Human Behavior Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Course Title: Human Behavior
• Focus Areas:
  • Understanding human behavior
  • Methods of studying human behavior
  • Importance of studying human behavior

Challenges in Studying Human Behavior

• Unpredictability in human behavior compared to physical sciences
• Human beings study other human beings
• Key interest: Control over human thoughts and actions
• Realistic goal: Observe and predict behavior as a probabilistic science
• Core of psychology: Power to understand and predict human behavior

Historical Context

• Initial focus on philosophical aspects (soul, mind, consciousness)
• Transition to scientific study in the late 19th century

Objective of the Course

• Methods and techniques to understand human behavior
• Study of perception, sensation, memory, learning, social influence, personality, and intelligence

Defining Psychology

• Definition: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
  • Behavior: Observable actions and reactions
  • Mental processes: Cognitive functions like perception, thinking, problem-solving
• Originated from philosophy
• Combines scientific methods (observation, replication, verification, falsification)

Key Concepts

Examples of Psychological Concepts in Action

• Reinforcement: Incentives improve student performance, withdrawal decreases it
• Social judgments and fundamental attribution error: Tendency to attribute others' actions to their character, while attributing one's own actions to circumstances
• Memory studies: Short-term and long-term memory processing, forgetting, and amnesia
• Obesity and eating behavior: Emotional factors influencing eating habits
• Violence: Reasons behind aggressive behavior, impact of media

Early Schools of Psychology

Structuralism

• Founded by Edward Titchener
• Focus on breaking down mental processes into basic components
• Example: Taste as a compound of bitter and cold sensations

Functionalism

• Opposed structuralism
• Emphasized studying the purpose of behavior and mental processes in adapting to the environment

Behaviorism

• Founded by John Watson
• Focus on observable and measurable behavior
• Conditioning and learning (Stimulus-Response model)
• Rewards and punishments shape behavior

Gestalt Psychology

• Study of perception and experiences
• Key figures: Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Köhler
• Whole is different from the sum of its parts
• Perception depends on background and organization

Psychoanalysis

• Founded by Sigmund Freud
• Focus on unconscious processes
• Childhood experiences and unresolved conflicts shape behavior

Modern Developments in Psychology

Information Processing Model

• Humans as information processors similar to computers
  • Input (sensory data) → Processing (brain/mind) → Output (behavior)
• Key figure: Herbert Simon

Language and Mental Structures

• Study of how language is processed and produced
• Key figure: Noam Chomsky

Neuropsychology

• Study of brain activities and their relationship to behavior
• Key figure: Roger Sperry
• Development of fMRI, EEG, PET techniques to study brain function

Conclusion

• Recap of key points covered
• Upcoming focus: Psychological perspectives on specific problems and research methods

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Note: This outline serves as a concise overview. Each section can be expanded based on class discussions and readings.