Psychology and Buddhism

Min-Ju Liao

Outline

I. Introduction of Psychology

II. Cognitive Psychology

III. Psychology vs. Buddhism

I. Introduction of Psychology

What is psychology?

Psychology is the science of behavior and the mind psychologists often use behavioral data to make

influences about the mind

Early approaches in psychology Laboratory dissection of the mind (Wilhelm Wundt, 1832-

1920) Complex mental processes can be understood as sequences of more

elementary processes Structuralism (Titchener, 1867-1927)

Learning the structure of the mind through analyzing elementary conscious experience

Introspection: to look inward to examine one’s own conscious experience

e.g., a flash of light is sensed as blue, strong, brief, and clear

Functionalism (William James, 1842-1910) Purposes or goals are the most important aspects of human

consciousness and actions Introspection (e.g., examine one’s own emotional states)

Major approaches in psychology Studying basic psychological processes

Functionalist perspective Evolution(natural selection) and learning - Behavioral psychology

Physiological perspective Neurobiological psychology

Information-processing perspective Cognitive psychology

Studying the whole person and the person’s relationships to the social environment

Developmental perspective Social perspective Personality and disorders

Psychoanalysis Humanities

Approaches in Psychology Behavioral psychology (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner):

Stimuli -> Response Basic learning process: classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Classical conditioning (Pavlov’s discovery)

Law of association by contiguity

Operant conditioning: the consequence of behavior affects the likelihood of the recurrence of the behavior

A starving rat in a box -> accidentally press a level -> food or water (reinforcement) -> keep pressing the level

Law of effect

Training and behavioral therapy

bell -> no responseFood -> salivation bell + food -> salivation bell -> salivation

Approaches in Psychology

Neurobiological psychology: Understanding the physiological mechanism in the

brain that organizes and controls behavior

e.g. use fMRI to examine brain activities while people are engaging in different behaviors

e.g. Dr. Richard Davidson studies brain activities during six different meditations – meditation on visualization, compassion, one-pointedness, devotion, fearlessness, open-state (see “The Lama in the Lab” by Daniel Goleman)

Approaches in Psychology

Cognitive psychology: Influenced by computer evolution Using the concept of “information processing” to study

mental processes such as attention, perception, memory, thinking, problem solving, and decision making

Approaches in Psychology Psychoanalysis (Freud, Erikson):

Unconscious mind Conflict between biological instincts and society's demands Early childhood experiences id, ego, superego

Id: most primitive portion of the personality (basic biological urges)

Ego: ego is derived from the id, but it obeys reality principle Superego: represents the internalized rules and admonitions of the

parents and society – judge ego has been good or bad Psychotherapy: regression therapy

Approaches in Psychology

Humanistic psychology (Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow):

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Self, self-concept, self-worth - unconditional positive regard Self-actualization: a desire to realize one’s potential, to fulfill

oneself Psychotherapy: “client center”, full acceptance, no judgment

II. Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology

Sensoryregister

perception

working memory

thoughtdecision making

responseexecution

attention resources

responseselection

long-term memory

From “introduction to human factors engineering”, by Wickens, C. D., Gordon, S. E., Liu, Y, 1998

Cognitive psychology Sensory processes:

Senses: vision, hearing, smell, taste, kinesthesis and vestibules, skin

Psychophysics – relations between the characteristics of physical stimuli and our sensory experience

e.g.

Stimulus magnitude

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Cognitive psychology

Perception: Attention Visual perception:

eye -> visual cortex in the brain perceptual phenomena (color, form/shape, feature-ground,

motion, depth, etc.) Top-down vs. bottom-up processes

Cognitive psychology Perception

Stroop effect

Green Red Blue

Blue Green Red

Cognitive psychology Perception

Illusion

Cognitive psychology Perception

Illusion

Cognitive psychology Perception

Figure-ground perception

Cognitive psychology Memory:

Short-term (working) memory vs. long-term memory Encoding & retrieval

Encoding: the process that controls the movement of information from working memory to long-term memorye.g. rehearsing

Retrieval: the process that controls the movement of information from long-term memory to working memory e.g., recall, recognition

Explicit memory (declarative, conscious) episodic memory semantic memory

Implicit memory (unconscious) procedural memory

Cognitive psychology

Thinking Mental activities that are utilized whenever we plan actions,

solve problems, evaluate things, or make decisions. Main elements of thought: mental representation

e.g., analogical vs. symbolic representation

Work at NASA (Cockpit display)

Work at NASA (Cockpit display)

Work at NASA (Cockpit display)

III. Psychology vs. Buddhism

五蘊 色 (form): 物質基礎

色因 : 地 , 水 , 火 , 風 色相 : 五感官 , 五塵

受 (feeling): 領納 , 對色蘊的覺受 樂受 , 苦受 , 不苦不樂受 ; 身受 & 心受

想 (perception): 取像 , 認識 眼觸所生想 , 耳觸所生想 , …

行 (volition): 造作 , 心採取行動 ; 意志作用 五十一心所 (e.g., 記憶 ,…) 所有複雜之心理作用

識 (consciousness): 了別 ( 明瞭及識別 ) 現象之真實意義

六識 , 染識 , 阿賴耶識

Psychology vs. Buddhism Behavioral psychology: 色 ( 物質 ) & 行為的關係 Neurobiological psychology: 身 (brain) & 受 , 想 , 行的

關係 Cognitive psychology:

- psychophysics: 色 ( 物質 ) & 受的關係- attention: 作意- perception: 想- memory, thinking: 行

Psychoanalysis: 潛意識 Humanities: 自我

佛法概論 第四章 有情與有情的分析

佛法以有情為本，那就應該認識有情是什麼。佛常用「三處觀」去觀察有情，分別有情的真相。但有情的分別觀察，要從有情的流轉相續中，與身心的相依中去考察，不

…可為靜止的、孤立的機械分析 這有情中心論的觀察，都說到了心與色，即證明了有情是色心平等和合相應的存在者，不能偏重於物質或精神。

Psychology vs. Buddhism Final notes:

西方心理學或是從不同的角度研究個別的五蘊、心所及它們之間的對應關係 ; 或是從自我及實我出發來探討心理問題

佛法提供的則是一個拓展在時間和空間上的全觀分析 – 在時間上 , 有情自無始以來即在流轉輪迴 在空間上 , 有情是五蘊身心交感 , 相互依存的和合個體

佛法更進一步教我們看到此五蘊有情的究竟本質其實是苦 , 空 , 無常 , 無我 , 而一切煩惱的根源是我們的貪瞋痴 , 是我們的執取

佛法給我們的才是究竟的了解及究竟的解脫