Chapter 1 The Science of Psychology
What is psychological science
-Psychology = the study of thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
-Psychologist = someone whose career involves understanding people's minds or predicting their
behaviour.
Humans are intuitive psychologists: we have natural ways to understand and predict others'
behaviour. But with our own gut feelings we can't decide if claims related to psychology are
fact or fiction <-- psychological science is needed.
-Psychological science = the study through research of mind, brain and behaviour.
1.1 Psychological Science is the Study of Mind, Brain and Behavior
Psychological science = the study of mind, brain and behavior through research.
-Mind = mental activity, includes the memories, thoughts, feelings and perceptual experiences we
have while interacting with the world.
<-- mental activity results from biochemical processes within the brain.
-Behavior = the totality of observable actions.
Conclusion on how the mind and the brain do relate: the mind (mental activity) is produced by
biochemical processes in the brain
In de past psychologist focused on behavior rather than on mental states, because they had
few objective techniques for assessing the mind. The advent of technology to observe the
working brain in action has enabled psychologist to study mental states and had led to a
fuller understanding of human behavior.
1.2 Psychological Science Teaches Critical Thinking
Findings from psychological research are often provocative. You need to be able to sort through and
evaluate the information you find in order to gain a correct understanding of the phenomenon of
your interest.
An important trait for a good scientist is amiable scepticism = a combination of openness and
wariness. Stay open for new ideas, but carefully consider the evidence. Evidence is carefully weighted
when deciding what to believe.
--> This systematically questioning and evaluating information using well-supported evidence is
called critical thinking.
Critical thinking is useful in every aspect of your life. People's intuitions are often wrong, and tend to
be wrong in predictable ways that make critical thinking very difficult.
-Being a critical thinker involves:
Looking for holes in evidence
Using logic and reasoning to see whether information makes sense
Considering alternative explanations
Considering whether the information might be biased
Most people are quick to question information that does not fit with their believes. But as an
educated person, you need to think critically about all information (keep refreshing the information
in your mind).
1.3 Psychological Science helps us understand biased or inaccurate thinking
In some ways intuitive thinking can lead to errors. These errors and biases do not occur, because we
lack intelligence or motivation, but occur because we are motivated to use our intelligence.
Patterns that do not exist
People often think they see faces in objects. This occurs because the human brain is highly efficient at
finding patterns and noting connections between things. By usings this abilities, we make new
,discoveries and advance in society. But sometimes we see patterns that do not exist. We see what
we expect to see.
False believes can sometimes lead to dangerous actions.
Example: people who believed that Covid was not as deadly as reported an ignored safety warnings.
Common biases:
-Ignoring evidence (=confirmation bias): people tend to overweigh evidence that supports their
beliefs and downplay evidence that does not match what they believe.
Sampling of information is a factor that contributes to confirmation bias.
People show selective memory, tending to better remember information that supports their
existing beliefs.
-Seeing causal relationships that do not exist
Example: two events that happen at the same time must somehow be related.
In our desire to find predictability in the world, we sometimes see order that does not exist.
-Accepting after-the-fact explanations (hindsight bias): once we know the outcome, we interpret
and reinterpret old evidence to make sense of that outcome. After-the-fact explanations give a false
sense of certainty about our ability to make predictions about future behavior.
Why should you be suspicious of after-the-fact explanations?
Once people know an outcome, they interpret and reinterpret old evidence to make sense of that
outcome, giving a false sense of predictability.
-Taking mental shortcuts (availability heuristic)
People follow simple rules (heuristics) to make decisions. These mental shortcuts are valuable,
because they often produce reasonably good decisions without too much effort. Sometimes
heuristics can lead to inaccurate judgements and biased outcomes.
Example: child abductions are much more likely to be reported in the news than more common
dangers are. Parents may overestimate the danger of child abduction and as a result maybe
underestimate other dangers.
1.4 Why are people unaware of their weakness?
Another bias in thinking is that people are motivated to feel good about themselves and that this
motivation affects how they interpret information. Many people believe they are better than average
on any number of dimensions.
---> People are resistant to recognizing their own weaknesses.
Hypothesis generation: considering a few different possibilities for an effect.
Possible explanation:
-Dunning-Kruger effect: people lack the ability to evaluate their own performance in areas where
they have little expertise
Conclusion: we should be sceptical of people's descriptions of their personal strengths, because
people often lack the expertise to accurately evaluate and compare their abilities.
What is the Scientific Scope of Psychology?
1.5 Many Psychological Questions have a long history
-The mind/body problem: are the mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the
subjective experience of ongoing brain activity?
Throughout history the mind has been viewed as residing in many organs of the body
o Egyptians believed that the mind was in the heart.
o Scholars continued to believe that the mind was separate from the body
--> 1500: Leonardo da Vinci challenged this doctrine with his more accurate anatomical
drawings of human bodies.
,He believed that sensory images arrived in the middle of the brain, the sensus communis.
o 1600: Descartes theory of dualism = the mind and body are separate yet intertwined. The
body was nothing more than an organic machine governed by reflex. Deliberate action was
controlled by the rational mind. The rational mind was devine and separate from the body.
o Nowadays: the mind arises from brain activity, and the activities of the mind change the
brain. The mind and brain do not exist separately.
-The nature/nurture debate: the arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are
biologically innate or acquired through education, experience and culture.
Psychologist now widely recognize that nature and nurture dynamically interact in human
psychological development. They both contribute to our mental activity and behavior,
individually and in interaction with each other.
1.6 Mental processes and behaviors serve functions for individuals and groups
-William James
Published the first overview of psychology ''Principles of Psychology'' (1890)
He moved psychology beyond considering minds as sums of individual units and into
functionalism.
Core idea: the mind is much more complex than its elements and therefore cannot be broken down.
The mind consist of an ever-changing, continuous series of thoughts. This stream of consciousness is
the product of interacting and dynamic stimuli coming from both inside our heads (for example the
decision what to have for lunch) and outside (for example the smell of pie).
Functionalism --> the mind came into existence over the course of human evolution. It works as it
does because it is useful for preserving life and passing along genes to future generations. It helps
humans adapt to environmental demands.
Some features, those that are common to all humans, are likely to have evolved through
natural selection: those who inherit characteristics that help them adapt to their particular
environments have a selective advantage over those who do not.
-Stuart Mill
In the mid-1800 psychology in Europe arose as a field of study built on the experimental method.
Stuart Mil defined psychology as the science of the elementary laws of the mind. Only through the
methods of science the process of the mind would be understood.
-Mary Whiton Calkins
The first woman president of the American Psychological Association
1.7 The field of Psychology spans the range of human experience
, After decades of focusing on a relatively narrow slice of the world population, psychology is
beginning to increase its diversity and inclusion (racial, cultural & diversity in age, ability, gender, ses
etc.): the value and practice of ensuring that psychological science represents the experiences of all
humans.
---> Culture and many other forms of diversity are becoming integral to all areas of psychology.
Psychologists began to specialize in specific areas or research and the kinds of human experiences
under investigation by psychological science broaded.
Areas of specialization in Psychology
Clinical psychology = the area of psychology that seeks to understand, characterize and treat
mental illness.
Cognitive psychology: aims to understand the basic skills and processes that are the
foundation of mental life and behavior.
Cultural psychology: studies how cultural factors can have profound effects on mental life
and behavior.
Developmental psychology: studies how human grow and develop from the prenatal period
through infancy and early childhood, through adolescence and early childhood and into old
age.
Health psychology: studies how psychological processes influence physical health and vice
versa.
Industrial/organizational psychology: explores how psychological processes play out in the
workplace.
Relationships psychology: researches our intimate relationships, properties that make them
succeed or fail, and the two-way effect between intimate relationships and other aspects of
our lives.
Social-Personality psychology = the study of everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviors and
the factors that give rise to them. It focusses on the situational and dispositional causes of
behavior and the interactions between them.
What are the latest developments in psychology?
1.8 Biology is increasingly emphasized in explaining psychological phenomena
Remarkable growth in understanding of the biological bases of mental activities in recent decades
had three major advances that leaded to further understanding of psychological phenomena.
1. Developments in neuroscience
Brain imaging (EEG, fMRI)
-> rapid and dramatic progress in understanding the neural basis of mental life.
o Made clear that there is some localization of function in the brain: different areas in the brain
are specialized for different functions.
o Challenge now: mapping out how various brain regions are connected and how they work
together to produce mental activity --> Human Connectome Project.
2. Genetics and epigenetics
The human genome = the basic genetic code for the human body.
-> this map represents the foundational knowledge for studying how specific genes affect
thoughts, actions, feelings and disorders.
Nearly all aspects of human psychology and behavior have at least a small genetic
component. Combinations of genes can predict certain psychological characteristics, but the
pathways of these effects are mostly unknown. A number of biological and environmental
processes can influence how genes are expressed.
Epigenetics = the study of the ways environmental mechanisms can get ''under the skin''
(particularly in early life), to influence our mind and behavior.
