Psychology 101:
General Psychology
Preliminary Remarks
•	Introductions
•	Course Requirements (http://www.psy.vanderbilt.edu/courses/psy101)
•	Exams
•	Thought Papers
•	Pop Quizzes
•	Grading
•	Laboratory Requirement
•	Instructions on using the website are available at, http://www.psy.vanderbilt.edu/faculty/chun/experimetrix.pdf
•	Honor System
More Preliminary Remarks
•	Syllabus & Class Notes
•	Study Strategies
•	Manners
What is Psychology?
Definition
•	Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
Scientific Method
•	Observe
•	Look for regularities
•	Generate tentative explanations (“hypotheses”)
•	Observe again (to test hypotheses)
Behavior
•	Overt actions
•	Thoughts and feelings expressed orally or in writing
•	Activities of cells and groups of cells in the brain
•	Behavior is what is observed
Mental Processes
•	Contents and processes of subjective experience
•	Sensations, perceptions, thoughts, emotions
•	Unobservable

Psychology as a Science
•	Psychology as a Natural Science
•	Psychologists attempt to understand the laws that govern and the mechanisms that produce human behavior.
•	Psychology as a Social Science
•	Psychologists attempt to understand how the behavior of individuals affects and is affected by the behavior of others.
Areas of Psychology
•	Neuroscience
•	Cognitive science
•	Developmental psychology
•	Social psychology
•	Personality
•	Quantitative
•	Clinical psychology
Psychological Sciences at Vanderbilt
•	Department of Psychology, A&S
•	Department of Psychology & Human Development, Peabody
•	Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
•	Vanderbilt Vision Research Center
•	Kennedy Center for the Study of Human Development, Peabody
•	Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience
Isn’t psychology all obvious?
“Two of the best predictors of happi-ness in a relationship are how you feel about your partner and how your partner feels about you.”

What research tells us:
•	Feelings about partner are not a good predictor unless you take into account your expectations.
•	How your partner really feels is not crucial; what matters is how you think your partner feels.
•	The connection between how you think your partner feels and how your partner really feels about you is not very strong.
Psychology as a Science
Characteristics of Scientific Findings
•	Verifiable: There must be some way for other investigators to confirm findings.
•	Cumulative: New ideas build on old ones.
•	Public: Findings are published in scientific journals or books; they are exposed to the critical eyes of colleagues.
•	Parsimonious: “It is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer” (William of Occam, c. 1285-1349).
Psychology as a Science
Misconceptions about Science
•	Science is always correct.
•	(cf. phlogiston, subvocal speech)
•	Science is always conducted by an idealized method.
•	(cf., Fleming & penicillin)
•	Science is completely objective.
•	(cf. Garcia effect)
•	Science is about facts, not theories.
Summary
•	Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
•	The domains of investigation in psychology range from biological processes to social processes.
•	Like other scientists, psychologists prize data and theories that are verifiable, cumulative, public, and parsimonious.
•	The primary goals of psychological science are description and explanation.