What is psychology? © John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinking © John Crane & Jette Hannibal,...

What is psychology?What is psychology?

© John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinkingwww.tok-inthinking.co.uk

http://www.tok-inthinking.co.uk/

The scientific study

The scientific study of the behaviour and

of the behaviour and mental processes of

mental processes of individuals, and how

individuals, and how it is affected by an

it is affected by an organism’s physical

organism’s physical state, mental state,

state, mental state, and external and external environment.environment.



Psyc

holo

gy

is

Psyc

holo

gy

is

Sci

enti

fic

Sci

enti

fic

The systematic acquisition

The systematic acquisition

of knowledgeof knowledge Acquisition of knowledge is

Acquisition of knowledge is

limited to observations This

limited to observations This

is is EMPIRICAL data.

EMPIRICAL data. Experiments are often used

Experiments are often used

to test hypotheses - variables

to test hypotheses - variables

are manipulated and

are manipulated and measured.measured.



Pop psychology or Pop psychology or psychobabblepsychobabble

Unfounded opinions Unfounded opinions based on popular based on popular beliefs. Often called beliefs. Often called “urban legend.”“urban legend.”

Pseudo-science, e.g. Pseudo-science, e.g. psychics or psychics or ’’rebirthing therapyrebirthing therapy’’



Why

is P

op

Why

is P

op

Psyc

holo

gy

so

Psyc

holo

gy

so

popula

r?popula

r?

Gives simple answers to

Gives simple answers to

complex issues

complex issues Based on beliefs: if you have a

Based on beliefs: if you have a

rotten childhood, you’ll have a

rotten childhood, you’ll have a

rotten liferotten life Looking for ways to “help

Looking for ways to “help

yourself.” How to become the

yourself.” How to become the

perfect lover; How to be

perfect lover; How to be

successful and live longer.

successful and live longer.

Looking for reasons for our

Looking for reasons for our

failures and validation of our

failures and validation of our

successes/good traits

successes/good traits Confirms our existing beliefs

Confirms our existing beliefs

and prejudices

and prejudices


Sci

enti

fic

Sci

enti

fic

psy

cholo

gy

psy

cholo

gy

Scientific psychology

Scientific psychology challenges our existing beliefs

challenges our existing beliefs

and seeks to deepen our

and seeks to deepen our

understanding of human

understanding of human

behaviour.behaviour. Investigates assumptions and

Investigates assumptions and

theories using empirical

theories using empirical

methods (data collection and

methods (data collection and

analysis)analysis) Verification of

Verification of evidence/reliability of research

evidence/reliability of research

Publication of research results

Publication of research results

in journals and peer review

in journals and peer review


You are now going to see 12 commonly You are now going to see 12 commonly held beliefs. Your task is to guess whether held beliefs. Your task is to guess whether it is supported by science or not.it is supported by science or not.

If you think that it is, what would be the If you think that it is, what would be the evidence?evidence?


1. 1. Cold weather makes you sick


Cold

weath

er

makes

you s

ick

NoNo. . In studies of cold

transmission, people

who are chilled are no

more likely to get sick

than those who were

not. It may be that cold weather keeps people indoors, where

germs are more likely

to catch up with you. © John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinkingwww.tok-inthinking.co.uk

We are either left brain or right brain

learners


We a

re e

ither

left

bra

in

or

right

bra

in learn

ers

No. Brain scan experiments show that

the two halves of the

brain are much more

intricately linked than

was originally thought,

so problem-solving or

creative tasks fire up

activity in regions of

both hemispheres of

the brain.


You lose most of your body heat through your head.


You lose

most

of

your

body h

eat

thro

ugh y

our

head. There is nothing

special about the head

and heat loss. You will

lose heat through any

uncovered body part.


Married couples have better sex lives than single people.


Marr

ied c

ouple

s

have b

ett

er

sex liv

es

than s

ingle

people

.

Married people typically have more sex

in a given year than

single people. In one

survey, 43 percent of

married men reported

having sex two to three

times per week, compared to only 26

percent of single men.

The numbers were slightly lower but similar for women.


Milk makes you phlegmy.


Milk m

akes

you

phle

gm

y

In a study of 330 patients, nearly two out

of three believed milk

increases phlegm production. But it’s not

true. In one experiment,

volunteers were infected with the cold

virus, and some of them

drank a lot of milk as

well. The weight of the

nasal secretions did not

increase in those who

drank more milk, nor

was it associated with

cough or congestion.© John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinkingwww.tok-inthinking.co.uk

Brain Games Do Not

Make You Smarter


Bra

in G

am

es

Do N

ot

Make Y

ou S

mart

er

TrueTrue. . More than 8,600 people

aged 18 to 60 were asked to

play online brain games

designed by the researchers to

improve their memory,

reasoning and other skills for at

least 10 minutes a day, three

times a week. They were

compared to more than 2,700

people who didn't play any

brain games, but spent a

similar amount of time surfing

the Internet and answering

general knowledge questions.

Researchers said the people

who did the brain training didn't

do any better on the test after

six weeks than people who had

simply been on the Internet. © John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinkingwww.tok-inthinking.co.uk

Sugar makes kids hyper


Sugar

makes

kid

s hyper

Numerous studies show sugar doesn’t

affect behavior, but

most parents don’t believe this. In one study, parents were

told their kids had sugar and they were

more likely to report

problem behavior —

but in reality, the kids

had consumed a sugar-free drink.


You only use 10% of

your brain


You o

nly

use

10%

of

your

bra

in

Brain scans have shown that no matter

what we're doing, our

brains are always active. Some areas are

more active at any one time than others,

but unless we have brain damage, there is

no one part of the brain that is absolutely

not functioning. © John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinkingwww.tok-inthinking.co.uk

If a brain is damaged, it can in

some cases fix itself.


If a

bra

in is

dam

aged,

it c

an in

som

e c

ase

s fi

x its

elf

.

Patients surprise doctors all the time and exceed expectations of what

they're able to do days, months and even years later. Not

all brain damage is permanent.


Listening to Mozart

Makes You Smarter


Lis

tenin

g t

o M

oza

rt

Makes

You S

mart

er

There is currently no

scientific information to

prove that listening to

Mozart, or any other

classical music, actually

makes anyone smarter.

Rauscher even said that

the money spent by those

states might be better

spent on musical programs

-- there's some evidence to

show that learning an

instrument improves

concentration, self-confidence and coordination.


Your Brain Works Better Under Pressure


Your

Bra

in W

ork

s B

ett

er

Under

Pre

ssure

A chronic overreaction

to stress overloads the

brain with powerful hormones that are intended only for short-term duty in emergency situations.

Their cumulative effect damages and kills brain cells.


Eating carbohydrates before a test could

hurt your concentration


Eati

ng

carb

ohydra

tes

befo

re a

test

could

hurt

your

conce

ntr

ati

on

Partly true. Carbs that

are high in starch (potatoes, pasta) or sugar can give you an

instant rush of energy

which will soon fade and

leave you less concentrated towards

the end of your exam.

However, not all carbs

are bad for you. Good

carbs include whole grain breads or oatmeal. © John Crane & Jette Hannibal,

InThinkingwww.tok-inthinking.co.uk

What is psychology? © John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinking © John Crane & Jette Hannibal,...

Documents

Transcript of What is psychology? © John Crane & Jette Hannibal, InThinking © John Crane & Jette Hannibal,...