Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Psychology and sociology for Baccalaureate

Preconscious

The preconscious system is located between the unconscious and the conscious. Although its contents are not endowed with consciousness, it differs from the unconscious in the following ways:

• They have been forbidden passage to the conscience but have not been repelled by it through repression.
• Their representations are linked to language and operate with the laws of logic and language.

Although the information in memory would be in the area of the preconscious, some traces of certain experiences that have been subjected to repression are inscribed in the unconscious.

Conscious

Consciousness, for Freud, need not be characterized as coinciding with the consciousness of which philosophers and everyday speech speak. Freud seems to overlook...

Social Sciences and Their Disciplines

• Economics: Managing resources
• Demography: Population studies
• Linguistics: The study of language
• Political Science: The study of power
• Cultural Anthropology: The study of communities
• Psychology: Human behavior
• History: Past human actions

The Sociological Method

Sociology is a science characterized by being objective, empirical (based on observation), theoretical (hypothesis verification), and cumulative.

The Modern Sociological Moment

Currently, sociology is less theoretical and focuses more on human values. It embraces anti-empiricism and objectivity, asserting that science is not merely pure theory.

Sociological Perspectives

• Critical: Seeking deeper answers.
• Unmasking: Penetrating social structures.
• Relativizing: Relating

Cognitive Perceptual Learning: This concept gives us insight into how behavior is influenced by various stimuli. It is not as simple as it seems; the answers and the schemes explained previously reveal much about our behavior, but not all of it. (If we are rewarded, these actions are repeated, while if we are punished, these actions are reduced, as Edward Tolman suggests.) He states that there is more to stimulus and response because each person reacts to a pattern of stimuli. We have very predictable behavior in response to certain stimuli, but we can also respond unpredictably. Between stimuli and responses, there are some variables called O, which we process through organismic variables. This variable depends on the knowledge and motivation...

The Language of Humans and Animals

Animal Communication vs. Human Communication

Stereotyped behavior in animals: rigid patterns of behavior.

Animal communication primarily focuses on obtaining resources and survival, often involving behavioral intervention with significant learning.

Human communication is characterized by the transmission of culture.

Types of Behavior

1. Instructive and stereotyped behavior.
2. Complex, innate, and flexible behavior.

Human language is inherently abstract, conceptual, and symbolic.

Language Emergence and Function

Factors in Language Emergence

Language emergence is linked to the development of bipedalism, which facilitated the development of the phonatory system, increased cranial capacity, and resulted in the development of...

Psychoanalysis

Created by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis seeks to study psychology from an "internal" point of view; that is, it explores the human unconscious as the cause of virtually all human behavior. Psychoanalysis is based on free association and has utilized various techniques such as:

• Hypnosis
• Rorschach test (inkblot test)
• Dream interpretation

Since the original formulation by Freud, there has been much controversy regarding psychoanalysis, even among psychoanalysts themselves. Of particular note is the later contribution of Jacques Lacan.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism is a discipline that studies psychology by referring to the human body as if it functioned like a machine. In this view, the body issues a response to a stimulus; for example, if...

Lamarckian Evolutionary Theory

Lamarck proposed the first theory suggesting that nature follows an ascending order. He argued that the diversity of species is due to changes in the behavior of living things and the need for adaptation, rather than geological catastrophes as previously believed. Lamarck formulated his theory on two principles:

• Law of Use and Disuse: Organisms develop or atrophy organs based on how frequently they are used.
• Law of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics: These physical changes are transmitted to offspring, explaining how one species evolves into another.

The Process of Hominization

Hominization is defined as the process of morphological, psychological, and social evolution that enabled the appearance of the human...

Scientific Hypothesis Formulation and Feyerabend's View

A hypothesis is an assumption about what happens in the world. The scientific method does not establish how a scenario arises or how it occurs to the scientist. In the formulation of hypotheses, factors come into play that may seem unscientific:

• Imagination
• Invention
• Chance
• Luck

Paul Feyerabend extends the influence of the imagination to all scientific procedure. He argues that the revolutionary discoveries of modern science are made possible by the freedom and spontaneity of scientific activity. To constrain scientific activity to a series of fixed steps makes science rather dogmatic and sterile. Feyerabend argues it is an illusion to think that these scientific discoveries are the result...

Motivation: Definition and Core Concepts

Motivation is a hypothetical variable used to designate the psychological process that encourages, maintains, and manages the actions of a subject. Situated between empirical variables like the stimulus (S) and the response (R), it integrates cognitive and affective aspects, increasing the activation and organization of our actions. In common language, it is often expressed as willpower or the spirit of struggle.

Biological Reasons

These stem from the physical shortages of a body, resulting from states of deprivation. They have an organic basis, tend to satisfy physiological needs, and determine important universal events. The most significant include:

• Hunger and thirst
• Sexual and maternal impulses
• Avoidance

Definition of Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of human activity. It is considered a science because it attempts to approach its subject matter according to the requirements of scientific methodology (formulating hypotheses, comparing them, etc.). The study of human psychology includes the study of behavior (observable behavior such as movement, verbal behavior, nonverbal behavior, etc.), cognitive processes, and emotions.

Research in Psychology

The scientific study to which we referred above typically includes a series of stages:

• Formulation of the problem
• Formulating hypotheses or objectives
• Defining the variables
• Establishment of research design
• Execution of research design
• Obtaining results
• Data analysis
• Drawing conclusions

A final stage...

Research Ethics and Methodology

3. 1C, 2A, 3F, 4G, 5H, 6B, 7D, 8E

1. A rule, policy, or… 2 GUI
2. DELINE
3. A person who is the… 6 HUMAN SUBJECT
4. Relating to someone’s… 1 MORAL
5. A study in which the… 7 OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
6. The process of using… 8 EXPERIMENTAL DATA
7. The positive or helpful… 3 BENEFIT
8. Relating to boundaries 4 DEFINED
9. A child… 5 MINOR

4. 1. Field experiment, 2. Interview, 3. Animal study, 4. Consent, 5. Ethical, 6. Regulations

Data Collection and Measurement

3. 1D, 2B, 3C, 4A, 5E

1. A digital program… 4 COMPUTER SIMULATION
2. The process… 2 DATA COLLECTION
3. A subset of… 3 RANDOM SAMPLE MEASUREMENT
4. A real-life event… 1 CASE STUDY
5. A characterization of data… 5 NOMINAL

4.

• Collection Methods: Archival search, self-report, survey
• Examination: Content