psych 1

1.1.A What Psychology Is

Learning Objective 1.1.A Define psychology, and describe how it addresses daily life from a scientific perspective.

Psychology can be defined generally as the scientific discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment. In many respects, psychology is the exploration of daily life experiences, preferences, and tendencies—psychologists investigate many of the same issues regarding human nature that you and your friends might discuss over coffee or over late-night group texts. But unlike these informal conversations, psychological science is inquiry based on research and empirical evidence, which is gathered by precise observation, experimentation, and measurement.

psychology

The scientific discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment.

empirical

Relying on or derived from observation, experimentation, or measurement.

Accordingly, psychology is not just another name for common sense. Often, psychological research produces findings that directly contradict prevailing beliefs, and throughout the chapters that follow you will discover many of them. Do memories get stored and put away in pristine condition just waiting to be recalled at a later date, as if they had been recorded in perfect detail in the brain? Do policies of abstinence from alcohol reduce rates of alcoholism? If you play Beethoven to your infant, will your child become smarter? Can hypnosis help you accurately remember your third birthday or allow you to perform feats that would otherwise be impossible? Many people would answer these questions with a “yes,” but they would be wrong. Visit Revel to watch a video and learn about other common but mistaken beliefs.

At the start of an introductory psychology course, many students hold beliefs that have been promoted in the popular culture, or are based on “common sense,” but that are not scientifically supported. When two instructors gave their introductory psychology students a list of such misconceptions in a true/false questionnaire on the first day of class—a questionnaire consisting entirely of false statements—the students accurately detected the false statements only 38.5% of the time, which is actually worse than chance (Taylor & Kowalski, 2004). By the last week of class, however, when the students took a test containing all of the earlier items, their overall accuracy was much better: 66.3% (see Figure 1.1). Although there was still room for improvement, the students had also lost confidence in their remaining misconceptions, suggesting that they had learned one of the most important lessons in science: Uncertainty about untested assumptions and beliefs is a good thing. The effects of taking an introductory psychology course continue past the end of the semester as well. In one more recent study, students still demonstrated fewer misconceptions about human nature a year after their course had ended (McCarthy & Franz)

On the first day of class, students in an introductory psychology course actually did worse than chance on a true/false psychological information questionnaire. But by the end of the semester, after they had learned to examine the scientific evidence for their beliefs, their performance had improved (Taylor & Kowalski, 2004).

Figure 1.1 Full Alternative Text

Psychological findings need not be surprising to be important. Sometimes they validate common beliefs and then explain or extend them. Like all scientists, psychological researchers strive not only to discover new phenomena and correct mistaken ideas, but also to deepen our understanding of an already familiar world—for example, by identifying the varieties of love, the origins of violence, the reasons different people can hear the same recorded sound in different ways, and why it is that a catchy musical rhythm can lift our hearts. Fully understanding basic human processes that most people take for granted often involves examining them in a new light, turning common wisdom on its head for a different perspective, or shaking up cherished beliefs to see why and when they hold true. In fact, psychology has this potential not only to shape how ordinary people view human nature, but also to influence the thinking of researchers in other fields. We learn from analyses of how often scientists in one discipline cite the work of scientists in other disciplines, that psychology is a “hub science,” in that it serves as a central link to surrounding research in many other fields (Cacioppo, 2013).

If you don’t want to take our word for the importance and potential influence of psychology—after all, we’re psychologists ourselves, so we might be just a tad biased here—maybe you’ll be more persuaded by former U.S. president Barack Obama, who wrote in an executive order in 2015 that “research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology . . . can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people.” Please visit Revel to watch a video and learn more about the many ways psychology impacts daily lives.

1.1.B What Psychology Is Not

Learning Objective 1.1.B Explain what separates psychological science from pseudoscience, pop psychology, and other sources of dubious claims regarding psychological issues.

Perhaps just as informatively, let’s consider what psychology is not. First, the psychological science that you are about to study bears little relation to the popular psychology (“pop psych”) often found in self-help books or on talk shows. In recent decades, the public’s appetite for psychological information has created a huge market for “psychobabble”: pseudoscience covered by a veneer of psychological language. Pseudoscience (pseudo means “false”) promises quick fixes to life’s problems, such as resolving your unhappiness as an adult by “reliving” the supposed trauma of your birth or becoming more creative on the job by “reprogramming” your brain. Once again, the psychology about which you will learn in this text is based on the scientific method and empirical observation.

Furthermore, psychological science differs radically from nonscientific competitors such as fortune-telling, numerology, and astrology. Yes, promoters of these systems—like psychologists—try to explain people’s problems and predict or guide their behavior: If you are having romantic problems, an astrologer may advise you to choose an Aries instead of an Aquarius as your next love. Yet whenever the predictions of psychics, astrologers, and the like are put to the test, they turn out to be so vague as to be meaningless (“Your spirituality will increase next year”) or just plain wrong, as in the case of all the doomsday predictions that have occurred for centuries, especially during times of great social change and anxiety (Shaffer & Jadwiszczok, 2010). Contrary to what one might think from watching TV shows or going to psychic websites, psychics don’t regularly find missing children, identify serial killers, or help police solve any other crime by using “psychic powers” (Radford, 2011). Usually, their “help” merely adds to the heartbreak felt by a victim’s family.

So why does belief in psychic abilities and other forms of pseudoscience persist, even in scientifically advanced societies? For one thing, it gives people a sense of control and predictability in a confusing world (Hood, 2009; Mermelstein & German, 2021). Pseudoscience can also confirm our existing beliefs and prejudices, whereas scientific psychology often challenges them. You do not have to be a psychologist to know that people do not always take kindly to having their beliefs challenged. You rarely hear someone cheerfully say, “Oh, thank you for explaining to me why my irrational beliefs are mistaken!” The person is more likely to say, “Oh, get out of here, and take your stupid ideas with you.”

Tarot cards, horoscopes, psychic readings, and other nonscientific ways of predicting future outcomes remain popular today. Why? Because they often tell us what we want to hear and offer predictions for an otherwise unpredictable world. Scientific data are often messier, telling more complicated stories that can challenge our assumptions.

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1.1-3 Full Alternative Text

Because so many pop-psych ideas have filtered into the media, education, the law, and politics, it is important to develop an ability to distinguish between psychobabble and serious psychology, and between unsubstantiated popular opinion and scientific findings based on research evidence. Such skills will serve you well in your introductory psychology class, but also in other courses and in your efforts to become a more informed citizen and consumer in an era teeming with social media bots and trolls, “deep-fake” images and videos, self-proclaimed experts on YouTube, and a variety of other dubious sources of (mis)information. Indeed, we will focus on the importance of critical thinking in psychology throughout this text, starting with the journal prompt that you will find at the end of each section of each chapter

  1. Definition: Psychology is the scientific discipline focused on behavior and mental processes, influenced by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment.

  2. Scientific Approach: Unlike common sense, psychology relies on empirical evidence from research, observation, experimentation, and measurement. Psychological findings can often contradict popular beliefs.

  3. Learning from Misconceptions: Students in introductory psychology classes often begin with many misconceptions. With education, they improve their understanding and accuracy regarding psychological truths.

  4. Psychology's Broader Impact: Psychological research can validate or deepen understanding of common beliefs and is a central link to other scientific fields, demonstrating its broad influence in society, including policy-making.

  5. Distinguishing Psychology from Pseudoscience: Psychological science is often misrepresented in popular culture; true psychology is based on empirical observation, contrasting sharply with pseudoscience like fortune-telling and astrology. Critical thinking skills are essential for distinguishing credible psychological information from myths and pop psychology.