PSYCH 110 1st Edition Lecture 1Outline of Last Lecture I. This is the first lectureOutline of Current Lecture II. What is Psychology?III.Levels of Psychological AnalysisIV. Challenges of PsychologyV. Psychology as a scienceVI. PseudoscienceCurrent Lecture:What is Psychology? Psychology: the science of behavior and mental processeso behavior: anything observable ex: laughing, crying, walking, habits, etc.o mental processes: cannot be observed ex: thoughts and feelingsLevels of Psychological AnalysisI. Sociala. personal relationshipsi. conclusions may be drawn from actions taken in relation to another person1. ex: how a person speaks to the psychologistII. Behaviorala. activities that can be observed and recorded by the psychologistIII. Mentala. thoughts/feelings that may be relayed to the psychologistIV. Neurological/Psychologicala. size/function of brain parts that may affect how the patient acts or feelsi. measured through scientific testingV. Neurochemicala. chemical messages sent to and from the brain that may affect how the patient acts or feelsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.i. measured through scientific testingVI. Moleculara. genes obtained from the patient's ancestry that may affect how the patient acts or feelsi. measured through scientific testingChallenges of PsychologyI. All human actions are produced by multiple factorsa. How this may be overcome: Be skeptical of one faceted explanations.i. One faceted explanations: explanations of a scientific phenomenon thatdo not cover the range of possiblilties.1. ex: "The patient reacted to therapy negatively because she is upset to be having a bad day."a. The patient may be reacting negatively for more reasons than just one.II. Psychological influences are rarely independenta. how this may be overcome: Realize that there is more than one explanation for a set of results. i. Each motive, influence, and reaction is caused by a combination of factors.1. ex: A person's behavior could be caused by reactions to social cues, neurological or genetic factors, thought processes, or a combination of each.III. Individual differencesa. People are all unique and react to situations differentlyIV. Reciprocal Determinisma. Reciprocal Determinism: the act of a person's behavior being affected and changed by the behavior of another.i. People influence each other's actions and decisionsV. Culturea. In different cultures, behaviors that seem abnormal when observed my be typical.i. ex: In American culture, same-sex friends do not kiss each other on the cheek, while in other countries that is considered the cultural norm.ii. There are 2 approaches to studying culture:1. Etic Approach: observing from the perspective of an outsidera. ex: translating findings into the language of the observerb. "Etic" observers learn from "out"side the culture.2. Emic Approach: observing from the perspective of an insidera. ex: describing findings using the language of the culture being observedb. "Emic" obervers learn by being "in" the culture.VI. Common Sense cannot always be trusteda. Most of us trust intuition to explain things or make decisionsi. This can lead us to believe contradictory things1. ex. "Opposites attract" and "Birds of a feather flock together"a. These are intuitive ideas held by many people and used to explain situations, but the same person may use both phrases to describe situations despite the fact that they have opposite meanings.VII. Naive Realism: the belief that we see the world as it is.a. ex: "The Earth is flat"i. The Earth appears flat to the human eye, but has been scientifically proven to be round. In the same way, human perception may lead a person to believe something inaccurate.Psychology as a Science Scientific Theory: An explanation for a large number of natural findings Hypothesis: A testable prediction derived from a scientific theory Psychology utilizess both theories and hypotheses to draw conclusionsPsychology as a Safeguard Against Bias Confirmation Bias: The Tendency to seek evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss, or distort contradictory evidence Belief Perserverance: "Don't Confuse me with the Facts": The Tendency to stick to our original beliefs even after being presented with contradictory evidence By testing hypotheses and developing scientific theories, psychologists can combat human tendencies to create biasPseudoscience Pseudoscience: Lacks the safeguards against confirmation bias and belieg perserverance that characterize "science."o Pseudoscience is often employed by people trying to influence consumers into buying a product.  41% of Americans believe in ESP More than 30% believe in haunted houses 25% believe in astrologyo There are 20x more astrologers in the world than astronomersWarning Signs of Pseudoscience (7 Deadly Sins of Pseudoscience)1. Overuse of ad hoc immunizations of hypothesesa. Using a loophole to get out of disproving theoriesb. ex: "I can't show you how I read minds because I don't control it; it happens as I am inspired."2. Lack of self-correctiona. Never updating informatio with new discoveries3. Overreliance on anecdotesa. ex: "This diet pill really works because my cousin knows a girl who lost 25 pounds!"b. Advertisements that use a lot of testimonials are doing this4. Exaggerated claimsa. ex: "This product will change your life!"5. Evasion of peer reviewa. Peer review is an important step in the scientific process in which the scientist submits his or her findings to a board of peers who review it before it is published and any hypothesis becomes a theory.b. If peer review is being evaded, it may be determined that the information is not "science" at all.6. Absence of connectivitya. Doesn't connect to, or agree with other research in the field that has gone through peer review and been accepted before publishing.7. Talk of "proof" not "evidence"a. Scientists tend not to say that something is "proven" because new discoveries may conflict with their findings.b. If the word "proof" is being used over "evidence," one may conclude that the information is not scientific.8. Use of psychobabble: using scientific-sounding words to impress the