English for academe> B2 unit 2> listening
An introduction to psychology
Watch the two videos and then answer the questions.
Jamieztar (2008) ‘Introductory Psychology’
rachellee134 (2010) ‘Intro to psychology AQA’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKzJToO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwhU6pciTt4&feature=
0FJw
related
1. The first video provides three different definitions of psychology. What are they and
when did they predominate? (5 marks)
2. The second video consists of a musical soundtrack and a series of images but no spoken
discussion of the subject. What overall impression of the discipline does this video give
you? Try to avoid a list of examples (5 marks).
These materials are free for use by individual students. However, they may not be used as part of
any fee paying course. Teachers, institutions and companies should contact the author:
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English for academe
B2> unit 2> listening
Listening part 1: psychology as a science
3. Listen and fill in the gaps in the text.
Perhaps the best definition of psychology is that it is ‘a ___________________ and how
it affects behaviour’. By scientific study we mean b ______________________ to explain
c
____________ which can then be used d ______________ . Those predictions have to
be tested of course, and that means e ______________________, or some other means.
If the predictions f ________________ then the hypothesis is correct. If not, then the
hypothesis g ____________________ . You can see then that the scientific method is
really a continuous cycle of h _____________________________: what some have
called i ______________. In other words scientists can never say that hypothesis x or y is
j
_______________, for the simple reason that tomorrow or the day after, some data will
come along which challenges the hypothesis. k ____________________ philosophy
where l ________________ is reasoned argument rather than the testing of data, and
religion where certain claims are held to be true as m ______________.
4. Listen again. Are the following statements true or false?
a. Psychologists rely on evidence.
b. The only way to test a scientific theory is by experiment.
c. Science is no better than opinion because it’s ‘only theory’.
d. Philosophy and religion are wrong because they do not rely on evidence.
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English for academe
B2> unit 2> listening
Listening part 2: what psychology is
5. Listen and fill in the gaps in the text.
Now, the two objects of study for the psychologist are mind and behaviour. For the
scientist, mind is a _____________________ for the simple reason that there is no
scientific evidence of the two being separate. Thus some psychologists, known as
b
______________, are interested in the c ___________________________ and
behaviour. d___________________ some psychologists study mind and behaviour in
the context of
e
____________________________ and they’re called social
psychologists.
Between these two are f ________________ such as developmental psychology which
studies changes in mental processes over a person’s lifetime but especially during
childhood and then there’s
g
___________ which is concerned with h ___________
________ of those with i mental illness or impairment. In recent years a new branch of
the discipline has arisen known as j ________________ ; it studies what we could call
information processing, that is how we k ____________________________ in the
brain. You can see perhaps that this approach has much in common with computer science
and unsurprisingly perhaps, its l ____________ are often interested in m ____________
____________ .
6. Listen again. Are the following statements true or false?
a. Brain and mind are exactly the same thing.
b. Psychology overlaps, to some extent, with both biology and sociology.
c. Psychologists are doctors.
d. Cognitive psychologists believe the brain is a computer.
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English for academe
B2> unit 2> listening
Listening part 3: the Milgram experiment, towards a hypothesis
Listen and then answer the questions.
7. Between April and June 1994 some 800,000 Rwandans were murdered by their fellow
citizens. Based on the listening, formulate a ‘Milgram hypothesis’ to explain the massacre
(5 marks).
8. The video below provides a brief description of the massacre. It contains some evidence
which supports a ‘Milgram hypothesis’. Describe this evidence (5 marks).
McGreal, C. (2008) ‘The horror of the Rwandan Genocide’ Guardian Online.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/dec/18/rwanda-genocide
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English for academe
B2> unit 2> listening
Listening part 4: the Milgram experiment and a theoretical framework
Listen and then answer the questions.
9. Describe the three stage process which can lead war criminals (an others) to deny
responsibility for their actions (10 marks).
10. What can individuals and societies do to avoid the idea of the ‘agentic state’ leading to
acts of brutality or injustice? (10 marks)
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