Contents
Week 1 .................................................................................................................................. 3
Lecture 2/9/2024 ................................................................................................................ 3
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................. 7
1.1 What is psychology................................................................................................... 7
1.2 How to study psychology .......................................................................................... 7
1.3 How to become a critical thinker ............................................................................... 8
Week 2 .................................................................................................................................. 9
Lecture 9/9/2024 ................................................................................................................ 9
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................17
2.1 Why care about the brain.........................................................................................17
2.2 Organization of the human brain..............................................................................17
2.3 How are brain and behavior related .........................................................................18
2.4 Mystery of consciousness........................................................................................19
Week 3 .................................................................................................................................20
Lecture 18/9/2024 .............................................................................................................20
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................26
3.1 Intro .........................................................................................................................26
3.2 Types of learning .....................................................................................................26
3.3.1 Building a memory ................................................................................................27
3.3.2 Different components of memory ..........................................................................27
3.4 Reflection ................................................................................................................28
Week 4 .................................................................................................................................29
Lecture 23/9/2024 .............................................................................................................29
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................34
4.1 Intro cognitive development .....................................................................................34
4.1.1 Piagets stages ......................................................................................................34
4.1.2 Language .............................................................................................................34
Week 5 .................................................................................................................................42
Lecture 30/9/2024 .............................................................................................................42
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................47
5.1 Introduction stress, motivation & emotion ................................................................47
5.1.1 Stress ...................................................................................................................47
5.1.2 Motivation .............................................................................................................48
5.1.3 Emotion ................................................................................................................49
5.2 Introduction to social psychology .............................................................................51
Week 6 .................................................................................................................................52
, Lecture 7/10/2024 .............................................................................................................52
Week 7 .................................................................................................................................61
Lecture 14/10/2024 ...........................................................................................................61
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................64
7.1 Intro individual differences .......................................................................................64
7.1.1 Personality theories ..............................................................................................64
7.1.2 Stability of personality ...........................................................................................64
7.1.3 Personality disorders ............................................................................................65
2
,Week 1
Lecture 2/9/2024
In 1948, in what has been described as a "classic experiment", psychologist Forer gave a
psychology test – his "Diagnostic Interest Blank" – to 39 of his psychology students, who
were told that they would each receive a brief personality vignette based on their test results.
One week later Forer gave each student a individualized vignette and asked each of them to
rate it on how well it applied. In reality, each student received the same vignette, consisting of
the items of the previous slide. On average, the students rated its accuracy as 4.3. The items
are actually from a newsstand astrology book.
Later studies have found that subjects give higher accuracy ratings if the following are true:
• The subject believes that the analysis is personalized
• The subject believes in the authority of the evaluator
• The analysis lists mainly positive traits
Gullibility: the inability to think critical about yourself. We tend to believe things about
ourselves.
Why do we like to read the horoscope?
• Stability in the face of uncertainty
• Intolerance for ambiguity
• Sense of control
• Validation for self-concept
Critical thinking
An amiable sceptic develops the habit of carefully weighing the facts when deciding what to
believe. Thinking in this way systematically questioning and evaluating information using
well-supported evidence – is called critical thinking.
Learning + questioning = critical thinking.
Critical thinking is more about asking questions than about thinking about something a lot. It
is the habit that you need to acknowledge and take over yourself.
Cognitive biases
Although we like to believe that we’re rational and logical, the fact is that we are continually
under the influence of cognitive biases. These biases distort thinking, influence beliefs, and
sway the decisions and judgments that people make each and every day. We are not
objective at all.
• Halo effect: a bias that makes us judge people or things based on one positive trait. It
is a mental shortcut to help people make faster judgements.
• Confirmation bias: people are inclined to overweigh evidence that supports their
beliefs and tend to downplay evidence that does not match what they believe.
Psychology: the study of mind, brain and behavior
Study => we have a very young discipline. In 1879, at the University of Leipzig, Wundt
opened the first laboratory ever to be exclusively devoted to psychological studies, and this
event marked the official birth of psychology as an independent field of study. The new lab
3
, was full of graduate students carrying out research on topics assigned by Wundt, and it soon
attracted young scholars from all over the world who were eager to learn about the new
science that Wundt had developed. He frequently used the formulation “study the human as
a motivated and thinking subject”.
Mind => the mental activity of a person related to thinking, reasoning, feeling, and
remembering (memory). About being conscious about things, but also about being
unconscious. The mind is responsible for all this. Is then the mind the subjective experience
of what is happening in the brain or not? We have something between our body and our
brain.
The same event can lead to different thoughts.
Brain => biochemical processes within the brain that controls thought, memory, feelings, and
activity. Where most of it happens. The brain is a biochemical machine.
Behavior => the totality of observable human (or animal) actions. Embodied embedded
cognition if we really want to understand the behavior. You need to look at all the aspects:
mind, brain and behavior.
The mind/body problem
Are the mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the subjective experience
of ongoing brain activity?
• In the 1600s, the philosopher René Descartes promoted the influential theory of
dualism; the mind and the body are separate yet intertwined.
• Nowadays: many researchers support the view of ‘embodied embedded cognition’.
Your thinking (cognition, mind) is very much related to your bodily experiences in a
broader sense than just the brain. The brain is very important to it but your overall
body experience is determining your thinking and the environment that you are in is
also very important.
Nature or nuture
How can it be that I am who I am?
Is this my nature or my nurture?
As a scientist, you would love
identical twins immediately
separated to discover the impact
of the genes and the impact of the
environment. It is very hard to
disentangle these things. Typically,
the genes and the environment
are the same.
When are the genetics more
important? When we are young. It
looks like if when you’re older, it is
coming back.
4
Week 1 .................................................................................................................................. 3
Lecture 2/9/2024 ................................................................................................................ 3
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................. 7
1.1 What is psychology................................................................................................... 7
1.2 How to study psychology .......................................................................................... 7
1.3 How to become a critical thinker ............................................................................... 8
Week 2 .................................................................................................................................. 9
Lecture 9/9/2024 ................................................................................................................ 9
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................17
2.1 Why care about the brain.........................................................................................17
2.2 Organization of the human brain..............................................................................17
2.3 How are brain and behavior related .........................................................................18
2.4 Mystery of consciousness........................................................................................19
Week 3 .................................................................................................................................20
Lecture 18/9/2024 .............................................................................................................20
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................26
3.1 Intro .........................................................................................................................26
3.2 Types of learning .....................................................................................................26
3.3.1 Building a memory ................................................................................................27
3.3.2 Different components of memory ..........................................................................27
3.4 Reflection ................................................................................................................28
Week 4 .................................................................................................................................29
Lecture 23/9/2024 .............................................................................................................29
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................34
4.1 Intro cognitive development .....................................................................................34
4.1.1 Piagets stages ......................................................................................................34
4.1.2 Language .............................................................................................................34
Week 5 .................................................................................................................................42
Lecture 30/9/2024 .............................................................................................................42
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................47
5.1 Introduction stress, motivation & emotion ................................................................47
5.1.1 Stress ...................................................................................................................47
5.1.2 Motivation .............................................................................................................48
5.1.3 Emotion ................................................................................................................49
5.2 Introduction to social psychology .............................................................................51
Week 6 .................................................................................................................................52
, Lecture 7/10/2024 .............................................................................................................52
Week 7 .................................................................................................................................61
Lecture 14/10/2024 ...........................................................................................................61
Knowledge clips ................................................................................................................64
7.1 Intro individual differences .......................................................................................64
7.1.1 Personality theories ..............................................................................................64
7.1.2 Stability of personality ...........................................................................................64
7.1.3 Personality disorders ............................................................................................65
2
,Week 1
Lecture 2/9/2024
In 1948, in what has been described as a "classic experiment", psychologist Forer gave a
psychology test – his "Diagnostic Interest Blank" – to 39 of his psychology students, who
were told that they would each receive a brief personality vignette based on their test results.
One week later Forer gave each student a individualized vignette and asked each of them to
rate it on how well it applied. In reality, each student received the same vignette, consisting of
the items of the previous slide. On average, the students rated its accuracy as 4.3. The items
are actually from a newsstand astrology book.
Later studies have found that subjects give higher accuracy ratings if the following are true:
• The subject believes that the analysis is personalized
• The subject believes in the authority of the evaluator
• The analysis lists mainly positive traits
Gullibility: the inability to think critical about yourself. We tend to believe things about
ourselves.
Why do we like to read the horoscope?
• Stability in the face of uncertainty
• Intolerance for ambiguity
• Sense of control
• Validation for self-concept
Critical thinking
An amiable sceptic develops the habit of carefully weighing the facts when deciding what to
believe. Thinking in this way systematically questioning and evaluating information using
well-supported evidence – is called critical thinking.
Learning + questioning = critical thinking.
Critical thinking is more about asking questions than about thinking about something a lot. It
is the habit that you need to acknowledge and take over yourself.
Cognitive biases
Although we like to believe that we’re rational and logical, the fact is that we are continually
under the influence of cognitive biases. These biases distort thinking, influence beliefs, and
sway the decisions and judgments that people make each and every day. We are not
objective at all.
• Halo effect: a bias that makes us judge people or things based on one positive trait. It
is a mental shortcut to help people make faster judgements.
• Confirmation bias: people are inclined to overweigh evidence that supports their
beliefs and tend to downplay evidence that does not match what they believe.
Psychology: the study of mind, brain and behavior
Study => we have a very young discipline. In 1879, at the University of Leipzig, Wundt
opened the first laboratory ever to be exclusively devoted to psychological studies, and this
event marked the official birth of psychology as an independent field of study. The new lab
3
, was full of graduate students carrying out research on topics assigned by Wundt, and it soon
attracted young scholars from all over the world who were eager to learn about the new
science that Wundt had developed. He frequently used the formulation “study the human as
a motivated and thinking subject”.
Mind => the mental activity of a person related to thinking, reasoning, feeling, and
remembering (memory). About being conscious about things, but also about being
unconscious. The mind is responsible for all this. Is then the mind the subjective experience
of what is happening in the brain or not? We have something between our body and our
brain.
The same event can lead to different thoughts.
Brain => biochemical processes within the brain that controls thought, memory, feelings, and
activity. Where most of it happens. The brain is a biochemical machine.
Behavior => the totality of observable human (or animal) actions. Embodied embedded
cognition if we really want to understand the behavior. You need to look at all the aspects:
mind, brain and behavior.
The mind/body problem
Are the mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the subjective experience
of ongoing brain activity?
• In the 1600s, the philosopher René Descartes promoted the influential theory of
dualism; the mind and the body are separate yet intertwined.
• Nowadays: many researchers support the view of ‘embodied embedded cognition’.
Your thinking (cognition, mind) is very much related to your bodily experiences in a
broader sense than just the brain. The brain is very important to it but your overall
body experience is determining your thinking and the environment that you are in is
also very important.
Nature or nuture
How can it be that I am who I am?
Is this my nature or my nurture?
As a scientist, you would love
identical twins immediately
separated to discover the impact
of the genes and the impact of the
environment. It is very hard to
disentangle these things. Typically,
the genes and the environment
are the same.
When are the genetics more
important? When we are young. It
looks like if when you’re older, it is
coming back.
4
