Deck 1: C: Introducing Psychological Science

Question 1

Describe three careers in applied psychology that are discussed in your text.

Answer 1

I/O psychologists work with businesses to help hiring.Human factors psychologists work to make human machine interfaces user friendly.Environmental psychologists work to make spaces 'more livable'.

Question 2

Many non-scientists confuse the terms hypothesis and theory.Explain the difference between the two terms and the interaction between hypothesis testing and the construction of theories in the scientific method.

Answer 2

A hypothesis is a testable prediction whereas a theory is an explanation of some aspect of the world.Theories gain support when the hypotheses that they generate are proved to be true.For example,if someone poses the theory "Males are more outgoing than females" this theory would gain support if the hypothesis "Males score higher on scales of extraversion than females" is proven to be true;the theory would lose support if the hypothesis it generates is proven to be false.In order to be a true theory,an argument must be testable using hypotheses.Hypotheses and theories are both essential parts of the scientific method.

Question 3

To most people,the word psychologist conjures up an image of a therapist listening intently to a client.But not all psychologists do clinical work.Describe the different professional activities of psychologists.

Answer 3

Discussion should include research,clinical,forensic,school,and neurological psychologists and the nurses that support treatments.Details may include: Research and teaching psychologists usually work at universities or government agencies teaching students or doing research in theoretical or applied psychology in a specific domain such as social or cognitive psychology.Clinical psychologists work to diagnose and treat people with psychological disorders.Counselling psychologists treat people with less severe psychological difficulties.Community psychologists provide mental health services and prevention campaigns to communities.Forensic psychologists work in the judiciary system and are often asked to determine if individuals are mentally fit to stand trial.Psychiatrists diagnose and treat psychological disorders and psychiatric nurses help implement treatments.School psychologists diagnose behaviour problems at schools and develop programs to help individual students.Neuropsychologists diagnose and treat people with neurological damage.