PSY 111: FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Introduction
During your interactions with people around you, you have heard about people
talking to each other that “you are playing with my psychology”; “I have a
mental issue” or “your behaviour is sickening”. These are statements indicate
some level of knowledge on psychology. Psychology is a science that has been
practiced for a long time even when it was not formally known, or specifically
described as psychology. So, what is psychology? There are many definitions
that you will get regarding psychology. Some people will tell you:
It is the mind
It is the study of the mind
Or it is the study of psychological processes.
They are not far off. There is no way you can talk of psychology without talking
about the mind. This is because it is the phenomena of study in psychology.
Psychology therefore can be defined as follows:
It is the scientific/systematic study of the mental processes and how they affect
behaviour.
The Oxford Dictionary defines it as:
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those
affecting behaviour in a given context.
The following are some random definitions of psychology:
1. It is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour - Simply psychology
2. It is the scientific study of mind and behaviour and it includes conscious
and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. Wikipedia
3. ..is the study of the mind and behaviour. It encompasses the study of
human thought, behaviour, development, personality, emotion,
motivation, and more.
The basic thing here in all the definitions is mind and behaviour. Therefore,
psychology focuses on mental processes/functions. What are these mental
processes/functions?
Thinking/reasoning, imagining, remembering (memory), attention, abstracting,
dreaming, etc., are some of the common mental processes. A psychologist will
be concerned about the these mental activities and what they mean to the
person. In for example a person thinks that others hate them, they may tend
to isolate, or they may become hostile to others because their thoughts have
convinced them that other people are bad.
Now, hostility or isolation are good examples of behaviour. By observing the
behaviour we may be urged to ask the question like: “why do you like staying
alone?” By asking this question, we want to know what is in the person’s mind
that makes them behave like that.
Therefore, behaviour is observable and can be measured, and it reveal what a
person has in mind.
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Why therefore is psychology considered a science? Before we answer this we
must know what a science is or does.
1. A science is systematic: it takes steps in studying phenomena e.g.,
formulating hypothesis, collecting data, analysing, interpreting and
drawing conclusions and making recommendations. We can also say a
science follows a given method.
2. A science is empirical: empirical means science studies observable or
quantifiable phenomena. E.g. gambling, drug use/addiction, etc.
3. A science is verifiable: this is to say that if another person was to carry
out a scientific study, they can follow the same process as the first
person (scientist) and come to the same conclusions as them.
4. A science generates public knowledge: When a scientist engages in an
experiment, they are aiming at generating public knowledge which they
share through publications e.g. journals, books, periodicals, conferences,
etc.
5. A science is replicable: a scientific experiment can be conducted using
the same method in a different environment or context. In this case a
scientist can study addiction in Kenya using the same method and still
conduct it in the US.
We can therefore note that psychology is a science because it is systematic,
empirical, verifiable, replicable and it generates public knowledge.
While science has these characteristics, we need to know the aim of engaging
ourselves in the science of psychology. In other words what are the goals of
psychology?
1. To understand behaviour – we need to know, for example, why people
become addicted, mentally ill, isolated and so on.
2. To describe behaviour – once a psychologist understands behaviour,
they can describe it in detail and give its characteristics. E.g. aggression
among children from violent families
3. To predict behaviour – since psychologists conduct research, they want
to make generalizations that are projected in the future. For example,
they can say a person who has experienced trauma may suffer from
depression.
4. To control behaviour – psychologists study behaviour to come up with
interventions. If a child from a violent family is aggressive, interventions
will be put in place to prevent other children from same families from
being aggressive by providing psychological therapies.
Now that you have known the goals of psychology, can you name the branches
of psychology?
BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR
Biology refers to physiological processes which include organs and organ
systems. There are quite a number of organs and organ systems as indicated
below.
 Brain and spinal cord – nervous system
 Endocrine system – slower nervous system (hormones) e.g. Glands
(thyroid, pineal gland, pituitary gland, etc)
 Circulatory system – heart, veins, arteries, valves
 Respiration – lungs and energy consumption
 Nervous system
 Excretory system
 Digestive system
In the biological basis of behaviour we focus on the following:
1. Genetics
2. Nervous system
3. Brain structure/anatomy
4. Neurochemicals (Neurotransmitters)
5. Endocrine system

A. Genetics
Phenotype and genotype
Phenotype – physical characteristics
Genotype – What is not physically noticeable, inner processes e.g. Genes and
DNA.
Personality can be inherited or it can be traced in the parent organism e.g. a
child may behave like their parent.
In genetics we focus on any inherited behaviour and special attention that
psychologists focus on is personality traits, mental illness.
B. Nervous system
Brain and the spinal cord
a. Peripheral nervous system and the somatosensory nervous system –
Outer covering of an organism (humans) – muscles, five senses (touch,
sight, hearing, smell – olfaction, taste (gustatory).
b. Autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary systems like
breathing, heartbeat, and so on. It is divided into three as follows:
i. Sympathetic – it activates the body for reactions e.g. fight and flight-
triggers the body to respond to arousal like fear, anxiety and stress. A
person may fight danger, flee from danger, freeze due to danger, or
fawn in face of danger.

ii. Parasympathetic – restores the body to its normal functioning. E.g. a

person who is frightened or stressed may relax once the danger is
away or the stressor is removed.

iii. Enteric nervous system – gut (digestive system – alimentary canal) – it

controls hunger and thirst. People who are hungry or thirsty may look
disturbed and not composed or they may look and behave restless.
Diagram of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system is shown below:
SaNS – fight or flight reactions
PNS – restores the body to normal functioning
C. Brain And Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord
Mediates the brain with the other the body through smart and automatic
processes we call reflexes.
Brain

Frontal lobe (L, R hemispheres)

D. Neurochemicals
Neurochemicals are chemicals produced and utilized within the nervous
system. They are mostly neurotransmitters that are produced by the
nervous. However, some hormones produced by the endocrine system are
also considered neurotransmitters e.g. adrenaline and noradrenaline which
are also known epinephrine and noradrenaline.
When neurotransmitters are produced they control certain forms of
behaviour. Also, when they are overproduced or underproduced they may
trigger certain forms of behaviour.
Examples Hormones and neurotransmitters
Some neurotransmitters are as follows:
 Dopamine – pleasure
 Endorphins - painkillers
 Serotonin – regulates mood
Hormones
 Cortisol – stress and anxiety
 Adrenaline and noradrenaline – fight or flight, fawn and freeze.
(epinephrine/norepinephrine)
 Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) – It is an enzyme that is involved in
removing the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin and
dopamine from the brain.
 Oxytocin – love hormone
 Testosterone – aggression and dominance

Endocrine system - produces hormones

Glands
 1. Brain and Spinal cord – structure and parts frontal lobe, occipital
lobe, etc.
2. Nervous system - nerves or nerve cells –
3. Neurochemicals – hormones and neurotransmitters
4. Endocrine system
5. Genetics – genotype and phenotype

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS (pg. 111)

 Consciousness is the awareness of what is happening around and within
ourselves.
 Consciousness describes our awareness of internal and external stimuli.
 Some internal stimuli: pain, hunger, thirst, sleepiness, awareness of
thoughts and emotions.
 External stimuli: seeing light (sun or another source, feeling warmth,
hearing a friend’s voice)
SLEEP AND WAKEFULNESS
Sleep: it is state marked by low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory
awareness that is distinct from periods of rest that occur during wakefulness.
Wakefulness: a state characterized by high levels of sensory awareness,
thought, and behaviour.
States related to consciousness (other states of consciousness)
1. Daydreaming – alpha state
2. Intoxication (drug; alcohol, heroine, sedative, etc)
3. Meditative states – heightened calm and self-awareness and
relaxation
4. Hypnotic states - a heightened state of suggestibility
5. Altered states due to sleep deprivation
6. Drug induced anaesthesia

Biological Rhythms
These are internal rhythms of biological activity e.g. Menstrual cycle, body
temperature, alertness’
Circadian rhythm – body clock – within 24 hours. It is a biological rhythm that
takes place over a period of about 24 hours. Our sleep-wake cycle, is linked to
our environment’s natural light-dark cycle (day & night).
Other C.R. – fluctuations in heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, body
temperature.
Biological rhythms = biological clock based on homeostasis (balance of
internal and external environments)
Homeostasis is regulated by hypothalamus (suprachiasmatic nucleus- SCN) is
the exact clock.
Biological clock (SCN) is linked to the retina which senses the amount of light in
the external world/environment. It then triggers melatonin which in induces
sleep.
Problems with Circadian Rhythms
Melatonin: regulates sleep and also circadian rhythms.
1800hrs>0500hrs<1300hrs>1800hrs
Melaton levels go up 1800hours
They decrease at 0500hrs – 1300hrs
They surge at around 1800hrs
Pineal gland – releases melatonin and is part of the endocrine system.
Sleep regulation refers to the brain’s control of switching between sleep and
wakefulness as well as coordinating this cycle with the outside world.
Disruptions of Normal Sleep
Synchrony can be affected by change of time zones.
1. Jetlag – effect of time zones (fatigue, laziness/sluggishness,
irritability, insomnia).
2. Rotating shift work- work schedule that changes from early to late on
a daily or weekly basis.
3. Insufficient sleep:

4. Sleep Debt – decreased levels of alertness and mental efficiency.

Why do we sleep?
Sleep rebound: refers to the fact that a sleep-deprived individual will tend to
take a shorter time to fall asleep during subsequent opportunities for sleep.
 1. Adaptive function: evolutionary perspective – sleep and this saves us
from danger.
2. Cognitive function of sleep: we sleep to form memories and store
what we have learned (learning function).
3. Rejuvenation: rest, and reenergize, refreshment.
Types of Sleep
NREM (non-rapid eye movement) – This is light sleep that covers the first and
second sleep.
REM ( Rapid eye movement)
Stage1: transitional phase (between wakefulness and sleep)- alpha
(daydreaming) and theta waves (light sleep).
Stage 2: state of deep relaxation: theta waves (sleep spindle and K-complex)
Stage 3 and 4: deep sleep and slow wave sleep – low frequency (Delta waves)
Sleep that extends to stages 3 and 4 is considered refreshing.
REM (Rapid eye movement)
Brain waves appear the same as someone who is awake (dreaming occurs).
Muscle paralysis/ involuntary muscle movement occurs here.
Paradoxical sleep – the brainwaves resembles those of a person who is
awake.
Learning and memory
Read about dreams
SLEEP PROBLEMS
Insomnia – Inability to fall asleep and maintain sleep
Parasomnia – sleep-related movements
 restless leg syndrome
 night terrors/sleep terrors
 Sleep walking
Sleep apnea/apnoea (breathing stops)
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Narcolepsy – simply defined as sleeping all the time and any time (have
inability to control sleep)
Substance use and Abuse (Read more about this topic) and dreams.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-psychology/
 SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
Sensation – senses
Sensation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system
receive and detect stimuli from the environment
5 Senses are:
 Sight – vision/visual
 Smell – Olfaction/olfactory
 Hearing – audition/auditory
 Taste – Gustation/gustatory
 Touch – somatosensation, tactile sense
Other Senses
 Sense of pain -nociception
 Sense of pressure
 Sense of space – spatial sense
 Sense of temperature - thermoception
Experience = sensation = 5 senses = (empiricism)
Information collected by our senses is called empirical data (information).
Process of Sensation
Transduction - The conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action
potential. It involves the conversion of sensory stimuli into electrical signals
which are then transported into the brain.
Absolute threshold refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that
must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.
Subliminal messages -the ability for us to get messages that are presented
below the threshold for conscious awareness
Subliminal messages are linked to what is paid attention to.
just noticeable difference (jnd) or difference threshold - changes depending on
the stimulus intensity. As an example, imagine yourself in a very dark movie
theatre. If an audience member were to receive a text message on her cell
phone which caused her screen to light up, chances are that many people
would notice the change in illumination in the theatre.
Perception
refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and
consciously experienced.
Perception involves both
A. bottom-up and
B. top-down processing.

Bottom-up processing refers to the fact that perceptions are built from
sensory input.
Top-down processing On the other hand, how we interpret those sensations as
influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts.
 Bottom-up – sensory stimuli
NB: Not every sensory stimuli is perceived –
Sensory adaptation – “getting used”, we often don’t perceive stimuli that
remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time.
Factors that affect perception include
1. Sensory adaptation – “getting used”
2. Attention – “inattentional blindness” – the inability to notice something
that is completely visible because of lack of attention.
3. Motivation – motivation to detect a meaningful stimulus can shift our
ability to discriminate between a true sensory stimulus and background
noise. E.g. When you have a date with your boyfriend and other noises
make you think it was a call is an example of how motivation can affect
perception.
4. Believes, values, prejudices, expectations and past experience – Our
cultures affect the way we perceive. For example, people from America
perceive the lines below as unequal, same as the dark lines on the
window. Also, if you have lived with an elderly person, you likely to see
the image of an old woman rather than a young lady as shown in the
third image.
 THINKING and INTELLIGENCE
A. Thinking
Thinking is cognition – perception, knowledge, problem solving, judgment,
language and memory.
Thinking is a very complex process – essential for your consciousness but not
every thinking /cognition is consciously experienced.
Cognitive psychology - is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how
people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by
studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity,
language, and problem solving, in addition to other cognitive processes.
 Sensations –
 Emotions and memories
 Thoughts
Concepts - are categories or groupings of linguistic information, images, ideas,
or memories, such as life experiences. (semantic memory – words/language)
Prototype - is the best example or representation of a concept. For example,
for the category of civil disobedience, your prototype could be Rosa Parks
(environmental conservation and Wangari Maathai).
Natural and artificial concepts

Schema – These are clusters of related concepts

Schemata – methods of organizing information that make the brain to work
efficiently.
Role schemas – people in a certain role behave in a certain way
Event schema/cognitive scripts – behaviours that feel like routines.
B. Language
Is a communication system that involves using words and systematic rules to
organize those words to transmit information from one individual to another.
Components of Language
Lexicon – words in a given language
Grammar – Rules of language for conveying meaning through lexicon.
Phoneme – (phone – sound) -basic sound of a given language and different
languages have different sets of phonemes.
Morphemes – collection of phonemes – the smallest units of language that
convey some type of meaning.
Semantics – refers to the process by which we derive meaning from
morphemes and words (meanings of words).
Syntax – the way words are organized in a sentence.
Baba mimi ni mtoto wako wa ngapi?
Unatoka wapi?
Language development – how we add new words into our language and learn
new rules
e.g. Cooing, babbling, one word sentences, two words.
Language and thought
(Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis)
Colour (in your mother tongue?) – Red colour? –
 Red - Rakwar
 Brown – Rabuor
 Maroon –
 Purple -
 Pink -
We can describe a concept according to the words that are in our
cultures/communities.
C. Problem Solving
Understanding a problem so that you can come up with a solution.
Problem solving strategy – plan of action used to find a solution.

Working backwards – e.g. Attending a wedding in Nakuru from Nairobi at 4pm.

Pitfalls in problem solving
a. Mental set – You are using a past method but it is not working
b. Functional fixedness – You cannot imagine using something for what it
wasn’t designed for.
c. Bias:
i. Anchoring bias – e.g. looking for a house with certain amount of
money without considering the area.
ii. Confirmation bias – imagine your lecturer is uniformed, you will find
all the mistakes whenever he talks.
iii. Hindsight bias – Lost your phone/pickpocketed -
iv. Availability bias/heuristic – you use an example even when it doesn’t
apply.
v. Representative bias – Luos are proud, Okumu is a Luo, Okumu is
proud – stereotypical

D. Intelligence
Classified into different types
a. Crystallized intelligence: is characterized as acquired knowledge and the
ability to retrieve it. When you learn, remember, and recall information,
you are using crystallized intelligence.
b. Fluid Intelligence - encompasses the ability to see complex relationships
and solve problems. Navigating your way home after being detoured
onto an unfamiliar route because of road construction would draw upon
your fluid intelligence.
c. Triarchic theory of intelligence (Robert Stenberg) – intelligence has
three parts: practical, creative and analytical.
d. Multiple intelligence theory (Howard Gardner) - each person possesses
at least eight intelligences. Among these eight intelligences, a person
typically excels in some and falters in others

e. Emotional intelligence - encompasses the ability to understand the

emotions of yourself and others, show empathy, understand social
 relationships and cues, and regulate your own emotions and respond in
culturally appropriate ways.
f. Cultural intelligence – cultural competence – you find it easy to relate
with values and cultures of others.

E. Creativity
is the ability to generate, create, or discover new ideas, solutions, and
possibilities. Very creative people often have intense knowledge about
something, work on it for years, look at novel solutions, seek out the advice
and help of other experts, and take risks.
i. Divergent thinking – “thinking outside the box”
ii. Convergent thinking – ability to provide a correct or a well-
established answer or solution to a problem.

F. Measuring Intelligence
IQ – intelligence quotient - describes a score earned on a test designed
to measure intelligence.
Reliability – the capacity of a tool to produce consistent results.
Alfred Binet – chronological age and mental age
Mental age/chronological age * 100 = IQ
22/18 *100 = 111
Standardization – the manner of administration, scoring and interpretation is
consistent.
Norming - involves giving a test to a large population so data can be collected
comparing groups, such as age groups.
Weschler, David (1908)
Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale (WBIS)
Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
a. Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale -4th ed. (WAIS-IV)
b. Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V)
The WISC-V is composed of 14 subtests, which comprise five indices,
which then render an IQ score. The five indices are Verbal
 Comprehension, Visual Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and
Processing Speed
c. Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WIPPSI-IV)
Cognitive disorders (Mild, moderate, severe and profound) –

Sources of Intelligence: Nature/nurture

Nature: Inheritance/genetic/inherent intelligence (biological)
Nurture – environment/family/type of school/socioeconomic status (We
acquire from the environment).
Dysgraphia – inability to write
Dyslexia – inability to read
Dyscalculia – inability to do mathematical puzzles/exercises.
Why do we need to measure intelligence?
 MEMORY

Head with stick notes

Jigsaw fit head

What is memory? It is the storage and retention of information in the mind
and the ability to retrieve the same information.
It is also a part of the processes involved in the acquisition and formation of
knowledge. Therefore memory presupposes knowledge.
What is the process of memory formation?
There are three stages in the formation of memory.

A. Encoding
Encoding- input of information into our memory system
In the process of encoding automatic processing and effortful processing
happens.
a. Automatic processing – time, space, frequency and word meanings are
stored automatically in the mind. It happens without any effort.
b. Effortful processing – there is effort to ensure that information is stored
appropriately, i.e. as it is; e.g. reading for a CAT
Types of encoding
 Semantic encoding – words and their meanings
 Visual encoding – images
 Acoustic encoding – sounds of words
Craik & Tulving (1975) experiments –
Which of the three types of encoding do you think would give you the best
memory of verbal information? Some years ago, psychologists Fergus Craik and
Endel Tulving (1975) conducted a series of experiments to find out.
Participants were given words along with questions about them. The questions
required the participants to process the words at one of the three levels. The
visual processing questions included such things as asking the participants
about the font of the letters. The acoustic processing questions asked the
participants about the sound or rhyming of the words, and the semantic
processing questions asked the participants about the meaning of the words.
After participants were presented with the words and questions, they were
given an unexpected recall or recognition task. Words that had been encoded
semantically were better remembered than those encoded visually or
acoustically. Semantic encoding involves a deeper level of processing than the
shallower visual or acoustic encoding. Craik and Tulving concluded that we
process verbal information best through semantic encoding, especially if we
apply what is called the self-reference effect.
Self-Reference Effect – tendency to have better memory for information
relating to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance
NB: This provides the reason why we revise for exams or subjects that have
relevance in our lives. We want to restore understanding of the meaning of
what we have learned.
B. Storage
Creation of a permanent record of information which involves the following
processes:
i. Sensory memory – information from environment/transient –
temporary, passing
ii. Short term memory (STM)- It processes incoming sensory memory
(working memory) – linkage to something in the long-term memory
iii. Rehearsals -repeating of information to be remembered
iv. memory consolidation- conscious repetition of information to be
remembered, to move short-term memory (STM) into long term
memory. E.g. we group phone numbers together in order to be able
to remember.

0720-294-731/0720-29-47-31
v. Long Term Memory (LTM)
Long term memory (LTM)- continuous storage of information and it has no
limits.
Sometimes, we cannot recall all long-term memories. However the following
methods can help in retrieving the information.
 Prompts – Asking questions about specific things
 Hypnosis – Heightened state of suggestibility
 Memory cue – Mnemonic (VIBGOYR, BIBLE)
Types of LTM
1. Explicit memory – consciously try to remember (declarative memory)
2. Implicit memory – memories are not part of our consciousness, they require
prompts (non-declarative) – cravings

(pg. 259)
Concept – term, word, phrase
Retrieval
Act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious
awareness
Recall - what we most often think about when we talk about memory retrieval:
it means you can access information without cues
Recognition - happens when you identify information that you have previously
learned after encountering it again.
Relearning - It involves learning information that you previously learned.

Parts of the brain are involved

Lashley: engram.- cerebral cortex (surface of the brain)- mass of neurons.
Equipotential hypothesis - if part of one area of the brain involved in memory
is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function
Specific parts –

Amygdala – regulates like fear and aggression (adrenaline, cortisol) - memory

consolidation.
Hippocampus – maze and avoid objects – if affected, memory is impaired. New
learning transmission into the LTM- declarative memory.
Cerebellum and prefrontal cortex –
Cerebellum – blink conditioning
Prefrontal cortex – words (semantics) – linguistic processing
Brain Chemicals (Hormones and neurotransmitters)
Neurotransmitters – brain chemicals – facilitate flow of information from one
neuron to the next (reflex).
Arousal theory – It is believed that strong emotions trigger the formation of
strong memories, and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories.
Flashbulb memory – is an exceptionally clear recollection of an important
event.
Problems with Memory
 1. Amnesia – loss of long-term memory –
a. Anterograde – can’t remember new information
b. Retrograde amnesia – you can’t remember memories before the
trauma
2. Memory Construction and reconstruction
Construction- formulation of new memories
Reconstruction – bringing up old memories
 Suggestibility - distorting tip
 Eye-witness misidentification (misinformation effect - after
exposure to incorrect information, a person may misremember
the original event.)
Forgetting – loss of information from the long-term memory- due to
encoding failure, errors, misattribution, interference, etc.
Memory enhancing
1. Rehearsing - repetition
2. Chunking – organize info. In manageable bits. (0720-294-731)
3. Elaborative rehearsal- meaning, relate to knowledge stored in LTM
4. Mnemonic devices
(Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune – Mr.
VEM J. SUN)
Greatness
Requires
Internal
Toughness
5. Use acronyms – ZU
6. Acrostics - Richard of Yolk Gave Battle In Vain (rainbow colours)
7. Use Loci – place or location- Networking (Nairobi) Works (Wote)
 LEARNING
What to expect:
1. Define learning
2. Classical conditioning
3. Operant conditioning
4. Observational learning (social learning theory)
Learning is acquisition of knowledge from the experience, but there is also an
innate knowledge. We can group them as follows:
 A posteriori – from experience (senses)- empiricists e.g. we burn our
finger and know fire is dangerous
 A priori – innate – rationalists examples of innate knowledge are as
follows:
Reflexes are a motor or neural reaction to a specific stimulus in the
environment (knee-jerk reflex, dark light – pupils dilate, bright light – pupils
constrict)
Simple instincts that involve the activity of specific body parts and systems.
Instincts - innate behaviours that are triggered by a broader range of events,
such as aging and the change of seasons. They are more complex patterns of
behaviour, involve movement of the organism as a whole (e.g., sexual activity
and migration), and involve higher brain centres. (hunger, thirst)
Children and innate knowledge
Boys: toys like guns, cars, etc;
Girls – animals, human toys, attracted pink colour.

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge that

results from experience.
Types of Learning
Associative learning: When an organism makes connections between stimuli
or events that occur closely together or in sequence.
Classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov – physiologist – studied dogs (digestive organs)
Psychic secretions – capacity connect food, events and objects.
Meat powder (unconditioned stimulus – UCS)
Salivate (Unconditioned response – UCR)
Neutral Stimulus (NS)

Conditioned stimulus (CS) and Conditioned response (CR) were the indicators
that association can be conditioned.
UCS – Food,
UR (salivating)
NS (bell)
C S (ringing of the bell) –
CR (salivating)
In associative Learning – a stimulus is paired with a response (together or in a
sequence).
Higher-order conditioning/second order conditioning.
J.B. Watson Behaviourist
J.B. Watson: Replicated Pavlov’s experiment with a human being.
Little Albert: pets (rats) – guinea pigs, cats, puppies.
Loud bang, behind little Albert. Repeated until little Albert began fearing rats.
They also introduced other small animals like kittens/cats, guinea pigs and
puppies and Little Albert feared these animals.
General processes in classical conditioning
Acquisition – organism learns to connect to the neutral stimulus.
Extinction – conditioned response (CR) reduces because the unconditioned
stimulus (UCS) is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus (CS).
Spontaneous recovery - the return of a previously extinguished conditioned
response (CR) following a rest period.
Stimulus discrimination – organism learns to respond to similar stimuli.
Stimulus generalization – scratch sufuria, but not give food and give food after
ringing the bell – Dogs will generalize that food comes from ringing of the bell.
Habituation - occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is
presented repeatedly without change.
Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner
Rats, doves, Cats, etc.
Skinner’s box (electric shock, lever, doors, food, etc.).
Rats, doves – Every time they stepped on the lever, food would come.
Introduced electric shock – aversive stimulus
Reinforcement – reward
Operant conditioning (Behaviour is likely to be repeated according to
consequences. These are:
1. Reinforcement (grains/food) – Rewarding stimulus
2. Punishment (electric shock)- aversive stimulus
Reinforcement
a. Positive reinforcement – behaviour is followed by a rewarding
stimulus/there is an addition of a rewarding stimulus e.g. praise, gift, etc.
b. Negative reinforcement – behaviour is repeated because of the
avoidance of an aversive stimulus, e.g. stealing a pen and not getting
caught.
Punishment
a. Positive – application of an aversive stimulus e.g. punishing a
child/spanking
b. Negative – withdrawal of a pleasant stimulus or privilege
Read about shaping (rewarding approximations of appropriate behaviour)
steps of shaping
Primary and secondary reinforcers
For animals, food is a reinforcer.
Primary reinforcer is when you give a reward the moment you are not
reported (food, gift, trip, etc).
Secondary reinforcer – this has no inherent value and only has reinforcing
qualities. E.g. money, praise, etc.
Reinforcement schedules (pg. 202)
Cognition and latent learning (pg.205)
Observational Learning (Modelling)
It is learning by watching others and then imitating, or modelling, what they
do or say.
The individuals performing the imitated behaviour are called models.
“Monkey see, monkey do”
Social Learning Theory: considered cognitive (thought) processes into
consideration.
Learning can take place in the absence of reinforcement.
1. You learn a new response. After watching your coworker get chewed out
by your boss for coming in late, you start leaving home 10 minutes earlier
so that you won’t be late.
2. You choose whether or not to imitate the model depending on what you
saw happen to the model. Remember Julian and his father? When learning
to surf, Julian might watch how his father pops up successfully on his
surfboard and then attempt to do the same thing.
On the other hand, Julian might learn not to touch a hot stove after
watching his father get burned on a stove.
3. You learn a general rule that you can apply to other situations.
Models
a. Live models – behaviour in person
b. Verbal models – don’t perform behaviour, but explains.
c. Symbolic models – fictional characters e.g. books, movies, tv, shows,
video games etc.
 Steps in the modelling process
1. Attention - observe
2. Retention – remember what you observed
3. Reproduction - performing the behaviour
4. Motivation – drive

i. Vicarious learning - motivation

ii. Vicarious punishment – aversive stimulus.
Prosocial behaviour (acceptable/functional behaviour) or antisocial
behaviour(unacceptable/dysfunctional).
Thinking and Intelligence
 LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT
Lifespan development – the physical/physiological,
psychological/emotional/moral, and social changes that take place within a
lifespan, i.e. from conception up to death.
The study of how you change and how you remain the same within the course
of your lifespan.
 Physical development – growth and changes in the body, brain, senses,
motor skills, health and wellness.
 Cognitive/psychological development – involves learning, attention,
memory, language, thinking, reason and creativity.
 Psychosocial development – involves emotions, personality, and social
relationships.
Issues/Perspectives in developmental psychology
These issues are based on theoretical approaches: How do different theories
explain human development
1. Continuous vs. discontinuous – Do we grow continuously from birth to
death or there are stages?

2. Nature vs. Nurture – is development influenced by biological changes

(biology and genetics) or it is the environment (environment and
culture).
3. Holistic vs. modular – is development “whole” or it is modular, i.e.
physical, social & psychological.
4. Active or passive – Does a child influence their own development or it is
a function of the environment.
Different Theories of Lifespan Development
Psychoanalytic theories (Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson)
Cognitive theories (Vygotsky & Piaget)
Environment/behavioural theories (Bandura, Skinner, Pavlov, Watson)
Moral Development (Kohlberg)
Psychoanalytic theories
Psychosexual Theory of development(Sigmund Freud) – the theory was based
on sexual development.

Psychosocial theory (Erik Erikson)

Psychosocial stages and at each stage there is a psychosocial task that must be
mastered in order to feel competent.
Cognitive Theories
Jean Piaget
Influenced by his background in biology, Piaget (1950) defined intelligence as a
basic life process that helps an organism adapt to its environment. By
adapting, Piaget means that the organism is able to cope with the demands of
its immediate situation. For example, the hungry infant who grasps a bottle
and brings it to her mouth is behaving adaptively, as is the adolescent who
successfully interprets a road map while traveling. As children mature, they
acquire ever more complex “cognitive structures” that aid them in adapting to
their environments, which he named schemes
Scheme (schema) - an organized pattern of thought or action that a child
constructs to make sense of some aspect of his or her experience; Piaget
sometimes uses the term cognitive structures as a synonym for schemes.
Assimilation Piaget’s term for the process by which children interpret new
experiences by incorporating them into their existing schemes.
Disequilibriums- imbalances or contradictions between one’s thought
processes and environmental events. On the other hand, equilibrium refers to
a balanced, harmonious relationship between one’s cognitive structures and
the environment.
Accommodation - Piaget’s term for the process by which children modify their
existing schemes in order to incorporate or adapt to new experiences.

Lev Vygotsky (Social Cultural Theory of Development)

He argues that cognitive development is heavily influenced by one’s culture
and may not be universal.
Moral Development (Kohlberg)
He developed the stages of moral reasoning
Behaviours/Learning Theories
WATSON
Watson believed that well-learned associations between external stimuli and
observable responses (called habits) are the building blocks of development.
Like John Locke, Watson viewed the infant as a tabula rasa to be written on by
experience. Children have no inborn tendencies; how they turn out depends
entirely on their rearing environments and the ways in which their parents and
other significant people in their lives treat them.
According to this perspective, children do not progress through a series of
distinct stages dictated by biological maturation, as Freud (and others) have
argued.
Instead, development is viewed as a continuous process of behavioural change
that is shaped by a person’s unique environment and may differ dramatically
from person to person.
B.F. Skinner
He believed that an act becomes more or less probable depending on its
consequences.
Operant - the initially voluntary act that becomes more or less probable of
occurring depending on the consequence that it produces.
Reinforcer - any consequence of an act that increases the probability that the
act will recur.
Punisher - any consequence of an act that suppresses that act and/or
decreases the probability that it will recur.
BANDURA
Observational learning - learning that results from observing the behaviour of
others.
Environmental determinism - the notion that children are passive creatures
who are moulded by their environments.
Reciprocal determinism - the notion that the flow of influence between
children and their environments is a two-way street; the environment may
affect the child, but the child’s behaviour also influences the environment.

Stages of Development
Prenatal Development
Germinal stage

Stage Timeframe Description

Germinal 0 to 2 weeks * Fertilization occurs, forming a zygote.

Stage
* Zygote begins cell division, forming a
blastocyst.

Embryonic 3 to 8 weeks * Major organs and body systems start to

Stage form.

* Rapid cell differentiation and

development occur.

Fetal Stage 9 weeks to * Growth and maturation of existing

birth structures.

* Increased development and refinement

of organs and systems.

* Movement, senses, and the possibility of

viability outside the womb.