- •1). Psychology as a science.
- •2). Main approaches to study of human psyche.
- •3). Organization of the nervous system.
- •4). Techniques used in brain study.
- •5). Thinking and feeling.
- •6). Strategies in problem solving.
- •7). Sleep phenomena.
- •8). Sleep and dreams
- •9). Humanistic psychology.
- •10). Rogerian therapy
- •11). Visual perception
- •12). Noise pollution
- •13). Development of emotions
- •14). Theories of emotions
- •15). Human function in man-machine system
- •16). Organizational psychology
- •17). Development of attachment
- •18). Social comparison.
- •19). Interpersonal attraction
- •20). Personality concepts
12). Noise pollution
Hearing damage is the most well-known effect.
Noise causes 3 types of physiological responses. First, there is a voluntary muscle response to a sudden loud noise. Second, the involuntary muscles respond to noises over 70 decibels. Third, loud noises can cause neuroendocrine responses, which from animal experiments appear to affect reproductive functions. These results cannot be directly extrapolated to humans.
Adverse psychological responses to noise have been noted in several areas. Complex tasks are affected more than simple ones. Certain types of noise can be helpful such as rhythmic noise. However noise has been shown to produce anxiety symptoms such a headache and nausea.
13). Development of emotions
From birth until about the age of four the whole of the child’s emotional needs are centred on the mother.
The division which the child may be imagined to be making at this stage is between what is “me” – what is “not me”. “Not me” comes to be recognized as a constant element against an inconstant background. This soon turns into a recognition of the mother as another person.
From the age about four to about seven there is a change in his relationship occasioned by the child’s growing capacity to form separate relationships with other people. Although the influence of the mother are of supreme importance in forming the child’s attitude to these relationships.
The normal child is by nature eager and accepting, but these qualities will emerge provided that the parents are accepting in their attitude towards the child. Children are both remarkably plastic and resilient. It is always possible for the child to regain an emotional equilibrium if the parental troubles can be removed.
14). Theories of emotions
William James believed that the important factor in our felt emotion is the feedback from the bodily changes. He seems to put the cart before the horse: “We are afraid because we run”.
Carl Lange arrived at a similar proposal and the theory is referred to as the James-Lange theory. The major objections to the James-Lange theory came from Walter Cannon, who pointed out that “bodily changes don’t seem to differ very much from one emotional state to another”. The internal changes occur too slowly to be a source of emotional feeling. The bodily changes associated with an emotion doesn’t produce the experience of the true emotion.
Emotional feelings were the result of join arousal to the cortex and sympathetic nervous system. This theory was extended by Bard and is known as the Cannon-Bard theory. The bodily changes and the experience of emotion occur at the same time.
15). Human function in man-machine system
Human beings perform three basic types of functions: information-receiving; information-processing and decision-making; and action.
In designing the equipment for a job there are two major considerations.
In the first place, in some circumstances the sense is suggested by the nature of the source of information. In the second place, either of two sense avenues could be used in the transmission of information.
The simple sensory process of receiving a stimulus through a sense organ is inextricably interwinded with perception. Given certain information input, the decision function is that of determining what action would bring about the output.
The system should be so designed as to take advantage of man’s abilities to make complex decisions.