Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology What is psychology? Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology

Mental (cognitive) processes A Definition Of Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of Mental (cognitive) processes Behavior Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes Includes the study of both humans and animals

What do psychologists do? Help people with problems Measure and test Teach SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH This slide should be pretty self-explanatory. Depending on your audience and your interests, you may choose to expand a little on some of the first three topics in this list, but students should learn that there are many different kinds of psychologists, including psychotherapists, scientific consultants, advertising experts, and high school and university instructors. Nonetheless, you should let your audience know that in this presentation, you are going to emphasizing scientific research.

WHAT ARE MENTAL PROCESSES? Memory Creativity Imagination Belief Reasoning Perception Emotion

WHY IS PSYCHOLOGY IMPORTANT? Personally useful psychological knowledge Ability to think critically about psychological topics IT Warm feeling for psych Can improve people’s lives Practically useful knowledge pertaining to people and their mysterious ways Addresses important questions

Some psychological research topics: origins of stereotypes development of language causes of Alzheimer’s disease accuracy of eyewitness testimony personality & musical preference treatment of eating disorders causes of romantic love This slide is design to pique your audience’s curiosity and to begin to give them a sense of how broad the field of psychology is. You might wish to select one or two of these specific topics and give a little detail, but remember that you are on a tight schedule. You only have 40-45 minutes to say it all!

The Fields of Psychology Developmental Psychology Physiological Psychology Experimental Psychology Personality Psychology Clinical and Counseling Psychology Social Psychology Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Psychology And Social Change Social change refers to the transformation of a person’s attitudes beliefs, and behaviours. Psychologists interested in how and why individuals change their behaviours and thoughts Focus on personal change How individuals contribute to groups How behaviours contribute to social attitudes and practices Better understanding of human behaviour = psychologists able to predict future changes