INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY
Dec 22, 2015
INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
- The Science of the human mind and its functions.
- The scientific study of behavior and mental processes of organisms.
OBSERVABLE VS. UNOBSERVABLE BEHAVIOURS
OBSERVABLE (Behaviour)
-Any action that others can observe and measure.
-walking
-talking
-gestures
• UNOBSERVABLE (Cognitive Actions)
- Not externally visible
- thoughts
- feelings
- emotions
- dreams
- memories
THE 5 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY• 1. OBSERVE
• Watch a person’s behavior
• 2. DESCRIBE• Record specific behavior under certain conditions
• 3. EXPLAIN• Give reasons for the behavior
• 4. PREDICT• Determine how a person will behave/respond in a certain situation based on
previous O.D.E. (observation, description, explanation)
• 5. CONTROL• Change the behavior or mental process by teaching the patient ways of
coping or keeping anxiety under control.
WHERE DOES PSYCHOLOGY FIT?
SOCIAL SCIENCES
- Study the structure of human society and the nature of the individual within society
-Anthropology, Sociology, History, Economics
NATURAL SCIENCES
- Study the nature of the physical world (brain or mind).
- Rooted in experimentation (Scientific Method)
- Systematic & Scientific (structured, methodical, empirical).
- Concerned with animal development
- Biology, Medicine, Physics, Neuroscience
4 APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
•BIOLOGICAL
•BEHAVIORAL
•COGNITIVE
•SUBJECTIVE
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
STEP 1. FORMULATE TESTABLE QUESTIONS
- Develop a hypothesis
STEP 2. DESIGN STUDY TO COLLECT DATA
- Experimental
- Descriptive
STEP 3. ANALYZE DATA TO ARRIVE AT CONCLUSIONS
- Use of statistical procedure
STEP 4. REPORT RESULTS
- Publication
- Replication