Introduction To Anthropology, Psychology, And Sociology Exam Review

The scientific study of humans including the origins , behaviour, and physical, social, and cultural development.

The scientific study of the human mind, mental states, and human behaviour.

The scientific study of human social behaviour including individuals, groups, and societies.

- People from different ethnicities and races create or reproduce with various other types of genetic variations tend to have healthier babies due to the gene pool being more diverse (no incest compared to back then)

- Survival of the fittest through the variations of humans

- Human variation and having a variety of traits that are shared makes healthier children and it is a good thing

- Allows us to understand that the reason we are still on this plane is because we have adapted over time

Natural Selection involves three principles:

1. Variation (Every species has a lot of variety within it)

2. Heritability (Individuals pass on traits to their offspring)

3. Environmental Fitness (Individuals who are better adapted to their environment will produce more offspring and pass me on their traits to the next generation)

In Olduvai Gorge, Kenya 1959 they found an australopithecine skull. Radiometric dating was used for the first time and found the skull to be 1.75 million years old. Many other fossils of other hominids were found.

In Ethiopia during 1974 he found a 40% complete human skeleton. The skeleton was named Lucy after a Beatles’ song. The finding is part of a species Australopithecus afarensis which is a human ancestor from 3.2 million years ago

In 1831 on Galapgos Island he established the concept of natural selection as evolution. The theory of evolution stated species passed down characteristics to their offspring. He spent 4 years on the HMS Beagle where he observed wildlife and fossils he collected. He came to the conclusion that species were forced to evolve or would otherwise die and be extinct. This became known as “survival of the fittest”. Darwin also suggested that humans first evolved in Africa (Pangea).

Jane Goodall is a primatologist who studied East Africa’s chimpanzee population who discovered that humans share many characteristics with chimps such as making/ using tools, hunting, teaching, basic learning, laughing/ playing, compassion, and fighting/ dominance over leadership.

- hunting

- building

- laughing/ playing

- sympathy

- basic learning

- teaching

- grooming

- fighting / dominance

- power struggles over leadership

- grief

- embrace/ affection

- Bi pedal locomotion

- Eye height advantage of upright posture

- Opposing thumbs

- More sophisticated brain,

- Ability to think in abstract terms

- Ability to adapt to a wide range of situations and environments

- Development of a wide range of cultures

- Development of culture to pass on knowledge and traditions

- Far greater awareness of past and future than an animal does

- Uses Tools. Very sophisticated à we make and design tools for specific purposes

- Ability to speak many languages

- Longer period of dependence on parents than any other animal

She discovered that all cultures share commonalities and nature is learned and nurture is based on primal instinct. (Also discovered that chimps share many characteristics)

- Culture is learned

- Culture is shared

- Culture defines nature

- Culture shapes how we perceive and understand the world

- Culture has patterns

We learn our thoughts/behaviours/values throughout life. We inherit physical and biological characteristics such as the need to food, but we learn to do things with those inherited qualities. (E.g. learning to use the toilet)

When a group or society thinks or acts in particular ways, those ways become part of the culture. (E.g. a bride wearing white on her wedding day)

Culture can limit fulfill, expand and influence our biological needs and inherited tendencies. All people have innate need for the company and support of others, but how we relate to families and friends varies on our culture

Our perceptions of self and society are determined by the culture in which we live in. As we travel, and live through experience, our understanding of the world widens.

Cultures are not random or spontaneous, they have core values and worldviews that are usually taken for granted by members of that culture. Often, we are not aware of the values we hold because they seem self-evident.

- Hunter Gatherers

- Horticultural Society

- Pastoral Society

- Agricultural Society

- Industrial Society

- Post-Industrial Society

- Depended on hunting and gathering for survival (men-hunt / women-gather)

- They were nomadic, moving wherever the food went (cavemen/cavewomen)

- Cultivating plants and domesticating animals (Growing plants instead of chasing/gathering them).

- This was the first social revolution. (E.g. cultivating plants using hand-held tools such as hoes/digging sticks)

They only relied on meats and dairy because they were unable to grow crops (Desert and Northern climates).

- Examples: goats, sheep, camels, cattle

- The plow was invented, improving efficiency since it didn’t take as many people or as much time to harvest food.

- The growth of inequality came into effect along with the bartering system. (E.g. trading possessions)

- A society based on the harnessing of machines powered by fuels causing people to move from the country to the city to work in factories.

- It was the foundation of modern society. (E.g. began in Britain 1765)

- A society based on information services and high technology rather than on raw materials and manufacturing.

- People who offer services either provide or apply information of one sort or another.

- (E.g. ability to Google something instantly)

- Helped patients discover events of past childhood events

- Dreams can be used to interpret personal anxieties/ stresses

- Nervous disorder stem from the unconscious mind

- Humans are reactive to other people’s behaviour

- We are able to control our lives, we should not be dominated by drives and emotions or the wants/needs of others.

- Studied mental processes involved in memory, learning, thinking, and researching in the brain

- We are influenced early in life through elementary school.

Without human contact there is regression in bodily functions and an individual will later die.

Humans rely on other humans (nurturing parents) to survive. It be for food, comfort, skills, etc... Without this nurturance, a human's ability to learn, thrive and grow is severely impacted. When looking at this question you should consider the Harlow Experiment and the examples of Genie and Danielle.

The process by which we experience things through our senses. Allows us to select organize and interpret sensory signals in the brain.

1) The Object of Perception

2) Background and Surrounding

3) The Perceiver

- Experiment was about a dog salivating in response to food. He would hit a bell before the food was set out then the dog would salivate immediately conditioning the dog to salivate each time the bell was rung.

- Discovered that conditioned stimulus can bring a conditioned response

- Experiment by B.F. Skinner à Skinner put a rat in a cage rigged with a bar which when pushed; a pellet of food would come down. As the rat moved around the cage, the rat eventually pressed the bar and won a food pellet. The next time the rat pressed the bar, it received another food pellet. Soon the rat was pushing the bar constantly.

Is the next part of our model of the user as an information processing system. There are generally three types of memory: sensory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

- Sensory

- Short-term

- Long-term

The sensory memories act as buffers for stimuli received through the senses. There are 3 sensory memories for each channel à Iconic, Echoic, and Haptic memory. Information is passed from sensory memory into short-term memory by attention, thereby filtering the stimuli to only those which are of interest at a given time.

Acts as a scratch pad for temporary recall of the information under process. Short term memory decays rapidly (15-20 seconds). Chunking of information can lead to an increase in the short term memory capacity which can hold 7 items at a single time.

Is intended for storage of information over a long time. Information from the working memory is transferred to it after a few seconds. Unlike in working memory, there is little decay. (These memories carry meanings à E.g. childhood memories)

- Deductive

- Inductive

- Dialectical

Reasoning to draw conclusions

- General to specific knowledge

- Knowledge truths based on other truths

EXAMPLE: Truth 1: All human beings are mortal

Truth 2: I am a human being therefore I am mortal

- Specific to general knowledge

- Observation to lead to a conclusion

- No guarantees

EXAMPLE: Truth 1: I enjoyed the James Bond movie “Casino Royale”.

Truth 2: The new film James Bond “Quantum of Solace” looks good. Therefore I will enjoy all movies

- Evaluating two opposing sides

- Different opinions of truth are debated

EXAMPLE: Rogers VS. Bell, Coca-Cola VS. Pepsi, Chocolate VS. Vanilla

Commonly known as physiological needs. (Nature part of the N v. N debate)