Week 1

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour

Question 2

What does ‘multiply determined’ mean?

Answer 2

Something is caused by multiple or an array of factors

Question 3

What do we mean by the ‘levels of analysis’ in psychology?

Answer 3

Psychology can be thought of as a ladder spectrum whereby the bottom rung is biology and the brain while the top run is social influences and the mind. Psychologists pick different rungs along this spectrum to study, all of which contribute to a greater understanding of human and animal behaviour.

Question 4

Why is behaviour difficult to predict (5 points)

Answer 4

1) It is ‘multiply determined’
2) Most factors or psychological influences are not independent of each other
3) People differ in thinking, personality, emotion and behaviour
4) People often influence each other (eg reciprocal determinism)
5) Cultural background can influence behaviour
Therefore, it is difficult to isolate the cause of one’s behaviour

Question 5

What is naive realism?

Answer 5

The belief that we see the world exactly as it is

Question 6

What is a scientific theory?

Answer 6

An explanation that tries to account for an evident trend across a large number of findings in the natural world. Additionally, they source predictions that researchers can test (ie hypotheses).

Question 7

What are the 2 misconceptions about scientific theories?

Answer 7

1. Tries to explain one specific event
2. It is an educated guess

Question 8

What are 2 self-deceptive traps that scientists can fall in to when developing a theory?

Answer 8

1. Confirmation Bias: the tendency to seek out evidence that supports and reinforces our beliefs and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them
2. Belief Perseverance: the tendency to stick to a belief even if evidence contradicts it

Question 9

What is a metaphysical claim?

Answer 9

An assertion that cannot be tested (eg God, the soul, the afterlife)

Question 10

What is pseudoscience? What is it characterised by?

Answer 10

Claims that are not backed by scientific methods of evidence analysis.
Often these are characterised by lots of anecdotal evidence, a lack of self-correction, and ad-hoc immunising hypotheses

Question 11

What is scientific scepticism?

Answer 11

When one questions the veracity of a claim that lacks empirical evidence