Scientific Advances and World Progress Quiz

Scientific Psychology: Understanding Behavior and Improving the World

• Scientific research has driven progress in human history, particularly in modern medicine, electronics, automobiles, birth control, and other inventions.
• Psychology believes that scientific methods can be used to understand and improve behavior, although it trails behind biological and physical sciences in progress.
• Edward Jenner, Fritz Haber, and Norman Borlaug were scientists whose research discoveries saved millions, and even billions, of lives.
• Science is the use of systematic observation to acquire knowledge and understand natural phenomena.
• Psychology is a science that focuses on behavior, using measures and rating scales to measure thoughts and feelings.
• Francis Galton was an important pioneering researcher who used self-reports to examine the nature-nurture question.
• Modern psychologists use a wide range of methods to assess human emotions, such as peer report measures, memory measures, and biological measures.
• Psychological science is useful for creating interventions that help people live better lives, particularly in treating psychological disorders and increasing productivity in the workplace.
• Human factor engineers have increased the safety and utility of products we use, such as aircraft cockpit controls.
• Psychological findings have practical importance in the world outside the laboratory, such as in forensic sciences and courtroom decisions.
• Scientific psychologists follow a specific set of guidelines for research known as a code of ethics, which includes extensive guidelines for how human participants should be treated.
• Learning about scientific psychology can provide fun, rewards, and understanding, whether you become a scientific psychologist, an applied psychologist, or an educated person who knows about psychological research.