PSY-P 155 Chapter Notes - Fall 2018 Chapter 1 - Telegraph key, Sigmund Freud, Western philosophy
Document Summary
Formally defined, psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Let"s consider the three key terms in this definition: science, behavior, and mental processes. As a science, psychology uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions. The goals of psychological science are to describe, predict, and explain behavior. Behavior is everything we do that can be directly observed two people kissing, a baby crying, a college student riding a motorcycle to campus. Mental processes are the thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly. Although we cannot see thoughts and feelings, they are nonetheless real. They includethinking about kissing someone, a baby"s feelings when its mother leaves. The psychological frame of mind psychologists are critical thinkers. Critical thinking is the process of reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence. Thinking critically means asking ourselves how we know something.
