Welcome to Psychology 242

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Welcome to Psychology 242

• Research Methods in Psychological Science
• 12128 LECT 0100-0150 M W 00C3 LC
• Keith Powell, PhD
• kdp_at_uic.edu

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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)

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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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Class Objectives

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

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Grading and Syllabus

• Class web site
• Future updates and changes will be reflected in
  the online version of the syllabus.
• Grading
• Exams are worth 60 of final grade.
• 5 exams of which 4 count.
• NO make up exams.
• discussion section activities and attendance are
  worth 20.
• weekly quizzes are worth 20.
• NO extra credit

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Warning

• Disclaimer and open-mindedness
• We will be discussing topics that have the
  potential to offend people (e.g., religion,
  alternative medicine, occult phenomena).
• If you dont think you can handle such
  discussions maturely and with an open mind, you
  should not take this class.