Psych 110B General Psychology Section B Professor Kip Smith Teaching Assistant Rebecca Sitzes

1. Psych 110BGeneral Psychology Section BProfessor Kip SmithTeaching Assistant Rebecca Sitzes

2. Psychology is the science of human behavior and the mind

3. lowercase UPPERCASE The Class Web Site • http://courses.ksu.edu/spring2003/PSYCH/PSYCH110B • When you are in class, I want you to listen, to ask questions, to think and to contribute • I do NOT want you scribbling everything you see on the screen • To encourage this behavior, all lecture materials (like this) will be available on the class web site prior to class time

4. Organization of the Semester • Part 1 Foundations • Part 2 Nature • Test 1 Friday 7 February • Test 2 Friday 28 February • Part 3 Nurture • Test 3 Friday 28 March • Part 4 Addled minds • Test 4 Wednesday 16 April • Part 5 Normal minds • Test 5 Monday 5 May • Final Thursday 15 May

5. Part 1 - Foundations • Introduction to Psychology • Reading of the Syllabus • On the Scientific Method • QuALMRI

6. yuch Mind, soul logos Word, study Psychology Psychology is the science of human behavior and the mind

7. The science of human behavior • Behavior: anything that an organism does that can be observed • Examples: • eating, • hearing, • selecting a mate, • choosing what to wear, • …

8. The science of mind • Mind: an organism’s subjective experiences = mental behavior • Examples: • dreaming, • making a decision, • attributing beliefs to others • … Thinking Feeling

9. Psychology asks questions like: • What drives behavior? • What makes us do what we do? • Why do we think the things we think?

10. What drives behavior? • Behavior, B = f{Goals, Knowledge, Information} • Behavior is a function of • The organism’s goals • What it knows • What it picks up about the world around it

11. Goals • Examples • To be happy • To be healthy • To have a trusting and trustworthy mate • Where do goals come from?

12. Nature Nurture Sources of goals

13. Nature = our evolutionary inheritance • We are animals • Our most fundamental goals are an animal’s goals • To eat • To sleep • To find shelter • To keep warm • To be safe • These goals are the products of millions of years of evolution

14. Aside • This is a science class • The theory of evolution, like the theory of gravity, is one of the foundations of modern science • If you are uncomfortable with the theory of evolution, you will be uncomfortable in this class

15. Relies on observation Asks questions about observations to make sense of them Makes hypotheses Conducts experiments Relies on sacred texts Provides answers that make sense of observations Does not make hypotheses No experiments Science Religion

16. Makes new observations Continually tries to refine its hypotheses There is no heresy in science A process of incremental learning and enlightenment Does not make new observations Does not challenge accepted answers Heresy Science Religion

17. Example What is wrong with Janet’s brain that makes her depressed all the time? What happens after death? Science & Religion Ask different types of questions

18. What is wrong with Janet’s brain that makes her depressed all the time? Questions that can be addressed via the scientific method What happens after death? Questions that defy observation and experimentation Science & Religion Ask different types of questions

19. Science & Religion Can both be part of your life They serve different purposes The whole person is open to both

20. A note to literal readers of the Bible • There is nothing in the Bible that is incompatible with evolution • You are free to interpret everything you learn in this class as the handiwork of a creator

21. Nature, our evolutionary inheritance Nurture Sources of goals

22. Nurture = adaptation to the environment • Some goals are taught • by parents • by cultural norms • … • Some goals are acquired by experience • Avoiding sources of pain • Seeking sources of pleasure • …

23. What drives behavior? • Behavior, B = f{Goals, Knowledge, Information} • Behavior is a function of • The organism’s goals • What it knows • What it picks up about the world around it

24. Knowledge • The mental stuff you bring with you to achieve a goal • 2 + 2 = 4 • If it is red, ripe, and round, it is tempting • When he starts telling bad jokes, it is time to leave • When I laugh at his bad jokes, it is really time to leave • Where does knowledge come from?

25. Nature Our evolutionary inheritance If it is red, ripe, and round, it is tempting Nurture Adaptation to the environment 2 + 2 = 4 Cues for splitting the scene Sources of knowledge

26. What drives behavior? • Behavior, B = f{Goals, Knowledge, Information} • Behavior is a function of • The organism’s goals • What it knows • What it picks up about the world around it

27. Information • The stuff we pick up with our senses • Sensation and perception • Some information becomes knowledge • What has to happen for this to occur? • Memory

28. What drives abnormal behavior? • Behavior, B = f{Goals, Knowledge, Information} • Irrational goals • Incorrect knowledge • Picking up information that is not in the world

29. Behavior is a function of{Goals, Knowledge, and Information}Psychology is the science of behavior and mind • Therefore, psychologists study • The formation and pursuit of Goals • The acquisition and uses of Knowledge • The picking up of Information from the environment

30. Psychologists also study • The workings of the brain-mind • How learning happens • How the mind goes wrong • And lots of other stuff HOW?

31. By conducting experiments • As scientists, psychologists rely on • observation, • hypothesis formation, and • experimentation • = the scientific method • You will be participating in experiments as part of this class • Here is an example …

32. Example of the scientific method • Step 1 - Ask a Question • How long did it take you to decide which shoes to wear today? • Step 2 - Make some observations

33. Sex and shoes • Step 3 - Formulate hypotheses • Hypothesis 1 • A consistent sex difference, F > M • Hypothesis 2 • No difference between the sexes, F = M • Step 4 - Test the hypotheses • How would you test these hypotheses?

34. Aside - Sex & Gender • Sex refers to the biological endowment that is the basis for categorizing people as female or male • You are born with a sex • Gender refers to the culturally-defined set of characteristics and expectations attributed to females and males • You and your society define your gender

35. The Reading of the Syllabus

36. The Class Web Site • http://courses.ksu.edu/spring2003/PSYCH/PSYCH110B • Download the PowerPoint lecture materials • Print them as HANDOUTS (3 or 6 / page) • Bring them to class. Take notes on them.

37. 3 point quizzes • Bring 3 x 5 (inch) cards to class • NOT 5 by 7! • Use them to write your answers to the quizzes • The quizzes will be given at random times during the semester

38. Grading the quizzes • 0 if absent • 1 if guessing • 2 if close • 3 if correct

39. Research Requirements • You gotta participate in 3 different experiments • You will get only one hour of credit for “2 hour” experiments • If you are under 18, there is an alternative: writing reviews of articles • If you are over 18, you do NOT have the option of writing reviews

40. For next time: • Buy the textbook packet • Buy 3x5 cards • Download this and next week’s lecture notes from the website • Read chapters 1 and 2 • Be ready to answer a question about • something in the chapters and • something from class