PSYCHOLOGY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND RESEARCH
Almost a hundred years ago, John Watson decided that psychology should be a science: not just a vague and introspective reflection on our own thoughts and feelings. Watson urged that psychology be defined as the scientific study of behavior. Since about 1920, most university psychologists have accepted Watson's definition. So, think of psychologists as scientists who study behavior.
Psychology
Psychology derives from the roots psyche (meaning soul) and–ology (meaning scientific study). Thus, psychology is defined as the scientific study of mind and behavior. Students of psychology develop critical thinking skills, become familiar with the scientific method, and recognize the complexity of behavior.
Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of behavior, mind and thought and the subconscious neurological bases of behavior. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals' daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. It is largely concerned with humans, although the behavior and mental processes of animals can also be part of psychology research, either as a subject in its own right (e.g. animal cognition and ethology), or somewhat more controversially, as a way of gaining an insight into human psychology by means of comparison.
Psychology derives from the roots psyche (meaning soul) and–ology (meaning scientific study). Thus, psychology is defined as the scientific study of mind and behavior. Students of psychology develop critical thinking skills, become familiar with the scientific method, and recognize the complexity of behavior.
Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of behavior, mind and thought and the subconscious neurological bases of behavior. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals' daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. It is largely concerned with humans, although the behavior and mental processes of animals can also be part of psychology research, either as a subject in its own right (e.g. animal cognition and ethology), or somewhat more controversially, as a way of gaining an insight into human psychology by means of comparison.
Psychology is commonly defined as the science of behavior and mental processes.
Psychology describes and attempts to explain consciousness, behavior and social interaction. Empirical psychology is primarily devoted to describing human experience and behavior as it actually occurs. In the past 20 years or so psychology has begun to examine the relationship between consciousness and the brain or nervous system. It is still not clear in what ways these interact: does consciousness determine brain states or do brain states determine consciousness – or are both going on in various ways? Perhaps to understand this you need to know the definition of "consciousness" and "brain state" - or is consciousness some sort of complicated 'illusion' which bears no direct relationship to neural processes? An understanding of brain function is increasingly being included in psychological theory and practice, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, neuro-psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.
Brain
The human brain is an amazing and powerful tool. It allows us to learn, see, remember, hear, perceive, understand and create language. Sometimes, the human brain also fails us. Cognitive psychologists study how people acquire, perceive, process and store information. This work can range from exploring how we learn language to understanding the interplay between cognition and emotion. New technologies like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allow researchers to see a picture of the brain at work — helping them to understand how a brain reacts to a particular stimulus or how differences in brain structure can affect a person’s health, personality or cognitive functioning.
Perhaps the most important challenge for cognitive neuroscience is to observe and understand how distributed brain processes support our natural, active, and every-varying behavior and cognition. Humans are active agents, near continually engaged in actively attempting to fulfill their needs and desires within a complex and ever-changing environment, often in concert and/or competition with other human, animal, and mechanical agents. At the same time, concepts tied together under the term ‘embodied cognition’ have become increasingly important in cognitive science and neuroscience. From the viewpoint of embodied cognition, cognitive processes have evolved to optimize the outcome of our body-based behavior within our 3-D environment. Key concepts include:
The human brain is an amazing and powerful tool. It allows us to learn, see, remember, hear, perceive, understand and create language. Sometimes, the human brain also fails us. Cognitive psychologists study how people acquire, perceive, process and store information. This work can range from exploring how we learn language to understanding the interplay between cognition and emotion. New technologies like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allow researchers to see a picture of the brain at work — helping them to understand how a brain reacts to a particular stimulus or how differences in brain structure can affect a person’s health, personality or cognitive functioning.
Perhaps the most important challenge for cognitive neuroscience is to observe and understand how distributed brain processes support our natural, active, and every-varying behavior and cognition. Humans are active agents, near continually engaged in actively attempting to fulfill their needs and desires within a complex and ever-changing environment, often in concert and/or competition with other human, animal, and mechanical agents. At the same time, concepts tied together under the term ‘embodied cognition’ have become increasingly important in cognitive science and neuroscience. From the viewpoint of embodied cognition, cognitive processes have evolved to optimize the outcome of our body-based behavior within our 3-D environment. Key concepts include:
- Perception and cognition support action.
- Cognition is situated and time-pressured.
- We actively interact with our environment to acquire and maintain situational awareness.
- Features of our environment become part of our cognitive system. Our brain’s body image extends beyond our physical body.
- Our imagination and abstract cognition are also body-based. Even imaginative and abstract cognition, independent of direct physical interaction with the environment, are body-based.
Behavior
Psychologists study thought and behavior in humans and animals. To understand how and why an individual engages in any given behavior, one must have an understanding of several factors. The biological basis of behavior is studied to understand how the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and genetic influences all interact to yield observable behavior. Psychologists analyze the cognitive and perceptual systems at some-what more abstract level in order to characterize the internal representations and processes that underlie perception, thought, and action. The personality of the individual—how that individual differs from others—is also an important determinant of behavior. Social psychology is the study of how individuals behave in a social context, where virtually all behavior takes place. Because living organisms change over time, the development of physiological, perceptual, cognitive, personality, and social factors can also help explain behavior in humans and animals. Psychopathology is the study of psychological disorders which can interfere with an individual’s ability to cope with everyday life.
Psychologists study thought and behavior in humans and animals. To understand how and why an individual engages in any given behavior, one must have an understanding of several factors. The biological basis of behavior is studied to understand how the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and genetic influences all interact to yield observable behavior. Psychologists analyze the cognitive and perceptual systems at some-what more abstract level in order to characterize the internal representations and processes that underlie perception, thought, and action. The personality of the individual—how that individual differs from others—is also an important determinant of behavior. Social psychology is the study of how individuals behave in a social context, where virtually all behavior takes place. Because living organisms change over time, the development of physiological, perceptual, cognitive, personality, and social factors can also help explain behavior in humans and animals. Psychopathology is the study of psychological disorders which can interfere with an individual’s ability to cope with everyday life.
Research
What is research? Depending on who you ask, you will likely get very different answers to this seemingly innocuous question. Some people will say that they routinely research different online websites to find the best place to buy goods or services they want. Television news channels supposedly conduct research in the form of viewer polls on topics of public interest such as forthcoming elections or government-funded projects. Undergraduate students research the Internet to find the information they need to complete assigned projects or term papers. Graduate students working on research projects for a professor may see research as collecting or analyzing data related to their project. Businesses and consultants research different potential solutions to remedy organizational problems such as a supply chain bottleneck or to identify customer purchase patterns. However, none of the above can be considered “scientific research” unless:
Science refers to a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using “the scientific method”. Science can be grouped into two broad categories: natural science and social science. Natural science is the science of naturally occurring objects or phenomena, such as light, objects, matter, earth, celestial bodies, or the human body. In contrast, social science is the science of people or collections of people, such as groups, firms, societies, or economies, and their individual or collective behaviors. Social sciences can be classified into disciplines such as psychology (the science of human behaviors), sociology (the science of social groups), and economics (the science of firms, markets, and economies).
What is research? Depending on who you ask, you will likely get very different answers to this seemingly innocuous question. Some people will say that they routinely research different online websites to find the best place to buy goods or services they want. Television news channels supposedly conduct research in the form of viewer polls on topics of public interest such as forthcoming elections or government-funded projects. Undergraduate students research the Internet to find the information they need to complete assigned projects or term papers. Graduate students working on research projects for a professor may see research as collecting or analyzing data related to their project. Businesses and consultants research different potential solutions to remedy organizational problems such as a supply chain bottleneck or to identify customer purchase patterns. However, none of the above can be considered “scientific research” unless:
- it contributes to a body of science, and
- it follows the scientific method
Science refers to a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using “the scientific method”. Science can be grouped into two broad categories: natural science and social science. Natural science is the science of naturally occurring objects or phenomena, such as light, objects, matter, earth, celestial bodies, or the human body. In contrast, social science is the science of people or collections of people, such as groups, firms, societies, or economies, and their individual or collective behaviors. Social sciences can be classified into disciplines such as psychology (the science of human behaviors), sociology (the science of social groups), and economics (the science of firms, markets, and economies).
