Introduction to Psychology

Daniel Swingley
Introduction to Psychology
Daniel Swingley
Amber Alhadeff Gwen Lawson
Moriah Brier Eliora Porter
Lauren Eskreis-Winkler Sarah Solomon
Cayce Hook Shaleigh Kwok
What psychology is for
to understand ourselves and others, to solve
problems that arise on a human scale
Who needs science when we have art?
What psychology is for
to understand ourselves and others, to solve
problems that arise on a human scale
Psychology as a science tells us why
2 lectures each week
readings (from textbook and readings book)
5 recitations total 10%
3 units of research requirement 10%
2 midterms 50% + a final exam 30%
2 lectures each week
readings (from textbook and readings book)
5 recitations total 10%
3 units of research requirement 10%
2 midterms 50% + a final exam 30%
how to succeed:
understand and remember the material.
how to do that?
participate; review your notes after class;
teach your teddy-bear; test yourself
Psychology: be careful of what you know
Psychology: be careful of what you know
Ellen Langer
Psychology: be careful of what you know
Ellen Langer
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine?
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine,
because Im in a rush.
Psychology: be careful of what you know
Ellen Langer
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine?
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine,
because Im in a rush.
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine,
because I have to make copies.
no-excuse
placebic
sufficient
Psychology: be careful of what you know
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine?
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine,
because Im in a rush.
excuse me, I have 5 copies. May I use the xerox machine,
because I have to make copies.
no-excuse
placebic
sufficient
compliance (let her budge)
no-excuse sufficient
5 sheets
25 sheets
.60
.24
.94
.42
placebic
.93
.24
Psychology: be careful of what you know
the automatic pilot
multitasking
I am in charge of my self
Bateson, Nettle, & Roberts
honesty box
I am rational and predictable
Gneezy & Rustichini 2000
parents late picking up their child charge fee
punishment leads people to do things less.
I am rational and predictable
Gneezy, Gneezy, Nelson,
& Brown 2010
$12.95
$PWYW
$12.95 half to charity
$PWYW half to charity
I am rational and predictable
Gneezy, Gneezy, Nelson,
& Brown 2010
$12.95
$PWYW
$12.95 half to charity
$PWYW half to charity
how many how much condition
<1%
8.4%
<1%
4.5%

$0.92

$5.33
okay, Ill pay a 90 cents for crappy photo
but not if 45 cents goes to sad kids in hospital
Your intuitions might be wrong
(or at least controversial)
dualism
1. 1here ls no "soul", lL all ends when Lhe body dles
2. 1here ls a "soul", lL conLalns essenual parLs of who you are, lL
perslsLs alone ln Lhe aerllfe wlLhouL any need for a body
3. 1here ls a "soul", lL conLalns essenual parLs of who you are, and
your body ls resurrecLed ln Lhe aerllfe
4. l don'L know lf Lhere's a soul, because l never LhoughL abouL lL
3. l don'L know, because l have LhoughL abouL lL and l have blg
doubLs abouL elLher posluon
Your intuitions might be wrong
(or at least controversial)
dualism
Thomas Acquinas
(1225-1274)
Ren Descartes
(1596-1650)
If theres a soul, can the body think?
Descartes: the body does reflexes
Aleotti, 1589, tr. of
Hero of Alexandria
(10-70 AD)
If theres a soul, can the body think?
Descartes: the body does reflexes
plus the body does
pain, pleasure, recall of
images and memories
If theres a soul, can the body think?
pineal gland
If theres a soul, can it move the body?
i.e., is it responsible for your actions?
Or maybe the bodys a fiction and the soul is
all there is?
The other way: from the body to the mind
The wrong answer: a little dude in your head
The wrong answer: a little dude in your head
The wrong answer: a little dude in your head
terminator perspective
The wrong answer: a little dude in your head
homunculus
Lat., little man
Neuroscience: maybe the brain does it all
mysteries of consciousness: prosopagnosia (inability
to recognize people by seeing their face)
Russell Bauer: skin conductance response
celebrity photo + celebrity names
(correct, or not)
Later studies: just SCR; larger for
celebrities
Recognizing a face has 2 parts: familiarity, and facts
Prosopagnosics have the familiarity, but not the facts (much)
Neuroscience: maybe the brain does it all
Capgras delusion (~ 1 in 1000 to 10000):
friends and family replaced by impostors
Neuroscience: maybe the brain does it all
The stream of consciousness (William James):
may not be as unified as we think.

Then whos driving the bus?
Neuroscience: maybe the brain does it all
Soon, Brass, Heinze, & Haynes, 2008, following Libet
L Q M A O Z B ...
push L or R button whenever
you feel like it
then report letter that was on
screen when you decided
result: prefrontal activity in MRI signal predicts
response well before subject reports awareness of it
A lot of questions, but some conclusions
were not as in charge as we think we are;
we dont always know what causes our decisions, and
much cognition is beneath our awareness
this cognition happens in our brain, and our brain is
not one thing, its a collection of parts that do
different things
introspection cant tell us everything we need to know