctually grabbing
Prevent being dropped
Diving reflex
Holding breath, heartrate drops, blood pressure drops, redirection of blood to vital organs
Rooting reflex
Babies turn to face a stimulus and make sucking motions when the cheek or lip is touched
Useful for successful breastfeeding
Sucking reflex
Babies will suck something that touches the roof of its mouth
Breast feeding / eating
What is a theory?
An explanation of a phenomenon that is corroborated by the available science
Evolution via natural selection
Organisms develop characteristics that are advantageous to survival. Specimens that don’t exhibit those characteristics are less likely to survive and pass on their characteristics to successive generations (e.g. moths in polluted areas ared darker)
What is selection pressure?
An environmental stress that may favour certain characteristics over others, causing evolution via natural selection
