Page 14 - Understanding Psychology
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     How to Think Like a Psychologist Why Study Psychology?
 Many people begin their study of psychology without a clear definition or understanding of the subject. They may have images of a laboratory where scientists run rats through mazes, or they may assume that it deals only with abnormal emotional disturbances. These, however, are only small parts of the study of psychology. Psychology provides tools to help us gain insight into our own behavior, as well as our relation- ships with others.
What to Expect
As you begin your study of psychology, you will find that it is different from any of your other classes. This is because psychology is connected to both the social sciences, such as history or economics, and the natural sciences, such as biology and chemistry. As a social science, psy- chology explores the influences of society on individual behavior and group relationships. As a natural science, psychology looks for biological explanations for human behavior. You will learn more about the social and biological aspects of human behavior as you draw from the course material to gain insight into your life and the lives of those around you.
PET scan of a human brain xiv
Your study of psychology can help you gain insights into explaining people’s behavior.
How Do Psychologists Think?
In your study of psychology, you will learn to think like a scientist. Scientists constantly ques- tion their own assumptions and look for alterna- tive evidence and conclusions.
Scientists, including psychologists, use the scientific method as a problem-solving tool. It teaches them to think critically by encouraging open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, and eval- uation of reasons. Using the scientific method will help you think critically and be objective when applying principles to everyday issues, peo- ple, and problems.
  

























































































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