1. Introduction 1
Psychological Science: study of the mind, brain and behavior

2. Questions to Consider:
I. What Are the Seven Themes of Psychological Science?
II. How Did the Scientific Foundations of Psychology Develop?
III. How Can We Apply Psychological Science?

3. I. What Are the Seven Themes of Psychological Science?
Psychology Is an Empirical Science
Nature and Nurture Are Inextricably Entwined
The Brain and Mind Are Inseparable
A New Biological Revolution Is Energizing Research
The Mind Is Adaptive
Psychological Science Crosses Levels of Analysis
We Often Are Unaware of the Multiple Influences on How We Think, Feel, and Act

4. 1. Psychology Is an Empirical Science
The scientific method: objective, systematic procedures used to understand what is being studied
Understanding how science is conducted makes it possible to tell which studies are credible and which are not

5. 2. Nature and Nurture are Inextricably Intertwined
Are psychological characteristics a product of nature or nurture?
Biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture
Psychologists now widely recognize both as important

6. 2. Nature and Nurture Are Inextricably Intertwined
Changing beliefs about the influence of nature vs. nurture
Schizophrenia
Bipolar Disorder

7. 3. The Brain and Mind Are Inseparable
Descartes’ theory of dualism
Maintained the distinction between mind and body
Assigned the body many mental functions previously considered the mind’s domain
Psychological scientists largely reject dualistic thinking
Mind is what the brain does (monism)

8. 4. A New Biological Revolution Is Energizing Research
Growth in understanding mental activities’ biological bases
Interest in biology permeates psychological science

9. 4. A New Biological Revolution Is Energizing Research
Three crucial developments
Brain chemistry
The human genome
Watching the working brain

10. 4. A New Biological Revolution Is Energizing Research
Brain chemistry:
Though it was long believed only a handful of neurotransmitters were involved in brain functions, in fact hundreds of substances play critical roles in mental activity and behavior
New understanding of the brain’s chemical process has provided insight and enabled the development of treatments for psychological disorders

12. 4. A New Biological Revolution Is Energizing Research
The human genome:
Scientists have mapped the basic genetic code for the human body
Developed various techniques for discovering the links between genes and behavior
Beginning to understand how situational contexts influence how genes are expressed

13. 4. A New Biological Revolution Is Energizing Research
Watching the working brain:
Only since the late 1980s have researchers been able to study the working brain as it performs its vital psychological functions
Many brain regions participate to produce mental activity and behavior

14. Phelps, Banaji, and their colleagues showed white college students pictures of unfamiliar black and white faces. When some of the participants viewed unfamiliar black faces, brain scans showed activation of the amygdala, a brain region associated with threat detection, and also of the anterior cingulate, which is associated with emotional response.

15. 5. The Mind Is Adaptive
The brain has evolved over millions of years to solve problems related to survival and reproduction
Mind is adaptive in biological and cultural terms
Genetic mutations

16. 5. The Mind Is Adaptive Evolutionary theory:
Determining whether human mechanisms are adaptive
Need to be aware of the challenges of our ancestors in order to understand our current behavior
Sweet and fatty foods

17. 6. Psychological Science Crosses Levels of Analysis
Four levels of analysis reflect the most common research methods for studying behavior:
Biological
Individual
Social
Cultural

18. 6. Psychological Science Crosses Levels of Analysis
Biological level of analysis
The physical body contributes to mind and body
Neurochemical and genetic processes
Individual level of analysis
Differences in personality
Mental processes that affect how people perceive the world

19. 6. Psychological Science Crosses Levels of Analysis
Social level of analysis
Group contexts affect people’s ways of interacting and influencing each other
Cultural level of analysis
Different cultures shape thoughts, feelings, and actions of the people in them

21. 7. We Are Unaware of Influences on How We Think, Feel, and Act
People are influenced by subtle factors in their environments, even when they largely are unaware of those influences.
Some factors influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors at an unconscious level

22. Chapter 1 Day 2
II. How Did the Scientific Foundations of Psychology Develop? III. How Can We Apply Psychological Science?

23. II. How Did the Scientific Foundations of Psychology Develop?
Experimental psychology begins with structuralism
Functionalism addresses the purpose of behavior
Gestalt psychology emphasizes patterns and context in learning
Women made pioneering contributions to psychology
Freud emphasized the power of the unconscious
Most behavior can be modified by reward and punishment
Cognition affects behavior
Social situations shape behavior
Psychological therapy Is based on science

24. 1. Experimental Psychology Begins with Structuralism
History of experimental psychology:
William Wundt developed the method of introspection
A systematic examination of subjective mental experiences that requires people to inspect and report on the content of their thoughts.

25. 1. Experimental Psychology Begins with Structuralism
Edward Titchener pioneered structuralism:
Based on the idea that conscious experience can be studied when it is broken down into its underlying components

26. 2. Functionalism Addresses the Purpose of Behavior
William James
Critic of structuralism
Coined the term “stream of consciousness”
An ever-changing, continuous series of thoughts
Proposed the approach of functionalism
Argued that the functions of the mind, rather than its elements, should be the focus of psychologists

27. 3. Gestalt Psychology Emphasizes Patterns and Context in Learning
Second school of thought opposed to structuralism
Personal experience is not simply the sum of its constituent parts
Perception of objects is subjective and dependent on context

30. 4. Women Made Pioneering Contributions to Psychology
In the history of psychology, women have made pioneering contributions
Mary Whiton Calkins
Margaret Flay Washburn

31. 5. Freud Emphasized the Power of the Unconscious
Sigmund Freud is a key figure in the history of psychology
Much of human behavior is determined by mental processes operating below the level of conscious awareness, at the level of the unconscious
Pioneered the case study approach

32. 6. Most Behavior Can Be Modified by Reward and Punishment
John B. Watson
Challenged the focus of psychology on conscious and unconscious mental processes
Proposed the idea of behaviorism, an approach that emphasizes environmental effects on behavior

33. 7. Cognition Affects Behavior
George A. Miller defined the field of cognitive psychology
Concerned with higher-order mental functions such as intelligence, thinking, language, memory, and decision making

34. 8. Social Situations Shape Behavior
Social psychology
Focused on the power of the situation and on the way people are shaped through their interactions with others.
Power of social situations-Nazi Germany
Link to video about Milgram Experiment

35. 9. Psychological Therapy Is Based on Science
A humanistic approach to the treatment of psychological disorders
Developed in the 1950s
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
Emphasized how people can come to know and accept themselves in order to reach their unique potential.

36. III. How Can We Apply Psychological Science?
Psychological Knowledge Is Used in Many Professions
People Are Intuitive Psychological Scientists
Psychological Science Requires Critical Thinking
Psychologists Adhere to a Code of Ethics
Psychology Is Relevant to Every Person’s Life

37. This graph, adapted from data published by the American Psychological Association (APA), shows the great increase in this professional organization’s membership from 1900 to 2004.

38. 1. Psychological Knowledge Is Used in Many Professions
Psychological science’s content is of interest and value to many professions
Physicians use knowledge of psychological science to better related to their patients, determine how patients’ behaviors are linked to health, and learn what motivates patients to seek out medical care (or not).

39. 1. Psychological Knowledge Is Used in Many Professions
Careers in which it is necessary to understand people also use psychological science.
Lawyers, politicians, and advertisers

40. 2. People Are Intuitive Psychological Scientists
By nature, humans are intuitive psychological scientists
Develop hypotheses about and try to predict others’ behavior

41. 3. Psychological Science Requires Critical Thinking
Systematic way of evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusions
Thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal directed
Used in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions

42. 4. Psychologists Adhere to a Code of Ethics
The American Psychological Association publishes a code of ethics that all its members must respect
This code includes being respectful to all people, treating them with dignity, and protecting them from potential harm
Ethical dilemmas

43. 5. Psychology Is Relevant to Every Person’s Life
The insights of psychology are critical in almost every sphere of our lives and its content
Explicating how humans think, feel, and behave – it is universal