Do Now Would you consider psychology a science , why or why not?

Unit 1: History of Psychology and Approaches Contemporary Psych

Psychology’s Biggest Question Nature vs. Nurture EX: Biology vs. Environment, Sally acts tough because her mom acts tough (genes) or Sally acts tough because she lives in a rough neighborhood are we just born that way or does what happens to us shape who we are and what we do Debate goes back to the Greek Charles Darwin debate went back and forth for a while, Rene’s beliefs that some ideas are inborn sparked Darwin Natural selection EX: I see in the dark because it helped me survive so all my kids will see in the dark Evolutionary psychology

Demo Many traits and behaviors are inherited. Draw a line on a scratch piece of paper Does your ring finger and your pointer finger touch line? Interlock your fingers Which thumb is on top?

Three Main Levels of Analysis Biological EX: genes, brain functions, ect. Psychological EX: learned fears, emotional responses Social-Cultural EX: peer pressure, religion, social media, etc. Biopsychosocial Approach You need all 3 approached to get the full picture regarding someone’s behavior EX: Anorexia brain chemistry/hormones (Bio), past experiences/ body-shaming (Psych), society’s views on body shape (Soc-Cult)

Levels of Analysis

Psych’s Approaches/Perspectives Similar to the levels of analysis, the approaches by themselves will most likely not paint a complete picture, but them together can reveal a lot Behavior: Anorexia Approach/Perspective Example/Application Biological Hormone imbalance Evolutionary Eating less meant you could run faster away from predators Psychodynamic I have to be skinny so the opposite sex is attracted to me Behavioral My mom doesn’t eat so I don’t get or eating make me sick Cognitive Being fat affects my self-esteem  low self esteem affects my eating Humanistic You think being thin will help you be the best you Social-Cultural Social media says you have to be skinny to be happy

Psychology’s Main Subfields Basic Research Science driven  increase knowledge EX: How do drugs affect the brain? Experiments to explore this Applied Research Goal is to solve practical problems EX: a company doesn’t function because nobody knows the rules  operant conditioning to solve problem.. How to behave based on punishments/rewards Clinical Research Help people EX: marriage advice, medication for disorders

Basic Research Biological Developmental Cognitive Educational EX: what parts of the brain are responsible for hunger? Developmental EX: at what age to babies see 3D? Cognitive EX: how do we go about solving math equations? Educational EX: how does a child’s age affect how they learn in school? Personality EX: why do I always act so high strung? Social EX: why do I act differently around Billy?

Applied Research Industrial-Organizational Human Factors EX: how to make your workers feel better and work harder… pay them more Human Factors EX: how automated phones make customers feel

Clinical Counseling Clinical Psychiatry EX: making a marriage work, relationships with your children Clinical EX: helping with depression or eating disorder Psychiatry EX: an actual doctor who prescribed medication to treat ADD or anxiety

SQ3R Survey, Questions, Read, Rehearse, Review Study Tips Distribute your study time Learn to think critically In class, listen actively Overlearn Be a smart test-taker

Today Questions Quiz Introduce HW HW = Putting Perspectives to Practice