2. Psychology
Humans possess:
COGNITIVE PROCESS – the ability to
interpret and manipulate mental ideas and
images to obtain information, to reason, and
to solve problems
CEREBAL CORTEX which controls senses,
thoughts, language and memory
3. Two ways of thinking:
Deductive: applying general assumptions to
specific areas
• All humans have brains
• Zach is human.
• Therefore, Zach has a brain
4. Inductive reasoning: collecting
specific information to form
general assumptions
Most women enjoy cooking
I am a woman
I must enjoy cooking
Deductive reasoning is more
accurate
We attempt to define and
identify parts of the problem
Then we try to find solutions
5. Personality
Personality which Influences our
response behaviour
Animals “personality” – often
chalked up to conditioning or
instinct
Eg. Dog is friendlier to children
be/c the child more likely to feed
the dog than an adult would
6. TRAITS – predispositions to behave in a certain
way in various situations (see text p 51)
Personality characteristics
Unstable Worrying, vulnerable, impatient
Stable Calm, self satisfied, patient
Extrovert Sociable, fun loving, talkative
Introvert Reserved, quiet, self controlled
Conscientious Careful, reliable, ambitious
undirected Careless, undependable, aimless
7. Gender vs. Sex
Sex – biological differences between male
and females
Gender – feminine and masculine traits
often associated with biological “plumbing”
Not necessarily applied appropriately
Some males feel/act more feminine, some
females feel/act more masculine
8. Anthropology
How Do Humans fit in?
Social scientists look for
answers in:
Genetics: the science of
inheritance
Influences of environment
and heredity (transmitting
of characteristics from
parents to offspring)
trace evolutionary
development of humans
10. Gregor Mendal – pea flower
experiements, became
background for genetic
inheritance
1924 – R. DART discovers
fossilized child in South Africa
(Australopithecus Africanus),
postulates that Humans
originated in Africa not Asia as
was believed before
11. Human Classifications
Primates: humans, apes,
monkeys
Subdivided into 10 categories
Humans – HOMINIDAE – from
“Hominids” by anthropologists
We have larger braincase than other
primates
Teeth are placed in rounded arches
Big toes are not opposable (able to
grasp things)
Modern humans ONLY surviving
members of this group
HOMO – man, SAPIENS – “wise
and intelligent”
12. Human Groupings
Concept of Race - Lead to a
lot of human misery =
HOLOCAUST, slavery
ASHLEY MONTAGU –
coined term “ethnic groups”
ETHNIC GROUP – members
share common cultural
characteristics or traditions
can be same nationality or
part of minority group
13. Sociology: Culture
Culture –Elements unique
and shared with societies,
social values and norms
Values – shared standards
of what is considered right
and morally acceptable
This definition of culture
separates it from
Anthropology’s definition of
culture
14.
15. NORMS
compliment values
Rules established to indicate what
people should or shouldn’t do
EG – Standing for the national anthem
Anthems – are SYMBOLS – represents
something else, an idea, quality or
condition, understood sometimes
only by a society
17. Culture
We have an evolving culture influenced by
change
Changes in environment, climate,
demographics, contact with other cultures,
technology, new knowledge
Eg. Consider how a
computer and the internet
have changed your family’s
dynamic.
Editor's Notes
(wikipedia) The evolution of the peppered moth over the last two hundred years has been studied in detail. Originally, the vast majority of peppered moths had light colouration, which effectively camouflaged them against the light-coloured trees and lichens which they rested upon. However, because of widespread pollution during the Industrial Revolution in England, many of the lichens died out, and the trees that peppered moths rested on became blackened by soot, causing most of the light-coloured moths, or typica , to die off from predation. At the same time, the dark-coloured, or melanic , moths, carbonaria , flourished because of their ability to hide on the darkened trees.[1] Since then, with improved environmental standards, light-coloured peppered moths have again become common, but the dramatic change in the peppered moth's population has remained a subject of much interest and study, and has led to the coining of the term industrial melanism to refer to the genetic darkening of species in response to pollutants. As a result of the relatively simple and easy-to-understand circumstances of the adaptation, the peppered moth has become a common example used in explaining or demonstrating natural selection.[2]
Societies near the traditional pole emphasize the importance of parent-child ties and deference to authority, along with absolute standards and traditional family values, and reject divorce, abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. These societies have high levels of national pride, and a nationalistic outlook. Societies with secular-rational values have the opposite preferences on all of these topics. The second major dimension of cross-cultural variation is linked with the transition from industrial society to post-industrial societies-which brings a polarization between Survival and Self-expression values. The unprecedented wealth that has accumulated in advanced societies during the past generation means that an increasing share of the population has grown up taking survival for granted. Thus, priorities have shifted from an overwhelming emphasis on economic and physical security toward an increasing emphasis on subjective well-being, self-expression and quality of life.
