PSYCH 1XX3 Lecture Notes - Dunlin, Group Size Measures, Social System
Document Summary
Biology is the science of life, so psychology is a biologically science. Unifying theory of all biology is the theory of evolution. Biological sciences goal: elucidate adaptive designs of living things. Definition: biological traits/characteristics that help an individual survive and reproduce in its habitat. Always for something; they function to make the organism better suited to the environment. Psychological traits can be evaluated in the same way as biological traits aren"t just morphological, but encompass perceptual processes and behaviors. Scientists form questions that form sub-tasks of the actual task that is done, and then for processes capable of accomplishing them. Adaptationists: describe how hypotheses about adaptive function guide investigations. Includes psychologists studying development, behavior or perceptual processes. Cognitive psychologists are also adaptationists, breaking a problem into adaptive problems and then finding adaptations that solve those problems. In assessing higher mental processes , cognitive psychologists assess the jobs the mind needs to do (attention, retrieval, etc.