Introduction to Psychology PDF - Fall 2024 - Fanshawe

Introduction to Psychology PSYC-1113: Psychology for HSF Fall 2024 | Week 1  Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson, students should be able to: 1. Define psychology; 2. Recognize the diversity that exists within the field of psychology and the...

Introduction to Psychology PSYC-1113: Psychology for HSF Fall 2024 | Week 1  Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson, students should be able to: 1. Define psychology; 2. Recognize the diversity that exists within the field of psychology and the many potential career paths; 3. Identify the four main goals of psychology; 4. Describe the ethical principles that are key to research with human and animal participants; and 5. Define critical thinking and its characteristics.  Pair and Share What does psychology mean to you? Is the study of psychology just common sense?  Define Psychology Rathus et al. (2023) define psychology as, “the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes” (p. 3). Image: CC0 from Pixabay Psychologists vs Psychiatrist? These two professionals are often confused with one another. Do you know the difference? Hint – they have differences in: Educational path Ability to prescribe medications  Some Possible Careers in Psychology Clinical psychologists help people with psychological disorders by evaluating and treating such disorders. Counselling psychologists provide psychological support and counselling to individuals with adjustment problems who do not typically have a serious psychological disorder. Educational psychologists help schools and school systems to identify and assist students whose problems interfere with their school success.  Some Possible Careers in Psychology cont’d Developmental psychologists study the biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial changes that occur across the life span. Personality psychologists identify and measure enduring human traits. Social psychologists study how individuals behave in social situations and how social influences change behaviour. Even More Possible Careers in Psychology Environmental psychologists study how the environment— natural and human-made—influences individual behaviour. Experimental psychologists study basic processes such as the nervous system, sensation, and perception. Industrial/organizational psychologists study the relationship between people and their work. Even More Possible Careers in Psychology Cognitive psychologists study mental processes such as thinking, memory, language, problem solving, and information processing. Health psychologists examine how behavioural and psychological experiences are related to physical health. Sports psychologists help athletes use psychological strategies to enhance their performance. Forensic psychologists work with matters where there is interface between psychology and the criminal justice system.  Fields Within Psychology There are many fields of study within psychology. Let’s start with a broad distinction between research with a focus on theory vs practical knowledge and application (though many professionals do both types!).  Basic and Applied Research Basic Research Applied Research -aka pure research -interested in putting theory - theoretical approach - into practice to solve a knowledge for the sake of problem in the real world knowledge Basic vs Applied Research cont’d Basic Research Applied Research E.g., my MSc work E.g., dyslexia research Can you think of an example? Images are CC0 from Pixabay Four Main Goals of Psychology When it comes to human behaviour, there are four main goals of psychology. They are to: Describe Explain Predict Control Let’s talk about each one of these in more detail. You’ll be asked to create some of your own examples….  Four Main Goals: Describe Describe- what a behaviour or mental process looks like Four Main Goals: Explain Explain - why a behaviour or mental process occurs  Four Main Goals: Predict Predict - predict (what, when, why) a behaviour will occur;  Four Main Goals: Control Control - change behaviour and/or demonstrate cause and effect Is this ethical????  Activity In small groups choose a topic/human behaviour. Brainstorm what types of questions you might ask to address each of these four goals of psychology.  Ethics* Psychologists must adhere to the code of ethics for psychological research established by the Canadian Psychological Association. – Established standards promoting individual dignity, human welfare, and scientific integrity must be followed. The National Council on Ethics in Human Research sets ethical guidelines regarding the treatment and protection of human participants in research. * (If Time - otherwise this content will be covered during Week 2) 1-34 Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada  Ethics of Research with Human Participants The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 2018) includes four principles for ethical decision making: 1. Respect for the dignity of persons and people 2. Responsible caring 3. Integrity in relationships 4. Responsibility to society Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada 1-35  Ethics of Research with Human Participants The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 2018) includes four principles for ethical decision making: 1.Respect for the dignity of persons and people includes basic human rights, fair treatment, informed consent, privacy, and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent: a participant’s agreement to participate in research after receiving information about the purpose of the study and the nature of the treatment Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada 1-36  Ethics of Research with Human Participants The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 2018) includes four principles for ethical decision making: 1. Responsible caring includes competence and self- knowledge, maximizing benefits, and minimizing risks/harm analysis for participants. Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada 1-37  Ethics of Research with Human Participants The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 2018) includes four principles for ethical decision making: 3. Integrity in relationships includes honesty, objectivity, and avoidance of conflict of interest; any deception must be justified and participants must be fully informed after their participation is finished. (See “Deception and Ethics” box on page 25 of the textbook.) Debriefing: providing participants with an explanation of their role in an experiment and explaining the purposes and methods of the research following completion of the study Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada 1-38  Ethics of Research with Human Participants The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 2018) includes four principles for ethical decision making: 4. Responsibility to society includes respect and development of society through psychological research Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada 1-39  Ethics Research with Animals Psychologists and other scientists may use animals to conduct research that cannot be carried out with humans. The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) provides guidelines for researchers working with animals and promotes good animal care in science. 1-40 Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada  Theories(2 of 2) Theories are sets of hypothesized statements about relationships or principles that explain observed behaviours. Psychologists use theories to propose reasons for relationships among events to allow us to derive explanations and predictions they revise/replace theories if observations are not adequately explained by theories. 1-41 Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada  Critical Thinking Critical thinking refers to the process of thoughtfully analyzing and probing the questions, statements, and arguments of others. It moves our understanding of concepts, theories, and statements to an “unbiased” analysis. It focuses on factual and rational information. Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada  Principles of Critical Thinking Principles that enhance critical thinking skills include: 1. Being skeptical. 2. Insisting on evidence. 3. Examining the definitions of terms. 4. Examining the assumptions or premises of arguments. 5. Being cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence. 6. Considering alternative interpretations of research evidence. 7. Not oversimplifying 8. Not over-generalizing.  Summary We defined psychology Differentiated between professionals working within the field of psychology (e.g., psychologists vs psychiatrists; basic and applied researchers) Identified the four main goals of psychology. Described ethical principles required for research. Defined theories and critical thinking. Next time, we’ll learn more about theory, methods and the history of psychology.  References Rathus, S., A., Maheu, S. J., & Veenvleit, S. G. (2023). PSYH (Fifth Canadian Edition). Nelson Education Ltd.