PSY 102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Behaviorism, Emotional Reasoning, Edward B. Titchener
28 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PSY - Chapter 1 - Psychology and Scientific Thinking
Psychology - the scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour
Level of analysis - rungs on a ladder of analysis, with lower levels tied most closely
to biological influences and higher levels tied most closely to social influences
Multiply determined - actions are multiply determined - caused by many factors
Individual differences - help explain why each person responds in different ways
to the same objective situation
Reciprocal determinism - the fact that we mutually influence each other’s behaviour
5 challenges
1. Human behaviour is difficult to predict
2. Psychological influences are rarely independent of each other, making it
difficult to pin down which cause(s) are operating
3. People differ from each other in thinking emotion, personality and behaviour
4. People often influence each other
5. Peoples behaviour is often shaped by culture
Naïve realism - the belief that we see the worlds precisely as it is (seeing is
believing)
Scientific theory - explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world
Confirmation bias - tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses
and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them
Belief Perseverance - tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence
contradicts them
Metaphysical claim - assertion about the world that is not testable
i.e. existence of god, the soul, the afterlife
Psychological Pseudoscience: Imposters of Science
Pseudoscience - set of claims that seems scientific but isn’t. lacks the safeguards
against confirmation bias and belief perseverance that characterize science
Warning signs of pseudoscience
Overuse of ad hoc immunizing hypotheses
Exaggerated claims
Overreliance on anecdotes (I know a person who says…)
Absence of connectivity to other research
Lack of review by other scholars
Lack of self correction when contrary evidence is published
Meaningless “psychobabble”
Talk of “proof” instead of “evidence”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Psy - chapter 1 - psychology and scientific thinking. Psychology - the scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour. Level of analysis - rungs on a ladder of analysis, with lower levels tied most closely to biological influences and higher levels tied most closely to social influences. Multiply determined - actions are multiply determined - caused by many factors. Individual differences - help explain why each person responds in different ways to the same objective situation. Reciprocal determinism - the fact that we mutually influence each other"s behaviour. Na ve realism - the belief that we see the worlds precisely as it is (seeing is believing) Scientific theory - explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world. Confirmation bias - tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them. Belief perseverance - tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them.
