PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Behaviorism, Behavioral Neuroscience, Sociobiology

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Sherri Atwood

Document Summary

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes: scientific: answering questions objectively based on observation, data, and established methods. Empirical methods: behavior: observable activity, mental processes: thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, motivations, dreams, subjective experiences, subfields of psychology, clinical psychology: the study and treatment of mental disorders, biopsychology: focuses on the biological underpinnings of behavior, developmental psychology: examines human physical, psychological, and social development across the lifespan, experimental psychology: focuses on such basic processes as learning, sensory. Industrial organizational (i/o) psychology: examines people"s behavior in the workplace: personality psychology: focuses on the study of human personality, social psychology: examines people"s thoughts, feelings, and behavior pertaining to the social world the world of other people. Psychology"s scientific approach: empirical approaches make use of research evidence rather than rely on popular opinion, common sense or intuition, mental shortcuts (e. g. , thinking based on stereotypes, looks, personal experience which may be atypical).