ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

College of Natural and Computational Sciences (CNCS)

Course: General Psychology (Psys 1011)

Individual Assignment 1
Prepared By:

Semir Hamid UGR/9690/13

Submitted to: Ato Atakelet D.

August 10, 2021

 Table of contents
Chapter Page
Introduction…………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………1
1. Learning………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
1.1 Classical conditioning…………………………………………………………………….……………………1
1.1.2 Applications of classical conditioning …………………………………………………………2
1.2 Operant conditioning …………………………………….…………………………………………………2
1.2.1Applications of classical conditioning…………………………………………………………..2
2. Early School of thought.……….……………………………………………………………………………………5
2.1 Contribution Early School of thought….……….…………………………………………………….5
2.1.1 Structuralism School of thought…………….……………………………………………………5
2.1.2 Functionalism School of thought……..…….……………………………………………………6
2.1.3 Gestalt School of thought…………….………………………………………………………………7
2.1.4 Behaviorism School of thought…………….…… …………………………………………………7
2.1.5 Psychoanalysis School of thought…………….…………………………………………………8
3. Perspectives of Modern psychology………….…………….………………………………………………9
3.1 Socio-cultural Perspective…………….…………………………………………………………………9
3.2 Psychodynamic Perspective…………….……………………………………………………………10
3.3 Humanistic Perspective… ………….……………………………………………………………………12
3.4 Cognitive Perspective… ………….………………………………………………………………………13
3.5 Behavioral Perspective…………….……………………………………………………………………14
3.6 Biological Perspective…………….……… ………………………………………………………………15
4. Effects of perception Process in daily life………….……………………………………………………17
Summary…………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………21
Reference………….……………………………………………………….…………….……………………………………..21
Introduction
The discoveries of operant and classical conditioning altered the course of modern psychology
irrevocably. Since both theories are backed by experiments, they have captured the attention of every
psychologist at that time. For millennia, individuals have been using these methods, consciously and
unconsciously in their daily lives, mostly in familial contexts. The first subject discusses how my family
used these techniques in their daily lives.

Since the beginning of psychology, most psychologists have disagreed on which approach is accurate.
Each technique has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and each contributes something
unique to our understanding of human behavior. The following section discusses the role of early
schools of thought to the establishment of modern psychological perspectives. The early school of
thought provided the groundwork for the development of modern psychological perspectives. Each of
them is connected in a chain that will be explained in this chapter.

The third subject focuses on modern psychological perspectives; how they interpret human behavior,
how they assume the working of the brain, and how they see the nature of human beings are briefly
discussed using examples from our country's context.

Perception processes have a significant influence on our daily activities. This last chapter discusses how
various kinds of perceptual processes influence our behavior via the use of personal examples.

1. Learning
Learning is an adaptive function by which our nervous system changes in relation to stimuli in
the environment, thus changing our behavioral responses and permitting us to function in our
environment. The process occurs initially in our nervous system in response to environmental
stimuli. Neural pathways can be strengthened, pruned, activated, or rerouted, all of which
cause changes in our behavioral responses.

1.1 Classical Conditioning Theory

Classical conditioning is the procedure of learning to associate an unconditioned stimulus that
already brings about an involuntary response, or unconditioned response, with a new, neutral
stimulus so that this new stimulus can also bring about the same response. The new stimulus
then becomes a conditioned stimulus and the newly learned behavior is a conditioned
response. Therefore, classical conditioning is also known as learning by association.

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 1.1.1 Application of Classical Conditioning In family

Example: When my dad came home from work having bad day at work, he slams the door.
Then he usually shouts at us for random reasons. So we learned to combine door slamming
with shouting. Every time we hear the door slamming, we're now conditioned to tremble.

Example: My friend's phone was stolen by a motorist last week, and I was with him when the
motorist took his phone and drove away. Since then I've been putting my phone in my pocket
every time I hear a motor sound.

Example: When family members meet for Holiday and I hear a familiar ringtone, this classical
conditioning example will certainly ring true for me. When I hear that tone and instinctively
reach for my phone, only to realize it's coming from someone else phone. The chime or tone is
a neutral stimulus. Through classical conditioning, I've come to associate it with the positive
feeling of reading a message. It's the same reason why you might reach for your phone when
you think you feel it vibrating in your pocket, even if it isn't.

Example: When my mother comes home with a big shopping bag that is usually filled with new
toys for the child. So whenever my brothers sees her coming home with a big shopping bag,
they become happy and excited because they have associated big bag with receiving new toys.

Example: When I greeted with the familiar smell of Doro wot I might already feeling hungry,
even before wot is cooked completely. The aroma of the food to come serves the same role as
Pavlov's ringing bell.

Example: Each time I brought home a great report card, my parents would me anything I want,
gets excited. The next time I received a good report card, I already well up with happy
emotions, even before I bring it home to show my parents. That's because I'm already
anticipating those positive consequences.

Example: In New Year there is a famous song that is associated with all of us that’s “Enqutatash
by Artist Zeritu Getahun”. Whenever I think the coming of New Year, I start to think of Artist
Zeritu Getahun famous song.

Example: My grandfather associate a song with the great times he spent with his spouse. After
she passed away he feels sadness, numbness, denial, despair, anxiety and depression.
Whenever he hears that song, he remembers the time he spent with his spouse and feels
depressed and sadness.

1.2 Operant Conditioning Theory

The method of learning is used to increase or reduce a voluntary behavior via reinforcement or
punishment. Different timings, known as reinforcement schedules, can be used to carry out the
association process.
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The idea of operant conditioning, created by BF Skinner, an American psychologist, holds that
behavior may be regulated by its consequences. The procedures of delivering a discriminative
stimulus to rise or decrease target behavior are known as reinforcement and punishment.

1.2.1 Application of Operant conditioning in Family

Example: Whenever my little brother goes to bed on time, my father reads him a sahabas story.
The story reading is a positive reinforcement used to increase target behavior (going to bed on
time).

Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is an addition of stimulus that encourages specific behavior.

Example: I received praise for performing a chore without complaint, like cleaning my room.

Example: My mother starts associating chores with candy, and as a result, my sister completes
her chores more reliably and enthusiastically in the hopes of earning more candy.

Example: Whenever I pray my daily five Prayers on time my father used to give me a kiss on
forehead. For this reason I pray passionately and vehemently.

Example: I learnt to clean my room regularly; because I would be rewarded with extra TV
hours every time I cleaned up.

Example: Rewarding myself with a chocolate bar after every psychology assignment question I
do.

Negative reinforcement: rewards a behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus. With

negative reinforcement, the stimulus is unpleasant, thereby encouraging the behavior by its
absence.

Example: My overprotective father, who without realizing it pays less attention to my activities
when I received good grades. I begin to associate academic success with my father looser grip
and continue to study hard so as to enjoy my freedom.

Example: My brother follows rules strictly to avoid being nagged by my parents. So, to avoid
nagging, he ends up following the rules strictly.

Example: My father turns on the TV sound to prevent the irritating sounds coming from my
brother's room. Turning on the TV or increasing the volume decreases that unpleasant sound.

Continuous Reinforcement: This is an operant conditioning principle in which an organism

is reinforced every single time that organism provides the appropriate operant response.
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Example, rewarding my sister bar of chocolate each time she finishes her chores.

• Involves the most amount of effort and resources,

Punishment
Punishment is defined as an action taken after an intentional conduct that reduces the
likelihood of that behavior occurring again. Punishment, on the other hand, is meant to
discourage a given conduct, whilst reinforcement is meant to encourage it. An association is
formed between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behavior
through operant conditioning.

Example: My brother when he didn’t do his chores suffers by my mother beat.

Positive punishment: is the presentation of a negative occurrence or outcome in order to

weaken the response that follows.

Example: When I got home after playing with my friends at 9:00 AM my father insulted every
time in front of every family member. To prevent the insult or shouting from him, I avoided
coming home late.

Example: After hitting my sister, my mother locked me in empty room, and no one was
allowed to talk to me. It may ensure that I will never hit my sister again in the future.

Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or
outcome is removed after a behavior occurs.

Example: Our maid got criticized in front of the whole family by my mother and having certain
payment taken away as a consequence to her bad behavior at work. That’s motivates her to
stay in line and be more sincere.

Example: By taking my brother access to his phone, my mother makes him to study.

Extinction: Is the loss of conditioning over time when the conditioning stimuli are no longer
present. Over time, a person will become less conditioned unless the stimuli that conditioned
them in the first place are reapplied.

Example: When my sister receives a gift from our father for an excellent test score, but did not
receive more another gift in subsequent tests, so she became increasingly unmotivated to
perform well in her tests.

Shaping: is an operant conditioning technique. Rather than waiting for a subject to

demonstrate a desired behavior, any conduct that leads to it is rewarded.

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For example: My parents break a task into smaller sequential step of completing the entire
desired task. As a child I started a step, or show improvements on a step, they praised and
rewarded me a candy. As child each step, I got praised and rewarded and then encouraged to
the next step. This process of successive approximations is followed until a I masters the entire
task.

The step by step procedure of reinforcing different behaviors until the ultimate behavior is
achieved is called Successive Approximations.

2. Early School of thoughts

Schools of thought are various aspects of assessing human behavior.

2.1 Contribution Early School of thought

Many approaches of psychology and schools of thought lead to the development of modern
psychology. Some of them are:

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), a German scientist, opened the first experimental psychology
laboratory in Leipzig in 1879, paving the way for a scientific turn in the history of psychology. As
it established psychology as a science separate from biology and philosophy, arguments over
definition and interpretation of the mind and behavior appeared (cite).This resulted in various
schools of thought arising during this period.

2.1.1 Structuralism
The first scientific and systematic school of thought, emerged from Wundt’s work, was
structuralism. Edward B. Tichener, formally established structuralism, but later on he diverted
from Wundt’s ideas.

Structuralists believed that breaking the mind down into its most basic pieces was the best
approach to learn about the brain and its functioning. They believed that the total of the parts
equals the whole.

Focus on: The structure or the basic elements mind, consciousness, sensations and ideas.

Method: Introspection i.e. looking inward and examining one's internal thoughts and feelings
(consciousness).

Goal: Breaking down mental processes into the most basic components.(sensation, Image and
Feelings.)
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Object: concerned with the conscious mind

Contributions of Structuralism for the development of modern psychology

• Helped to establish psychology as a separate science
• Criticisms of structuralism gave way to another approach in the field of psychology
called Functionalism.
• Pave a road to modern psychology by opening first proper school of thought.
• Contribute method to experimental psychology i.e. method of introspection which
discovered conscious mental processes by asking individuals to look deeper and state
their sensation and perception.
• Lead the way forth exploration of consciousness.
• Helped shaped our basic understandings of cognitive processes.
• Analysis of the adult mind (the evaluation of the sum total of lifetime experiences).
Weakness: Underestimate the complexity of human mind.
• The experimental method used to study the structure of mind was too subjective.
• The use introspection leads to a lack of reliability in result.
• Too concerned with internal behavior, which is not directly observable and cannot be
accurately measured.

2.1.2 Functionalism
William James founded functionalism as a counterpoint to structuralism. In order to survive, an
organism must adjust and adapt to its surroundings. Consciousness aids the organism in
comprehending its surroundings and adapting to changes.

Focus on: the purpose of the mind and how people adapt to their environment.

Method: objective technique, questionnaires, mental tests and objective description of

behavior

Object: concerned with the conscious mind

Weakness of functionalism: Functionalism as unscientific since James is thought not to have

carried an experiment to come up with this theory.
• Underestimate the complexity of human mind
• It is criticized for not being psychological.
• The theory of functionalism is said to be subjective since its mentalism is said by
behaviorism to be unobservable.
• It was also criticized for not being psychological and lacking objectivity.

Contributions of Functionalism for the development of modern psychology

• The definition of the conscious and thoughts as a stream aided in the broadening of
psychology's knowledge of the various states of mind, resulting in a broader view of
reality.
• A complex theory of the self, theory of emotion.

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 • The importance of habit and intention.
• Opened the boundaries of psychology to include topics such as religious beliefs.
• Functionalism also influenced the educational system especially with regards to John
Dewey’s belief that children should learn at the level for which they are
developmentally prepared
• It influenced on various aspects of modern psychology such as evolutionary psychology,
behaviorism, educational psychology and Industrial or organizational psychology.
• The weakness of functionalism influenced the rise of behaviorism in early 20th century.

• Functionalism was an important influence on psychology. It influenced the development

of behaviorism and applied psychology.
• His work influenced so many researchers especially cognitivist’s who were studying
memory.
• Laid the way for further understanding of human behavior.

2.1.3 Gestalt
Wertheimer, Kohler and Koffka’s gestalt approach emphasized that the ‘whole’ is more than
the sum of its parts. Gestalt psychology influenced on perception and learning.

Focus on: the experience of contact that occurs on the here now. It considers with interest the
space of teachers as well as students.

Method: creative and experiential techniques, Exaggeration technique, Empty chair technique

Object: concerned with the conscious mind

Contributions of Gestalt for the development of modern psychology

Criticisms of structuralism, functionalism and gestalt theory brought forward behaviorism.

• Theoretical framework and methodology

• Principle Of Totality, Principle Of Psychophysical Isomorphism, Phenomenon
Experimental Analysis, Biotic Experiment, Multi-stability, Reification, Legacy, Invariance,
Figure-Ground Organization, Pragnanz, Law Of Proximity, Similarity, Closure, Symmetry,
Common Fate, Continuity, Past Experience, Problem Solving And Insight, Fuzzy-Trace
Theory Of Memory

2.1.4 Behaviorism
Behaviorism was proposed by John B. Watson. Watson argued psychology is study of
observable behavior, not internal events. The concept of ‘tabula rasa’- one’s mind is a blank
state when born- arose under this approach.

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Focus on: Behavior, conditioned response as building block of behavior, learned rather than
unlearned, animal behavior.

Method: puzzle box, operant conditioning or Skinner box, Little Albert experiment, Interview

Weakness

• Underestimate the complexity of human behavior

Contributions of Behaviorism for the development of modern psychology

• Behaviorism had a major impact on Gender role development, behavioral therapy,
scientific method, aversion therapy, moral development, phobias are only some of the
areas in modern psychology that have been influenced by this approach.

• Gave birth to Behavioral Perspective, classical conditioning and operant conditioning

2.1.5 Psychoanalysis
Consider psychology to be the study of the unconscious. Watson's behaviorism was in direct
opposition to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis. All of the things that are outside of our
conscious consciousness, such as early childhood memories, secret desires, and hidden drives,
are part of our unconscious mind. The unconscious, according to Freud, contains elements that
we would find unpleasant or even socially unacceptable. These things are buried in our
unconscious because they may cause us pain or conflict.

Focus on the importance of unconscious motives and early childhood experiences.

Under psychoanalytical approach Freud presented the structure of personality (Id, Ego and
Superego), defense mechanisms and psychosexual stages of personality development.

Method: Clinical case studies (Hypnosis and Dream analysis)

Object: concerned with the unconscious mind

Weakness
• over emphasize the importance of sexuality
• under emphasize the role of social relationship
• Freud's theories overemphasized the unconscious mind, sex, aggression, and childhood
experiences.
• Many of the concepts proposed by psychoanalytic theorists are difficult to measure and
quantify.
• Most of Freud's ideas were based on case studies and clinical observations rather than
empirical, scientific research.
Contribution of Psychoanalysis for the development of modern psychology

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 • encouraged many modern theorists to modify it for the better, using its basic principles,
but eliminating its major flaws
• “SigmundFreud, in his influential theory of the unconscious, gave a new direction to
psychology and laid the groundwork for the psychoanalytic model.
• Freudian theory took psychology into such fields as education, anthropology, and
medicine, and Freudian research methods became the foundations of clinical
psychology”.
• He introduced ‘free association’ as a form of therapy. This approach has made many
contributions towards the growth of other psychotherapies.
• Even though most psychodynamic theories did not rely on experimental research, the
methods and theories of psychoanalytic thinking contributed to the development of
experimental psychology.
• Many of the theories of personality developed by psychodynamic thinkers, such as
Erikson's theory of psychosocial stages and Freud's psychosexual stage theory, continue
to influence the field today.
• Psychoanalysis opened up a new view on mental illness, particularly that talking through
problems with a psychoanalytic professional could help alleviate a person's
psychological distress. 

3. Perspectives of Modern Psychology

3.1 Social-Cultural Perspectives
The socio-cultural approach explores how various people interact with their social groups, as
well as how these groups influence people's lives and how they evolve throughout their
lifetimes.

Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, created the socio-cultural perspective. This theory
focused on how a kid matures into an adult, developing thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs.
According to this view, social and cultural groups have the greatest influence on human
behavior.

Any social group to which the individual belongs can make up the social group. In truth, most
people are members of a variety of social groups. Gender groups, racial groups, religions, and
others are among them. Your classmates, for example, might have a significant impact on you,
so can your family, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. A female will develop differently than a
man if all other features remain the same. A affluent woman will grow up in a different way
than a poor woman.

Examples of Social-Cultural Perspective

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Example: Abebech grew up in a rural area. Her family has always farmed animals, and she is in
charge of the early feeding of the hens. The chickens need to be let out of their pen before
breakfast because they get up early. Before she has her own breakfast, she must also ensure
that the eggs are collected. So Abebech gets up at 6 a.m. every morning because that's when
she has to start her chores.

Hanan was born and raised in the city. All she has to do now is get dressed before she eats her
breakfast. She despises getting up early and frequently sleeps in until 7:30 a.m. in order to eat
breakfast quickly and catch the 8 a.m. bus.

The two girls are the same age and have to go to school, but due to their background, they get
up at different times of the day. They each have their own set of tasks to accomplish, as well as
their own set of interests. Hanan doesn't like getting up early, and she doesn't have to because
her social groups don't need it. Abebech, on the other hand, enjoys getting up early, and her
social group requires her to do so.

Example: Petros is a devout Orthodox Christian who grew up attending church every Sunday.
He never misses a church service and makes a point of praying before each meal. His family has
instilled this in him, and they make certain that he continues to exhibit all of these
characteristics. Petros, on the other hand, continues to exhibit these characteristics even when
his family is not there, praying and attending church.

Petros' personality traits began as a result of his parents' influence. However, when he grew
older, he continued to exhibit similar characteristics. He did this because he was fascinated by
his upbringing and believed that it was something he wanted to continue.

3.2 Psychodynamic Perspective

Sigmund Freud's work gave birth to the psychodynamic paradigm. This approach to psychology
and human behavior emphasizes the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and
interpersonal relationships in explaining and treating human behavior.

According to this viewpoint, everything a person does has a reason, and that reason is closely
tied to something that happened in the person's past. It is possible to develop a strategy to
overcome a prior incident by comprehending what happened in the past. This is the foundation
for comprehending the psychoanalytical/psychodynamic viewpoint.

Freud conceived of the mind as being composed of three key elements: the id, the ego, and the
superego.

• The id is the part of the psyche that includes all the primal and unconscious desires.
• The ego is the aspect of the psyche that must deal with the demands of the real world.
• The superego is the last part of the psyche to develop and is tasked with managing all of
our internalized morals, standards, and ideals.

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He believed that an individual's unconscious thoughts or motivations were intimately related to
how they behaved in their conscious activities. As a result, if a person was traumatized as a
youngster, it would alter how they behaved as an adult. The memory from childhood could be
happy or negative, but it will still have a detrimental impact on the individual.

Examples of the Psychodynamic Perspective

Example 1:

As a child, Hana was abused physically. Whenever she didn't do something she had asked for
her, her father would get very mad at her. He beat her sometimes with his hand and a belt
sometimes. When this happened Hana would get very upset and go back into herself. The next
time he asked her to do anything, she would try to do all she could to make him happy.

Hana's a grown-up, now. She's got married and her own house. One day, her husband asked
her to take a cake in the shop to work for him. Hana had been busy and forgot to stop home.
When her husband comes home, he asks her where the cake is, and she forgets to get it from
Hana.

Based on the psychoanalytical/psychodynamic perspective, Hana would react to her

forgetfulness in the same way that she used to react when her father would ask her to do
something and she forgot to do it. She would likely retreat into herself and work hard to
become “better”.

Example: When Daniel was young, his mother left the family. She never told him she was going
to leave. But one day, when he got home from school, she wasn’t there. His father would tell
him that she was a selfish person and that she abandoned them. He told Daniel that all women
would leave eventually and that you should never get attached to one because they would not
stay.

Now, Daniel is a carefree bachelor. He is going on 30 and even though his friends are all settling
down, Daniel can’t find a woman he wants to spend his life with. He thinks he wants to start a
family but always finds himself pushing women away when he starts to feel close to them.

As a child, Daniel had been told all women were going to leave, he was scared of falling in love.
He does not wish to attach himself too strongly to a woman since he believes, based on his
past, that any woman he loves is going to leave him.

Example: The sisters Mekdes and Kelemua are born in the same family. Kelemua fell out of a
tree and ruptured her leg when they were young. It has never properly healed and since then
she has been limp. Mekdes was with her when the incident occurred and watched her fall, but
she could walk safely out of the tree.

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The two are now grown-ups. Kelemua doesn't suffer her fall (except the limp), but Mekdes
fears hills. She is afraid of tall buildings, bridges and never again has climbed trees. Every time
her kids walk up the playground, or try to climb the tree in their backyard, she worries.

Because Mekdes witnessed the fall that changed Kelemua’s life, she is incapable of removing
the fear that it will happen in her own life. She understands that the injury occurred because of
the height of the fall and this has impacted her greatly.

3.3 Humanistic Perspective

The work of notable humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow affected it
immensely. Motivation has an important part in human thought and action, according to the
humanistic viewpoint. Self-actualization is an important concept. Concentrate on what
motivates people to grow, evolve, and realize their full potential.

This perspective emphasize uniqueness of human beings and focuses on human values and
subjective experience.

This viewpoint is concerned with how a person acts or behaves, as well as how they think or
feel about those actions and behaviors. According to this viewpoint, psychologists believe that a
comprehensive grasp of an individual's wants is critical to understanding why an individual will
continue to act in a certain way.

The humanistic viewpoint evaluates an individual's hierarchy of needs before determining

which are the most significant. These requirements include: Physiological, safety,
belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization requirements are all taken into account from a
humanistic perspective.

Examples of the Humanistic Perspective

Example: Marege is a college student in her hometown. She is pursuing a nursing degree since
she aspires to work as a nurse. She's always believed that she could make a difference in the
lives of others and that she should do everything she can to improve herself. When she does
become a nurse, she intends to pursue her dream of working with the poor.

Marege is striving to reach her full potential and self-actualization. She is also attempting to
improve her own self-esteem and sense of belonging. She wants to feel important, but she also
wants to ensure that she is assisting others.

Example: A child will construct their own sense of worth by comprehending both the conduct
that they get and the behavior that they observe. This enables children to comprehend how

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they can be deserving of happy emotions, as well as whether or not they are deserving of those
emotions from others.

Those who are unable to meet all components of the hierarchy of needs will never be able to
experience true happiness. Regardless of what they are able to accomplish, they will be
unhappy and unsatisfied.

If a person feels self-actualized at one moment but then loses that sensation, they will not have
met all of the requirements in the hierarchy of needs. As a result, they will be unable to be
completely satisfied.

3.4 Cognitive Perspective

This area of psychology focuses on mental processes like memory, thinking, problem-solving,
language, and decision-making. Neisser was the founder of this idea.

The cognitive perspective is based on the idea that the brain is the most essential factor in
determining how a person acts or thinks. This viewpoint holds that in order to understand
someone, you must first be able to comprehend what is going on in their head. Even if a group
of people hears the same information, they will process it differently. As a result, understanding
how a certain individual processes and responds to other information is critical in determining
how they will process and respond to information.

Memory, perception (of oneself and others), and problem solving are also topics of interest in
this theory. It then explores how each of these categories connects to an individual's conduct in
a certain situation.

To comprehend how information is collected, processed, stored, and used, cognitive

psychologists frequently use an information-processing model (which compares the human
mind to a computer).

Examples of Cognitive Perspective

Example: Emebet began college last summer and has not been able to raise her grades as
quickly as her peers believe she might. What they don't realize is that Emebet is not a student.
Emebet has never done well in school and therefore believes she is incapable of succeeding. As
a result, she has low self-esteem and refuses to put in the effort required to achieve.

Emebet's self-perception is influenced by a past occurrence. This experience or recollection has

had an impact on the way she behaves now and in the future. She is having difficulty
overcoming her negative feelings about herself in order to achieve more in the future.

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Example: Jemila always quits her work right before she is due for a raise. She tells herself that
she dislikes her job, but the truth is that she is under a lot of stress. Jemila was elected
president of her class in high school, but she struggled academically. She is now frightened of
taking on any extra responsibility because she believes she will fail.

When Jemila was in high school, she had a particularly bad experience. As a result, she
continues to equate that event with being in a position of authority. She interprets this as a
comment about her ability to be in command, and she doesn't believe she can improve or grow
in anything she does. She won't be able to succeed in a position of power until she can
persuade herself that it's worth a shot.

This viewpoint is frequently associated with the study of neuroscience since it is so intimately
related to a scientific and psychological understanding of the brain and how it functions.

3.5 Behavioral Perspective

Behavioral psychology focuses on learned behaviors. It was founded on the work of
psychologists such as Edward Thorndike and John B. Watson. Behaviorism differs from other
perspectives because it focuses solely on observable behaviors rather than on emphasizing
internal states.

● Behavioral principles are often applied in mental health settings, where therapists and
counselors use these techniques to explain and treat a variety of illnesses.

According to behavioral theory, an individual's need for homeostasis is what drives and
motivates them. The desire for homeostasis has additional effect on an individual's behaviour.
If homeostasis is disrupted or altered at any stage, the individual will be motivated to act. This
motivation will last until they are able to regain homeostasis.

Learned behaviors are a different aspect of motivation. Conditioning causes an individual to

learn specific habits, such as anxiousness. Neal Miller is best known for developing the operant
conditioning theory. According to this theory, a person can be taught to do something if they
are working toward or against a specific goal.

Example Getting money will motivate an adult to go to work every day.

Different motivations can be applied in various ways. It is possible to comprehend why a person
acts the way they do by integrating each of these sorts of motivation.

B.F. Skinner established the learned drive, which asserts that an individual may be trained to
perform a specific action. Based on investigations with rats, he developed the operant

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conditioning hypothesis, which allowed him to begin study into the types of behaviors that
must be acquired.

Examples of the Behavioral Perspective

Example: Anwar intends to sit for the Psychology test. He understands that a score of more
than 83 on the exam will help him choose a field after the semester. He chooses to study in
order to earn a decent grade, but when a friend invites him to go swimming, he decides to
leave town for the weekend and cease studying. He's been studying for a week and has gone
through all of his study materials. He believes that if he doesn't study any longer, he will be able
to achieve a good enough grade.

Anwar has a motivator to acquire a good score so that he can get into a good college, according
to the behavioral perspective, and more precisely incentive motivation. He wants to reach this
objective, thus he will work hard to get it. However, if his mother, for example, offers him a
new automobile in exchange for an 83 on his exam, this motivation could be enhanced.
Because this reward is more than the one he presently receives for obtaining an 83, he is more
likely to devote more time to studying in order to attain it.

Example: Every day when Markos returns home from school, he is hungry. His lunch is usually
at 10 a.m., and he has to go to soccer practice when he gets out of school at 2:30 p.m. It's after
5 p.m. when he gets home, and he hasn't eaten in several hours. His mother usually makes sure
there are snacks ready for him in the pantry or on the counter.

Even though there are no munchies available today, he is nonetheless ravenous. Markos does
not usually cook at home. He waits for his family to arrive, and his parents will prepare the
meal. There are no snacks today, and no one is home to prepare dinner. In the kitchen, there
are ingredients for a misirwot. Markos sets out to create his own misirwot.

Markos' body is not in a state of homeostasis because he is hungry. He is motivated to achieve

homeostasis (the state of not being hungry) and hence chooses to prepare a meal. Even though
he ordinarily would not engage in the activity, the motive of being hungry, an unlearned
behavior, is enough to motivate him to do something to regain homeostasis (i.e. cooking).

3.6 Biological Perspective

This theory was actually founded by Charles Darwin. This scientist studied the way that genetics
and evolution interact within any society and the way that natural selection continues to
provide ways for the human species to grow and to change.

Actions are less the consequence of a human choice and more the outcome of a hereditary
foundation, according to the neuroscience/biological approach. This makes it more difficult, but

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not impossible, to shift one's behavior in a more positive direction. External influences on the
individual are considered to be less important and less influential in how they turn out in this
perspective.

The neuroscience/biological approach is concerned with how people act in relation to their
origins. In this perspective, genetics in the human body has an impact on how people react to
various events and how they act in other scenarios.

With this perspective, the care and attention given to an individual during their childhood and
even into adulthood will have less of an impact than what their genetic code dictates. This is
frequently thought to be a fault in the neuroscience/biological perspective as it is researched
and addressed as this theory is employed.

Researchers can use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography
(PET) scans to look at the brain in a variety of ways..

● This perspective has many different applications. These include genetic research, the
influence of specific drugs on the body and more.
● As a result of this theory however, we have been able to create the many
psychopharmaceuticals that are utilized for those suffering from mental illness.
● We've also been able to create brain scan tools that will aid in these types of
developments even further. This is due to this point of view.
● To examine all variables, this hypothesis employs the scientific method. This means that
only conditions that can be perfectly controlled can be investigated, making it a highly
limited field of inquiry. To get a satisfactory conclusion, the researcher must be able to
assemble a group of people who lack a specific trait or experience as well as those who
do. Because of safety regulations and research requirements, this is not possible in
many instances.

Examples
Example: Meron has always been a grumpy person throughout her life. Whatever happens, she
appears to become enraged very quickly. When she gets furious, she tries to calm herself down,
but it doesn't seem to work. Because she is prone to aggressive outbursts, her friends now shun
her. Meron is aware of the issue, but she is unsure of what else she can do to address it. She
can't even control herself when she's angry, despite the fact that she knows she should.

Meron has a hereditary propensity to rage, according to those who believe in the
neuroscience/biological perspective. Despite the fact that she is aware of the issue, there is
little she can do to prevent herself from being furious until she takes medicine. She is angry
since she got this feature from her mother when she was born.

Example: Because Bruke is a nice person, he is well liked by all of his friends. Bruke is always
cheerful, no matter what happens around him, and his friends admire him for it. When things

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go wrong, Bruke is able to see the bright side and see the silver lining in the situation. Though
this can irritate others at times, they appreciate how enjoyable he is to be around.

Bruke's capacity to see the bright side is most likely inherited from his family. This is a
hereditary trait that one or both of his parents have passed down to him. One of his parents is
likely to be positive in this way as well, and it is through them that he received the trait.

4. Effects of perception Process in daily life

Perceptual Processes
Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. This process
includes the perception of select stimuli that pass through our perceptual process, are
organized into our existing structures and patterns, and are then interpreted based on previous
experiences. 

Perception processes affect the way we observe the world, and interpretation mechanism of
our mind. Some of them are listed below:

Attention is perception process, in which we focus on certain incoming sensory information.

Example: When I was at a party for a friend hosted at a bustling restaurant. Multiple
conversations, the clinking of plates and forks, and many other sounds compete in
my attention. Out of all these noises, I solely find myself able to tune out the irrelevant
sounds and focus on the amusing story that my dining partner shares.

Visual Attention: Ability to pay attention to stimuli that are in our field of vision.

Example: Despite the fact our module has lots of information; I tend only to focus on part
of the underlined text by random student.

Form perception is the recognition of visual elements of objects, particularly those related to
shapes, patterns, and previously defined significant qualities.

Organization in form Perception: Gestalt psychologists defined it as believing that the human
brain is capable of constructing a conscious perceptual experience by observing the input as a
whole rather than the sum of its parts. Remember, it is the stimulus that plays an integral role in
the perceptual organisation theory.

Laws of perceptual organization

Perceptual Grouping – Perceptual grouping is the tendency of the human mind to group
numerous stimuli into a recognized pattern.

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 ● Law of Closure – The law of closure refers to the human mind's tendency to fill in the
gaps and see meaningful items, as it literally fills the gap.

For example, Irrespective of the gap between the letters in "FILA" logo, I tend to
perceive "F!LA" as the original brand logo of FILA in boutiques.

Law of Pragnanz – It refers to a person's inclination to view objects in their environment in the
most basic way possible.

For example, when presented with the Olympic logo, I only see overlapping circles
rather than an assortment of curved, connected lines. This is why the term pragnanz is
used for this law as it depicts completeness or fullness of the picture.

Law of Proximity – The law of proximity describes the tendency of a human mind to perceive
the objects that are near to each other as if they are grouped.

● Example: Whenever I eat food in cafeteria and see peoples seated surrounding a table, I
perceive them as students from same city.

Law of Similarity- The tendency of a human mind to perceive the objects that are similar to a
single group and not as individual entities. Both auditory and visual stimuli can be grouped
together. Because of their comparable character, stimuli with the same color, shape, and size are
regarded as together and analyzed in a pattern

Example: When I am in library, I tend to perceive the white tables as a group, In spite of
their distance.

Law of Continuity –As the name implies, the law of continuity defines a human mind's
inclination to see objects that stretch into space in a similar pattern of color, size, and shape
without a break, forming a whole figure.

For example, Movies are just millions of pictures put together and flipped through at a
fast rate. My brain brings all of these pictures, these disjointed pictures, together into
one cohesive, smooth unit.

Example: Another great example of continuity is music. Music is individual notes that
are strung together. My brains bring those notes together into one smooth unit through
continuity.

Depth perception: is the ability to see objects in three dimensions (length, width, and depth), as
well as assess how far away they are.

Convergence The property of parallel lines converging in the distance, at infinity, allows us to
reconstruct the relative distance of two parts of an object, or of landscape features.

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 Example: When I stand on a straight road, looking down the road, and noticing the road
narrows as it goes off in the distance.

Motion parallax 

The apparent relative motion of numerous stationary objects against a background conveys
suggestions about their relative distance as an observer travels.

Example: When going in a car. Nearby things pass quickly, while far off objects appear
stationary. 

Relative size 

Example: If two trees having the same size. If one subtends a larger visual angle on the
retina than the other, the object which subtends the larger visual angle appears closer.

Aerial perspective: Objects at a vast distance have lower luminance contrast and color saturation
due to light scattering by the atmosphere.

Example: whenever I went to Hawassa by minibus and watched through the window,
the closer the mountain, the clearer it appeared.

Accommodation: The ciliary muscles stretch the eye lens, making it thinner and altering the
focal length when we try to focus on faraway objects.

Example: When I stare at my phone for long time and look at my dorm mate, he will look
farther away from me.

Occultation: Occultation (also referred to as interposition) happens when near surfaces overlap
far surfaces. If one object partially blocks the view of another object, we perceive it as closer.

Example: When I was going from 4 kilo to 5 kilo, I knew the car that is closer to me,
when it overlaps the front of another car, it looks closer.

Texture gradient: Fine details on nearby objects can be seen clearly, whereas such details are
not visible on faraway objects.

For example, When I'm traveling along a lengthy gravel road, the form, size, and color of
the gravel around me can be seen plainly. In the distance, the road's texture cannot be
clearly differentiated.

Lighting and shading: The way that light falls on an object and reflects off its surfaces, and the
shadows that are cast by objects provide an effective cue for the brain to determine the shape
of objects and their position in space.

Example: I can differentiate ball shape as a sphere not as a circle because of this cue.

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Elevation When an object is visible relative to the horizon, I tend to perceive objects which are
closer to the horizon as being farther away from me and objects which are farther from the
horizon as being closer to me.

Linear Perspective: When objects of known distance subtend a smaller and smaller angle, it is
interpreted as being further away.

Example: the railway of Addis Ababa train converges as I see from Awutobis Tera to
Sebategna

Perceptual constancy refers to the tendency to perceive an object you are familiar with as
having a constant shape, size, and brightness despite the stimuli changes that occur. 

Brightness constancy: the tendency to perceive a familiar object as having the same brightness
under different conditions of illumination. 

For example, a piece of white paper has a similar brightness in daylight as it does at
dusk, even though the energy it reflects may be quite different. Brightness constancy is
one of the perceptual constancies.

Color constancy: the tendency to perceive a familiar object as having the same colour under
different conditions of illumination.

For example, a red apple will be perceived as red in well or poorly illuminated
surroundings. Color constancy is an example of perceptual constancy.

Shape constancy is a type of perceptual constancy in which an object is perceived as having the
same shape when viewed at different angles. 

For example: The cafeteria plate is still perceived as circular despite appearing as an
oval when viewed from the side.

Size constancy: the ability to perceive an object as being the same size even though the size of
its retinal image changes depending on its distance from the observer. It is a type of perceptual
constancy.

Example: Psychology lecturer appears very long, where he is 1km away from me.

Perceptual Illusion: misinterpretation of stimulus.

Example: When I turned off the light and sat down on my bed to sleep, I noticed a man
seated in a chair, with a massive axe. I was frustrated, so I turned on the light and saw my
broom and cloth.

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Summary
Conditioning classically refers to the process of associating an unconditioned stimulus with a new,
neutral stimulus in order for the new stimulus to elicit the same reaction. Operant conditioning,
behavior is influenced by consequences. Punishment is intended to discourage a particular behavior,
whereas reinforcement is intended to promote it. Through operant conditioning, a link is created
between a behavior and a result (whether positive or negative) for that conduct.

Numerous schools of thought and psychological methods contributed for the creation of modern
psychology. From the work of Wundt’s to Freud every psychological perspective made a contribution for
development of modern psychological perspectives.

Every Psychological perspective has ways of defining human behavior. There are six main modern
psychological perspectives namely Socio-cultural, Humanistic, Behaviorism, Psychodynamics, Biological
and Gestalt.

Perceptual process is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. Perceptual
processes affect the way we observe the world, and interpretation mechanism of our mind. There are
laws and perceptions that help us to interpret perceived stimuli into meaningful information.

References
Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) (2019). General Psychology (Psyc1011) Module. Addis
Ababa: Author

Hockenbury, DH & Hockenbury SE. Discovering Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers; 2011.

Coon, D. & Mitterer, J.O. (2008). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (12th ed).
New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Feldman, R.S. (2018). Essentials of understanding psychology (13th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Pastorino, EE, Doyle-Portillo, SM. What Is Psychology? Foundations, Applications, and Integration.

Boston, MA: Cengage Learning; 2015.

Gray, P. & Bjorklund, D.F. (2017). Psychology (7th ed). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Kalat, J.W. (2013). Introduction to psychology (13th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Lahey, B.B. (2008). Psychology: An introduction (10th ed). New York, NY: McGrawHill.

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