Module 3: The Psychology Student

Key Themes in The Psychology Student

The next few chapters in this book focus on your experiences in the world.  We will zero in on areas typically studied in the subfield, or domain of cognitive psychology; this includes mental processes and functions involved in acquiring, storing, and using information. We will also learn about topics typically under the developmental psychology domain: language development and theory of mind.

In this module we dive into two more key integrative themes:

• Our perceptions and biases filter our experiences of the world through an imperfect personal lens.
• Applying psychological principles can change our lives, organizations, and communities in positive ways.

We do not see the world as it is, we see the world as we are.

The first theme expands on the idea that the way we experience our world is impacted by many factors including our genetics, personality, environment, culture, and the many choices we make (and others make for us) throughout our lives. None of us is always right or accurate because we have our own imperfect lens that goes in and out of focus and changes as we develop and interact with others. Through this lens we develop stories we tell ourselves about our experiences, both internal and external.

Chapter 5: Our Imperfect Personal Lens will get more into sensation and perception. But, what does that mean exactly? Imagine standing on a city street corner (like the one in Figure 1). You might notice the rapid movement of the cars and people as they go about their business, the sound of a street musician’s melody or a horn honking in the distance, the smell of exhaust fumes or of food being sold by a nearby vendor, and the sensation of hard pavement under your feet. You are experiencing sensation and perception!

Here we provide an overview of how sensory information is received and processed by the nervous system and how that affects our conscious experience of the world. We begin with the distinction between sensation and perception. Then we give an overview of the basic structure and function of the major sensory systems. Along the way, we will consider how culture and other experiences, influence our perceptions of the world around us.

Chapter 6: We Can Change Our Lives is all about the ways that we can apply psychology to our lives. There is more to know about about how humans learn and develop, as well as time and stress management and health and well-being. The subfields of I/O, Human Factors Psychology, and Forensic Psychology will also be discussed here.