introduction

• Psychology definition


  Study of the mind and behavior
• 4 things psychologists examine psychological phenomena with

  1. Diverse perspectives

  2. More cultural context

  3. Different psychological backgrounds

  4. Various demographics
• WEIRD


  Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic
• What is the study of psychology

  Study of psychological science — psychologists combine curiosity and wonder with healthy skepticism
• Summative psychology science


  Rests in a body of knowledge that's continuously growing

  (psychologists rarely suggest simplistic cause and effect relation)
• Overconfidence bias


  Overestimating the accuracy of our own judgements
• Confirmation bias


  Searching for info that only proves our own beliefs
• Scientific branch


  took root in universities and intellectual endeavors and scientific experimentation
• Clinical branch


  equates psychology with psychotherapy, psychiatry, and clinical practice; began with Sigmund Freud
• Dr. Franz Mesmer (18th century)


  Insisted all living things have animal magnetism — magnetic fluids for hypnosis
• Pseudoscience


  Collection of beliefs mistakenly thought to be asked on valid science
• Evidence


  the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.
• Empirical evidence


  Based on astute observation and accurate measurements (scientific technology / questionnaires)
• Pop psychology


  Oversimplified and inaccurate Click bait, website, magazines the public accepts as the truth
• Misconception on psychological truth = common sense


  Psychological science stems from scientific testing/ hunches of intuition (often revealed wrong)
• Psychological science vs. Conventional wisdom

  Example: assuming a statement is true (when scientifically is not)
• Critical thinking


  purposeful, reasoned, goal-directed thinking that involves solving problems, formulating inferences, working with probabilities, and making carefully thought-out decisions
• Questions of critical thinking

  1. What scientific evidence supports this claim

  2. Has the topic been studied empirically

  3. Is this someone's opinion or based on facts
• Evolutionary perspective


  Identify human evolution that shape cultural universals that all human beings share (ex: love in relationships)
• Cultural perspective


  Perspectives that understand how cultural context affects peoples thoughts and preferences
• Culture


  Rules/values/citations that exist with groups of people that share a common language gauge and environment
• Nature vs nurture


  Biological aspects vs cultural upbringing/experiences
• Cognitive perspective


  Study of mental process that underlieperception/thought/learning/memory/language and creativity
• Emotional perspective


  Understanding of how humansfeel/excite/percieve emotion/ decision making/behavior/social relationships
• Unconscious perspective


  Part of mental life that influencesthought/ feeling/emotion
• Human Brain (1.8)


  Body control centre — everything psychological is simultaneously biological
• Biological neuroscience perspective (1.8)

  Understand biological underpinnings of how humanthink, act and behave
• Neuroscience (1.8)


  Study how nerve cells send/get info. From brain body and spinal cord
• 3 major brain structures (1.8)

  1. Corpus callosum

  2. Basal ganglia

  3. Cerebellum
• Corpus callosum


  Fibres connect 2 hemispheres for exchange of information between halves of the brain
• Basal ganglia


  Interconnected structures underneath cortex thatplans/executes movement (transmit info to motor regions in cerebral cortex to thalamus)
• Cerebellum


  Mini brain: behind pons and medullas in hindbrain. Allows forcoordination, balance , and movements
• Positive psychology (1.10)


  Study of factors that make people happy, keep them happy and help manage stress (human experiences, hope, courage and creativity)
• 3 components of happiness (1.10)

  1. Positive emotion and pleasure

  2. Engagement with life

  3. Living full life with food, relationships and history of accomplishments
• Developmental perspective (1.9)


  How people changephysically, cognitively, socially and emotionallyas theyage
• 3 attachment styles (1.9)

  1. Secure

  2. Dismissive- avoidant

  3. Anxious - ambivalent
• Secure attachment style


  Excites positive affect in relationships compared to others
• Dismissive - avoidant attachment


  Increase well being, often believe they a re right, and their partners are wrong
• Anxious ambivalent attachment


  Excites negative affect in relationships concern their investment isn't being reciprocated
• Personality perspective (1.9)


  How human behavior at relatively stable over time and situation