PSYCHOLOGY: the study of mind and behaviour (how humans think and act)

1. Needs & Drives

1.1. Needs: Basic human requirements. People must satisfy needs to be healthy.

1.1.1. Physical Needs: Must be met to stay healthy and survive If not, we feel discomfort and pain e.g. need = food, pain or discomfort = hunger

1.1.2. Psychological Needs: Needs of the mind (emotional, intellectual, spiritual) e.g. need = stimulation (something to engage our minds), pain or discomfort = boredom need = companionship, pain or discomfort = loneliness

1.1.3. Group Needs: Social, not individual Must be met for the group to be successful Need for direction, order, security, and identity. e.g. need = direction, discomfort = chaos (people can’t agree on what the group should do and the group falls apart as everyone goes their own way)

1.2. Drives: Force us to act when our needs are not being met Without drives we would not take action to make sure our needs are met

2. Wants, Learned Behaviors, Culture

2.1. Wants: Something you think can satisfy your needs Based on needs but not always the same as needs Humans all have the same needs. What we want depends on who we are, where we live, what resources are available, what we have learned–our culture. e.g. I want pizza, I get fish. My need for food is met but I didn’t get what I wanted. I’m lost in the desert and thirsty. I want beer. I find a bottle and drink it. Beer is a diuretic. It makes you even more dehydrated than you were before you drank it. I got what I wanted but I didn’t get what I needed (water/hydration).

2.2. Learned Behaviors: Actions people learn that might get them what they want. We spend out life learning them through experience, observing others, or going to school.

2.3. Culture :A common set of wants and learned behaviours that a group of people share–culture describes how we meet our needs In this culture we have learned to want more than we need and more than the planet can sustain.