PSYC 2000 Lecture : Test 1 Lecture Notes
Document Summary
Intro into the history and science of psychology (module 1) Thursday, january 19: what is psychology, psychology is a science that seeks to answer all sorts of questions about us. He assumed that thinking, just like smelling develops because it is adaptive. Adaptive natures helped contribute to our ancestors" survival, while consciousness serves as a function. This is why until the 1920s, psychology was defined as the science of mental life. John b. watson and b. f. skinner redefined psychology between the 1920s and 1960s, as the scientific study of observational behavior. many stated, after all, science is rooted in observation. You cannot observe a sensation, feeling or thought but you can observe and record people"s behavior as they respond differently to situations. Today, after rediscovering the mind, psychology as defined since the 1960s is the science of behavior and mental processes. : scientific analysis- experimental analysis, behavior- anything an organism does- any action that we can observe and record-
