PSY 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: The Control Group, Living Brain, Eyewitness Memory
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 1. Foundations
At the end of this Chapter you should be able to:
• Understand the scope of psychology
• Different perspectives in psychology
• The scientific research method in psychology
Different Approaches in Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. An approach or
perspective in psychology is a particular view as to why, and how, it is we think, feel, and behave
as we do.
Behavioral
Behavioral Psychology is basically interested in how our behavior results from the stimuli both in
the environment and within ourselves.
• Biological: believes us to be as a consequence of our genetics and physiology. It is the only
approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a physical point
of view.
• Evolutionary: focus on how evolution has shaped the mind and behavior.
• Developmental: also known as Human Development, is the scientific study of progressive
psychological changes that occur in human beings as they age.
• Psychodynamic - Sigmund Freud was the founder of the psychodynamic approach to
psychology. This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on
behavior.
• Cultural Multicultural: focus is on the role of social & cultural factors & especially on diff
btwn cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual preference & racial groups.
• Cognitive: focus on our info processes of perception, attention, language, memory, &
thinking, & how they influence our thoughts, feelings & behaviors.
Breadth of Content
• Psychology: the study of ..
•why we do what we do
•why we feel the way we feel
•why we think as we think
•Human behavior
•What is unique about humans?
•What do we have in common with other species?
•How do we differ from each other?
•How did we come to be who we are?
•Humans alone and in context:
•How do we act when we are alone?
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•How do we act when we are with one other person?
•How do we act when we are in a group?!
Psychology covers a variety of topics:
1. The workings of the living brain
•metabolic activity gives clues about brain /behavior relationships
•no such thing as "memory center" / "reading center"
•brain regions: work in coordination
2. Memory
•Studied as function, not "brain region"
•“Eyewitness” memory: window into complexity of topic
•Common areas of study:
•errors of commission
•errors of omission
3. Innate Capacities
•Achievement through experience
•We remember what has happened and alter behavior accordingly
•Achievement through innate capacity
•Even seen in infants in areas such as arithmetic (!)
4. Displays and Communication
•Social topic (Takes 2 to communicate)
•Verbal
•Language, sound
•Display
•Body structure (tail feathers in peacock), behavior / posture (smile / folded arms)
5. Social Behavior in Humans
•Varied as compared to most animals
•Flexible as compared to most animals
•Strategic and careful, but also unconscious and irrational
•Changes when social behavior occurs around more than person (large groups, crowds,
mobs)
•Why does social behavior change so much under these circumstances?
•Good question for psychology
Diversity of Perspectives
•Many perspectives used to study the breadth of psychology’s content
•Example: Diff perspectives that can be brought to bear on a single phenomena: EATING
To study EATING, we can look at:
•Biological Basis for eating
•Cultural Influences on eating
•Eating and the social world
•Eating Disorders
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