Table of Contents

Module 1 ......................................................................................................... 6
PSYCHOLOGY: THE STUDY OF MENTAL PROCESSES AND BEHAVIOR ................ 6
Learning Outcomes ........................................................................................ 6
Lesson 1. Psychology and Positive Psychology ................................................................... 6
Lesson 2. History of Psychology ........................................................................................ 7
Lesson 3. Perspectives in Psychology ................................................................................ 9
Lesson 4. Major subdisciplines in Psychology ................................................................. 11
Lesson 5. Introduction to Psychological Research and Methods ...................................... 12
References ................................................................................................... 14
Assessment Task 1-1 .................................................................................... 15
Assessment Task 1.2 .................................................................................... 16
Module 2 ....................................................................................................... 17
BIOLOGICAL BASES OF MENTAL LIFE AND BEHAVIOR .................................... 17
Learning Outcomes ...................................................................................... 17
Lesson 1. Neurons, Basic Unit of the Nervous System ..................................................... 17
Lesson 2. The Endocrine System .................................................................................... 19
Lesson 3. The Peripheral Nervous System ....................................................................... 21
Lesson 4. The Central Nervous System ........................................................................... 22
References ................................................................................................... 23
Assessment Task 2-1 .................................................................................... 24
Assessment Task 2-2 .................................................................................... 25
Module 3 ......................................................................................................... 26
SENSATION, PERCEPTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS ............................................ 26
Lesson 1. Basic Principles .............................................................................................. 26
Lesson 2. Sensing the Environment ................................................................................ 27
Lesson 3. Vision ............................................................................................................. 27
Lesson 4. Hearing ........................................................................................................... 29
Lesson 5. Other senses ................................................................................................... 32
Lesson 6. Perception....................................................................................................... 32
Lesson 7. The Nature of Consciousness .......................................................................... 33
Lesson 8. Perspectives on Consciousness ....................................................................... 35
Lesson 9. Sleep, Dreaming, and Altered States of Consciousness .................................... 35
References ................................................................................................... 37
Assessment Task 3-1 .................................................................................... 38

2
Assessment Task 3-2 .................................................................................... 39
Assessment Task 3-3 .................................................................................... 43
Module 4 ....................................................................................................... 45
LEARNING AND MEMORY ................................................................................ 45
Lesson 1. Learning ......................................................................................................... 45
Lesson 2. Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning ........................................... 45
Lesson 3. Cognitive Social Theory ................................................................................... 49
Lesson 4. Memory and Information Processing ............................................................... 50
Lesson 5. Remembering, Misremembering and Forgetting ............................................... 51
References ................................................................................................... 53
Assessment Task 4-1 .................................................................................... 54
Assessment Task 4-2 .................................................................................... 56

3
Table of Figures

Figure 2.1 Parts of Neuron .................................................................................. 17

Figure 2. 2 The Hypothalamus- Pituitary Complex ........................................... 19
Figure 2.3 Endocrine System ............................................................................. 20
Figure 2.4 Nervous System ................................................................................. 22

Figure 3.1 Main Layers of the Eye ..................................................................... 29

Figure 3.2 The Ear ............................................................................................... 30

Figure 4. 1 Classical Conditioning ..................................................................... 46

Figure 4. 2 Reinforcement and Punishment ...................................................... 48
Figure 4. 3 three-system approach to memory ................................................. 51

4
Course Code: PSY 100
Course Description: The course explores on the broad coverage of the conceptual
and empirical foundations of psychology in its main fields, discussion of the theories,
concepts, and empirical findings focuses on complex human behavior – how and we
think, feel, and behave the way we do, how we act and interact with others, and why
and how we become the unique individuals that we are.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILO):

At the end of this course, the students should be able to:
1. Understand and apply concepts, theories and methods to analyze complex
human behavior.
2. Understand psychological disorder and the problems inherent in defining
the concept of psychological disorder
3. Understand the biological structures and processes as the pathways by
which bodies carry out activities, and the psychological factors also affect
behavior.

Course Requirements:
• Class Standing - 60%
• Major Exams - 40%
_________
Periodic Grade 100%

Final Grade = Total CS + Final Exam x 70% + 30% of the Midterm

5
Module 1
PSYCHOLOGY: THE STUDY OF MENTAL
PROCESSES AND BEHAVIOR

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this period, students should be able to:

• Define Psychology
• Describe the evolution of psychology and the major pioneers in the field
• Distinguish among the major theoretical perspective in Psychology
• Identify the various approaches, fields, and subfields of psychology along with their
major concepts and important figures
• Distinguish between the different types of research design used by psychologists.

Lesson 1. Psychology and Positive Psychology

Psychology is the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes. The
simplicity of this definition is in some ways deceiving, concealing ongoing debates about how
broad the scope of psychology should be. Should psychologists limit themselves to the study
of outward, observable behavior? Is it possible to scientifically study thinking? Should the fi
eld encompass the study of such diverse topics as physical and mental health, perception,
dreaming, and motivation? Is it appropriate to focus solely on human behavior, or should the
behavior of other species be included?

Goals of Psychology

• Describe ‒ to describe the different ways that organisms behave.

• Explain ‒ to explain the causes of behavior.
• Predict ‒ to predict how organisms will behave in certain situations.
• Control ‒ is to control an organismʼs behavior.

Psychologists try to describe, predict, and explain human behavior and mental
processes, as well as helping to change and improve the lives of people and the world in
which they live. They use scientific methods to find answers that are far more valid and
legitimate than those resulting from intuition and speculation, which are often inaccurate.

6
Positive Psychology

For much of its history, psychology has focused on the darker side of human nature —
mental illness rather than mental health, pathology rather than subjective wellbeing.
Psychology has tended to view people as deficient rather than as humans possessing
remarkable character strengths that allow them to persevere and flourish. Many people view
the practice of psychology through the prism of abnormality — as a science that is only used
to ʻfixʼ someone who is suffering from a mental illness or disorder of some kind. But over the
last decade or more, a new subdiscipline of psychology has emerged that views the practice
through a different prism, in what has become known as the positive psychology approach.
This subdiscipline does not view psychology as something only to be used to treat a problem.
Rather, it is a proactive approach to help people live happier, more fulfilling and joyful lives.
The focus is on understanding and harnessing positive emotions, and actively stimulating the
conditions that help people flourish. Positive psychology focuses on understanding the
factors and processes that underpin a worthwhile life. The positive psychology movement
looks at topics such as hope, optimism, creativity, forgiveness, gratitude, wisdom, happiness,
self-determination, wellbeing, and resilience, to name a few. As summarized by Martin
Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2000), two of the leaders of the positive psychology
movement:

The field of positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued subjective
experiences: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for
the future); and flow and happiness (in the present). At the individual level, it is about positive
individual traits; the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic
sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent,
and wisdom. At the group level, it is about the civic virtues and the institutions that move
individuals toward better citizenship: responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation,
tolerance, and work ethic.

Lesson 2. History of Psychology

We can trace psychologyʼs roots back to the ancient Greeks, who considered the mind
to be a suitable topic for scholarly contemplation. Later philosophers argued for hundreds of
years about some of the questions psychologists grapple with today. For example, the 17th-
century British philosopher John Locke believed that children were born into the world with
minds like “blank slates” (tabula rasa in Latin) and that their experiences determined what
kind of adults they would become. His views contrasted with those of Plato and the 17th-

7
century French philosopher René Descartes, who argued that some knowledge was inborn in
humans.

However, the formal beginning of psychology as a scientific discipline is generally

considered to be in the late 19th century, when Wilhelm Wundt established the first
experimental laboratory devoted to psychological phenomena in Leipzig, Germany. At about
the same time, William James was setting up his laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When Wundt set up his laboratory in 1879, his aim was to study the building blocks of
the mind. He considered psychology to be the study of conscious experience. His perspective,
which came to be known as structuralism, focused on uncovering the fundamental mental
components of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental
states and activities

To determine how basic sensory processes shape our understanding of the world,
Wundt and other structuralists used a procedure called introspection, in which they
presented people with a stimulus—such as a bright green object or a sentence printed on a
card—and asked them to describe, in their own words and in as much detail as they could,
what they were experiencing. Wundt argued that by analyzing peopleʼs reports, psychologists
could come to a better understanding of the structure of the mind.

Over time, psychologists challenged Wundtʼs approach. They became increasingly

dissatisfied with the assumption that introspection could reveal the structure of the mind.
Introspection was not a truly scientific technique, because there were few ways an outside
observer could confirm the accuracy of othersʼ introspections. Moreover, people had difficulty
describing some kinds of inner experiences, such as emotional responses. Those drawbacks
led to the development of new approaches, which largely replaced structuralism.

The perspective that replaced structuralism is known as functionalism. Rather than

focusing on the mindʼs structure, functionalism concentrated on what the mind does and
how behavior functions. Functionalists, whose perspective became prominent in the early
1900s, asked what role behavior plays in allowing people to adapt to their environments. For
example, a functionalist might examine the function of the emotion of fear in preparing us to
deal with emergency situations.

William James, an American psychologist, led the functionalist movement.

Functionalists examined how people satisfy their needs through their behavior. The
functionalists also discussed how our stream of consciousness—the fl ow of thoughts in our

8
conscious minds—permits us to adapt to our environment. The American educator John
Dewey drew on functionalism to develop the fi eld of school psychology, proposing ways to
best meet studentsʼ educational needs.

Another important reaction to structuralism was the development of gestalt

psychology in the early 1900s. Gestalt psychology emphasizes how perception is organized.
Instead of considering the individual parts that make up thinking, gestalt psychologists took
the opposite tack, studying how people consider individual elements together as units or
wholes. Led by German scientists such as Hermann Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer, gestalt
psychologists proposed that “The whole is different from the sum of its parts,” meaning that
our perception, or understanding, of objects is greater and more meaningful than the
individual elements that make up our perceptions. Gestalt psychologists have made
substantial contributions to our understanding of perception.

Lesson 3. Perspectives in Psychology

Psychodynamic perspective

The origins of the psychodynamic view are linked to one person: Sigmund Freud.
Freud was an Austrian physician in the early 1900s whose ideas about unconscious
determinants of behavior had a revolutionary effect on 20th-century thinking, not just in
psychology but in related fields as well. Although some of the original Freudian principles
have been roundly criticized, the contemporary psychodynamic perspective has provided a
means not only to understand and treat some kinds of psychological disorders but also to
understand everyday phenomena such as prejudice and aggression.

Freud, along with other proponents of the psychodynamic perspective, argue that
behavior is motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which we have little awareness or
control. They view dreams and slips of the tongue as indications of what a person is truly
feeling within a seething cauldron of unconscious psychic activity. In addition, Freud reasoned
that thoughts or feelings that make us feel fearful or guilty, that threaten our self-esteem, or
that come from unresolved sexual conflicts are automatically placed deep into our
unconscious. In turn, these unconscious, threatening thoughts and feelings give rise to
anxiety, fear, or psychological problems.

Behavioral perspective

9
Whereas psychodynamic approach looks inside the organism to determine the causes
of its behavior, the behavioral perspective takes a different approach. Proponents of the
behavioral perspective rejected psychologyʼs early emphasis on the inner workings of the
mind. Instead, the behavioral perspective suggests that the focus should be on observable
behavior that can be measured objectively.

John B. Watson was the first major American psychologist to advocate a behavioral
approach. Working in the 1920s, Watson was adamant in his view that one could gain a
complete understanding of behavior by studying and modifying the environment in which
people operate.

The behavioral perspective was also championed by B. F. Skinner, a pioneer in the

field. Much of our understanding of how people learn new behaviors is based on the
behavioral perspective. As we will see, the behavioral perspective crops up along every byway
of psychology. Along with its influence in the area of learning processes, this perspective has
made contributions in such diverse areas as treating mental disorders, curbing aggression,
resolving sexual problems, and ending drug addiction.

Humanistic perspective

Rejecting the view that behavior is determined largely by automatically unfolding

biological forces, unconscious processes, or the environment, the humanistic perspective
instead suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their
lives and behavior. Humanistic psychologists maintain that each of us has the capacity to
seek and reach fulfillment.

According to Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who were central figures in the
development of the humanistic perspective, people strive to reach their full potential if they
are given the opportunity. The emphasis of the humanistic perspective is on free will, the
ability to freely make decisions about oneʼs own behavior and life. The notion of free will
stands in contrast to determinism, which sees behavior as caused, or determined, by things
beyond a personʼs control.

The humanistic perspective assumes that people have the ability to make their own
choices about their behavior rather than relying on societal standards. More than any other
approach, it stresses the role of psychology in enriching peopleʼs lives and helping them
achieve self-fulfillment. By reminding psychologists of their commitment to the individual
person in society, the humanistic perspective has been an important influence.

10
Cognitive perspective

Efforts to understand behavior lead some psychologists straight into the mind.
Evolving in part from structuralism and in part as a reaction to behaviorism, which focused so
heavily on observable behavior and the environment, the cognitive perspective focuses on
how people think, understand, and know about the world. The emphasis is on learning how
people comprehend and represent the outside world within themselves and how our ways of
thinking about the world influence our behavior.

Psychologists who rely on the cognitive perspective ask questions on subjects ranging
from how people make decisions to whether a person can watch television and study at the
same time. The common elements that link cognitive approaches are an emphasis on how
people understand and think about the world and an interest in describing the patterns and
irregularities in the operation of our minds.

Evolutionary perspective

The most recent modern approach to psychology emerges out of evolutionary theory
and is called the evolutionary perspective. It studies how evolutionary ideas, such as
adaptation and natural selection, explain human behaviors and mental processes.

Although the evolutionary approach is relatively new, research has already examined
how evolution influences a variety of behaviors and mental processes, such as aggression,
mate selection, fears, depression, and decision making.

Lesson 4. Major subdisciplines in Psychology

• Abnormal psychology. Abnormal psychology involves the study of people's emotional,
thought, and behavior patterns to identify, understand, and potentially resolve any
issues that may be negatively affecting a person's life.
• Behavioral genetics. Behavioral genetics studies the inheritance of traits related to
behavior.
• Behavioral neuroscience. Behavioral neuroscience examines the biological basis of
behavior.
• Clinical psychology. Clinical psychology deals with the study, diagnosis, and
treatment of psychological disorders.

11
• Cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology focuses on the study of higher mental
processes.
• Counseling psychology. Counseling psychology focuses primarily on educational,
social, and career adjustment problems.
• Developmental psychology. Developmental psychology examines how people grow
and change from the moment of conception through death.
• Educational psychology. Educational psychology is concerned with teaching and
learning processes, such as the relationship between motivation and school
performance.
• Environmental psychology. Environmental psychology considers the relationship
between people and their physical environment.
• Experimental psychology. Experimental psychology studies the processes of sensing,
perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world.
• Forensic psychology. Forensic psychology focuses on legal issues, such as
determining the accuracy of witness memories.
• Health psychology. Health psychology explores the relationship between
psychological factors and physical ailments or disease.
• Industrial/organizational psychology. Industrial/organizational psychology is
concerned with the psychology of the workplace.
• Personality psychology. Personality psychology focuses on the consistency in
peopleʼs behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another.
• Social psychology. Social psychology is the study of how peopleʼs thoughts, feelings,
and actions are affected by others.

Lesson 5. Introduction to Psychological Research and Methods

The scientific method is the approach used by psychologists to systematically acquire
knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest. It is
consisting of four main steps:

1. Identifying questions of interest,

2. Formulating an explanation
3. Carrying out research designed to support or refute the explanation, and
4. Communicating the findings.

Other key terms to consider:

12
• Theories - broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest.
• Hypothesis - is a prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested. Hypotheses
stem from theories; they help test the underlying soundness of theories.
• Operational definition - is the translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable
procedures that can be measured and observed.

Psychological Research Design

Archival research ‒ Research in which existing data, such as census documents, college
records, online databases, and newspaper clippings, are examined to test a hypothesis.

Naturalistic observation ‒ Research in which an investigator observes some naturally

occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation.

Survey research ‒ Research in which people chosen to represent a larger population are
asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes.

Case study ‒ An in-depth, intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people.

Correlational research ‒ Research in which the relationship between two sets of variables
is examined to determine whether they are associated, or “correlated.”

Experimental research ‒ Investigator produces a change in one variable to observe the

effects of that change on other variables.

Other key terms to consider in experimental research:

• Treatment ‒ the manipulation implemented by the experimenter.

• Experimental group ‒ any group participating in an experiment that receives a
treatment.
• Control group ‒ A group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment.
• Independent variable ‒ The variable that is manipulated by an experimenter.
• Dependent variable ‒ The variable that is measured in an experiment. It is expected
to change as a result of the experimenterʼs manipulation of the independent variable.

13
References
• Feldman, R.S. (2015). Essentials of Understanding Psychology 11th Ed. McGraw Hill

Education

• Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2019). Psychology 5th Australian and New

Zealand Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2011). Introduction to Psychology 9th Ed. Wadsworth

Cengage Learning

14
Assessment Task 1-1
Match each subfield of psychology with the issues or questions posed below.

1. Joan, a college freshman, is worried about her grades. She a) behavioral

needs to learn better organizational skills and study habits to neuroscience
cope with the demands of college.
2. At what age do children generally begin to acquire an emotional b) experimental
attachment to their fathers? psychology
3. It is thought that pornographic films that depict violence against c) cognitive psychology
women may prompt aggressive behavior in some men.
4. What chemicals are released in the human body as a result of d) developmental
a stressful event? What are their effects on behavior? psychology
5. Luis is unique in his manner of responding to crisis situations, e) personality
with an even temperament and a positive outlook psychology
6. What teaching methods most effectively motivate elementary f) health psychology
school students to successfully accomplish academic tasks?
7. Janettaʼs job is demanding and stressful. She wonders if her g) clinical psychology
lifestyle is making her more prone to certain illnesses, such as
cancer and heart disease.
8. A psychologist is intrigued by the fact that some people are h) counseling
much more sensitive to painful stimuli than others are psychology
9. A strong fear of crowds leads a young man to seek treatment i) social psychology
for his problem.
10. What mental strategies are involved in solving complex word j) educational
problems? psychology

15
Assessment Task 1.2
Answer the following questions. Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences.

1. Focusing on one of the major perspectives in use today (that is psychodynamic,

behavioral, cognitive, evolutionary, and humanistic), can you describe the kinds of
research questions and studies that researchers using that perspective might pursue?

2. One of the topics discussed in this module is the idea of structuralism and
functionalism. Explain the difference between structuralism and functionalism and
provide at least one example each on how these two perspectives is applied in our
day-to-day life.

3. Select one of the discussed research designs and create your own proposed study.
Explain the details of your study using the four main steps in scientific method.

16
Module 2
BIOLOGICAL BASES OF MENTAL LIFE AND
BEHAVIOR

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this period, students should be able to:

• Describe the basic units of the nervous system

• Identify the basic structures of a neuron, the function of each structure, and how
messages travel through the neuron
• Describe the major structures and functions of the nervous system and the
endocrine system
• Explain the major subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system

Lesson 1. Neurons, Basic Unit of the Nervous System

A neuron is a brain cell with two specialized extensions. One extension is for receiving
electrical signals, and a second, longer extension is for transmitting electrical signals.
Additionally, neurons form a vast, miniaturized informational network that allows us to
receive sensory information, control muscle movement, regulate digestion, secrete
hormones, and engage in complex mental processes such as thinking, imagining, dreaming,
and remembering.
2
Parts of the Neuron

1 5
3

6
4

Figure 2.1 Parts of Neuron

Source: [Link]

17
1. The cell body (or soma) is a relatively large, egg-shaped structure that provides
fuel, manufactures chemicals, and maintains the entire neuron in working order.
2. Dendrites are branchlike extensions that arise from the cell body; they receive
signals from other neurons, muscles, or sense organs and pass these signals to the
cell body.
3. The axon is a single threadlike structure that extends from, and carries signals away
from, the cell body to neighboring neurons, organs, or muscles.
4. The myelin sheath looks like separate tube-like segments composed of fatty
material that wraps around and insulates an axon. The myelin sheath prevents
interference from electrical signals generated in adjacent axons.
5. End bulbs or terminal bulbs look like tiny bubbles that are located at the extreme
ends of the axon’s branches. Each end bulb is like a miniature container that stores
chemicals called neurotransmitters, which are used to communicate with
neighboring cells.
6. The synapse is an infinitely small space (20–30 billionths of a meter) that exists
between an end bulb and its adjacent body organ (heart), muscles (head), or cell
body.

Transmitters

A transmitter is a chemical messenger that carries information between nerves and

body organs, such as muscles and heart. Everything you do, including thinking, deciding,
talking, and getting angry, involves transmitters. For example, imagine seeing someone back
into your brand-new car and then just drive away. You would certainly become angry and
your heart would pound.

Strong emotions cause the release of excitatory transmitters, which open chemical
locks in the heart muscle and cause it to beat faster. When you get very angry, excitatory
transmitters may cause your heart rate to double or even triple its rate. When you start to
calm down, there is a release of inhibitory transmitters, which block chemical locks in the
heart muscle and decrease its rate.

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are about a dozen different chemicals that are made by neurons
and then used for communication between neurons during the performance of mental or

18
physical activities.
Since billions of neurons that are packed tightly together use different
neurotransmitters for eating, sleeping, talking, thinking, and dreaming, why don’t
neurotransmitters get all mixed up? The answer is that neurotransmitters are similar to
chemical keys that fit into only specific chemical locks

Lesson 2. The Endocrine System

The second major system for sending information is called the endocrine system. The
endocrine system is made up of numerous glands that are located throughout the body.
These glands secrete various chemicals, called hormones, which affect organs, muscles,
and other glands in the body.

In many ways, the hypothalamus, which is located in the lower middle part of the brain,
controls much of the endocrine system by regulating the pituitary gland, which is located
directly below and outside the brain. The hypothalamus is often called the control center of
the endocrine system.

Figure 2. 2 The Hypothalamus- Pituitary Complex

Source: [Link]

Other Glands:

Pituitary gland. A key component of the endocrine system, hangs directly below the
hypothalamus, to which it is connected by a narrow stalk. The pituitary gland is divided into
anterior (front) and posterior (back) sections.
Posterior pituitary. Found at the rear portion of the pituitary that regulates water and salt
balance. Furthermore, lack of hormones causes a less common form of diabetes.
Anterior pituitary. Found at the front part of the pituitary. This regulates growth through
secretion of growth hormone and produces hormones that control the adrenal cortex,

19
pancreas, thyroid, and gonads. Additionally, too little growth hormone produces dwarfism;
too much causes gigantism. Other problems in the pituitary cause problems in the glands it
regulates.
Pancreas. This is the organ that regulates the level of sugar in the bloodstream by secreting
insulin. We all know that lack of insulin results in the more common form of diabetes, while
too much causes hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Thyroid. This gland, which is located in the neck, regulates metabolism through the
secretion of hormones. Hormone deficiency during development leads to stunted growth
and mental retardation. Under-secretion during adulthood leads to reduction in motivation.
Over-secretion results in high metabolism, weight loss, and nervousness.
Adrenal glands. The adrenal cortex (outside part) secretes hormones that regulate sugar
and salt balances and help the body resist stress; they are also responsible for growth of
pubic hair, a secondary sexual characteristic. The adrenal medulla (inside part) secretes
two hormones that arouse the body to deal with stress and emergencies: epinephrine
(adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). With a lack of cortical hormones, the
body’s responses are unable to cope with stress.
Gonads. In females, the ovaries produce hormones that regulate sexual development,
ovulation, and growth of sex organs. In males, the testes produce hormones that regulate
sexual development, production of sperm, and growth of sex organs. The lack of sex
hormones during puberty results in lack of secondary sexual characteristics (facial and body
hair, muscles in males, breasts in females).

Figure 2.3 Endocrine System

Source: [Link]

20
Lesson 3. The Peripheral Nervous System
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is the part of the nervous system that
includes the autonomic and somatic subdivisions; made up of neurons with long axons and
dendrites, it branches out from the spinal cord and brain and reaches the extremities of the
body.
The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves, which are located throughout
the body except in the brain and spinal cord. Nerves are string like bundles of axons and
dendrites that come from the spinal cord and are held together by connective tissue. These
carry information from the senses, skin, muscles, and the body’s organs to and from the
spinal cord. Nerves in the peripheral nervous system have the ability to regrow or reattach
if severed or damaged.
As stated above, there are two major divisions of peripheral nervous system— the
somatic division and the autonomic division—both of which connect the central nervous
system with the sense organs, muscles, glands, and other organs. The somatic division
specializes in the control of voluntary movements—such as the motion of the eyes to read
this sentence or those of the hand to turn this page—and the communication of information
to and from the sense organs. The autonomic division controls the parts of the body that
keep us alive—the heart, blood vessels, glands, lungs, and other organs that function
involuntarily without our awareness.
Furthermore, the autonomic division is divided into two parts. The sympathetic
division acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations by engaging all of the
organism’s resources to run away or to confront the threat. This is often called the “fight or
flight” response. While the parasympathetic division acts to calm the body after the
emergency has ended. This also directs the body to store energy for use in emergencies.

21
Figure 2.4 Nervous System
Source: [Link]

Lesson 4. The Central Nervous System

The central nervous system (CNS) is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The
spinal cord, which is about the thickness of a pencil, contains a bundle of neurons that
leaves the brain and runs down the length of the back. The spinal cord is the primary means
for transmitting messages between the brain and the rest of the body.
However, the spinal cord is not just a communication channel. It also controls some
simple behaviors on its own, without any help from the brain. An example is the way the
knee jerks forward when it is tapped with a rubber hammer. This behavior is a type of reflex,
an automatic, involuntary response to an incoming stimulus. A reflex is also at work when
you touch a hot stove and immediately withdraw your hand. Although the brain eventually
analyzes and reacts to the situation (“Ouch—hot stove—pull away!”), the initial withdrawal
is directed only by neurons in the spinal cord.
Several kinds of neurons are involved in reflexes. Sensory (afferent) neurons
transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the central nervous system and the
brain. For example, touching a hot stove sends a message to the brain (hot!) via sensory
neurons. Motor (efferent) neurons communicate information in the opposite direction,
from the brain and nervous system to muscles and glands. When the brain sends a message
to the muscles of the hand (hot—move away!), the message travels via motor neurons.

22
References

• Feldman, R.S. (2015). Essentials of Understanding Psychology 11th Ed. McGraw Hill

Education

• Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2019). Psychology 5th Australian and New

Zealand Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2011). Introduction to Psychology 9th Ed. Wadsworth

Cengage Learning

23
Assessment Task 2-1
Identify what is being asked in the following sentences.

_____1. Branchlike extensions that receive signals from senses and the environment are
called ____.
_____2. A single threadlike extension that speeds signals away from the cell body toward
a neighboring cell is the _______.
_____3. A tube-like structure that insulates the axon from interference by neighboring
signals is the _______.
_____4. The structure that nourishes and maintains the entire neuron is the _____.
_____5. Tiny swellings at the very end of the axon are called _____, which store
neurotransmitters.
_____6. It is a chemical messenger that carries information between nerves and body
organs, such as muscles and heart.
_____7. Neurotransmitters that open a receptorʼs lock are called _______.
_____8. Neurotransmitters that block a receptorʼs lock are called _______.
_____9. The ____ is made up of numerous glands that are located throughout the body.
_____10. These glands secrete various chemicals, called _____, which affect organs,
muscles, and other glands in the body.
_____11. The division that acts to calm the body after the emergency has ended. This also
directs the body to store energy for use in emergencies.
_____12. _______ are string like bundles of axons and dendrites that come from the spinal
cord and are held together by connective tissue.
_____13. The division that is activated during the “flight or fight” response.
_____14. The ____ transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the central
nervous system and the brain.
_____15. This is the primary means for transmitting messages between the brain and the
rest of the body. This is called ______.

24
Assessment Task 2-2
Match each subfield of psychology with the issues or questions posed below.

1. It is often called the control center of the endocrine a. Pituitary gland

system. It also regulates the pituitary gland.
2. This gland is divided into two: anterior and posterior b. Somatic division
sections.
3. This organ regulates the level of sugar in the c. Thyroid
bloodstream by secreting insulin.
4. It regulates metabolism through the secretion of d. Hypothalamus
hormones.
5. It secretes hormones that regulate sugar and salt e. Adrenal Glands
balances and help the body resist stress.
6. It branches out from the spinal cord and brain and f. Pancreas
reaches the extremities of the body.
7. This division specializes in the control of voluntary g. Central nervous
movements and communication of information to system
and from the sense organs.
8. Jerry accidentally touched a burning candle during h. Peripheral nervous
his candle light dinner. As a response, he system
immediately withdrew his hand away from the
candle. This behavior or response is what we called
_____.
9. It controls the parts of the body that keep us alive i. Reflex
such as the heart, lungs, etc.
10. The _________ is composed of the brain and spinal j. Autonomic division
cord.

25
Module 3
SENSATION, PERCEPTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Lesson 1. Basic Principles

To consider how psychologists understand the senses and, more broadly, sensation
and perception, we first need a basic working vocabulary. In formal terms, sensation is the
activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy. Perception is the sorting out,
interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli carried out by the sense organs and brain.
A stimulus is any passing source of physical energy that produces a response in a sense
organ.

Throughout this discussion, three general principles repeatedly emerge:

• First, there is no one-to-one correspondence between physical and psychological

reality. What is ʻout thereʼ is not directly reproduced ʻin hereʼ. Of course, the
relationship between physical stimuli and our psychological experience of them is not
random; as we will see, it is actually so orderly that it can be expressed as an equation.
• Second, sensation and perception are active processes. Sensation may seem passive
— images are cast on the retina at the back of the eye; pressure is imposed on the
skin. Yet sensation is first and foremost an act of translation, converting external
energy into an internal version, or representation, of it. People also orient themselves
to stimuli to capture sights, sounds and smells that are relevant to them. We turn our
ears towards potentially threatening sounds to magnify their impact on our senses,
just as we turn our noses towards the smell of baking bread. We also selectively focus
our consciousness on parts of the environment that are particularly relevant to our
needs and goals.
• The third general principle is that sensation and perception are adaptive. From an
evolutionary perspective, the ability to see, hear or touch is the product of millions of
adaptations that left our senses exquisitely crafted to serve survival and reproduction
functions. Frogs have ʻbug detectorsʼ in their visual systems that automatically fire in
the presence of a potential meal. Similarly, humans have neural regions specialized for
the perception of faces and facial expressions. Human infants have an innate tendency
to pay attention to forms that resemble the human face, and over the course of their

26
first year they become remarkably expert at reading emotions from other peopleʼs
faces.

Lesson 2. Sensing the Environment

• Sensation begins with an environmental stimulus; all sensory systems have
specialized cells called sensory receptors that respond to environmental stimuli and
typically generate action potentials in adjacent sensory neurons. This process is called
transduction. Within each sensory modality, the brain codes sensory stimulation for
intensity and quality.
• The absolute threshold refers to the minimum amount of stimulation needed for an
observer to notice a stimulus. The signal detection theory asserts that people make
a judgement about whether a stimulus is present or absent. The difference threshold
refers to the lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation
has occurred (a just noticeable difference, or jnd).
• Weberʼs law states that regardless of the magnitude of two stimuli, the second must
differ by a constant proportion from the first for it to be perceived as different.
Fechnerʼs law holds that the physical magnitude of a stimulus grows logarithmically
as the subjective experience of intensity grows arithmetically; in other words, people
only subjectively experience a small percentage of actual increases in stimulus
intensity. Stevensʼ power law states that subjective intensity grows as a proportion
of the actual intensity raised to some power; that is, that sensation increases in a
linear fashion as actual intensity grows exponentially.
• Sensory adaptation is the tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that
continue without change. Subliminal perception is the tendency to perceive
information outside our conscious awareness.

Lesson 3. Vision
Nature of Light

Light is just one form of electromagnetic radiation, but it is the form to which the eye
is sensitive. That humans and other animals respond to light is no accident, since cycles of
light and dark have occurred over the course of 5 billion years of evolution. These cycles, and
the mere presence of light as a medium for sensation, have shaped virtually every aspect of
our psychology, from the times of day at which we are conscious to the way we choose mating
partners (using visual appearance as a cue).

27
Electromagnetic energy travels in waves characterized by patterned movement, or
oscillation. Different forms of radiation have waves of different lengths, or wavelengths. This
simply means that their particles oscillate more or less frequently — that is, with higher or
lower frequency. Some of these wavelengths, such as gamma rays, are as short, or shorter,
than the diameter of an atom; others are quite long, such as radio waves, which may oscillate
once in a kilometer. Wavelengths are measured in nanometers (nm), or billionths of a meter.
The receptors in the human eye are tuned to detect only a very restricted portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum, from roughly 400 to 700 nm. Other organisms are sensitive to
different regions of the spectrum. For example, many insects (such as ants and bees) and
some vertebrate animals (such as iguanas and some bird species) see ultraviolet light
because it is important for them to undertake survival tasks such as locating their prey and
choosing a mate.

The Eye

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a tough, transparent tissue covering the front
of the eyeball. Under water, people cannot see clearly because the cornea is constructed to
bend (or refract) light rays travelling through air, not water. From the cornea, light passes
through a chamber of fluid called aqueous humor, which supplies oxygen and other nutrients
to the cornea and lens. Unlike blood, which performs this function in other parts of the body,
the aqueous humor is a clear fluid, so light can pass through it. Next, light travels through the
pupil, an opening in the center of the iris (the pigmented tissue that gives the eye its blue,
green or brown color). Muscle fibers in the iris cause the pupil to expand (dilate) or constrict
to regulate the amount of light entering the eye.

The next step in focusing light occurs in the lens, an elastic, disc-shaped structure
about the size of a lima bean that is involved in focusing the eyes. Muscles attached to cells
surrounding the lens alter its shape to focus on objects at various distances. The lens flattens
for distant objects and becomes more rounded or spherical for closer objects, a process
known as accommodation. The light is then projected through the vitreous humor (a clear,
gelatinous liquid) onto the retina, a light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye that
transduces light into visual sensations. The retina receives a constant flow of images as
people turn their heads and eyes or move through space.

28
Figure 3.1 Main Layers of the Eye
Source: [Link]

Perceiving in color

Actually, color has three psychological dimensions:

• Hue is what people commonly mean by color — that is, whether an object appears
blue, red, violet and so on.
• Saturation is a colorʼs purity (the extent to which it is diluted with white or black, or
ʻsaturatedʼ with its own wavelength, like a sponge in water).
• Lightness is the extent to which a color is light or dark.

Lesson 4. Hearing
The nature of sound

When a tree falls in the forest, the crash produces vibrations in adjacent air molecules,
which in turn collide with one another. A guitar string being plucked, a piece of paper rustling
or a tree falling to the ground all produce sound because they create vibrations in the air. Like
ripples on a pond, these rhythmic pulsations of acoustic energy (sound) spread outward from
the vibrating object as sound waves. Sound waves grow weaker with distance, but they
travel at a constant speed, roughly 340 meters per second. Sound differs from light in a
number of respects. Sound travels more slowly, which is why fans hear the crack of a bat after
seeing it hit the ball, or why thunder often appears to follow lightning even though the two

29
occur at the same time. At close range, however, the difference between the speed of light
and the speed of sound is imperceptible.

Acoustic energy has three important properties:

• Frequency is just what it sounds like — a measure of how often (that is, how
frequently) a wave cycle. Frequency is expressed in hertz, or Hz (named after the
German physicist Heinrich Hertz). Generally, the higher the frequency, the higher the
pitch (the quality of a tone, from low to high).
• Complexity refers to the extent to which a sound is composed of multiple frequencies,
and corresponds to the psychological property of timbre, or texture of the sound.
• Amplitude refers to the height and depth of a wave, that is, the difference between
its maximum and minimum pressure level. The amplitude of a sound wave corresponds
to the psychological property of loudness; the greater the amplitude, the louder the
sound. Amplitude is measured in decibels (dB). Zero decibels is the absolute
threshold above which most people can hear a 1000 Hz tone.

Figure 3.2 The Ear

Source: [Link]

The Ear
Transduction of sound occurs in the ear, which consists of an outer, middle and inner
ear. The hearing process begins in the outer ear, which consists of the pinna and the auditory
canal. Sound waves are funneled into the ear by the pinna, the skin-covered cartilage that
protrudes from the side of the head. The pinna is not essential for hearing, but its irregular
shape helps locate sounds in space, which bounce off its folds differently when they come
from various locations. Just inside the skull is the auditory canal, a passageway about 2.5

30
centimeters long. As sound waves resonate in the auditory canal, they are amplified by up to
a factor of 2.

At the end of the auditory canal is a thin, flexible membrane known as the eardrum,
or tympanic membrane. The eardrum marks the outer boundary of the middle ear. When
sound waves reach the eardrum, they set it in motion. The eardrum reproduces the cyclical
vibration of the object that created the noise on a microcosmic scale. This only occurs,
however, if air pressure on both sides of it (in the outer and middle ear) is roughly the same.
The normal mechanism for equalizing air pressure is the Eustachian tube, which connects
the middle ear to the throat but can become blocked by mucus. When the eardrum vibrates,
it sets in motion three tiny bones in the middle ear, called ossicles. These bones, named for
their distinctive shapes, are called the malleus, incus and stapes, which translate from Latin
into hammer, anvil and stirrup, respectively. The ossicles further amplify the sound two or
three times before transmitting vibrations to the inner ear. The stirrup vibrates against a
membrane called the oval window, which forms the beginning of the inner ear.

The inner ear consists of two sets of fluid-filled cavities hollowed out of the temporal
bone of the skull: the semicircular canals (involved in balance) and the cochlea (involved in
hearing). The temporal bone is the hardest bone in the body and serves as natural
soundproofing for its vibration-sensitive cavities. Chewing during a meeting sound louder to
the person doing the chewing than to those nearby because it rattles the temporal bone and
thus augments the sounds from the ears.

The cochlea is a three-chambered tube in the inner ear shaped like a snail and
involved in transduction of sound. When the stirrup vibrates against the oval window, the oval
window vibrates, causing pressure waves in the cochlear fluid. These waves disturb the
basilar membrane, which separates two of the cochleaʼs chambers.

Attached to the basilar membrane are the earʼs 15 000 receptors for sound, called hair
cells (because they terminate in tiny bristles, or cilia). Above the hair cells is another
membrane, the tectorial membrane, which also moves as waves of pressure travel through
the cochlear fluid. The cilia bend as the basilar and tectorial membranes move in different
directions. These triggers action potentials in sensory neurons forming the auditory nerve,
which transmits auditory information to the brain. Thus, mechanical energy — the movement
of cilia and membranes — is transduced into neural energy.

31
Lesson 5. Other senses
• The environmental stimuli for smell, or olfaction, are invisible molecules of gas
emitted by substances and suspended in the air. As air enters the nose, it flows into
the olfactory epithelium, where hundreds of different types of receptors respond to
various kinds of molecules, producing complex smells. The axons of olfactory receptor
cells constitute the olfactory nerve, which transmits information to the olfactory bulbs
under the frontal lobes and on to the primary olfactory cortex, a primitive region of the
cortex deep in the frontal lobes.
• Taste, or gustation, is sensitive to molecules soluble in saliva. Much of the experience
of flavor, however, is really contributed by smell. Taste occurs as receptors in the
tastebuds on the tongue and throughout the mouth transduce chemical information
into neural information, which is integrated with olfactory information in the brain.
• Touch includes three senses: pressure, temperature and pain. The human body
contains approximately five million touch receptors of at least seven different types.
Sensory neurons synapse with spinal interneurons that stimulate motor neurons,
allowing reflexive action. They also synapse with neurons that carry information up
the spinal cord to the medulla, where nerve tracts cross over. From there, sensory
information travels to the thalamus and is subsequently routed to the primary touch
center in the brain, the somatosensory cortex, which contains a map of the body.
• Pain is greatly affected by beliefs, expectations and emotional state. Gate-control
theory holds that the experience of pain is heavily influenced by the central nervous
system, through the action of neural fibers that can ʻclose the gateʼ on pain, preventing
messages from other fibers getting through.
• The proprioceptive senses provide information about the bodyʼs position and
movement. The vestibular sense provides information on the position of the body in
space by sensing gravity and movement. Kinaesthesia provides information about the
movement and position of the limbs and other parts of the body relative to one another.

Lesson 6. Perception
• The hallmarks of perception are organization and interpretation. Perceptual
organization integrates sensations into meaningful units, locates them in space,
tracks their movement and preserves their meaning as the perceiver observes them
from different vantage points. Form perception refers to the organization of
sensations into meaningful shapes and patterns (percepts). The Gestalt psychologists
described several principles of form perception, including figure‒ground perception,

32
similarity, 276 Psychology proximity, good continuation, simplicity and closure. A more
recent theory, called recognition-by-components, asserts that we perceive and
categorize objects in the environment by breaking them down into component parts,
much like letters in words.
• Depth perception is the organization of perception in three dimensions. Depth
perception organizes two-dimensional retinal images into a three-dimensional world,
primarily through binocular and monocular visual cues.
• Motion perception refers to the perception of movement. Two systems appear to be
involved in motion perception. The first calculates motion from the changing image
projected by the object on the retina; the second makes use of commands from the
brain to the muscles in the eye that signal eye movements.
• Perceptual constancy refers to the organization of changing sensations into percepts
that are relatively stable in size, shape and color. Three types of perceptual constancy
are size, shape and color constancy, which refer to the perception of unchanging
size, shape and color despite momentary changes in the retinal image. The processes
that organize perception leave perceivers vulnerable to perceptual illusions, some of
which appear to be innate and others of which depend on culture and experience.
• Perceptual interpretation involves generating meaning from sensory experience.
Perceptual interpretation lies at the intersection of sensation and memory, as the brain
interprets current sensations in the light of past experience. Perception is neither
entirely innate nor entirely learned. The nervous system has certain innate potentials,
but these potentials require environmental input to develop. Experience can alter the
structure of the brain, making it more or less responsive to subsequent sensory input.
• Bottom-up processing refers to processing that begins ʻat the bottomʼ, with raw
sensory data that feeds ʻupʼ to the brain. Top-down processing starts ʻat the topʼ,
from the observerʼs expectations and knowledge. According to current thinking,
perception proceeds in both directions simultaneously.
• Experience with the environment shapes perceptual interpretation by creating
perceptual expectations called perceptual set. Two aspects of perceptual set are
current context and enduring knowledge structures called schemas. Motives, like
expectations, can influence perceptual interpretation.

Lesson 7. The Nature of Consciousness

Consciousness, the subjective awareness of mental events, is easier to describe than
to define. William James (1890) viewed consciousness as a constantly moving stream of

33
thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Our consciousness is a private, subjective experience that
dynamically changes throughout the day in relation to varying environment stimuli.

Measurement of Consciousness

• Self-reporting measures are one method used to capture peopleʼs descriptions of their
conscious experiences. For example, the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale is
a self-report tool developed to measure mindfulness (MacKillop & Anderson, 2007),
and the Consciousness Quotient inventory (CQ-i) was designed to measure general
levels of consciousness throughout the day in everyday situations (Brazdau, 2013).
• Alternative measures include experience-sampling techniques (such as beeper
studies), and brain imaging techniques (such as electroencephalogram (EEG) and
fMRI, or PET techniques) that allow us to measure the electrical activity of the brain,
giving insights into relationships between mental and biological processes.
• Another objective way to study consciousness is via direct observation and recording
of behavior. One of the most well-known behavioral methods is the mirror test,
whereby researchers examine the age at which infants and toddlers become
ʻconsciouslyʼ aware of themselves by recognizing themselves in the mirror
(Amsterdam, 1972).

Functions of Consciousness

Consciousness plays at least two functions: monitoring the self and the environment
and controlling thought and behavior. Consciousness as a monitor is analogous to a
continuously moving video camera, surveying potentially significant perceptions, thoughts,
emotions, goals and problem-solving strategies. The regulatory or control function of
consciousness allows people to initiate and terminate thought and behavior in order to attain
goals. Consciousness probably evolved as a mechanism for directing behavior in adaptive
ways that was superimposed on more primitive psychological processes that continue to
function without conscious awareness.

Consciousness and attention

Attention refers to the process of focusing conscious awareness, providing

heightened sensitivity to a limited range of experience requiring more extensive information
processing. Attention is generally guided by some combination of external stimulation, which

34
naturally leads us to focus on relevant sensory information and activated goals, which lead
us to attend to thoughts, feelings or stimuli relevant to obtaining these goals.

On the other hand, people also sometimes divert attention from information that may
be relevant but emotionally upsetting, a process called selective inattention. This can be
highly adaptive, as when students divert their attention from the anxiety of taking a test to
the task itself. It can also be maladaptive, as when people ignore a darkening birthmark on
their arm that could be malignant.

Lesson 8. Perspectives on Consciousness

• Freud distinguished among conscious, preconscious and unconscious processes.
Conscious mental processes are at the center of subjective awareness.
Preconscious mental processes are not presently conscious but could be readily
brought to consciousness. Dynamically unconscious processes — or the system of
mental processes Freud called the unconscious — are thoughts, feelings and
memories that are inaccessible to consciousness. They are inaccessible because they
have been kept from awareness because they are threatening. Research over several
decades has demonstrated that subliminal presentation of stimuli can influence
conscious thought and behavior. Emotional and motivational processes can also be
unconscious or implicit.
• The cognitive unconscious refers to information-processing mechanisms that occur
outside of awareness, notably unconscious procedures or skills and preconscious
associational processes such as those that occur in priming experiments. Cognitive
theorists have argued that consciousness is a mechanism for flexibly bringing together
quasi-independent processing modules that normally operate in relative isolation and
for solving problems that automatic processes cannot optimally solve

Lesson 9. Sleep, Dreaming, and Altered States of Consciousness

Sleep and Dreaming

• The sleep‒wake cycle is a circadian rhythm, a cyclical biological process that evolved
around the daily cycles of light and dark. Sleep proceeds through a series of stages
that cycle throughout the night. Most dreaming occurs during REM sleep, named for
the bursts of darting eye movements.
• Freud distinguished between the manifest content, or story line, and the latent
content, or underlying meaning, of dreams. Freud believed the latent content is always

35
an unconscious wish, although most contemporary psychodynamic psychologists
believe that wishes, fears and current concerns can underlie dreams. Cognitive
theorists suggest that dreams express thoughts and current concerns in a distinct
language with its own rules of transformation. Some biological theorists contend that
dreams have no meaning; in this view, dreams are cortical interpretations of random
neural impulses generated in the midbrain. Others focus on the role of sleep and
dreaming in memory consolidation. These three approaches to dreaming are not
necessarily incompatible

Altered States of Consciousness

• In altered states of consciousness, the usual conscious ways of perceiving, thinking

and feeling are changed. Meditation is an altered state in which the person narrows
consciousness to a single thought or expands consciousness to focus on stimuli that
are usually at the periphery of awareness. Hypnosis, characterized by deep relaxation
and suggestibility, appears to be an altered state, but many hypnotic phenomena can
be produced under other conditions. In altered states that occur during religious
experiences, the person feels a sense of oneness with nature, others or the
supernatural and experiences a breakdown in the normal boundaries between self and
non-self.
• Psychoactive substances are drugs that operate on the nervous system to alter
patterns of perception, thought, feeling and behavior. Depressants, the most widely
used of which is alcohol, slow down the nervous system. Stimulants (such as nicotine,
caffeine, amphetamines and cocaine) increase alertness, energy and autonomic
reactivity. Hallucinogens create hallucinations, in which sensations and perceptions
occur in the absence of any external stimulation. Marijuana leads to a state of being
high — euphoric, giddy, uninhibited or contemplative. Psychoactive substances alter
consciousness biologically, by facilitating or inhibiting neural transmission at the
synapse, and psychologically, through expectations shaped by cultural beliefs.

36
References

• Feldman, R.S. (2015). Essentials of Understanding Psychology 11th Ed. McGraw Hill

Education

• Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2019). Psychology 5th Australian and New

Zealand Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2011). Introduction to Psychology 9th Ed. Wadsworth

Cengage Learning

37
Assessment Task 3-1
Identify the following parts of the organs

Eyes

1 5
7
6
8 9
2
10

11
4
3

Ears

3
5

6 2

38
Assessment Task 3-2
Multiple Choice

_____1. ___________ is the sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of

stimuli carried out by the sense organs and brain.
a. Perception
b. Stimulus
c. Sensation
d. Reflex

_____2. This general principle is when sensation and perception become adaptive. This
principle is _______
a. First principle
b. Second principle
c. Third principle
d. Fourth principle

_____3. These are specialized cells responds to stimuli and generate action potentials
in adjacent sensory neurons.
a. Transduction
b. Absolute threshold
c. Difference threshold
d. Sensory receptors

_____4. This perspective asserts that people make a judgement about whether a
stimulus is present or absent. This is called ___.
a. Weberʼs law
b. Fechnerʼs law
c. Sensory adaptation
d. Signal detection theory

39
_____5. _______ is the tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that
continue without change. While ___________ is the tendency to perceive information
outside our conscious awareness.
a. Subliminal perception: Sensory adaptation
b. Sensory adaptation; Subliminal perception
c. Sensory perception; Subliminal adaptation
d. Absolute threshold; Difference threshold

_____6. This is the tough, transparent tissue that covers the front of the eyeball.
a. Cornea
b. Pupil
c. Iris
d. Retina

_____7. The _____ receives a constant flow of images as people turn their heads and
eyes or move through space.
a. Cornea
b. Pupil
c. Iris
d. Retina

_____8. Which of the following is NOT of the three psychological color dimensions?
a. Hue
b. Saturation
c. Lightness
d. Darkness

_____9. The lens flattens for distant objects and becomes more rounded or spherical
for closer objects, a process known as _________.
a. Sensation
b. Accommodation
c. Adaptation
d. Perception

40
_____10. He is the physicist who discovered “hertz.”
a. Heinrich Hertz
b. Herbert Hertz
c. Heinsburg Hertz
d. Henry Hertz

_____11. It refers to the height and depth of a wave, that is, the difference between its
maximum and minimum pressure level.
a. Frequency
b. Complexity
c. Amplitude
d. Pitch

_____12. The malleus, incus and stapes are translated in English as ____, _____, and
______.
a. Hammer, Stirrup, Anvil
b. Anvil, Hammer, Stirrup
c. Stirrup, Anvil, Hammer
d. Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup

_____13. The normal mechanism for equalizing air pressure is called _______.
a. Tympanic membrane
b. Eustachian tube
c. Pinna
d. Ossicles

_____14. This theory states that pain is heavily influenced by the central nervous system,
through the action of neural fibers that can ʻclose the gateʼ on pain, preventing
messages from other fibers getting through.
a. Gate-control theory
b. Closed gate theory
c. Closing gate theory
d. Open-close theory

41
_____15. This provides information about the movement and position of the limbs and
other parts of the body relative to one another.
a. Proprioceptive senses
b. Vestibular sense
c. Kinaesthesia
d. Gustation

42
Assessment Task 3-3
Answer the following questions. Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences.

1. Why do you think people are motivated to use substances that alter consciousness?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

2. Explain what is the difference between the manifest content and latent content.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

3. Does perception require consciousness? Does subliminal perception exist?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

43
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

44
Module 4
LEARNING AND MEMORY
Lesson 1. Learning
Take note of the following terms:

• Learning ‒ it refers to any enduring change in the way an organism responds based
on its experience.
• Reflex ‒ it is a behavior that is elicited automatically by an environmental stimulus.
• Stimulus ‒ it is something in the environment that elicits a response.
• Habituation ‒ it refers to the decreasing strength of a reflex response after repeated
presentations of the stimulus.
• Laws of association — conditions under which one thought becomes connected, or
associated, with another — to account for learning and memory.
• Law of contiguity ‒ proposes that two events will become connected in the mind if
they are experienced close together in time (such as thunder and lightning).
• Law of similarity ‒ it states that objects that resemble each other (such as two people
with similar faces) are likely to become associated.

Lesson 2. Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

In the late nineteenth century, the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849‒1936) was
studying the digestive systems of dogs (research for which he won a Nobel Prize). During the
course of his work, he noticed a peculiar phenomenon. Like humans and other animals, dogs
normally salivate when presented with food, which is a simple reflex. Pavlov noticed that if a
stimulus, such as a bell or tuning fork ringing, repeatedly occurred just as a dog was about to
be fed, the dog would start to salivate when it heard the bell, even if food was not presented.
As Pavlov understood it, the dog had learned to associate the bell with food, and because
food produced the reflex of salivation, the bell also came to produce the reflex. This
phenomenon is called classical conditioning. It is a type of learning in which a neutral
stimulus (such as the experimenterʼs tuning fork or bell) comes to elicit a response after being
paired with a stimulus (such as food) that naturally brings about that response.

45
An innate reflex such as salivation to food is an unconditioned reflex. Conditioning is
a form of learning; hence, an unconditioned reflex is a reflex that occurs naturally, without
any prior learning. The stimulus that produces the response in an unconditioned reflex is
called an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In this case the UCS was food. An unconditioned
stimulus activates a reflexive response without any learning having taken place; thus, the
reflex is unlearned, or unconditioned. An unconditioned response (UCR) is a response that
does not have to be learned.

Shortly before presenting the UCS (the food), Pavlov presented a neutral stimulus —
a stimulus (in this case, ringing a bell) that normally does not elicit the response in question.
After the bell had been paired with the unconditioned stimulus (the food) several times, the
sound of the bell alone came to evoke a conditioned response, salivation (figure 6.2). A
conditioned response (CR) is a response that has been learned. By pairing the UCS (the
food) with the sound of a bell, the bell became a conditioned stimulus (CS) — a stimulus
that, through learning, has come to evoke a conditioned response. This initial stage of
learning, in which the conditioned response becomes associated with the conditioned
stimulus, is known as acquisition.

Figure 4. 1 Classical Conditioning

Source: [Link]

There are also other conditioning concepts that we should consider:

• Generalization is the tendency for a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned
stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response. Usually, the
more similar the new stimulus is to the original conditioned stimulus, the larger will be
the conditioned response.

46
• Discrimination occurs during classical conditioning when an organism learns to
make a particular response to some stimuli but not to others.
• Extinction refers to a procedure in which a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly
presented without the unconditioned stimulus and, as a result, the conditioned
stimulus tends to no longer elicit the conditioned response.
• Spontaneous recovery is the tendency for the conditioned response to reappear after
being extinguished even though there have been no further conditioning trials.

Operant Conditioning

In 1898, Edward Thorndike placed a hungry cat in a box with a mechanical latch and
then placed food in full view just outside the box. The cat meowed, paced back and forth and
rubbed against the walls of the box. In so doing, it happened to trip the latch. Immediately,
the door to the box opened and the cat gained access to the food. Thorndike repeated the
experiment and, with continued repetitions, the cat became more adept at tripping the latch.
Eventually, it was able to leave its cage almost as soon as food appeared.

Thorndike proposed a law of learning to account for this phenomenon, which he called
the law of effect. The law of effect says that if some random actions are followed by a
pleasurable consequence or reward, such actions are strengthened and will likely occur in
the future. If tripping the latch had not helped the cat reach the food, the cat would not have
learned to keep brushing up against the latch. More simply, the law of effect states that
behavior is controlled by its consequences.

Thorndikeʼs cat exemplifies a second form of conditioning, known as instrumental or

operant conditioning. Thorndike used the term instrumental conditioning because the
behavior is instrumental to achieving a more satisfying state of affairs. B. F. Skinner, who
spent years experimenting with the ways in which behavior is controlled by the environment,
called it operant conditioning. To illustrate the theory of Skinner, he conducted an
experiment using rat as a subject. Below is the narration of his experiment.

B.F. Skinner devised a box which is called “SKINNER’S BOX”. In the box, there is push
a button and food pellets inside a food dispenser. Then, he put hungry rat inside the box
and since its hungry-the rat was restless and was moving around the box. Accidentally,
the rat pushed the button, then food pellet appears from the food dispenser. And since,
the rat was hungry he repeatedly pushes the button to get food pellets
47
The experiment shows that the rat learned to push the button because of the food
pellets coming from the food dispenser. Therefore, the behavior of the rat was formed or
modified because of a specific consequence/ reinforcement. For better understanding of this
theory, let us discuss the four procedures of operant conditioning.

• Positive reinforcement- it occurs when the behavior is followed by a favorable

stimulus.
• Negative reinforcement- it occurs when the behavior is followed by the removal of
aversive/ unfavorable stimulus.
• Positive punishment- it occurs when the behavior is followed by unfavorable/
aversive stimulus.
• Negative punishment- it occurs when the behavior is followed by the removal of
favorable stimulus.

Figure 4. 2 Reinforcement and Punishment

Source: [Link]

A reinforcement schedule is simply a rule that states under what conditions a reinforcer will
be delivered. There are two major schedules of reinforcement.
• Continuous (CRF) - occurs when reinforcement is given after every single desired
behavior.
• Intermittent (INT) - occurs when reinforcement is given after some behavior but
never after each one. The following are the schedules of reinforcement under INT:
• Fixed Ratio- in this schedule, a fixed number of responses must be made before the
reward is administered. For example, a factory worker is paid PhP20.00 for every 12

48
shirt collars sewed. Thus, he or she is paid on FR12 schedule (Dela Cruz & Lee-Chua,
2008).
• Variable Ratio- the number of responses determines the delivery of reinforcement;
but the ratio changes from reinforcement to reinforcement. Slot machines are set to
pay-off according to a variable-ratio schedule. A variable-ratio schedule keeps people
coming back and guessing the next pay-off will be.
• Fixed Interval- in this schedule, the reinforcement will be delivered after a specified
passage of time. For example, salaried employees who receive their paycheck every
week is reinforced on an FI schedule.
• Variable Interval- in this schedule, the length of time is varied or unspecified before
the delivery of the reinforcement. For example, you are waiting for the bus to arrive.
After 5 minutes the bus does arrive. Then another bus arrives after 10 minutes, then
the next after 15 minutes.

Lesson 3. Cognitive Social Theory

Cognitive‒social theory proposes that individuals learn many things from the people
around them, with or without reinforcement, through social learning mechanisms other than
classical and operant conditioning.

A major form of social learning is observational learning — learning by observing the

behavior of others. The impact of observational learning in humans is enormous — from
learning how to feel and act when someone tells an inappropriate joke, to learning what kind
of clothes, haircuts or foods are fashionable. Albert Bandura (1967), one of the major
cognitive‒social theorists, provides a tongue-incheek example of observational learning in the
story of a lonesome farmer who bought a parrot to keep him company.

Observational learning in which a person learns to reproduce behavior exhibited by a

model is called modelling (Bandura, 1967). The best-known modelling studies were done by
Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961, 1963) on childrenʼs aggressive behavior. In these studies,
children observed an adult model interacting with a large inflatable doll named Bobo. Based
on the results, it was found that children who observed the model acting aggressively
displayed nearly twice as much aggressive behavior as those who watched the non-
aggressive model or no model at all.

49
Whether an individual actually performs modelled behavior also depends on the
behaviorʼs likely outcome. This outcome expectancy is, itself, often learned through an
observational learning mechanism known as vicarious conditioning. In vicarious
conditioning, a person learns the consequences of an action by observing its consequences
for someone else. For example, adolescentsʼ attitudes towards high risk behaviors are
influenced by their perceptions of the consequences of their older siblingsʼ risk-taking
behavior (DʼAmico & Fromme, 1997).

Lesson 4. Memory and Information Processing

Memory is the ability to retain information over time through three processes:
encoding (forming), storing, and retrieving. Memories are not copies but representations of
the world that vary in accuracy and are subject to error and bias. Psychologists consider
memory to be the process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information. Each of the
three parts of this definition—encoding, storage, and retrieval—represents a different
process:

• Encoding refers to making mental representations of information so that it can be

placed into our memories.
• Storing is the process of placing encoded information into relatively permanent mental
storage for later recall.
• Retrieving is the process of getting or recalling information that has been placed into
short-term or long-term storage

You can think of these processes as being analogous to a computerʼs keyboard

(encoding), hard drive (storage), and software that accesses the information for display on
the screen (retrieval). Recognizing that memory involves encoding, storage, and retrieval gives
us a start in understanding the concept. But how does memory actually function? How do we
explain what information is initially encoded, what gets stored, and how it is retrieved?

According to the three-system approach to memory that dominated memory

research for several decades, there are different memory storage systems or stages through
which information must travel if it is to be remembered (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968, 1971).

50
Figure 4. 3 three-system approach to memory
Source: [Link]
content/uploads/sites/3/2021/10/Memory_multistore_model.png?fit=906%2C247&ssl=1

The three-system memory theory proposes the existence of the three separate
memory stores. Sensory memory refers to the initial, momentary storage of information that
lasts only an instant. Here an exact replica of the stimulus recorded by a personʼs sensory
system is stored very briefly. In a second stage, short-term memory holds information for 15
to 25 seconds and stores it according to its meaning rather than as mere sensory stimulation.
The third type of storage system is long-term memory. Information is stored in long-term
memory on a relatively permanent basis, although it may be difficult to retrieve.

Lesson 5. Remembering, Misremembering and Forgetting

According to Daniel Schacter (1999), who has spent his life studying memory, human
memory systems evolved through natural selection, but the same mechanisms that generally
foster adaptation can regularly cause memory failures. He describes ʻseven sins of memoryʼ
that plague us all:

• transience (the fact that memories fade)

• absentmindedness (the failure to remember something when attention is elsewhere)
• misattribution (misremembering the source of a memory — something advertisers
rely on when they tell half-truths about competing brands and people remember the
half-truth but forget its source)
• suggestibility (thinking we remember an event that someone actually implanted in
our minds)
• bias (distortions in the way we recall events that often tell the story in a way we would
rather remember it)
• persistence (memories we wish we could get rid of but which keep coming back)
• forgetting (the inability to remember).

51
Many people can also recall precisely where and when they first heard the news of
the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, almost as if a camera had recorded
that moment in time. People report similarly vivid memories of the announcement that Sydney
had been awarded the 2000 Olympic Games, as well as personal events such as the death of
a loved one or a romantic encounter (Rubin & Kozin, 1984). This is what we called flashbulb
memories ‒ memories that are related to a specific, important, or surprising event that are
recalled easily and with vivid imagery.

Flashbulb memories are so clear and vivid that we tend to think of them as totally
accurate; however, considerable evidence suggests that they are often not of snapshot clarity
or accuracy and can even be entirely incorrect (Neisser, 1991). Furthermore, the details
recalled in flashbulb memories are often inaccurate, particularly when they involve highly
emotional events. Eyewitness testimony is also subject to many biases and errors

According to psychologists. There are three theories that attempts to account for
forgetting: decay theory (which explains forgetting as a result of a fading memory trace);
interference of new and old information with retrieval of the other; and motivated forgetting
(forgetting for a reason, which leads to inhibition of retrieval).

Furthermore, specific kinds of distortion can also occur within the memories of people
whose brains have been affected by illness or injury. Anterograde amnesia involves the
inability to retain new memories. By contrast, retrograde amnesia involves losing memories
from a period before the time that a personʼs brain was damaged.

52
References

• Feldman, R.S. (2015). Essentials of Understanding Psychology 11th Ed. McGraw Hill

Education

• Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2019). Psychology 5th Australian and New

Zealand Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2011). Introduction to Psychology 9th Ed. Wadsworth

Cengage Learning

53
Assessment Task 4-1
Answer the following questions. Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences.

1. Discuss what is operant conditioning and classical conditioning. Provide example/s

for each type of conditioning.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________

2. In your own opinion, how important is the impact of Banduraʼs Social Cognitive Theory
to human learning? Explain your answers and provide example/s.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________

3. Explain how the three-system approach to memory works? Provide an example.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

54
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________

4. How forgetting occurs? Use any theories to explain your answer.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________

55
Assessment Task 4-2
True or False

_________1. The law of association proposes that if two events are experienced together, it
will become connected.

_________2. Thorndike proposed a law of learning he called the law of effect.

_________3. It was B.F. Skinner who claimed that there are two schedules of reinforcements:
ratio and interval.

_________4. Anterograde amnesia is the inability of a person to create new memories due
to brain damage.

_________5. Modelling happens when an individual learns behavior such as aggression

when he/she mimics other personʼs action/behavior.

_________6. Negative reinforcement occurs when the behavior is followed by an unfavorable

stimulus.

_________7. Discrimination occurs during classical conditioning when an organism learns to

make a particular response to some stimuli but not to others.

_________8. Memory is the ability to retain information through encoding, storing, and
retrieving.

_________9. Bias happens when we canʼt retrieve information because attention is

elsewhere.

_________10. An example of a fixed ratio schedule is when a person successfully shoots 5

basketballs, he/she gets 1 cup of Gatorade every time.

_________11. Vicarious conditioning happens when an individual learns the behavior by doing
it.

_________12. Absentmindedness is when we are having difficulty to remember information.

_________13. Short-term memory holds information for 15 to 25 seconds and stores it

afterwards.

56
_________14. In the Skinnerʼs box experiment, the rat learned to push the button because of
the food pellets coming from the food dispenser.

_________15. Learning refers to any enduring change in the way an organism responds based
on its experience.

57