Basics of Psychology Guiding Principles of the Study of Psychology

Psychology DefinedThe scientific study of behavior and mental process.

Behavior = Actions that people observe/measure. Walking, talking, sleeping, and eating. Cognitive = Mental processes. Dreams, perceptions, thoughts, and memories. Emotions = Affect both behavior and mental processes.

Themes of Psychology: Scientific/Empirical

Psych encourages us to ask questions in a certain way, and to find answers through systematic observation.

Not just watching people/events in an undisciplined manner.

Psych focuses on specific issues and seeks cause and effect.

Themes of Psychology: Practical

Psych uses observations to explain human behavior and make recommendations for how to improve. ex. Study why people feel stressed and then come up with strategies to cope with stress.

Themes of Psychology: Theoretical

Psychologists collect info in order to understand the world around them.

Follows scientific method to measure results. Once they have some info, they attempt to link the pieces together into a meaningful whole.

Requires multiple data sets.

Themes of Psychology: Continually Evolving

Psych is done by people for people. Goal = Improve understanding/improve quality of life.

Psych exists and changes according to society. ex. Studying effects of Social Media on relationships did not exist in 1900s. Advances in tech improve our ability to study and understand psych.

As societies advance, so do our ideas on behavior and thinking.

Major Aspects of Psych: BehaviorBehavior is any observable activity.

ex. Conversation, “People Watching”, Sports. Psychologists observe and describe behavior and mental processes to better understand and be able to explain them.

ex. Sports Psychologists notice an athlete's performance drops when team is down.

Psychologists try to predict how behaviors will impact a person and be able to control negative behaviors.

ex. Psychologists gives suggestions to coach on what causes the athlete’s drop and how to work through those with player.

Major Aspects of Psychology: Cognition

Cognition = Any type of mental processes. Learning, memory, attention, perception, reasoning, language, conceptual development, and decision making.

Modern study of cognition rests on idea that the brain can be understood as a complex computing system.