How many psychologists does it take to change

• How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?

– Just one – but the bulb must be ready to change.

WELCOME TO PSY 21

Welcome to psychology…. . • Name a famous psychologist. • What does a psychologist do? • The “pop” culture view of the psychologist. . .

What are we in store for this semester? ? ? • See syllabus. . .

A. Roots of psychology. • A very brief “history”. • 1. Philosophy – Socrates, Aristotle • Religion also – Descartes, Locke • 2. Science – Physiology, Biology, Medicine • Psychology born: 1879 – Wilhelm Wundt (philos. and physiologist)

B. Definition of psychology. • Science of behavior and mental processes. – Behavior? – Mental processes? – Science?

C. Sub-fields of psychology. • 1. Neuroscience: Study the links between brain and behavior. (Biological Psych – link between biology and behavior) • 2. Developmental Psychology: Study the physical, social, and psychological changes and development from the womb to late adulthood.

C. Sub-fields of psychology. • 3. Cognitive Psychology: Study mental processes; how we sense and perceive information. • 4. Social Psychology: Study how the situation influences behavior; how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.

C. Sub-fields of psychology. • 5. Personality Psychology: Studies individual differences and how those characteristics originated or developed. • 6. Clinical/Counseling Psychology: Study, assess, and help troubled people. • Many, many other sub-fields.

• See the breadth and diversity of psychology. • No area or sub-field is “correct” • They are complimentary. • But. . .

D. Is Psychology Simply Common Sense? • Is most of what psychologists study information we could figure out on our own? • Cultural “truisms” and “common sense” aren’t always accurate. • Why we need to test our ideas.

• QUICK QUIZ!!!

FACT OR FICTION? TRUE OF FALSE? • 1. The human brain produces its own natural opiates that ease pain and elevate mood. • 2. Newborns can only see light and dark shades (not colors). • 3. Advertisers are able to shape our buying habits through subliminal messages. • 4. Psychological research indicates that some people do have ESP. • 5. The greater the reward promised for

• 6. The amount of information that can be stored in human memory is limited. • 7. Most people would refuse to obey an authority who told them to hurt an innocent person. • 8. Most of us suffer unrealistically low self -esteem. • 9. The most common form of schizophrenia is the split personality, in which a person possesses two or more separate identities. • 10. Without professional help, people who suffer psychological disorders inevitably get worse.

D. Is psychology simply common sense? • Overconfidence Effect: The tendency to be more confident than correct. • Hindsight bias: “I knew it all along phenomenon”. The tendency to exaggerate one’s ability to predict an outcome after that outcome is known.

• Why we need to test our ideas. • Why we need to state our hunches, ideas, etc. (before we test them. ) • If we don’t – relying on intuition only. • What’s wrong with intuition and basing knowledge of psych on personal observation?