PSY 40816: Introductory Psychology

Discover how perception shapes experiences through the concepts of absolute and difference thresholds. Understand Marisol's ski trip sensations in terms of these psychological phenomena. Learn how individual factors can create unique perceptual moments.

Explore the intriguing science behind superstitious behavior. Discover how accidental timing of rewards influences our beliefs and actions. From Pavlov's dogs to lucky shirts, uncover the psychology of coincidences and their effects on our actions.

Unravel the workings of the cognitive unconscious and its influential role in our daily lives. Learn how it silently steers our thoughts, behaviors, and preferences. Discover the power of the cognitive unconscious in both routine tasks and complex decisions.

Discover the intricate steps behind the reading and understanding process. Learn how our eyes perceive visual information and how the brain processes it, from basic light perception to recognizing intricate details. Delve into the synergy of bottom-up and top-down processing in vision.

Explore the tenets of deism, a philosophical perspective from the Enlightenment that emphasizes belief in a creator who doesn't intervene in the universe's affairs. Delve into its rise alongside scientific inquiry and its influential proponents, such as Paine, Jefferson, and Franklin.

Explore persuasion techniques such as Door-in-the-face, Foot-in-the-door, That's-not-all, and Not-so-free sample, commonly used in psychology, marketing, and sales, where only Foot-in-the-door initiates with a small request to enhance compliance with a larger one later based on the consistency principle.