Exploring Behavior Week

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• Exploring Behavior Week

PSYCHOLOGY Science for the 21st century
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using behavioral and social sciencesto address
important human issues
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What is psychology?
the scientific study of thought, feeling and
behavior
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What do psychologists do?

• Help people with problems
• Measure and test
• Teach
• SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

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Where do psychologists work?

• Clinics
• Schools
• Colleges
• Businesses
• Laboratories
• Government agencies

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Schooling in Psychology
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Some psychological research topics

• origins of stereotypes
• development of language
• causes of Alzheimers disease
• accuracy of eyewitness testimony
• personality musical preference
• treatment of eating disorders
• causes of romantic love

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Sampling Psychology Examples of Psychological
Research Findings

• visual perception optical illusions
• information processing judgment
• human memory
• self-evaluation

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Which center circle is larger?
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Here are the same circles again.
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Do you see the flashing dots?
The flashing is all in your head.
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TO THINK ABOUT OR DISCUSS

• Does the human visual system behave just like a
  video camera?
• Could optical illusions ever cause accidents?
• Could optical illusions ever prevent accidents?

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GREEN BLUE YELLOWREDBLUE YELLOW REDBLUEGREEN
RED
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ORANGE BLUE GREEN YELLOW ORANGE GREEN
PURPLEGREEN BLACK YELLOW
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The effect you experienced is the STROOP
INTERFERENCE EFFECT. TO THINK ABOUT OR
DISCUSS

• Some behavior is AUTOMATIC. Its impossible NOT
  to read color words.
• Would a person who cannot read experience the
  effect?
• Could this test be used to measure language
  fluency?

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A memory test 1. Please listen carefully to
the following list of words. 2. Please DO NOT
write the words down. Just listen carefully.3.
In a little while, Ill ask you to remember the
words.
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Now count backwards with me slowly, by threes,
from 45 to 3
45, 42 3
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• Write down each word below ghost cake
  blanket sweet rabbit candy2. Circle
  only the words you heard on the list. 3. If you
  VIVIDLY remember hearing a word, circle it twice.

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Now examine the list carefully

• sour
• candy
• sugar
• bitter
• good
• taste
• tooth
• nice
• honey
• soda
• chocolate

• heart
• cake
• tart
• pie

TO THINK ABOUT OR DISCUSS Should this make us
worry about eyewitness testimony?
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• Now we are going to do a simple activity
  involving letters of the alphabet.
• Based on your gut feelings, quickly write down
  
• Your six FAVORITE letters
• Your six LEAST FAVORITE letters

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Look over each list and circle all of the letters
that occur in your own first name. Count the
number of circled letters in each list.
Which list included more of the letters
from your own first name??
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The preference for the letters in ones own name
is the name letter effect. TO
THINK ABOUT Would people be more likely to
purchase a product if the product resembled his
or her name?
Should the musician depicted here like MMs more
than the average person does?
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Psychological Science

• addresses important questions
• can improve peoples
• lives
• is a lot of fun!