PSYC 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Psychophysics, Heredity, Materialism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1000
• Professor: Paula Barata

Document Summary

Psychology- a scientific study of behaviour, thought and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social factors. Anything that uses the scientific method can be defined as a science. The scientific method is- a way of learning about the world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them and then using theories to explain them. Hypothesis- a testable prediction about processes that can be observed and measured. Pseudoscience- an idea that presents itself as a science but lacks the basic principal of scientific thinking. Theory- is an explanation for a broad range of observations that also generates a new hypotheses and integrates into coherent whole. Biopsychosocial model- is a means of explaining behaviour as a produt of biological, and sociocultural. Critical thinking- involves exercising curiosity and skepticism when evaluating the claims of others and with our own assumptions and beliefs. Empiricism- is a philosophical tenet that knowledge comes from experience.