Ch. 1 What is Psychology Student Version PDF

What is Psychology ? 1 Learning Objectives 1. What does Psychology mean? 2. What do psychologists do? 2 What is Psychology? The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior Scientific: Method of investigation Mind: Mental processes and events B...

What is Psychology ? 1 Learning Objectives 1. What does Psychology mean? 2. What do psychologists do? 2 What is Psychology? The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior Scientific: Method of investigation Mind: Mental processes and events Brain: Produces the mental activity of the mind Behavior: Observable actions of human 3 beings and nonhuman animals Major Subfields of Psycholog y 4 What do Psychologists do? Three main focuses 1. Research 2. Teaching 3. Application Can be combined! Ex) Universities: both research and teaching 5 Learning Objectives – Review! 1. What does Psychology mean? 2. What do psychologists do? 6  7 Psychology and Critical Thinking Learning Objectives 1. Define critical thinking and understand 6 major biases that may result in flawed reasoning 2. Apply awareness of biases to your own life 8  Critical Thinking What is it? Systematically question and evaluate information using well- supported evidence Amiable Skepticism Human thought can be biased “common sense” can actually be incorrect 9 So why are we talking about Critical Thinking? Knowing how people process information Avoiding thought biases When is critical thinking likely to break down? Often a result of trying to make sense of information 10  8 Major Biases 1. Ignoring evidence 5. Taking mental shortcuts 2. Seeing relationships that do 6. Failing to see our own not exist inadequacies 3. Accepting after-the-fact explanations 4. Misunderstanding/not using statistics 11 Ignoring Evidence – AKA: Confirmation Bias Place more importance on evidence that supports your beliefs Selective sampling – look for supporting evidence Selective memory – remember supporting evidence 12 Seeing relationships that do not exist Correlation does not equal causation 13  Accepting after-the-fact explanations Coming up with explanations after an event Even with inadequate or incomplete information Hindsight bias – “Of course that would happen!” 14 Misunderstanding or not using statistics Look for patterns that don’t exist Lack of “numerical literacy” Fail to identify misleading info 15 Taking mental shortcuts Heuristics –Simple rules of thumb for decision making Can be helpful But sometimes they are inaccurate Ex) Fear of flying due to recalling crashes 16  Self-serving bias Want to see self in a positive light Take credit for successes but refuse blame for failures Ex) Test performance Get an A – “wow I must be smart” Get a D – “I was just tired because my roommates17 kept me up all night”  Self-serving bias (Cont.) Dunning-Kruger Effect: Trouble seeing gaps in ability/knowledge Ex) student confidence 18 Learning Objectives – Review! 1. Define critical thinking and understand the 6 major biases that may result in flawed reasoning 2. Apply awareness of biases to your own life 19 Psychology Spans the Human Experience Learning Objectives 1. Recognize ways that you can use psychology in your own life/career 2. Distinguish between subfields of psychology 21 Psychology is Everywhere Basic sensory and brain processes Abstract thoughts Complex social interactions Study of people Diversity is essential to our research Subfields of Psychology Our department’s Ph.D. programs: Developmental Psychology Changes over time Ex) does 2nd grade performance predict college GPA? Subfields of Psychology Clinical Psychology Psychological Disorders & Treatments Ex) How does depression correlate with anxiety? Social Psychology The influence of others Ex) Do people help others when in a crowd? Subfields of Psychology Cognitive Psychology Attention, language, memory, etc. Ex) how does being tested influence memory? Neuroscience Nervous system Ex) Which brain regions process faces? Learning Objectives 1. Recognize ways that you can use psychology in your own life/career 2. Distinguish between subfields of psychology 26  Chapter 1 Review Questions Answers and Explanations 27 Question 1. Which of the following is not true about psychology? 1. It is scientific 2. It studies behavior 3. It only includes therapy 4. It has many different facets 28 Question 2. Nathaniel wants to get a degree in psychology. Which of the following is a possible job that he could have with a degree in psychology? 1. Working in an elementary school as a counsellor 2. Working in a prison to help with rehabilitation 3. Conducting research for a specific organization 4. All of the above are possible jobs! 29 Question 3. Esham is convinced that his child is the best, and that she has never done anything wrong. He can remember all of the times she has done something well, but forgets the times where she disobeyed. Esham has likely experienced: 1. Self-serving bias 3. Hindsight Bias 2. Confirmation bias 4. Using relative comparisons 30 Question 4. What should you avoid doing when seeking out information? 1. Only remembering information that supports your viewpoint 2. Checking to see who is providing the information 3. Double check graphs and figures to make sure they are good representations of the data 4. Looking for information that both supports and refutes your opinions 31  Question 5. Which of the following subfields of psychology is correctly matched with a sample topic? 1. Cognitive psychology—the influence of emotions on decision making 2. Developmental psychology—the effectiveness of drug therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder 3. Social Psychology—the role of neurotransmitter deficits in schizophrenia 4. Clinical Psychology—the development of valid achievement tests for elementary school students 32