Myers Ch 1 pgs 1 33 Topics What is psychology Why do psychology Psychological Science How to study psychology What is Psychology h t t p w w w n b c c o m h t t p w w w p h o t o v a u l t c o m Dr Crane radio shrink Psychic Ball gazing Pop Psychology If I told you to picture a psychologist what comes to mind Probably a clinician How accurate is this depiction of the field What is psychology Our experience with psychology Psychology as Science What is psychology Not only clinical Many probably most do not see patients Psychologists conduct research into various areas of Human behavior Human mental processes Born out of philosophy Applies scientific techniques to understand people Philosophical roots Who has taken a philosophy class What kinds of questions do they seek to answer How What problems might this method lead to Philosophical roots Posing psychological questions What makes us what we are Why do we feel Aristotle How do we learn and remember Speculation Meta cognition thinking about thinking How to answer them PROBLEM Subjective Untestable who has time to sit around and think white male bias Phrenology What bumps in your skull tell us about you Say what Creating a personality map based on skull shape Franz Gall mid 1800 s Used in readings of people s scalps Popular for hiring process WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG EXERCISE What bumps in your skull tell us about you Get into Groups of 3 4 IN GROUPS come up with your own phrenology map examine your own and other s skulls bumps and indentations fill in the map 1 7 with characteristics you think reside there Where might aggression benevolence intelligence greed friendliness laziness etc be EXERCISE What bumps in your skull tell us about you comparing groups any similarities were you able to reach a consensus why is this difficult PROBLEM this is not a scientific approach still subjective Not only wacky not science Birth of Psychology Who does the book label as the first Psychologist applied scientific method to study sound perception how long after a sound do we know we ve heard it first psychological lab Early Psychology Ivan Pavlov Learning drooling dogs Sigmund Freud Personality Psychotherapy Jean Piaget Intelligence children s tests William James First textbook Mostly men Mary Calkins What is Psychology Shifts in field focus New definitions of goals Pre 1920 s 1920 s 1960 s Focus on mental processes ONLY Focus on behavior ONLY 1960 s Psychology today Scientific study of behavior AND mental processes What is Psychology The scientific study of behavior and mental processes Behavior What an organism DOES An ACTION we can see and record Yelling Smiling Sweating Falling asleep in class What is Psychology The scientific study of behavior and mental processes Mental Processes Subjective experiences Internal We can t see these things we infer them via behavior Sensations Perceptions Dreams Thoughts Feelings Contemporary Psychology What do psychologist deal with today THE BIG ISSUE Nature v Nurture Which plays a bigger or solitary role Biology what we re born with Experience what we learn throughout life About equal Contemporary Psychology What do psychologist deal with today THE BIG ISSUE Nature v Nurture Which plays a bigger or solitary role Biology what we re born with Experience what we learn throughout life About equal ENTER BioPsychoSocial Approach 3 Levels of Analysis Biological Psychological Social Subfields focus on elements of one or more Biopsychosocial Biopsychosocial APPLICATION Why did you come to class today BIOLOGICAL you are naturally curious adaptive to seek knowledge PSYCHOLOGICAL it makes you happy to give up evenings for class you fear punishment if you miss lecture SOCIAL CULTURAL your friends peers go to class you want to fit in Perspectives Neuroscience Evolutionary Behavioral Genetics Psychodynamic Behavioral Cognitive Social Cultural Perspectives Neuroscience Evolutionary Behavioral Genetics Psychodynamic Behavioral Cognitive Social Cultural Focus may be different each help solve parts of the puzzle Sub fields Psychologist Focus Brain relationship Mind Biological Developmental Cognitive Personality Social Abilities birth change Abilities death Perception Processing and Puzzle Solving Persistent Traits or Dispositions Individual relationship Others Plenty of Options for Research Sub Fields Clinical Psychology On and off the couch Deals with the Study of the Treatment of psychological issues Some conduct research what treatments work How Most work directly with patients Clinical Psychology On and off the couch Deals with the Study of the Treatment of psychological disorders Some conduct research what treatments work How Most work directly with patients TYPES Clinical Psychologist Ph D Assess and Treat troubled individuals through therapy Counseling Psychologist Psy D help people cope with challenges by recognizing strengths Psychiatrist M D medical professional who use drugs therapy to treat individuals with disorders Making sense of the Common sense science Common sense Too many cooks spoil Two heads are better the broth than one The pen is mightier than the sword Actions speak louder than words You can t teach an old You re never too old dog new tricks Forewarned is forearmed He who hesitates is lost to learn Don t cross the bridge until you come to it Look before you leap The duh phenomena of course it seems right If you can justify something you will believe it Common sense Why do psychological findings seem obvious The I knew it all along phenomena Ex Jeopardy Ex 9 11 missed clues Our intuitions are sometimes wrong Drunk Dialing EXAMPLE ANAGRAMS How long do you think it would have taken you to unscramble these anagrams Wreat Water Etryn Entry Grabe Barge 10 seconds 1 minute 5 minutes most people take 3 min but estimate 10 sec Common sense More confident than correct hindsight bias overconfidence Intuition can steer us wrong Obvious Truth what is truth then We might be wrong or surprised Question Test Repeat Obvious Truth what is truth then We might be wrong or surprised Question Test Repeat Think smarter Question and evaluate Critical Thinking Don t blindly follow feel free to poke holes BUT be open minded Can t reject everything not productive Finally answering questions What we see What has been done What we ve tested Testable predictions Organized explanation and prediction of behavior events Finally answering questions Another way of thinking about it Research process 1 Question 2 Hypothesis
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