David Webb - Psychology Student Guide

Table of Contents

Hello and a very warmwelcome to the psychology student guide. My name is David Webb and Ive had a passionateinterest in psychology for over 20 years. I began studying psychology in 1990,and I've been teaching psychology in some capacity or another since 1998.

I have a first classhonors degree in psychology and a Masters degree in occupational psychology. Forseveral years, I was a lecturer in psychology at the University of Huddersfield(UK).

I have a particularinterest in forensic psychology, having written and delivered an undergraduatecourse in the subject and I have conducted psychological research with teams offorensic odontologists (dentists) in the UK, USA and Canada. As part of theirwork role forensic odontologists are called upon to carry out bodyidentification work from dental remains at mass casualty sites e.g. in theaftermath of a plane crash and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As part of thiscollaborative research program I examined the emotional and psychological impactof this kind of work. I also explored the forensic implications of bitingbehavior within the context of a criminal investigation; given that bitemarksare often found on the victims of violent and sexual crime.

I have built and hostfour websites around my teaching and research interests.

www.all-about-psychology.com

www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com

www.all-about-forensic-science.com

www.all-about-body-language.com

Thank you very muchfor taking an interest in the psychology student guide, it's very muchappreciated. I sincerely hope that you find this guide useful and engagingwhatever your connection with psychology happens to be; student, educator,professional or general interest.

Kind regards.

David Webb BSc (hons),Msc

This guide draws onmy experience as both a student and then a lecturer in psychology. The guidealso draws on some of the most informative material posted on my psychology websiteover the last four years. In producing this guide I kept one main thought inmind; namely, if I was to go through my psychology education again - beginningwhen I first started considering studying the topic, right through tograduation and beyond - what information and resources would I most like tohave at my disposal. This guide is, therefore, designed to inform psychologystudents at every stage of their educational journey.

GettingThe Most Out Of The Guide .

Make sure you checkout the additional information links which are included throughout the guide. Whetheryou access these links as you come across them or explore them later is entirelyup to you. Either way, full link web addresses are provided for futurereference.

DontMiss Out

I regularly comeacross some outstanding resources for psychology students. If you would likeaccess to these additional resources please join the psychology student guidemailing list.

For instance everynow and again leading psychology journals will make their most popular articlesavailable for free download. Usually, however, this is only for a very limitedamount of time.

So dont miss out,join the psychology student guide mailing list today and be the first to knowwhen a new quality psychology resource is available. You can join the mailinglist via the following link.

http://www.all-about-psychology.com/psychology-student-guide.html

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Thepurpose of psychology is to give us a completely different idea of the thingswe know best.

(PaulValry)

Having a good graspof what psychology is all about is essential for anybody wanting to study thetopic in greater depth. Now this may sound like an obvious thing to state butpsychology is a term that is often misunderstood and referred to without anyreal consideration as to its actual meaning. A classic case in point being theusual response you get from people when you tell them that you teachpsychology; namely, "I better be careful what I say", or"so do you know what I'm thinking then?"

Confusion over themeaning of psychology is not restricted to members of the public. When I firststarted teaching I met a number of psychology students coming towards the endof their degree that admitted that they were still not 100% sure whatpsychology was!

PsychologyDefinitions

To help understandthe ambiguity surrounding psychology, let's start by taking a look at a coupleof definitions.

Psychologyis the scientific study of people, the mind and behavior. It is both a thrivingacademic discipline and a vital professional practice .(The British Psychological Society)

Thescientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes .(American Psychological Association)

The central theme inboth these definitions is that psychology is fundamentally concerned withunderstanding Behavior.

SoWhat's The Problem?

Basically, a lack ofunity. Within psychology there are multiple and often competing levels ofexplanation when it comes to understanding behavior. When you begin studyingpsychology you quickly realize what a diverse subject area it is, and at timesit can almost be overwhelming.

KeepIt Simple

Particularly whenyou're starting out. Just keep hold of the notion that psychology is basicallyabout behavior. You can't be expected to know all the different ways there areto explain behavior straight away; but as you are introduced to more and moreyou'll find that you'll soon be able to place a behavioral explanation withinan appropriate psychological framework.

NotTo Be Confused With Psychiatry

A commonmisconception about psychology is that it is synonymous with psychiatry. It isnot. Psychiatry is a distinct medical specialism (all psychiatrists have amedical degree) that is fundamentally concerned with mental disorder.Psychology has a much broader focus and is not inextricably linked to theconcept of mental illness.

"Onlyby exploring psychology's origins and studying its development can we seeclearly the nature of psychology today"

( Duane& Sydney Schultz )

The followinglandmarks are designed to introduce you to some of the key individuals andideas which influenced the development of psychology as a discipline. Pleasenote this is just a snapshot and not a definitive account.

1874 .Franz Brentano publishes