Welcome to Psychology 350

1
Welcome to Psychology 350

• Research Lab in Personality Psychology
• web page
• http//www.yourpersonality.net/psych350/fall2009/
  

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Why is Psychology One of the Most Popular Majors?

• Of all the disciplines that exist, psychology is
  one of the few that is explicitly concerned with
  understanding the way people behave, feel, and
  think.

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Why is Psychology One of the Most Popular Majors?

• Many of the themes that have characterized
  intellectual inquiry over the years are studied
  by psychologists
• free will and determinism
• mind and matter
• nature and nurture
• love and loss
• relationships and emotion
• personality (growth and disorder)

4
What Makes Psychology Different?

• So, what is special about psychology, as opposed
  to the study of philosophy, literature, or
  history?
• The critical difference is that modern psychology
  is based on the scientific method.

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Psychology
the methods of psychology
the themes of psychology
Natural Science
Psychology, like the humanities, is concerned
with fundamental issues concerning human
experience. However, psychologists use the
methods of the natural sciences to better
understand psychological phenomena.
Philosophy Humanities
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Why Does this Matter?

• Why do we need the scientific method in order to
  study the human mind?
• The methods we tend to use are subject to severe
  limitationssome of which we will review in our
  next class.

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Personality

• Although the study of psychology focuses on big
  issues, such as development, mental functioning,
  and social behavior, the discipline of psychology
  is rather dissociated.
• Students tend to receive training in specific
  areas of psychology.
• Students focusing on some areas (e.g.,
  psychobiology) may receive little if any training
  in other areas (e.g., social).

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Personality

• In my view, personality psychology is the one
  subdiscipline within psychology that is actually
  concerned with the issues that originally
  motivated the scientific study of psychology.
• The science of personality is concerned with
• The development of people
• The way in which people differ from one another
• The way the mind works
• The way in which people shape, and are shaped, by
  their cultural and social contexts.
• Thus, in this course we will be focusing on a
  wide array of methodological techniques.

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Class Objectives

• The objectives of this course are
• to illustrate some of the limitations of
  non-scientific approaches to understanding
  personality
• to teach you how to use the scientific method as
  it applies to the psychology of personality
• to foster your ability to think critically about
  psychological research (as well as other
  information)
• to give you a ton of first-hand experience in
  conducting psychological research

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Overview of Syllabus

• Class web site
• http//www.yourpersonality.net/psych350/fall2009/
• Future updates and changes will be reflected in
  the online version of the syllabus.
• Grading
• Quizzes are worth 10 of final grade, papers are
  worth 70, and discussion section activities and
  attendance are worth 20.

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Important Notes

• The lab sections will be meeting in room 37 of
  the Psychology Department.
• Marie Heffernan Psyc 350 39820 - MWF 900 -
  1050 Silke McCance Psyc 350 39822 - MWF 300
  - 450