Psychology 1106

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Psychology 1106

• Dr. David Brodbeck

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What is Psychology?

• Hello, My name is Dave and I am a psychologist
• Are you analyzing me?
• I was, it didnt take long, you are a very simple
  person.
• But really now, what is psychology?
• Clinical
• Counseling
• Social psychology

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What it is

• Personality
• Testing
• IQ
• SAT etc
• Learning
• Cognition
• Development
• Animal behviour
• neuroscience

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Will you ever tell us what psychology is?

• Well, what is the common element?
• Behaviour
• Thinking or cognition
• So, Psychology is the SCIENTIFIC study of
  behaviour and cognition
• There is also the profession of psychology, but
  to be effective it still must use a scientific
  approach

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What psychology is NOT

• Psychics
• ESP
• Sitting in a leather chair and thinking
• Alien abduction
• Those people that you see on Oprah
• Shocking animals for fun and profit

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Why?

• Why study behaviour and cognition that is
• 1) It is a pretty pervasive part of being human
• 2) Gives us answers to big questions about our
  origins
• Animal behaviour can help out here
• 3) Help people
• There are LOTS of people with problems

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There is one more reason

• 4) Because it is there!
• I do my research to find out how the universe (an
  itty bitty part) works
• I could care less if it is applied to helping
  people
• Pure science vs. application or technology
• This does not mean I think applications are
  unimportant

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Psychology is cool

• The study of behaviour and cognition is important
  to other fields too
• Neuroscience
• Medicine
• Education
• Biology
• Uncovering false claims
• Marketing, business

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What is a psychologist, what is a psychiatrist?

• Psychiatrist
• MD
• Specialization
• Little or no research training
• Practical stuff

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Well, they both start with psy

• Psychologist
• Better looking
• BA or BSc plus a PhD or a PsyD
• PsyD is mostly an American thing
• PhD is a research based degree
• You write a thesis
• Experimental or applied