PSYC 2010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Cognitive Psychology, Neurochemistry, Social Cognition

• School: Auburn University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2010
• Professor: Sadie O' Neil

Document Summary

The study of the mind, brain, and behavior. Brain is the organ; the mind is the chemicals acting within the brain. Behavior: any behavioral action, human and nonhuman. Psychologist: anyone who aims to understand these behaviors and to predict these behaviors. You should have a good amount of amiable skepticism open but weary of scientific findings. Being a good psychologist is to look at different evidence to find an unbiased ground. Confirmation bias (ignoring evidence): placing greater importance on evidence that supports your belief. Source credibility: appealing to authority with unjustifiable information/beliefs/claims. Misunderstanding/not using statistics (going with your gut) Relationships that don"t exist: evidence consisting of information with no correlation. Self serving bias: everyone thinks they"re better at something than they actually are, crediting personal strengths for their successes and blaming outside forces for their failures. Relative comparisons: information being presented in a way that could sway perception.