Unit One, Lesson One: Why Study Psychology?

Introduction

When you think of psychology, you may, like most people, think of the work of professional counselors and clinical psychologists who help people through difficult times by means of various therapies, or who treat people with serious mental, emotional, or behavioral problems. You'll find, however, that only a small proportion of the course is devoted to such issues. The rest of the course is devoted to understanding the reasons for normal human reactions: how people learn and think; the human development process from infancy to elder years; and human aggression and altruism, intimacy, and self-reflection. These and many other topics presented in the textbook are regular, human functions. It is because these activities are central to human functioning that they attract the attention of psychological researchers.

In Unit 1, you will learn about the history of psychology as a field, how psychologists study behavior, and how behavior interacts with biology. These topics are critical to understanding where the field of psychology stands today. Lesson 1 focuses on the history of psychology and how psychologists use a scientific approach to studying behavior. In this lesson you'll read about these topics, practice your retention of the concepts, and learn to critically analyze news articles for their scientific validity. Additionally, this first lesson introduces the basic format of the course and gives some pointers on how to do well.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to

• explain the differences between various research methodologies used in psychology as a social science;
• explain the differences between experimental studies and observational studies, and explain what each type of study is used for;
• describe the difference between correlation and causation;
• describe the early development of psychology, and the five major schools of thought;
• list and describe the areas of ethical concern and basic ethical guidelines for pyschological research;
• critically evaluate the methods of gathering and analyzing data and the conclusions in an experimental or observational study to determine the validity of its results;
• describe a correlational or observational study that could be used to address a given research question and describe how the data should be analyzed, including the sampling method, independent and dependent variables, controls, and the method that you would employ to evaluate the outcome;
• list and describe the five steps in the scientific method; and
• critically evaluate a publication in the popular press.

About This Course

This is a survey course. You will learn about many issues, but you will not delve into any one problem until all the questions about it are exhausted. You will be presented with the methods used by current researchers, but only introduced to some of the complexities of those methodologies. This course may well stimulate as many questions as it provides answers; I would consider such an outcome successful!

While this course is not intended as a shortcut to passing the AP Exam in Psychology, it will help you prepare for the AP Exam. It provides grounding in the topic areas covered in the AP Exam, and provides exercises and assignments that will help you become familiar and comfortable with the format of the exam.

If you do the assignments as described and actively engage the author of the text in the dialogue he suggests, you will receive a solid introduction to the general field of psychology. Successful completion of the course will prepare and stimulate you to take advanced courses in psychology and to pursue related reading from your developing interest in the area.

Finally, this course may provide you with a new and different angle from which to view yourself and your everyday behaviors. All of these objectives will make this course worthwhile to you.

Questions to Think About

As you move through this lesson, keep the following questions in mind.

• Why do we study psychology?
• Is it possible to study the behavior of humans objectively?
• What are the areas of specialty in psychology?

Related Resources

• American Psychological Association
  http://www.apa.org/
  This Web page is a link to a professional organization of psychologists. It features links to recent media reports, professional meetings, and education.
• American Psychological Society
  http://www.psychologicalscience.org
  This Web page is another link to a professional organization of psychologists. Its recent news releases demonstrate what psychologists study.

Discuss It: Interact with Other Students

Introduce yourself to the other students taking this course. Post a paragraph or two telling us who you are, where you're from, and what you like to do. Isn't it nice to know that you are not alone? You'll be interacting numerous times throughout the course, and this should help all of you in learning the material and in preparing for the AP Exam. By discussing concepts that interest or confuse you, everyone will grasp more of the material. Hopefully, this will also make it more interesting!

Scoring

This activity is worth 5 points. You will receive 3 points for your initial posting and 2 points for following up by responding to another student's posting.

Reading Assignment: History and Approaches

In this Reading Assignment, you'll read the following selection from your textbook, Essentials of Psychology (unless otherwise indicated, read the entire chapter):

10^th edition: Chapter 1: "Introductory Psychology and Research Methods"

Although this activity is not scored, it's important that you complete the reading so you can complete the other activities in this lesson that are based on the reading.

To complete the Reading Assignment, do the following:

• Open, print, and read the Study Guide. Think about the questions posed on the Study Guide as you read.
• Open, print, and read the Study Guide Answers to compare with your answers on the Study Guide.
• Keep the Study Guide and Study Guide Answers in your course notebook to refer to as you work through the course.

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