Introduction to Psychology - Lecture Notes
General Information
- Professor: John Gabrieli
- Course: Introduction to Psychology, 9.00
- Main Focus: Scientific understanding of human nature, focusing on how people think, feel, and act.
Course Outline & Objectives
Topics to Cover
- Brain function and perception
- Key readings: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
- Sensory perception: sight, hearing, how we interpret sensory input
- Cognitive processes: thinking, feeling, personality differences
- Developmental psychology: from childhood, adolescence, to adulthood
- Social psychology: group behavior, social interaction
- Psychopathology: mental health and neural bases of behavior
Special Features
- Use scientific experiments and evidence to understand human behavior
- Explore both psychological aspects and neurological underpinnings
Key Points Covered in the Lecture
The Unreliable Perception
- Visual Illusions: How our mind's interpretation affects what we see
- Examples: length of lines, size of objects
- Illusions demonstrate that perception is influenced by context
- Attention and Perception: Limited attentional resources influence what we notice
- Example: Counting passes in a video leading to missing obvious visual information
Cognitive Interpretations
- Priming and Expectations: Expectations influence perception of the same image
- Example: Trained seal act vs. costume ball interpretation
- Contextual Influence: Context affects our interpretation of ambiguous figures
- Example: 'B' vs '13' depending on numerical or alphabetical context
Memory and False Memories
- Gist vs. Detail: Human memory tends to retain the 'gist' rather than detailed specifics
- Example: Remembering 'sweet' from a list of related words, even if it was not listed
- Eyewitness Reliability: Implications for legal and clinical settings
Automaticity in Thinking and Behavior
- Automatic Processes: Efficient but can lead to errors
- Example: Misreading repetitive words or counting letters ('of' being missed frequently)
Human Knowledge Gaps and Mental Maps
- Mental Maps: Errors in geographical knowledge based on mental heuristics
- Examples: Misjudging east-west positions of cities due to mental maps
- Probabilistic Thinking: Errors in intuitive understanding of probabilities
- Example: Probability of shared birthdays in a group
Happiness and Prediction Errors
- Affective Forecasting: Poor accuracy in predicting future happiness or sadness
- Examples: Lottery winners' happiness, tenure decisions, life-changing events like accidents
Social Psychology and Racism
- Discrepancy in Values and Actions: Difficulty in aligning values with actions in social situations
- Experiment on racial comments and participant responses
- Real World Implications: Challenges in eradicating stereotypes and racism
Conclusion
- Scientific Exploration: Course will explore the mind and behavior, uncovering how interpretations, memory, thought processes, and societal influences shape human experiences.
- Broad Application: Findings have real-world implications in legal, clinical, social, and personal contexts.
Note: Engage with course material, partake in experiments, and reflect on how psychological principles apply to daily life.