Psychology For Kids: The Science of the Mind and Behavior
Chapter 1 WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY Why do optical illusions trick us Do other people feel and think the same way you do Can animals be taught language Why do you sleep You can explore these questions and many others through the fascinating science of psychology What exactly is psychology One common definition describes psychology as the science of the mind and behavior In your mind you experience emotions thoughts and the reasons for doing what you do these are actions that other people can’t see Behavior is how a person or animal acts Behaviors are actions that other people can see such as recycling doing homework exercising talking and making faces Psychologists are interested in how the mind powers behaviors and how behaviors relate to the world around you 8 Exploring Psychology
WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS DO You might already know what some psychologists do School psychologists for example evaluate students who are having any sort of difficulty at school such as problems with learning or behavior But there are lots of other kinds of psychologists some who do research and some who apply research findings in different settings Let’s learn about the work of a few real-life psychologists Dr Tim Nichols studied how people use video games For example when you fail at a video game what makes you try again I am passionate about understanding technology’s role in satisfying fundamental human needs like connecting with others personal growth escapism and showing off pictures of their dogs I like figuring out why people do what they do and I love building great teams of smart researchers who are passionate about the same When I tell people I work in video games and that I have a doctorate in research psychology they usually wait for the punch line FAIL Dr Johan Lundström’s research looked at how people responded to smells Is that smelly cheese or vomit If you are blindfolded when you take a sniff your answer will depend on what you’re told Your sense of smell depends on what you know and what you think 9 What Is Psychology
Dr Kathleen Kremer worked with toy designers taking research results and using them to make toys kids would love You need to know their wants needs abilities constraints and behaviors You then use this information to figure out what to make and how to make it Dr Susan Clayton studied how people connect with animals and nature and how those connections might lead them to conserve our natural resources In my research at zoos I found that almost nine out of ten visitors will share their observations of an animal by pointing it out to their companions or simply by saying look Social interactions like these are opportunities to create and communicate shared values 10 Exploring Psychology
Dr Jennifer Manly studied how good quality early childhood education may protect the brain from disorders related to aging Her research showed for example that people who had brain disorders when they were old had gone to schools that spent less money on their students each year and had shorter school years Dr Manly’s work influenced other researchers to consider the quality of people’s education as important to their physical or medical condition throughout their lives You can learn more about these and other psychologists on the American Psychological Association website Psychologists like these are a curious bunch and their quest to understand the confusing surprising and sometimes silly world of the human mind and behavior takes them along many different paths Some study how we take in information and make sense of it Others try to understand how we learn and when that learning sticks and when it doesn’t Still others are interested in how people interact and influence each other The list goes on Try This Take a look at these questions Four are real questions psychologists are working to answer One isn’t 1 What’s the best way to convince people to protect the environment 2 Can you tell if someone is lying by watching their face 3 What fire truck color is the safest 4 How quickly is the universe expanding 5 Will people see someone in a gorilla suit if they walk right through a ball game Number four is a question psychologists are not working on Psychologists don’t study the expansion of the universe physicists have that covered But they do study the other questions and many more 11 What Is Psychology
