Welcome to PSY 103-02:

Introductory Psychology!

Please download
from Blackboard
(if you havent already, as per my email)
1. Syllabus
2. Guidelines for Research Participation
3. Guidelines for SONA System
4. Instructions for Mass Testing
5. General Study Tips
6. Study Guide for Exam 1
7. Lecture slides (print as Handouts with
3 slides per page)

People
Instructor

Graduate Assistants

Anne Moyer

Megan Finsaas
Sarah Posiask

Undergraduate Assistants
Sumeet Bhinder

Ms. Cindy Forman

Subject Pool Coordinator, B 154

Ms. Donna Hildenbrand

Undergraduate Coordinator,
Psych B 109

Ms. Carol Carlson

Undergraduate Advisor,
Psych B 109

Required Text
Gerrig, R. J. & Zimbardo, P. G. (2013).
Psychology and Life, (20th ed).

Available at the campus bookstore.

Blackboard

http://blackboard.stonybrook.edu

Evaluation
1. Best 2 grades of exams 1-3; and final exam (equally weighted)

90%

2. Brief written assignment

10%

3. Research participation
4. Extra credit available through the You Make the Call challenge,
You Ask the Question, and Professors Dont Bite initiative
up to 7.5%!

Policies
Student Responsibilities
Special needs
DSS
Varsity athletes
Non-native English speakers
Fulfilling course requirements
No early or make-up exams will be given
Written assignments are due Mon Oct 20
Academic dishonesty

Course Schedule

What can I expect to get out

of this course?
1. Knowledge: an understanding of a variety of topics
in psychology.

2. Skills: critical and scientific thinking skills

3. Applications: a better understanding of your own

and others behavior and motivations

Is Psychology just common

sense?

Class Exercise: How good are

you at explaining research?

The ____________ Bias

our tendency to __________ our
ability to have foreseen how
something would turn out after
learning the outcome

True or False?
1. Although 90 percent of Americans are right-handed, lefthandedness is common in many non-industrialized cultures.
2. Some people dream, others do not.

3. Some people can remember things that happened to them as

early as one year of age.
4. A smile has different meanings in different cultures.
5. The ability to memorize new material does not decline in old
age.

True or False? (Contd)

6. Human memory capacity cannot truly be increased through
the use of memory tricks.
7. Childrens IQ scores are not predictive of their grades in
school.
8. If youre assaulted on the street, you are more likely to get
help if there are three onlookers than if theres only one.

9. A schizophrenic is someone with multiple or split personality.

10. People who think about themselves a lot are healthier and
happier than those who do not.

What is Psychology?
the scientific study of the behavior of
individuals and their mental processes

What are the Goals of Psychology?

To describe, explain, predict, and control behavior,
and to thus improve the quality of human life

Different Approaches to Studying Psychology

and Explaining Behavior
1. Psychodynamic (late 19th - early 20th Century): inherited
instincts, biological drives, and attempts to resolve conflicts
between personal needs and societys demands. Remember
Sigmund Freud.
2. Behaviorist (1930s-50s): environmental stimuli. Remember
John Watson and B.F. Skinner.

3. Humanistic (1950s-70s): own choices based on striving for

personal growth and development of their potential.
Remember Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

4. Cognitive (1970s-): thoughts and computations. Learning

and memory, language, problem solving. Remember Daniel
Kahneman (2002 Nobel Prize) and Jean Piaget.
5. Sociocultural (contemporary): cultural norms
6. Evolutionary perspective (contemporary): adaptations for
survival

7. Physiological/Biological (very contemporary): genes, the

brain, the nervous system, and the endocrine system

What do Psychologists do?

Psychology Specializations

Psychologist Work Settings

APA Divisions
Addictions (50)
Adult Development and Aging (20)
American Psychology-Law Society (41)
Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology (21)
Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology (6)
Child, Youth, and Family Services (37)
Clinical Child Psychology (Division 12, Section 1) (53)
Clinical Neuropsychology (40)
Society of Clinical Psychology (12)
Consulting Psychology (13)
Counseling Psychology (17)
Developmental Psychology (7)
Educational Psychology (15)
Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics (5)
Exercise and Sport Psychology (47)
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (25)
Experimental Psychology (3)
Family Psychology (43)
Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy (49)
Health Psychology (38)
History of Psychology (26)
Humanistic Psychology (32)
International Psychology (52)
Media Psychology (46)
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (33)
Military Psychology (19)
Peace Psychology (48)
Population and Environmental Psychology (34)
Psychoanalysis (39)
Psychological Hypnosis (30)

Psychologists in Independent Practice (42)

Psychologists in Public Service (18)
Psychology and the Arts (10)
Psychology of Religion (36)
Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse (28)
Psychotherapy (29)
Rehabilitation Psychology (22)
School Psychology (16)
Society for Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology (27)
Society for Consumer Psychology (23)
Society for General Psychology (1)
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (14)
Society of Personality and Social Psychology (8)
Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (45)
Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian and Gay Issues (44)
Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (51)
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (9)
Society for the Psychology of Women (35)
Society for the Teaching of Psychology (2)
Society of Pediatric Psychology (Division 12, Section V) (54)
State Psychological Association Affairs (31)
Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (24)

American Psychological
Association and Association
for Psychological Science
websites
www.apa.org
www.psychologicalscience.org

Video Presentation: Careers

for Psychology Majors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgWBDfRGL8

Integrative
Neuroscience

Cognitive
Science

Clinical
Social and
Health

Social (and Health) Psychology: focuses on the effect of

social variables on individual behavior, attitudes,
perceptions, (and health)
How do institution and social factors influence achievement and
identity of ones gender or race?

(Bonita London)
What are the psychological issues that surround cancer and
cancer risk? How does the experience of being a research
participant affect the outcome of the research?

(Anne Moyer)

Clinical psychology: seeks to understand the nature

of individual pathologies of mind, mood, and
behavior
How do we decide whether someones behavior is mentally
healthy or not?
What is the basis of anxiety disorders?
(Greg Hajcak)
What are the early warning signs of problems in romantic
relationships of adolescents?

(Joanne Davila)

Cognitive Science: studies higher mental processes,

such as attention, language use, memory, perception,
problem-solving, and thinking.
Can language affect your perceptions and judgments?
(Richard Gerrig)

How accurate is eyewitness testimony?

(Nancy Franklin)

Integrative Neuroscience: studies the brain and the

links between brain activity and behavior
How does exercise protect the brain?

(Brenda Anderson)
How does the human brain process memories and make
decisions?

(Hoi-Chung Leung)

Freebie Questions

Freebie Question #1
Research psychologists who take a behavioral perspective are
likely to:
(a) assume that the general principles of behavior will hold true
for different species.

(b) study behavior in natural or field settings where it is

assumed to be more authentic.
(c) avoid the use of sophisticated data-collection equipment,
relying more on casual observational techniques.
(d) be less concerned with precision and quantification than is
true of other approaches to psychological research.