Introduction to Psychology

Suzy Scherf

Lecture 1: Introduction

The Science of Psychology

Thinking Critically in Psychology
Evaluating the SSSM
What is Psychology?
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical,
state, mental state, and external environment.
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical,
state, mental state, and external environment.

Scientific study requires several things:

1. Theoretical framework
2. Testable Hypotheses
3. Empirical evidence
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical,
state, mental state, and external environment.

Behavior and mental processes include overt,

observable instances but also include subtle
kinds of instances, like brain activity.
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical,
state, mental state, and external environment.

Humans and may other creatures included in the

scientific study of behavior and mental processes
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical
state, mental state, and external environment.

Physical state relates primarily to the organisms

biology - most especially the state of the brain
and central nervous system
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical
state, mental state, and external environment.

Mental state does not have to be conscious - can

study mental states in many creatures without
their conscious awareness - and can be studied in
terms of brain activity.
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical
state, mental state, and external environment.

All organisms function in an environment that is

constantly presenting them with problems and
challenges that must be solved.
 What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

and how they are affected by an organisms physical
state, mental state, and external environment.

Most people think of psychology as the study of

differences between people, but it also includes
the study of similarities between people.
 What is Psychology?
Kinds of Psychologists: (all scientists)

Cognitive Cognitive Neuroscience

Social Evolutionary
Developmental Educational
Health
Clinical
Human Factors
 What is Scientific Thinking?

1. Critical thinking - assess claims on the basis of

well-supported reasons and evidence - not on
emotional or anecdotal reasoning.

2. Involves asking questions - one of the most

important is, WHY?

3. Involves defining terms - must be clear and

concrete
 What is Scientific Thinking?

4. Involves examining evidence - Let me have my

opinion! doesnt count

5. Involves analyzing assumptions and biases -

scientific thinkers do not take anything as proven
fact and work hard to overcome their own biases in
thinking
 What is Scientific Thinking?

6. Involves avoiding emotional reasoning - do not let

gut feelings replace clear thinking - emotional
conviction does not settle arguments

7. Involves avoiding oversimplification - the obvious

answer is often wrong and misleading - do not
argue based on own anecdotal evidence
 What is Scientific Thinking?
8. Involves consideration of other interpretations - the
best interpretations are supported by the most
evidence and explain the most variables

9. Involves tolerating uncertainty - sometimes

evidence is unclear or does not even exist

10. Involves asking questions that can be tested in

this world
 What is Scientific Thinking?

What is the difference between these two statements?

1. I like Fords better than Hondas.

2. Fords are better than Hondas.

And what about this statement?

3. Fords are the best in the world and Hondas do not

exist; they are a conspiracy of the Japanese
government.
Whats Happening in Our Class?
 Whats Happening in Our Class?
1. Taking a look at Psychology by asking five broad
questions.
How did we get here?
How do we act?
How do we think/know?
How do we interact?
How do we differ?
 Whats Happening in Our Class?
2. We will always be asking how the physical state
of an organism and its environment
simultaneously influence an organisms behavior
and mental processes.

3. We will spend a lot of time discussing how people

are similar and some time talking about how they
are different.
 Whats Happening in Our Class?
4. We will draw on what we know about other
critters to help us understand ourselves.

5. We will study and critique all kinds of ideas about

the way people work.

6. We will learn a set of theoretical tools in the

beginning of class and continue to use them
though out the course.
 Whats Happening in Our Class?
Examples of ideas that we will discuss and evaluate:

What happens to our brains when we eat

chocolate?
Are women just gold-diggers and men just
superficial?

How do people overdose on drugs?

Why are we fooled by magic tricks?

 Whats Happening in Our Class?
Examples of ideas that we will discuss and evaluate:

Why can children learn any language while

adults have to work so hard to learn a second
language?
Why is Jamie Lee Curtis a man genetically?

What is stem cell research and why do we care?

 How Did We Get Here?

Evolution is the best scientific

theory that explains how we got
here.
 Why Does it Matter How We
Got Here?
Most psychologists dont ask about how we got
here. They only study how things work now that
we are here.

Knowing how we got here helps us understand why

we work the way we do.

Evolution is crucial for understanding psychology!

 Psychology without Evolution
The Standard Social Science Model
(SSSM)
Most psychologists agree that bodily organs
evolved to serve a function.

However, many of them also believe that the

mind/brain and behavior did not evolve to serve
a function.
They believe that our brains and behavior
transcend biology!
 What is Psychology Like without
Evolution?
1. Social scientists dont tend to ask questions like,

How did we get here?

Without this question we have no complete

theory of human psychology
 What is Psychology Like without
Evolution?

2. Can only ask HOW questions not WHY questions.

No way to study what the mind is for, or what it is

designed to do.

Can only study how the mind works.

 What is Psychology Like without
Evolution?
3. Traditional psychology has to work through trial-
and-error to discover the minds operating principles

No overarching theory that guides inquiry about

mind design
Trial-and-error approach can lead to bind alleys

SCIENTIFIC
BLIND ALLEY
 What is Psychology Like without
Evolution?
4. An artificial line is drawn between the Social and the
Natural sciences.

Our biology makes everything we do possible

including social interactions and learning

All of science is a coherent enterprise cant

have contradictions across fields

We are not above our biological nature!

 What is Psychology Like without
Evolution?
5. It assumes that humans born as a blank slate.

All living things are born with important

preparations for living

Just because a trait is not present at birth does

not mean that it is acquired through experience
(ie. Puberty) process of Maturation
What is Psychology Like w/o Evolution?
6. It assumes that differences among people arise
primarily from different experiences and cultures.

Genes also contribute to differences between

individuals

Experience has to act on something a biological

organism

Genes and environment always working together

to mold an individual