Lecture 1

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of behaviour & the mind

Question 2

Two types of research that science involves

Answer 2

Basic research and Applied research

Question 3

Basic Research

Answer 3

reflects the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake
carried out in labs or real-world settings, with human participants or other species.

Question 4

Applied research

Answer 4

designed to solve specific practical problems
uses the knowledge gained from basic research to design, implement & assess intervention programmes.

Question 5

5 Goals of Psychology

Answer 5

1. To describe how people & other species behave e.g. depressed behaviour
2. To understand the causes of these behaviours e.g. exposure to daylight
3. To predict how people & animals will behave under certain conditions e.g. compare seasonal variations
4. To influence behaviour through control of causes e.g. control exposure to light
5. To apply psychological knowledge for the enhancement of human welfare e.g. phototherapy

Question 6

3 different levels of explanations

Answer 6

1. Biological explanations
2. Cognitive & psychological explanations
3. Environmental explanations

Question 7

Interactions in psychology

Answer 7

Relations between mental processes in the brain & the functioning of other bodily systems (mind-body interactions).

Is behaviour shaped primarily by nature ( biological endowment) or nurture (environment and learning history)?

Is behaviour shaped primarily by nature ( biological endowment) or nurture (environment and learning history)?