Module 1 - Psychology as a Science

The scientific study of the mind, consisting of affect, behaviour and cognition and their reciprocal interaction.

Affect, Behaviour and Cognition.

An individual's experience of feelings, emotions and moods.

An individual's actionseactions to internal/external stimuli.

An individual's mental processes - how one acquires knowledge and processes information.

An action that can be observed.

An action that cannot be (directly) observed.

A mental process that the individual is aware of.

A mental process that the individual is not aware of.

True

1. Describe the affects, behaviours and cognitions (ABCs).
2. Explain and understand the causes and processes of the ABCs.
3. Predict behaviours (and to a lesser extent - affects and cognitions)
4. Influence/control the ABCs under certain conditions.

Information that is presented as psychological science but is not based on scientific methods.

To manipulate the general public (ex. to act a certain way or to buy a certain product)

1. Overreliance on anecdotes.
2. Meaningless psychobabble.
3. Talk of proof over evidence.
4. Lack of review by other scholars.

A personal experience/story. Anecdotes alone are not enough to support a claim.

Over-complicated words and/or non-statements that are never explained. Exists to look impressive but has no meaning.

1. Rule out rival hypotheses.
2. Correlation ≠ Causation
3. Falsifiability
4. Replicability
5. Presence of extraordinary claims
6. Occam's Razor

The claim is testable - can be proven wrong or proven right.

Other scholars/studies have found similar results. Study contains enough information about the procedure to replicate.

If two explanations are equally good, than the simpler one is better.

1. Biological
2. Cognitive
3. Psychodynamic
4. Behavioural
5. Humanistic
6. Sociocultural

Psychology with the focus on physical aspects (ex. the brain, biochemical processes, genetics)

The mind and brain are separate entities. Some believe the mind is a spiritual entity.

The mind and the brain are the same entity.

Psychology with a focus on cognition and how it explains affect and behaviour.