Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior

1. HOW THE MIND WORKS
• Your brain is a prediction machine.
• It hates uncertainty and fills gaps automatically.
• Most decisions come from emotion first, logic second.
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2. NATURE VS NURTURE
• Your behavior = genetics + environment.
• Not 50/50. It changes depending on the trait.
• Some things you’re born with. Some things you learn. Both matter.
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3. PERCEPTION
• You don’t see reality.
• You see what your brain thinks is useful.
• This is why people misunderstand each other constantly.
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4. LEARNING & HABITS
• You learn by:
1. Repetition (habits)
2. Rewards
3. Pain
• Reward = repeat. Pain = avoid.
• Habits run on autopilot to save energy.
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5. MEMORY
• Memory is not a video.
• It’s reconstructed every time you recall it.
• You forget fast unless you repeat with space in between.
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6. MOTIVATION
You move for 3 reasons:
1. Pleasure
2. Pain avoidance
3. Purpose (rare but strongest long-term)
Short-term = dopamine.
Long-term = meaning.
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7. EMOTION
• Emotions are fast survival alarms.
• They hijack logic.
• If you don’t manage emotions, you don’t control your decisions.
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8. DEVELOPMENT
• Childhood shapes your default behavior.
• Trauma or love creates your baseline reaction to stress, people, and goals.
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9. PERSONALITY
• Personality is partly genetic, partly learned.
• It stays stable but can slowly change.
• Traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.
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10. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
People follow:
• Group pressure
• Authority
• Rewards & threats
• Social approval
• Familiarity
Humans copy. Humans conform. Humans want status.
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11. DISORDERS
When brain systems malfunction:
• Depression = low motivation system
• Anxiety = danger detector stuck ON
• Bipolar = unstable mood regulation
• Addiction = reward system hijacked
• Psychopathy = low empathy, high manipulation
You don’t need deeper unless studying mental health.
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12. STRESS
• Short stress = good.
• Long stress = destroys your health, focus, emotions, and habits.
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13. THERAPY
Therapy works by:
• Awareness
• Reframing thoughts
• Taking opposite action
• Facing avoided problems
Most therapy is pattern-breaking.
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14. SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology uses:
• Experiments
• Observation
• Measurement
It’s not guesswork. It’s behavior patterns tested over time.
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THE FINAL SUMMARY
If you understand these laws, you understand 80% of human behavior:
1. Emotion beats logic.
2. People follow incentives, habits, and groups.
3. Memory lies.
4. Childhood shapes reactions.
5. Brains seek rewards and avoid pain.
6. Everyone filters reality differently.
7. Stress and trauma change behavior.
8. Personality sets your default mode.