1.1 Why Study PsychologyPsychology Is About You And About UsPsych is most popular because humans are interested in human behaviorMost psych studies are taken by college studentsPsychologists Explain Human Behaviors in Real-Life ContextsThrough social interactions, we form impressions of others and use these impressions to make predictions about their intentions and actionsPsychologists are people who study human behavior and reasoning for a livingPsychological Science is the study of the mind, brain, and behaviorMind: mental activityMind in action: perceptual experiences when interacting the world (sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch)Memories, thoughts, feelingsThe physical brain enables the mind – “the mind is what the brain does”Behavior: wide variety of observable actionsMental states affect human behaviorGoals of psychology are to understand mental activity, social interactions, and how people acquire behaviorsSurprising ResultsJohn Bargh and colleagues discovered that thoughts, feelings, and actions are determined by unconscious influences (without thought of effort)Known as “the automaticity of everyday life”Dutch experiment: subjects thought about professors, secretaries, or soccer hooligans and then engaged in a trivia game. People who thought of professors scored higher because ideas about the subjects intelligence levels were primed or activatedCoffee Study: Holding different temperatures of coffee changed the subjects views on how they perceived the sample person to be (ie. Holding warm coffee made the subject assume the sample person was warm and kind)Psychological Knowledge Is Used In Many ProfessionsPsychological knowledge is needed for anyone who is in a career that involves understanding peopleAs humans dealing with other humans, we need the knowledge of psychologyPhysiological Science Teaches Critical ThinkingAmiable Skepticism is when one is open to new ideas but wary of new scientific findings when good evidence and sound reasoning o not support themCritical thinking is the ability to use amiable skepticism and systematically evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusionsIncludes looking for holes in evidence, using logic and reasoning to see if the information makes sense, considering biases and considering alterative explanationsHow Critical Thinking WorksPeople often let their beliefs and biases determine how they label observationsMozart Effect: People believed playing Mozart would improved brain function and cure neurological issues due to the fact a study was done in which a subject listened to Mozart and scored higher on an intelligence testLater the study was looked into and it was found that the music itself did not cause the results but rather the overall effect studding with a lifted and more relaxed mood gavePsychology originated in philosophySchools of thought:Many people believe that intuition and common sense are enough to bring forth answers regarding human natureExample: People with many similarities are more susceptible to long term relationships as versus to people with differences that are looking for short term relationshipsHindsight Bias: the ‘I knew it all along’ phenomenonAfter learning the outcome of an event, many people believe they could have predicted the outcomeExample: We only knew the dot.com stocks would plummet after they didPsychology is an Empirical ScienceThe scientific method: objective, systematic procedures to understand what is being studiedUnderstanding how science is conducted makes it possible to tell which studies are credible and which are notNature and Nurture are Inextricably IntertwinedProducts of nature or nurture80% of your intelligence occurs when you are born and the rest is due to the environmentGood test subjects: Twins because they share identical geneticsThe Brain And Mind Are InseparableRene Descartes theory of dualismMaintained the distinction between mind and bodyAssigned the body many mental functions that were originally considered the minds domainPhineas Gage: man with the spike lodged through his eye survived and had a changed personalityPsychological scientists largely reject dualistic thinkingMind is what the brain doesA New Biological Revolution Is Energizing ResearchGrowth is understanding mental activities biological basesInterest in biology permeates psychological scienceThe Mind Is AdaptiveThe brain has evolved over millions of years to solve problems related to survival and reproductionCreating weaponry to overcome predatorsLiving in a modern world with a prehistoric brainMind is adaptive in biological and cultural termsGenetic mutationsEvolutionary TheoryDetermining whether human mechanisms are adaptiveExample: upright position as versus to slouching and walkingExample: (not humans) Finch beaks changing for different purposesNeed to be aware of the challenged of our ancestors in order to understand our current behaviorSweet and fatty foodsBack then, fats and sugars were scarce but needed for brain functions“Sugar crashes”Matting preference (attraction)Males look for youthful females and females look for maturity, dominance, affluence, and boldnessBased on results of the well being of their offspringSolving Adaptive ProblemsHumans today have “cheater detectors”As people get better at cheating, other get better at detectingVisual cliff: Infants won’t crawl over the cliff, even if their mothers are standing on the other side encouraging them to do soAdaptive mechanisms enhance our chances of survivalThe Mind is AdaptiveCultures provides adaptive solutionsDependency on group cultureCultural evolution has been much faster than biological evolutionThere is evidence that people from different cultures possesses different mindsDifferent ways to pronounce words can get lost in different generationsPsychological Science Crosses Levels of Analysis4 levels reflect the most common research methods for studying behaviorBiologicalThe physical body contributes to mind and bodyNerochemical and genetic processesIndividualDifferences in personalityMental process that affect how people perceive the worldSocialGroup contexts affect peoples ways of interacting and influencing each otherCulturalDifferent cultures shape thoughts, feelings, and actions of the peopleExample: Western family breakfast vs. Traditional Chinese breakfastWe are Unaware of Influences on How We Think, Feel, and ActPeople are influenced by subtle factors in their environments, even when they largely are