Psychology and Your Life

1. Psychology and Your Life By: Robert S. Feldman

2. What do you think of when I say the word Psychology? • Name some examples Module 1, Chapter 1 pages 4-11

3. Psychology means the scientific study of behavior and mental processes • Behavior and mental processes mean • What people do, but also • Their thoughts • Their emotions • Their perceptions • Their reasoning processes • Their memories • Their biological activities that maintain bodily functioning What is Psychology – Chapter 1 page 4

4. Affect – • To have an influence on or affect a change in: Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar. • To act on the emotions of; touch or move. • To attack or infect, as a disease: Rheumatic fever can affect the heart. • Effect • Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result. • The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain. The government's action had no effect on the trade imbalance. • A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon: the photovoltaic effect. | • Advantage; avail: used her words to great effect in influencing the jury. • The condition of being in full force or execution: a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow. • Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention: The lighting effects emphasized the harsh atmosphere of the drama. • A particular impression: large windows that gave an effect of spaciousness. • Production of a desired impression: spent lavishly on dinner just for effect. • The basic or general meaning; import: He said he was greatly worried, or words to that effect. Affect vs. Effect

5. Behavioral Neuroscience – examines how the brain and the nervous system work together. They look at how our bodies influence our behavior. • affiliation, aggression, fear, reproduction and memory, positive emotion, and cognition • LOTS of R&D • Researchers can/do use cutting-edge techniques from brain imaging to molecular methods – i.e. research has identified a brain chemical that could have implications in treating autism; pioneered new methods to diagnose and treat post traumatic stress disorder What are some subfields of Psychology?

6. Experimental Psychology – branch of psychology that studies the process of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world. • Experimental psychologists use a variety of different research methods and tools to investigate human behavior. Experimentation remains the basic standard, but other techniques such as case studies, correlational research and naturalistic observation are frequently utilized in psychological research. • The basics of conducting a psychology experiment involve randomly assigning participants to groups, operationally defining variables, developing a hypothesis, manipulating the independent variables and measuring the depending variables. Subfields of Psychology continuedBe familiar with Figure 1 page 6

7. Developmental Psychology – studies how people grow and change from the moment of conception through their death • Nature vs. Nurture debate • Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development • Personality Psychology – studies the consistency in people’s behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another • Myers-Briggs • Personality Disorders • Personality Traits • Erikson • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Behavior Across the Life Span pg. 7

8. Health Psychology – explore the relationships between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease. • Stress and depression have a long term affect on the body • Clinical Psychology – deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders. • acute and chronic life crises • Counseling Psychology - focuses on educational, social and career adjustments • Businesses and schools • Forensic Psychology – applies psychology to criminal justice and the legal system • Accused people of mental competency • Profilers • Nursing Factors Affects Physical and Mental Health pg. 7

9. Social Psychology – study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others. • Liking, loving, aggression, persuasion, and conformity • What makes a good leader? • Body Language • Assimilated vs. Accommodated • Cross-Cultural Psychology – investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across different cultures and ethnic groups. • characteristics of a group of people, including attitudes, behaviors, customs and values that are transmitted from one generation to the next • Child rearing and development Social Networks Affect Behavior pg. 7

10. Evolutionary Psychology – behavior influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors. • Language Acquisition - The ability to communicate complex thoughts was important for survival, and so language acquisition abilities evolved • Behavioral Genetics – biological mechanisms, such as genes and chromosomes that enable inherited behavior to unfold. • Alcoholism • OCD • Phobias • Clinical Neuropsychology – unites the areas of neuroscience and clinical psychology: focuses on the origin of psychological disorders in biological factors. • Head trauma, dementing diseases, learning disabilities, stokes Expanding Psychology

11. Psychologists – are professionals that study the field of psychology. They try and describe, predict and explain human behavior and mental processes. They also help to change and improve the lives of people and the world. They use scientific methods to find answers. What are Psychologist?

12. Be able to differentiate between a Ph.D and Psy.D • Be able to differentiate between Psychologists and Psychiatrists • Where can professionals with a psychology degree work? • What is a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner? Education in Psychology pg. 9-10