BESC1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Human Behaviour, Behavioural Sciences, Bodymind
25 May 2018
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Foundations of Human Behaviour Notes
Contents
Introduction to Human Behaviour
• Historical background and perspectives in contemporary psychology
Behaviourism
• Approaches to learning – classical and operant conditioning
• Observational learning
Cognition
• Memory
• Language
• Thinking
• Intelligence
Social Psychology
• Social Cognition- attribution
• Attitudes
• Prejudice
• Discrimination
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Introduction to Human Behaviour
1.What are some of the basic philosophical differences in rationalistic and empirical
approaches to knowledge?
Rationalistic – born with knowledge, not gained
Empirical – gain from experiences and not innate
These come together to shape your personality
2.Describe the following recurring issues in behavioural sciences:
Body-mind; nature-nurture; objective-subjective .
Body occupies space, mind is mental.
The mind is about mental processes, thought and consciousness. The body is about the
physical aspects of the brain-neurons and how the brain is structured. The mind-body
problem is about how these two interact.
One of the central questions in psychology (and philosophy) concerns the mind/body
problem: is the mind part of the body, or the body part of the mind? If they are distinct,
then how do they interact? And which of the two is in charge?
Many theories have been put forward to explain the relationship between what we call
your mind (defined as the conscious thinking 'you' which experiences your thoughts)
and your brain (i.e. part of your body)
Objective – free of bias
Subjective – biased
Nature-nurture
Ongoing debate in psychology on how much influence genetics (nature) and the
environment (nurture) play in development of psychological traits
3) How is Psychology defined?
• Psychology is the study of human behaviour
• The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those
affecting behavior in a given context.
• The science of behavior and mental process
4) Differentiate between the early schools of Structuralism and Functionalism in
psychology. In what sense did the Functionalism broaden the scope of psychology?
Structuralism – structure of mind and brain
Functionalism – purpose of mental processes
Structuralism early school of thought prompted by Wundt and Titchener; used
introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind
Functionalism – early school of thought prompted by James and influenced by Darwin;
explored how mental and behavioural processes function – how they enable the
organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
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