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GROUP ADVISING FOR PREMED STUDENTS MONDAY, SEPT 3 EVENING 1ST DAY OF CLASSES

For those interested in medical school, an advisor will present advice and answer questions at the following times and locations:

•  Freshmen: two sessions either from 8-8:30 pm or 8:30-9:00 Advisor Dr. Spivey, meet in RMSC 122 (The Pit) and bring your course schedules.

•  Sophomores: 9:00-9:30 pm Advisor Dr. Moss, meet in RMSC 122. •  Juniors: 8:30-9:00 pm Advisor Dr. Moeller, meet in RMSC 121. •  Seniors: 9:00-9:30 pm Advisor Dr. Moeller, meet in RMSC 121.

For those interested in Physician Assistant (PA) programs you can meet with your PA advisor Dr. Moss in RMSC 121 at 8:00-8:30 pm (all years) For those students interested in graduate programs in biology and allied fields we will have an interest/advising meeting in the near future.

WELCOME TO INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE!

Getting to know you •  I’ve done something you

have not done Syllabus What’s a good student? What’s a good professor? Introduction to Psychology

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INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER 1

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define and Describe Psychology

•  Understand the modern definition •  Distinguish types of psychologists

Understand the history of scientific psychology

•  Mind-body problem •  Contrast different viewpoints in the origin of knowledge •  Explain development of schools of psychology

Understand modern psychology

•  Different types of “psychologies” •  Different areas of interest

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OUTLINE The Science of Psychology What do Psychologists Do? Roots of Psychology

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WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? Book definition:

•  The scientific study of behavior and the mind •  The scientific study of the behavior of individuals and

mental processes. Behavior

•  Human behavior •  Non-human behavior

Mind and body

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SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychological knowledge is based on the scientific method

•  Emphasis on observable data •  Mental processes - observable?

Black box analogy

•  Ask – reliability •  Open – parts not mechanism •  Observe - bias

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GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY Describe

•  Observe and describe •  Objectivity •  Operational definition

•  Many terms lack scientific precision •  Operational = measurable

•  How would this apply to a study of stress?

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GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY Explain

•  Hypotheses •  Inferences or logical assumptions •  Intervening variables •  Requires a test •  How would this apply to a study of stress?

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GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY Test

•  Theory •  Never completely proven •  Enough evidence to support •  Example. •  How would this apply to a study of stress?

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GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY Apply

•  Engineering – solving problems •  Clinical psychology – therapy •  Marketing, and applied fields •  How would you integrate this into a study of

stress?

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OUTLINE The Science of Psychology What do Psychologists Do? Roots of Psychology

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WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS DO? Clinical psychology

•  Majority of psychologists •  Apply psychological theory to mental and physical problems •  Diagnosis and treatment •  Counseling psychology •  Clinical psychology •  Psychiatry

Applied psychology •  Not involved with psychological disorders •  Apply psychological knowledge in the real world •  Industrial-Organizational psychology •  School psychology •  Human factors psychology

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WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS DO? Research psychology

•  Conduct experiments to learn about behavior and the mind •  Work mainly in research and educational settings •  Biopsychology •  Cognitive psychology •  Developmental psychology

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OUTLINE The Science of Psychology What do Psychologists Do? Roots of Psychology

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ROOTS OF PSYCHOLOGY Philosophy

•  Plato – introspection, logic, and reason, rationalism

•  Aristotle – observation, study, empiricism

Modern science and especially psychology is a mixture of both, with a little more emphasis on empiricism

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SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY Structuralism

• Wilhelm Wundt • Physiologist • First psychology lab in Leipzig, 1879 • Elements of immediate experience • Introspection

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SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY Functionalism

• North American • Darwin • William James • Focus on useful information • How do humans adapt to a changing environment

•  How strengthen habits? •  What are the limits of attention? •  How does memory work? •  Psychological testing. 18

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SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY Behaviorism

•  B.F. Skinner •  Self-observation is unreliable •  Science requires objectivity •  Emphasis on the environment

Clinical Psychology

•  400 different types •  Psychodynamic •  Behavioral •  Cognitive

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TATTOOS Why do people get tattoos? What would each branch of psychology say about tattoos?

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MODERN PERSPECTIVES

Biological Perspective •  Brain function •  Biochemical activity •  Determinism

•  Physical, behavioral, and mental events are determined by specific causal factors

•  Evolutionary psychology Cognitive Perspective

•  Mental processes = thoughts, perceptions, and memories

•  Structuralism (components of thought) •  Functionalism (adaptive purpose of thought)

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MODERN PERSPECTIVES Sociocultural Perspective

•  Influence of others and culture •  How does our behavior depend on the society we belong

to? •  Cross-cultural

Personality/Clinical/Health Perspectives

•  Focus on the behaviors and cognitions of people society believes to be “abnormal”

•  Health psychology is part of the focus on pathology and how psychology is related to outcomes

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Modern Psychology

IN CLASS WRITING • What are you hoping to get out of this class? • What are your career goals? • What topics are you especially interested in? • On a scale from 1 to 10, how comfortable would you be reading a scientific journal article (1= scared to death, 10 = extremely confident that you could read and understand it)