Introduction to Psychology

Lecture 3: Brain I: Structure and Functions
Instructor: John Gabrieli

Vsauce’s Michael Stevens looks at the historical, biological and psychological reasons behind the wonderful act of kissing!

Introduction to Psychology

Lecture 2: Science and Research
Instructor: John Gabrieli

What do you do when you see a giant snail attacking a defenseless woman? Simply move to another angle! Scroll down to see how this amazing 3D chalk drawing was designed in order to manipulate our visual perception.

Introduction to Psychology

Lecture 1: Introduction
Instructor: John Gabrieli

Elizabeth Smart

While it is difficult to admit, the sad reality is that humans are capable of doing truly horrendous things to each other. Hidden away in basements, back yards, and even in our universities, terrible acts of abuse sometimes occur without the general population ever catching on. The following examples were selected for this article due to their staggering cruelty, severity and prominence.

Elizabeth Smart

Jaycee Dugard

On June 10, 1991 eleven year old Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped by Phillip Garrido on her way home from school. For her first thirty-four months in captivity, Jaycee was repeatedly raped by Garrido and was handcuffed for much of that time. Her captor told her that by being complicit to his advances, she was preventing other children from befalling the same fate, essentially guilting the young girl into accepting her repeated rapes. Garrido and his wife Nancy, also submitted Jaycee to other forms of psychological abuse and manipulation. For example, on at least two occasions Nancy Garrido presented her with kittens, only to make them “mysteriously disappear.” The Garridos also prevented Jaycee from speaking or writing her own name for years.

Dugard gave birth to two children while captive, as a result of being raped. She and her two children were forced to live in a tent in Garrido’s back yard, with only makeshift facilities for their personal use.

Elizabeth Fritzl

Similar to Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Fritzl was held captive at a single location for years unnoticed. Unique to Fritzl’s case, however, are a number of bizarre circumstances.

Lured into the basement of her family home by her father, Josef Fritzl, Elizabeth was imprisoned there for over twenty-four years. Her father secured her in a secret corridor in the basement and repeatedly raped her, eventually fathering seven children with his daughter. One of these children died soon after birth as a result of severe respiratory problems.

Shortly after initially imprisoning his daughter, he forced her to write several notes making false claims about her whereabouts. These notes, claiming that she had run away from home to join a religious cult, were brought to police as proof that she was not, in fact, missing, thus avoiding any investigations into her disappearance. Elizabeth and her children were told that any attempts to escape would result in their being gassed or electrocuted to death via the locked metal door to their enclosure.

“Genie”

In the 1970′s, California State Social Services became aware of one of the most appalling cases of child neglect in history. Genie was thirteen years old when first brought into state custody and was completely non-verbal. Having spent most of her life either locked inside a bedroom, strapped to a children’s toilet, or bound so that her arms and legs were immobile in a crib, the child had almost no contact with the outside world for her first thirteen years of life.

When very young, her father repeatedly beat her if she vocalized at all. He also growled or barked at her, instilling in her a lifelong fear of dogs and cats. She only seemed to understand about fifteen to twenty words, and could only speak the phrases, “no more,” and “stop it.”

“Little Albert”

Not all cases of psychological abuse are committed by terrible parents or complete strangers. Some of the worst abuse cases have been committed by actual psychologists. For example, we have the case of “Little Albert.”

As part of an experiment at Johns Hopkins University performed by John B. Watson, an infant was used to prove that the classical conditioning techniques first documented by Ivan Pavlov, also applied to humans. Baby Albert was introduced to a number of fuzzy objects, such as a rabbit and a rat, for the first time. The child exhibited no fear of these objects at first. Later, he was introduced to these same objects, but this time a very loud noise was made every time the child came into contact with them. This startled the child and caused him to cry and display signs of fear. Again, the child was introduced to these same objects, this time with no loud noise. Little Albert was now very fearful of not only the original test objects, but of anything soft or fluffy.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Conducted by Philip Zimbardo, this experiment placed volunteers into two groups: guards and prisoners. The purpose was to see how those in the guard group would use their authority. After five days the experiment was shut down. Both groups had become completely immersed in the experiment, which they now perceived as reality.

“Guards” dehumanized and humiliated the “prisoners.” When speaking with a prison Chaplain, “prisoners” identified themselves by number rather than by name. All the participants subsequently experienced deep depression and paranoia.

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David Peterson is a family psychologist and guest author at www.bestpsychologydegrees.org, where he has contributed reviews of top-rated online psychology degree programs.

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Michael Stevens looks at possible causes for deja vu and suggests that it might be due to a disconnect between the different parts of our brain which are simultaneously processing information consciously and unconsciously. Michael also explains other quirky phenomena such as presque vu, jamais vu and the hypnagogic jerk.

Over the years, psychology has become one of the most common subjects in which college students major. The field is extremely popular. But why are so many undergraduates interested in obtaining a psychology degree? Is it because the subject is complex and offers students novel ways to think about and observe the world around them? Is it because there is a high demand in the workforce for psychology related careers? Let’s take a look below to learn some of the answers.

1) Research Opportunities

2) Increased Understanding of Personal Relationships

Many students who study psychology claim that they are better able to understand the ins-and-outs of their relationships with close friends, family members and even co-workers. This translates into being able to cope with these relationships even during periods of hardship, forging bonds that last a lifetime. The increased social awareness that comes from being a student of psychology is also a valuable asset in most professional careers.

3) Increased Critical Analysis Skills

Obtaining a degree in psychology can greatly help a student improve his or her critical thinking skills. Students are often encouraged to formulate plausible theories to explain human behaviors and then evaluate the accuracy and validity of their proposed theories. Psychology also nurtures a student’s ability to spot trends and extrapolate relationships from statistical data. For some employers, having top-notch analytic capabilities is extremely important. In fact, many employers in the fields of law and business hire people with psychology degrees specifically for their ability to notice patterns, think outside the box and approach troublesome situations from new perspectives.

4) Increased Effectiveness on the Job

When a student studies psychology, it is likely that he or she will learn about human behavior in a variety of settings — for example, in the workplace. Psych students learn the details and underlying causes of beneficial attributes such as stress management, social interaction, motivation, cooperation, leadership, confidence and various other behavioral traits. Gaining knowledge related to these human behaviors helps students to become effective managers and supervisors. In fact, many psychology grads use their learned knowledge as a ‘selling point’ on their resumes. They are able to ‘sell’ their ability to understand human behavior in the workplace as something that will help them and their co-workers to be more effective on the job.

5) Wide Range of Career Possibilities

Regardless of the industry that a student desires to work in, chances are there will be a need for employees who have a degree in psychology. In fact, almost all employers understand that being able to evaluate human behavior is essential in keeping a workplace well-organized and efficient. With this in mind, headhunters are always looking for workers who have the knowledge and ability to maximize productivity. Whether a student wants to work in business administration, social work, education, or healthcare, there are many job opportunities that can be obtained with a degree in psychology.

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Counselor Jeffrey Goode enjoys writing about psychology, including its utility outside of psychology based career choices. Jeffrey also contributes to Top Online Bachelors of Psychology, a great resource for people interested in getting their bachelor’s degree in Psychology..