PSYC 1020A Introduction to Psychology B PDF

PSYC 1020A Introduction to Psychology B: Developmental, Sociocultural, and Abnormal  Introduction Objectives 1. What is Psychology? a. Defining psychology b. Benefit of studying psychology  Critical thinking  Biased t...

PSYC 1020A Introduction to Psychology B: Developmental, Sociocultural, and Abnormal  Introduction Objectives 1. What is Psychology? a. Defining psychology b. Benefit of studying psychology  Critical thinking  Biased thinking c. Areas of psychology d. Job Prospects  Introduction Definition of Psychology Psychology is the study of mind, brain, and behaviour  Mind is our mental activity, including memories, thoughts, feelings, and perceptual experience (five senses).  Brain is biochemical processes that arouse mental activity.  Behaviour is the totality of observable actions  Introduction The Study of Mind, Brain, and Behaviour Psychology teaches critical thinking  Critical Thinking is the act of deliberate thinking.  Brain is biochemical processes that arouse the mental activity.  Behaviour is the totality of observable actions  Introduction Biased or Inaccurate Thinking and More Psychology informs people about biases in thinking  Confirmation bias o Tendency to look for information that confirms our beliefs and ignore the information that does not.  Illusory correlation o Tendency to assume causality from correlations  Hindsight bias o Tendency to explain an event after it occurred.  Availability heuristic o Tendency to believe accessible information  Capilano Bridge Study o Tendency to attribute increased heart rate to love.  Ash’s line estimation o Tendency to conform to the others  Introduction Areas of Specialization in Psychology There are many disciplines within psychology.  Clinical o Treat mental illness.  Cognitive o Attention, Memory, Sensation, Perception  Developmental o People from prenatal to grave  Industrial/Organizational o Selecting and managing people in the workplace.  Social-personality o Situational and dispositional influence on people  Cultural o Cultural variations in mind, brain, and behavior.  Introduction Culture Provides Adaptive Solutions Transmission of culture: we are born to be cultural  Cooperative motivation o Primates expect others to help.  Imitative learning o Only humans imitate others without rewards  Rachet effect o Cumulative addition of inventions from one generation to another o We can learn from objects after the inventor left.  Introduction Crossing Levels of Analysis Level of analysis reflect the most common research methods  Biological o Physical body influence mind and behaviours  Individual o Individual differences in mental activities affect people’s perception of the world.  Social o Contextual influence affect interactions in groups  Cultural o Above three levels of analysis differ depending on individuals’ cultural background.  Introduction Benefit for Your Career Many careers involve interactions with actual and/or imagined others.  Human Resource Officer o People who touch on people’s work life  Teacher o Most influential to others’ growth in skills and aptitudes  Marketer o Understanding consumers’ minds is crucial for success  Writer o Sensitivity in people’s minds will help depict characters in a story