PSYC 1000 Lecture 1: What is Psychology?

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1000
• Professor: Dan Meegan

Document Summary

Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour, thought, and experience and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors. A research enterprise that doesn"t necessarily follow what may seem to be common sense. More interested in what"s happening on the individual level rather than a societal level. Implied hypothesis: the act of doing calculations magically induces thoughts of red hammers. Typicality hypothesis: red is the most typical colour, hammer is the most typical tool; under any circumstances, most people would say red hammer , the preceding calculations are irrelevant to the colour/tool decision. Norm hypothesis: preceding colour/tool question with norm information (98% of people say the same thing) causes people to ask what would others say? . These hypotheses are not necessarily mutually exclusive (two or more of them could be simultaneously true) Typicality hypothesis: group 1: colour/tool decision with calculations, group 2: colour/tool decision without calculations.