1. PSYCHOLOGY THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR AND EXPERIENCE

2. Why do we study psychology? To describe To predict & To change our behavior and experience To make sound decisions To help people

3. GOALS To challenge “common sense” To gain understanding and tolerance To prepare for times that will be both good and bad, and all points between

4. We all know that: If it doesn’t kill us it will just make us stronger. We would never do that! We know the difference between red and blue. Our emotions impair our reasoning. Couples should stay together for the kids. Nice guys finish last.

5. The systematic study of behavior and experience Wide scope Emphasis on evidence acquired using the methods of science What we do and how we feel about it

6. How about animals? Do animals think? Are they smart? Do they feel emotions?

7. How important is psychology? Abu Ghraib

8. Why psychology? Katrina victims

9. Special Education

10. Enhancing performance

11. Big Questions Do we have Free Will? Do we really make decisions or are we just playing out a script? Chaos Sin Crime

12. Another Big Question. Mind vs. brain Is there anything more than just physics and chemical reactions? Do we have a soul?

13. And finally…… Nature vs. nurture Are our personalities and capabilities a result of: a) how and where we were raised or b) what we inherited from our parents?

14. What do psychologists do? Explore the connection between psychology and biology. Hormones Drugs Genetics Evolutionary influences Brain trauma Neurotransmitters

15. Study our cognitive capabilities and processes. How do we think and acquire knowledge? How can we treat learning disabilities? How can we control our “self talk”?

16. Study human development When should we able to perform various tasks? What is the process of our development- from conception to death. What causes things to go wrong

17. Social psychology The study of the influences we exert on one another. Persuasion. The intersection of law and psychology. the jury system the death penalty

18. Clinical psychologists Counselors who listen and treat Psychiatrists who can prescribe Psychoanalysts who analyze

19. Industrial organizational Using psychology in the work setting How do employers select, train and pay their employees NFL combine Ergonomics- making products that the average person can use safely and efficiently Compatibility- meeting expectations

20. School psychology special education bullies and victims the gifted Enrichment- helping captive animals eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase natural behaviors so that society will respect them and work to preserve their natural habitats

21. Forensic specialists with sophisticated knowledge of psychological and legal issues – profilers Health coping with stress & maximizing our potential Environmental making sustainable choices

22. Psychology as a Major? Suitable for many purposes Employment – Without a Master’s With a Master’s P.H.D. programs Women - the new majority? Professional schools Typical classes

23. The history of psychology From the dawn of time ….. The Bible – Proverbs The Greeks tragedies Aristotle- observation and rational analysis

24. History cont. The Scientific Method – applying the rigor of the physical sciences to behavior and consciousness 1880 Wilhelm Wundt The fist lab devoted to psychology Ran experiments, collected data Studied consciousness – with little success

25. History Cont. 1880 – William James Stark contrast to Wundt Focus on utility The Principles of Psychology Inspirational, timeless But no research

26. History iv Darwin and the concept of evolution Can studying animal intelligence tell us about humans? Attempts to scale and rank animal intelligence

27. History v The search to understand human intelligence First attempts- Galton in 1870 Lost in nature vs. nurture Albert Binet 1905 Why did kids fail at school? The IQ test First valid test and more

28. History vi two geniuses Pavlov- 1905, Moscow The discovery of Classical Conditioning and the dawn of behaviorism Freud- 1900, Vienna The birth of psychodynamic theory Personality and behavior are controlled by unconscious forces stemming from our childhood Dominated treatment and personality theory

29. History- behaviorism Experience? Thoughts? Emotions? Who cares?!? In response to frustration with animal IQ studies and the vague nature and unsettling assumptions of psychodynamics GOAL – to observe and quantify without inferences FOCUS – use animals to uncover the basic laws of learning and behavior

30. History of behaviorism ii Outlined by Pavlov, but Systematized by John Watson Laid out methods and underlying principles Dominated psychology, particularly in the U.S. for years Scandal then success

31. History of psychology beyond behaviorism Albert Ellis – the power of Irrational thinking – self talk “I must be approved or loved by every significant person in my community” “If I’m not thoroughly compe- tent in everything I do, I’m worthless.”