PSYC1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Psych, Alien Abduction, Human Factors And Ergonomics
12 Jun 2018
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SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.
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Behaviour = overt (observable) actions; physiological correlates of actions
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(memories, imagery, concepts); emotions (fear, happiness, anger, arousal) →Changes in emotional state;
changes in heart rate; respiration rate = all measurements; interactions between the two (e.g. decision
making)
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Mental processes = thoughts
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Definition:
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Description of behaviour using careful observations
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Prediction allows for specification of the conditions under which a behaviour will or will not occur
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Relationship between two things
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Explanation identifying the cause(s) of behaviour
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Facilitating changes in behaviour (e.g. therapy)
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Goals of scientific psychology
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Isn’t the answers to most psychological questions just common sense?
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We are dealing with scientific methods
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SCIENCE VS COMMON SENSE
Why scientific psychology?
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SCIENCE
COMMON SENSE
Objective data collection
(changes in heart rate)
Subjective data collection
Systematic observation - Produce an experimental study
rather than just observation
Hit or miss observation
The repetition of experiments with the same results
done by other scientific peers
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Reliance on evidence
Ignoring any results that differ from the same
experiment conducted by other peers
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Ignores counterevidence
HOW PSYCHOLOGY IS TAUGHT
Little quizzes (3 - 4 times)
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Self-testing →give yourself questions = the better
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Spreading out your learning (do not cram!)
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How to improve learning:
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Elaborative interrogation →keep questioning why?
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Self-explanation: how do i know?
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Doing different subjects alternatively
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Interleaved practice: mixing apples and oranges
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What may work:
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Highlighting or underlining
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Re-reading →better covering the text up and then explaining it
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Imagery for text… keyword mnemonics etc.
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What doesn't work:
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Teachers are not told
Why don't people tell us?
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Scientific Approach
How Psychology is taught
History
Relationship between Psychology and other disciplines
Framework of Psychology
Preview of course themes
1C - Psychological Perspectives (Kilcross)
Thursday, March 1, 2018
8:59 PM
PSYCH 1001 Page 1
Document Summary
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Behaviour = overt (observable) actions; physiological correlates of actions. Mental processes = thoughts (memories, imagery, concepts); emotions (fear, happiness, anger, arousal) changes in emotional state; changes in heart rate; respiration rate = all measurements; interactions between the two (e. g. decision making) Prediction allows for specification of the conditions under which a behaviour will or will not occur. Systematic observation - produce an experimental study rather than just observation. The repetition of experiments with the same results done by other scientific peers. Ignoring any results that differ from the same experiment conducted by other peers. Self-testing give yourself questions = the better. Re-reading better covering the text up and then explaining it. Huge amount of research is overwhelming, difficult for educators and learners to identify the most practical and advantageous ways to study. Psychology can reveal things about society that we didn"t know. Case study: milgram"s studies of obedience to authority.
