PSYC 2000 Chapter : Psych 2000 Chpt 1
Document Summary
What some don"t know : psychologists study both humans and animals to better understand what motivates behavior and what happens in their brains and bodies as they do it. Psychology- the scientific study of behavior and mental processes: behavior- all outward actions and reactions. Talking, body language etc: mental processes- the internal, covert activity in our minds. It"s a science because studying behavior and mental processes requires observation and precise measurements. Finding explanations for behavior helps form theories of behavior. By guessing what will happen in the future, they can determine what can be altered in order to prevent it or cause a different result: control- modification of some behavior. Goal is to change an undesirable behavior to a desirable one. The systematic means of psychology began in the late 1800"s. Wave 1: structuralism: william wundt- father of psych (1st to put objectivity + measurement in psych)
