PSYCHOLOGY FOR BEGINNERS

A Jargon-free Introduction for Non-academics

Tutor: ALEC GILL BSc. MSc. Author, psychologist, broadcaster, folk historian, university lecturer, and public speaker.

I naively entered Psychology in 1972 as a mature student knowing "I am interested in people". That initial passion has survived and thrived despite the scientific rigours of academia. Nearly thirty years on I am still a keen Psychologist and have recently entered the world of Psychotherapy. Where I feel Psychology has failed is in getting its subject matter over to the general public. Alongside my research interests, I thrill at opportunities to teach this topic to non-academics.

I adopt a light-hearted look at the topic because it concerns everyone and emphasize that it centres around 'YOU'. Psychology, basically, is simply common sense dressed up in quasi-scientific jargon. In an easy-going manner, I like to introduce the FIVE MAJOR SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY:
Freud's controversial psycho-sexual stages; Pavlov, dogs, bells and Behaviourists; the Cognitivists Camp; the Mind-Body Dilemma; and Humanism. Each school has a different answer to the question "What Makes Us Tick?". Other key topics include childhood development, body language, personality, and mental disorders.

Alec adopts a light-hearted look at a topic which concerns everyone because it centres around 'YOU'. He firmly believes that Psychology is simply common sense dressed up in quasi-scientific jargon. In an easy-going manner, Alec introduces the FIVE MAJOR SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Freud's controversial psycho-sexual stages; Pavlov, dogs, bells and Behaviourists; the Cognitivists Camp; the Mind-Body Dilemma; and Humanism. Each school has a different answer to the question "What Makes Us Tick?". Other key topics include childhood development, body language, personality, and mental disorders.

TOPICS INCLUDE

WELCOME: To each other and the topic. Debate plan: Purpose / Structure / Benefits.

ID, EGO & SUPEREGO: Sigmund Freud and his psycho-sexual theory of childhood development. Stage theory = oral, anal, genital, latent and puberty levels. Are adult problems caused by childhood experience?

OLD DOGS and NEW TRICKS: The work of Pavlov and Behaviourists who focus upon Learning. This is the objective, experimental approach to understanding human behaviour.

ALL IN THE MIND: Cognitivists research into linguistic development, body language, mental maps, attitude change, etc.

THE MIND-BODY GAP: The Central Nervous System is 'what makes us tick' say Psycho-biologists. Split-brain patients provide answers to speech development. Geschwind highlights Language and the Brain.

WHOLE-PERSON APPROACH: Humanists study the whole person in their research into Love, Guilt, Worry, Anxiety and Manipulation within the Family. N.L.P. = Neuro-Linguistic Programming for solving many everyday problems.

PERSONALITY: Nature or Nurture? Fixed or Fluid? Traits or States?

WHEN THE TICKING GETS ERRATIC: Mental breakdowns; Neurotic/Psychotic Disorders: Types, Theories, and Treatments. Madness can teach us a lot about what it is to be 'normal'.

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