1. Welcome to Psychology
Are you ready?

2. True or False Pre-Quiz
1. Sigmund Freud is generally considered to be the father of psychology.
2. The science of psychology evolved from the older, more established fields of biology and philosophy
3. The biggest and most persistent issue in psychology concerns the nature-nurture debate – that is, the relative contributions of biology and experience to mental processing and behavior.

3. 4. Psychology’s different perspectives contradict each other.
5. In contrast to sociology and anthropology, contemporary psychology has little interest in how behavior varies across cultures.
6. You must have a medical degree to be a psychiatrist.

4. What is psychology?
The study of human behavior or why people do what they do.

5. What are the Unit 1 Essential Questions?
How was psychology founded?
What are the major perspectives in psychology?
How do psychologists conduct and understand research?

6. What are major issues in psychology today?
stability vs. change
Do people change?
Ex.) Can shy toddlers become teenage social butterflies?

7. human rationality vs. irrationality
We can recognize patterns and process abstract ideas better than the best computers…but, we are prone to err.
We overestimate our own memories, we are swayed by stories more than statistics. We have limits to our rationality.

8. nature vs. nurture
Are intelligence, personality, obesity and psychological disorders more influenced by heredity or environment?

9. What are the Subfields of Psychology?
Basic research: pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
Applied research: scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.
Clinical psychology: a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Psychiatry: medical doctors who deal with psychological disorders sometimes using medical treatment such as drugs.

10. --Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes 1841-1935
“Once expanded to the dimension of a larger idea, [the mind] never returns to its original size”
--Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes