PSYA01H3 Chapter 1: Textbook Notes for chapter 1
Document Summary
A science based on discovering and explaining the causes of behaviour. Literally means the science of the mind , but misleading because science of behaviour not mind. To provide an explanation for behaviour, psychologists must: describe it. Learn how to categorize and measure behaviour so that the phenomena being observed is universal: discover the causes of the observed behaviour = explain it. Causal events are events that cause other events (including behaviour). There are different levels of explanation even when the same behaviour is being studied; psychology is such a diverse discipline. 1: may solve our most important and pressing problems, human behaviour is root of many of world"s problems (ex. Intellectual curiosity. terrorism, war, etc. : health related problems caused by human behaviour (ex. Cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer, stress-related illnesses). Research psychologists differ in terms of: type of behaviour they investigate, causal events they analyze. Physiological psychology: subdivision of behavioural neuroscience that studies neural mechanisms of behaviour.
