2. Study Unit 1.1
Introduction to Interactive Psychology: People in Perspective (1)
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and
behavior.
• It is relevant to all aspects of human experience.
• It can help us solve problems individually and
societally.
3. Study Unit 1.1
Introduction to Interactive Psychology: People in Perspective (2)
Interactive Psychology: People in Perspective
• Our ebook and learning system
o applies psychological knowledge to maximize engagement and
to learning psychology.
• Learning tools:
o Study Units break chapter topics into sub-topical chunks.
o Explore questions introduce each study unit with topics and
ideas that prepare the brain for learning.
o Interactive Figures offer interesting and engaging learning
experiences that relate to study unit topics.
o Check Your Understanding questions conclude each study unit
with an opportunity to assess and improve comprehension.
4. Study Unit 1.1
Video Discussion: Misconceptions About Psychology (1)
In this video, an undergraduate psychology major
comically illustrates the “10 most annoying things” that
she gets asked as a psychology major.
5. Study Unit 1.1
Video Discussion: Misconceptions About Psychology (2)
What misconceptions do the “annoying” questions the
psychology major mentions reveal about the field of
psychology?
Why do you think there’s a strong tendency for people
who have studied biology to also study psychology? Do
you think there are any other fields where the
tendency to switch to or also study psychology is
growing stronger?
6. Study Unit 1.2
Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist (1)
Psychology is broader and more scientific than popular
media often portrays.
• Psychological science: The scientific study of mind
and behavior.
7. Study Unit 1.2
Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist (2)
Psychological science is:
• Critical
o Curiosity and wonder are
combined with healthy
skepticism.
• Summative
o Multiple sources of
evidence are considered,
and conclusions are not
absolute.
o Understanding of
phenomena grows over
time, as new information is
presented.
8. Study Unit 1.2
Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist (3)
There are difficulties in accurately observing human
phenomena and making nonbiased conclusions.
• Overconfidence effect is the tendency to be overly
sure of what we know
• Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out, pay
attention to, and believe only evidence that
supports what we are already confident we know.
9. Study Unit 1.2
Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist (4)
Learning about the principles of psychological science
and potential biases can help you to overcome biases
and recognize them elsewhere.
• Recognize fake news and misinformation
• Find reliable sources of information
10. Study Unit 1.2
Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist (5)
Recognize fake news and
misinformation
11. Study Unit 1.2
Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist (6)
Find reliable sources of
information
RELIABLE SOURCES OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ...
are published in well-known and respected academic
journals that are indexed in the major academic databases,
such as JSTOR and ProQuest.
are published by established and reputable publishing
houses, such as university presses and major publishers (for
example, Knopf, Random House, W. W. Norton).
are sponsored by organizations that are dedicated to
scientific truth. These organizations include not only private
and public institutions and research universities but also
government agencies such as the National Institutes for
Mental Health (NIMH), the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Census Bureau.
often acknowledge earlier research on the topic to provide
background information and context.
provide detailed descriptions of the experimental methods
used, which allows other scientists to evaluate an
experiment's methods and results.
suggest reasonable conclusions based on the research
conducted, but also identify areas of potential weakness
and suggest areas for future study.
12. What Is Psychology?
How do people come to understand each other? One way to learn
about other people is to ask them questions about their likes and
dislikes, their favorite activities, their life experiences, and their
feelings about themselves.
13. Study Unit 1.2
Activity Sheet: What Is Psychology? (8)
Confirmation Bias
• The tendency to seek out, pay attention to, and
believe only evidence that supports what we are
already confident we know
14. Study Unit 1.2
Activity Sheet: What Is Psychology? (9)
Study on Confirmation Bias (Snyder & Swann, 1978)
• Participants were told that they would take part in a
study on how people come to understand one
another.
• Participants were then asked to test one of two
“hypotheses”:
1. Whether the person was an introvert, or
2. Whether the person was an extravert.
15. Study Unit 1.2
Activity Sheet: What Is Psychology? (10)
Study on Confirmation Bias (Snyder & Swann, 1978)
• People chose to ask questions that would confirm
whether the person fit the profile, but not those that
would disconfirm whether this person fit the profile
(e.g., that would test whether an introvert responds
positively or negatively to a question about
extraversion)
16. Study Unit 1.3
A Brief History of Psychology (1)
Psychology has existed for a little over a century.
• Psychology is young compared to other sciences.
• It began in Western Europe.
• Early psychology was sometimes based on false
assumptions and used unethical research methods.
17. Study Unit 1.3
A Brief History of Psychology (2)
Early psychology developed in two distinct and independent ways.
• Scientific approach: intellectual endeavors and scientific
experimentation at universities
o Originated with Wilhelm Wundt in Germany and William
James in the USA
• Study of perception, thought, behavior
• Clinical approach: therapeutic interventions for psychological
disorders in medical settings
o Originated with Sigmund Freud in Austria, then England
• Psychotherapy, psychiatry, clinical practice
18. Study Unit 1.3
A Brief History of Psychology (3)
Psychological science today
• The two approaches are merged. Scientific evidence
from research is used to help people with
psychological problems.
• Psychology is focused on adhering to strict ethical
guidelines and using open science practices that
emphasize transparency of research.
19. Study Unit 1.4
Psychological Science: Research and Evidence (1)
Psychological scientists conduct research to answer
questions by establishing empirical evidence and
avoiding pseudoscience.
• Evidence: The available body of facts or
information indicating whether a belief or
proposition is true or valid.
• Empirical: Based on astute observation and
accurate measurement.
o The best evidence is empirical.
20. Study Unit 1.4
Psychological Science: Research and Evidence (2)
Pseudoscience: A collection of
beliefs or practices mistakenly
thought to be based on valid
science.
21. Study Unit 1.4
Psychological Science: Research and Evidence (3)
Interactive Psychology: People in Perspective uses
information gathered by psychological experiments
performed in strict accordance with the scientific
method.
• In-text research citations are usually found in
parentheses with the researchers’ names followed
by the year in which the study was published.
o Example: (Poh, Chong, & Chee, 2016)
22. Study Unit 1.4
Psychological Science: Research and Evidence (4)
Complete publication
information for each in-text
citation is provided in the
References List at the end of the
book.
o References: Previous
publications, cited
throughout a presentation of
information, that indicate
who provided the evidence
and when.
23. Study Unit 1.5
Popular Psychology and Critical Thinking (1)
There are some misperceptions of
psychological science.
• Popular (pop) psychology:
Claims about psychological
phenomena that are promoted
through social media,
magazines, TV shows, and other
entertainment media and that
are often accepted as truth by
the public but may lack validity.
• Psychology is more than
common sense. Sometimes,
psychological science provides
evidence that contradicts our
intuitions.
24. Study Unit 1.5
Popular Psychology and Critical Thinking (2)
Sometimes pop psychology,
pseudoscience, and misperceptions
about psychological science are
dangerous.
• The fraudulent report in 1998
claiming to find a link between
vaccines and autism
o Reduced vaccinations have
led to outbreaks of
infectious diseases that had
been nearly eliminated.
25. Study Unit 1.5
Popular Psychology and Critical Thinking (3)
Sometimes pop psychology, pseudoscience, and
misperceptions about psychological science are dangerous.
• Homeopathy
o Forgoing evidence-based medical treatments for
homeopathic remedies can place people at great
risk.
o Some homeopathic remedies are dangerous in
themselves.
26. Study Unit 1.5
Popular Psychology and Critical Thinking (4)
An essential element of psychological literacy is
critical thinking: The purposeful, reasoned, and goal-
directed process of exploring a situation or problem; it
is an essential component of psychological literacy.
• Three key critical-thinking questions:
o What scientific evidence supports this claim?
o Has this topic been studied empirically?
o Am I listening to (or reading) someone else’s
opinion, or is this information based on facts
that are accepted by unbiased experts?
27. Study Unit 1.6
Psychology: People in Perspective (1)
Topics in psychology are always larger and more complex than one
perspective can understand and explain.
• Psychologists need to adopt diverse perspectives, study diverse
populations, and train diverse people to conduct research.
• Diversity and collaboration allow for a more complete and
accurate understanding of human behavior
• Psychologists must guard against assuming that what is true in
Western cultures is true elsewhere in the world.
o WEIRD samples: Research participants from Western,
educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic backgrounds.
28. Study Unit 1.6
Psychology: People in Perspective (2)
Based on survey responses from
around the world, this map
shows other countries' levels of
cultural and psychological
similarity or dissimilarity to the
United States.
29. Study Unit 1.6
Psychology: People in Perspective (3)
Different goals of psychology and their contributing
perspectives include:
Understanding broad patterns of
behavior
o Evolutionary perspective
o Cultural perspective
Understanding thoughts and feelings
o Cognitive perspective
o Emotional perspective
Understanding roles of body and
brain
o Biological–neuroscience
perspective
Understanding stable and changing
patterns of behavior
o Developmental perspective
o Personality perspective
o Social perspective
o Clinical perspective
30. Study Unit 1.6
Psychology: People in Perspective (4)
Psychological perspectives are unified by the following
themes:
1. Nature (biology) and nurture (environment) interact
to predict behavior.
2. Psychology seeks to identify universal aspects of
behavior as well as variation.
3. Behavior is shaped by conscious understanding and
by unconscious processes.
4. We gain insights by understanding both normal
functioning and dysfunctions (disruptions to normal
functioning).
5. Applying psychology can change our lives in positive
ways.
31. Study Unit 1.6
Learning Activity: Cultural Influences on the Self (1)
Complete this statement with as many answers about
yourself as possible in 30 seconds:
“I am _________________________.”
33. Study Unit 1.7
The Backdrop of Behavior: Evolutionary and Cultural
Perspectives (1)
Evolutionary perspective: The
psychological perspective on
behavior that seeks to identify how
humans’ evolutionary past shapes
certain cultural universals that all
human beings share, such as the
preference for fairness.
• Studies cultural universals that
unite all humans to determine
what is innate and biologically
driven
34. Study Unit 1.7
The Backdrop of Behavior: Evolutionary and Cultural
Perspectives (2)
Cultural perspective: The psychological perspective
that seeks to understand how cultural context affects
people’s thoughts and preferences.
• Culture: The rules, values, customs, and beliefs that
exist within a group of people who share a common
language and environment.
• Studies cultural variations in the way people think
and behave to determine how the environment
shapes human experience
35. Study Unit 1.7
The Backdrop of Behavior: Evolutionary and Cultural
Perspectives (3)
Evolution and culture often work together in their
influence on human thought, preferences, and
behavior.
• Nature/biology/evolution interact with
nurture/environment/culture to predict both broad
patterns of human behavior and individual
behavior.
• Some evolved tendencies do not match
contemporary culture.
o Can you think of some examples?
36. Study Unit 1.8
Understanding Conscious and Unconscious Mental
Processes: Cognitive and Emotional Perspectives (1)
Cognitive perspective: The psychological perspective
that studies the mental processes that underlie
perception, thought, learning, memory, language, and
creativity.
• An example finding from this perspective:
o Humans are sensitive to dilated (enlarged)
pupils in others as a sign of interest and arousal,
and perceiving pupil dilation can change the
way we evaluate another person’s
attractiveness.
37. Study Unit 1.8
Understanding Conscious and Unconscious Mental
Processes: Cognitive and Emotional Perspectives (2)
An example finding from this
perspective:
• Humans are sensitive to
dilated (enlarged) pupils in
others as a sign of interest
and arousal, and perceiving
pupil dilation can change the
way we evaluate another
person’s attractiveness.
38. Study Unit 1.8
Understanding Conscious and Unconscious Mental
Processes: Cognitive and Emotional Perspectives (3)
Emotional perspective: a psychological perspective
that seeks to identify how our capacity to feel, express,
and perceive emotions influences decision making,
behavior, and social relationships
• Example findings from this perspective:
o There is a strong relationship between (a) the
fundamental human motivation to form social
connection and (b) emotional well-being.
o Consistently viewing others’ highlighted life
moments on social media takes an emotional
toll on us.
39. Study Unit 1.8
Understanding Conscious and Unconscious Mental
Processes: Cognitive and Emotional Perspectives (4)
We do not have direct access to many of the ways we
process cognitive and emotional information.
• Unconscious: The part of our mental life that
influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions that
we cannot directly observe and of which we are
unaware.
• Both conscious and unconscious mental processes
shape our interpretations of reality in ways that
affect our behavior.
o Sometimes they conflict, as in the example of
mate preferences.
40. Study Unit 1.9
Focusing on the Brain and the Body: Biological–
Neuroscience Perspectives (1)
Biological-neuroscience perspective: The
psychological perspective that seeks to understand the
biological underpinnings of how humans think, act,
and behave.
• Everything psychological is simultaneously
biological.
• Neuroscience is the scientific study of how nerves
and cells send and receive information from the
brain, body, and spinal cord.
41. Study Unit 1.9
Focusing on the Brain and the Body: Biological–
Neuroscience Perspectives (2)
Example research questions from this perspective:
• What is the genetic basis for psychological
disorders?
• What patterns of brain activity are responsible for
understanding and producing speech?
• What role do bodily reactions play in our experience
of emotion?
42. Study Unit 1.9
Focusing on the Brain and the Body: Biological–
Neuroscience Perspectives (3)
Historically, scientists relied on studying cases of brain
dysfunction.
• By understanding how specific types of dysfunction
relate to damage in certain areas of the brain,
scientists could infer how the brain functions
normally.
Today, scientists can measure brain activity in real time
and analyze complex maps of how brain regions relate
to one another.
43. Study Unit 1.9
Focusing on the Brain and the Body: Biological–
Neuroscience Perspectives (4)
Biology can change with
experience, as demonstrated by
increased hippocampus size in
London taxi drivers.
44. Study Unit 1.10
Human Stability and Change: Developmental, Personality,
Social, and Clinical Perspectives (1)
Developmental perspective
studies how people change
physically, cognitively, socially,
and emotionally as they age.
• Encompasses all phases of
the human life cycle, from
conception to old age.
45. Study Unit 1.10
Human Stability and Change: Developmental, Personality,
Social, and Clinical Perspectives (2)
Example research questions from this perspective:
• Why do different age groups display different
patterns of reasoning, language, and social
behavior?
• How do early relationships create a template for
how much we trust romantic partners in
adolescence and later in life?
46. Study Unit 1.10
Human Stability and Change: Developmental, Personality,
Social, and Clinical Perspectives (3)
Two complementary viewpoints:
• Personality perspective
• This perspective would ask: “Do some people possess
traits that make them more socially skilled?”
• Social psychological perspective
• This perspective would ask: “Are people more
socially skilled in some situations than in other
situations?”
47. Study Unit 1.10
Human Stability and Change: Developmental, Personality,
Social, and Clinical Perspectives (4)
Clinical perspective: The psychological perspective
that focuses on the causes and treatment of
psychological disorders, with the goal of improving
human well-being, daily functioning, and social
relationships.
• Sigmund Freud’s early influence.
• Example research question from this perspective:
o Are there gender differences in the likelihood of
depression following a romantic breakup in
adolescence, and why?
48. Study Unit 1.10
Human Stability and Change: Developmental, Personality,
Social, and Clinical Perspectives (5)
A key point across these perspectives is that behavior,
personality, and psychological disorders are influenced
by context and therefore open to change.
• Growth mindset: The belief that human
personality and behavior can be changed.
Psychology should help people to develop their own
perspectives on people and situations by
understanding their complexity and building empathy.
49. Study Unit 1.11
Applying Psychology to Your Life (1)
Psychology has provided important insights into
improving mental health, families, careers, and
communities.
This introductory psychology course can help you
better understand the insights of psychology and apply
the content to your everyday life.
50. Study Unit 1.11
Applying Psychology to Your Life (2)
Positive psychology: The scientific study of the factors
that make people happy, keep them healthy, and help
them manage stress; includes the study of important
human experiences, such as hope, courage, and
creativity.
• Positive psychology promotes three components of
happiness:
o Positive emotions and pleasure
o Engagement with life
o Living a meaningful life with good relationships
and a history of accomplishment
51. Study Unit 1.12
Applying Psychology to Your College Course and Career (1)
An understanding of psychology and critical thinking
skills provide insights that are relevant and useful to
non-psychology college courses and careers.
• Criminal justice courses and the legal profession
• Education courses and teaching
• Political science courses and careers in
international relations
• Sports industry
52. Study Unit 1.12
Applying Psychology to Your College Course and Career (2)
In an age when knowledge is
widely accessible with the
internet, the college experience
is less about learning facts and
more about learning to think
critically and how to use
information to make decisions.
Hinweis der Redaktion
Pedagogy Notes
Consider asking the class for examples of human experiences that psychology seeks to understand.
Examples include consciousness, sensation and perception, learning and memory, motivation, social interaction, development, thought, and language
Consider asking the class how psychology can help solve problems.
Answers include increasing our understanding of ourselves, improving learning and decision making, improving psychological and physical health, and improving our social interactions.
Pedagogy Notes
Let students discuss in pairs for a few minutes before coming together to discuss with the entire class.
Alternatively, students’ responses can be conducted as a short in-class or take-home writing assignment, to be collected for low-stakes assessment.
Pedagogy Notes
Popular media often confines psychology to personality assessments and observable human characteristics, but the field offers much more.
Pedagogy Notes
Psychological scientists understand there is a continuous evolution of the discipline.
Careful examination of evidence should adjust conclusions if there is a contradiction.
Figure 1.3 Confucius (551–479 BCE)
The Chinese philosopher Confucius said, "The common man marvels at the uncommon, the wise man marvels at the commonplace." Psychologists combine curiosity about the commonplace with the search for rigorous scientific evidence.
Pedagogy Notes
The ebook provides two tables with helpful information (Table 1.1 and Table 1.2) from which examples can be drawn and presented. You can ask students for suggested strategies before or after presenting examples from the tables.
Pedagogy Notes
The ebook provides two tables with helpful information (Table 1.1 and Table 1.2) from which examples can be drawn and presented. You can ask students for suggested strategies before or after presenting examples from the tables.
Pedagogy Notes
The ebook provides two tables with helpful information (Table 1.1 and Table 1.2) from which examples can be drawn and presented. You can ask students for suggested strategies before or after presenting examples from the tables.
Pedagogy Notes
After students finish submitting their responses, reveal to students that they were asked to test one of two different hypotheses: whether the person was an introvert, or whether the person was an extravert.
Questions 1, 4, and 9 are neutral “filler” questions unrelated to introversion or extraversion.
Questions 2, 5, and 7 are questions that would help to confirm extraversion.
Questions 3, 6, and 8 are questions that would help to confirm introversion.
Pedagogy Notes
The bold questions are more likely to be selected if the person is asked to test the hypothesis that this person is an extravert.
You can project your computer screen during lecture to reveal the collated responses to the Google Form survey. In other words, did most students choose Questions 2, 5, 7? Google Forms represents responses with a bar graph, which will make it visually easy to determine what the most common responses were.
If you’re holding class online, then you can share your screen as you show students their collated responses to the Google Form survey.
Pedagogy Notes
The bold questions are more likely to be selected if the person is asked to test the hypothesis that this person is an introvert.
You can project your computer screen during lecture to reveal the collated responses to the Google Form survey. In other words, did most students choose Questions 3, 6, 8? Google Forms represents responses with a bar graph, which will make it visually easy to determine what the most common responses were.
If you’re holding class online, then you can share your screen as you show students their collated responses to the Google Form survey.
Pedagogy Notes
Although most of the people involved with the early development of psychology were white European males, today the field is much more inclusive and is contributed to by a diverse group of psychological scientists.
An example of an early false assumption: People with schizophrenia are possessed by the devil or other evil spirits.
An example of unethical research: the Tuskegee Syphilis Study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service that withheld treatment from African American men in order to observe the disease course
Pedagogy Notes
Examples of empirical evidence include fMRI and questionnaires.
Figure 1.7 Astrology: Pure Pseudoscience
Astrology (not to be confused with astronomy) is based on the belief that celestial bodies and phenomena affect human affairs. "When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars" there will be absolutely no effect on any human being. In contrast, astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects (such as planets, moons, stars, suns, and solar systems), space, and the physical universe as a whole.
Pedagogy Notes
Examples from the text can be used to demonstrate how psychology can inform us in ways that common sense and intuition cannot:
Money and happiness: no link after $75k a year
Gender differences in amount of talking: no difference
Increase of suicide during the holidays: no increase
Pedagogy Notes
The report linking vaccinations and autism has been retracted from the publishing journal.
The author of the report received over $500K to falsify his findings.
Considered “one of the most serious frauds in medical history.”
Measles outbreaks in the United States and Canada due to loss of herd immunity
Figure 1.9 Measles
As fewer children are vaccinated against dangerous diseases such as measles, society begins to lose herd immunity, and diseases that were once nearly wiped out start making a comeback.
Pedagogy Notes
Homeopathy includes:
The treatment of serious medical diseases with small doses of natural substances that would cause the symptoms of the disease in a healthy person
“Rebirthing” for the treatment of psychological disorders.
A girl was crushed and suffocated in the early 2000s.
Pedagogy Notes
Critical thinking can help us to avoid the dangers, misunderstandings, and misperceptions about psychological issues.
Critical thinking helps us to develop psychological literacy.
Pedagogy Notes
Link: https://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/news-statements-quiz/
This online quiz from the Pew Research Center functions well as an in-class demonstration. Consider answering the questions as a class. Students can answer each question by raising their hands. You can also have students answer the questions with their eyes closed to prevent students from being swayed by their classmates' responses.
Figure 1.13 Cultural Distance From the United States
Based on survey responses from around the world, this map shows other countries' levels of cultural and psychological similarity or dissimilarity to the United States. (Muthukrishna et al., 2018)
Pedagogy Notes
Using these diverse perspectives, psychology and the scientific method can be applied to abstract topics, like love, by studying:
Physiological response to touch
Developmental response to touch
Links between family happiness levels and touching
Pedagogy Notes
Insights generated by combining the different perspectives have revealed this set of unifying themes.
Pedagogy Notes
Learning Goal: Students will be introduced to the idea that culture shapes our thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
First, prompt students to each take out a piece of paper and in 30 seconds, complete the phrase “I am ____” with as many different completions as they can generate before the clock runs out.
Scale for Class Size: In smaller classes, you could try a format in which students spend more time sharing their answers with one another (e.g., have each student share their top attribute; have the students discuss the topic in small groups). You could also extend the activity by having students complete the original activity in the Ma & Schoenenman (1997) paper, which involves spending more time writing down aspects of the self.
Pedagogy Notes
The slide provides examples of aspects of “possible selves” students could have identified in their responses.
Point out that the self is comprised of many possible aspects. There are many possible aspects of the self that a person could recognize at any given time.
Try This: Instruct students to categorize their responses (e.g., traits, current states, relationships, physical descriptions, social roles, etc.). You can either supply categories or ask students to generate them. Use these lists as a starting point for an in-class or online conversation on the different ways we define the self. Emphasize that when we think of ourselves in a given role, the way we produce the list changes. For instance, if you imagine yourself as a coach, you will likely list different factors about yourself than if you think of yourself as a sibling.
Pedagogy Notes
Reveal that research has documented that people portray themselves in different ways depending on their cultural background: Some cultures, especially Western countries, tend to be more individualistic and define the self in terms of personal attributes (e.g., personality traits) to a greater extent, whereas other cultures tend to be more collectivistic and define the self in terms of social roles to a greater extent.
For example, a study found that American undergraduates are more likely to define themselves in terms of personal attributes rather than social roles, and Kenyan undergraduates exposed to Western educational influences tended to do so as well. But workers in Nairobi and tribespeople tended to define themselves in terms of social roles to a greater extent.
Conclusion: Culture is a powerful influence that shapes not only how people define themselves, but also a host of other cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. It’s important for psychological researchers to contextualize their findings in terms of culture and to consider how psychological processes might differ in other cultures. Throughout the course, we’ll learn regularly about how culture influences a wide range of psychological phenomena, from our perceptions of the world around us to our social lives.
Pedagogy Notes
Examples of cultural universals: the ability to read emotions, the preference for fairness, the capacity for language, the capacity for love in a mating relationship
Figure 1.14 The Search for a Mate
From an evolutionary perspective, humans have evolved a motivation to love and care for their young to help ensure that their genes are passed onto the next generation. (Buckels et al., 2015)
Pedagogy Notes
Culture is passed from generation to generation as children learn it from parents, caregivers, and the larger society.
Examples of cultural variation: parenting styles, preferences for conformity versus individuality
Pedagogy Notes
The example of mate selection and parenting…
Across cultures, people tend to select mates similar to them in economic status, age, intellectual ability, and physical attractiveness (nature).
Cultures that have higher levels of gender equality show smaller gender differences in mate preference (nurture).
Humans have evolved an innate motivation to parent their young, whereas culture provides scripts for how parenting is done (both!).
An example of evolved tendencies and contemporary culture conflicting: reproducing after puberty while still pursuing schooling, career, and a stable lifestyle.
Pedagogy Notes
This example cognitive finding interacts with the evolutionary perspective.
Pedagogy Notes
This example cognitive finding interacts with the evolutionary perspective.
Figure 1.16 Signs of Attraction
In which of these photos does the model seem more attractive? If you chose (a), you're not alone. In that photo, the model's pupils are dilated (enlarged), which is often a sign of sexual interest and attraction. Over a lifetime of reading people, we develop the ability to tell when people are interested in us by looking at their pupils.
Pedagogy Notes
You can ask the class how this example of conflicting conscious and unconscious processes could be problematic.
An expected student response is that people may overlook potential mates who they would have a connection with and instead focus on others who they will not connect with, hence missing opportunities for love and real attraction.
Pedagogy Notes
You can discuss the example of the biological perspective on relationships, as provided in the text:
The role of oxytocin in interpersonal trust and romantic relationships:
It has been known that oxytocin plays a critical role in childbirth, lactation, and bonding between mothers and their infants.
Might it also play a larger role in developing trust of any kind?
People’s bodily reactions synchronize with each other as they form close connections.
Figure 1.20 Experiences Can Change the Brain
Neuroscientists have shown that London taxi drivers develop a larger hippocampus, the spatial memory region of the brain, as they spend more years navigating the complex street system of London. (Maguire, Woollett, & Spiers, 2006)
Pedagogy Notes
Phases of the human life cycle include conception, infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and old age.
Figure 1.21 Psychology Across the Lifespan
Developmental psychologists study how people change physically, cognitively, and socially as they progress from infancy through old age.
Pedagogy Notes
The instructor can ask the class for other examples of research questions for which the personality and social psychological perspectives would offer complimentary viewpoints.
Potential answers include questions about behaviors (e.g., violence, generosity) occurring consistently due to personality or inconsistently due to situational factors.
Pedagogy Notes
Breakups of romantic relationships are one of the strongest predictors of depression among adolescents.
Girls are more prone to post-breakup depression than boys are.
Perhaps this is because girls feel more involved in their romantic relationships.
However, in ongoing relationships, support and strain may affect men’s emotional well-being more than women’s.
Pedagogy Notes
People with a growth mindset are better at changing their own behavior by setting goals and sticking to them even when setbacks occur.
Students of psychology should maintain a growth mindset to motivate and effectively apply their learning.
This is an example of using psychology to learn psychology!
Pedagogy Notes
The study unit provides specific examples of how psychology can impact our lives and communities. Instructors may introduce some of them to the students:
consequences of addiction and its treatment
genetic and environmental influences on disease
effective job interviewing techniques
best parenting practices
improving sense of community in neighborhoods
increasing participation in sustainability programs
Pedagogy Notes
Positive Psychology is a relatively recent movement in psychology
Instructor may want to include the Interactive Figure 1.24 “Let’s Meditate” and play each recording for the class.
The guided meditation recordings should be introduced as a contribution of positive psychology as a way of reducing stress with mindfulness.
Pedagogy Notes
Happiness has three components: positive emotion and pleasure, engagement with life, and living a meaningful life with good relationships and a history of accomplishment
Pedagogy Notes
Happiness has three components: positive emotion and pleasure, engagement with life, and living a meaningful life with good relationships and a history of accomplishment
Figure 1.28 Psychological Advances can Change the Rules of the Game
Through the power of systematic scientific inquiry, professional football and the public have finally come to realize that there is a link between concussions, brain injury, and psychological disorders.
Pedagogy Notes
You can further explain these strategies with details from the textbook:
Studies have shown that people retain 10% more information when they engage in distributed practice versus cramming.
Self-testing is more effective than rereading, practicing with concept maps, or simply assessing what you do and don’t know.
The more you practice with certain question formats, the better you become at answering questions in this format .
The Cornell note-taking method divides pages into three sections: notes, cue column, and summary section.
Calendars can be paper or electronic, whichever you prefer.
Try asking students if they have used these strategies, and if so, how have they applied them?
Pedagogy Notes
You can further explain these strategies with details from the textbook:
The Cornell note-taking method divides pages into three sections: notes, cue column, and summary section.
Calendars can be paper or electronic, whichever you prefer.
Try asking students if they have used these strategies, and if so, how have they applied them?
Figure 1.29 The Cornell Note-Taking Method
The Cornell note-taking method is an excellent way to organize your notes for easy reference and self-review. Divide your page into three sections, as shown below. (1) The note-taking area is the bulk of your page. Use this space to jot down key concepts, paraphrasing in your own words and using abbreviations whenever possible. (2) The cue column is a space to remind yourself what was important from your reading or lecture. Either as you are taking notes or within 24 hours after, identify the important themes that you may be tested on. Add these to the cue column, lining up your cues with the relevant notes to easily locate the answers to your questions. Then use the cue column to study for exams. (3) Use the summary section to write brief summaries of the material. Immediately or with 24 hours of writing your notes, reflect on the main concepts and takeaway points. Your note-taking section may be messy and your cue column may not convey a complete picture of the material, so use the summary area to organize your notes and identify the main themes or ideas. Summarizing helps you evaluate your understanding of the material as you go along, and it also provides an excellent resource for review when you're studying for exams.
Pedagogy Notes
You can further explain these strategies with details from the textbook:
People often believe they are more affective at multitasking than they actually are.
Studies have shown that multitasking during studying reduces test scores.
Studies have found a correlation between excessive online activity and lower grades.
Teaching another person is an excellent way to learn the material.
Try asking students if they have used these strategies, and if so, how have they applied them?
Pedagogy Notes
Time: 7:11. To focus on just the technique rather than the discussion around it, you can cut the video down to 1:11 to 2:02, and play from 2:02 to 4:00 to for some possible psychological explanations for why the Pomodoro technique might work.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0k0TQfZGSc
Pedagogy Notes
Let students discuss in pairs for a few minutes before coming together to discuss with the entire class.
Alternatively, students’ responses can be conducted as a short in-class or take-home writing assignment, to be collected for low-stakes assessment.
Pedagogy Notes
Webs, wows, and wonders are a wonderful way to do a short classroom assessment to see what students learned and what they did not understand.
These can be reviewed before the next class, and teachers can respond to the most common webs, wows, and wonders.