The Story of Psyche Greek goddess of the Soul Began as mortal – in love with the god, Eros Required to complete 4 tasks –Sort grains –Retrieve the Golden Fleece –Fill a bucket of water from the River Styx –Retrieve a sleeping potion from Persephone

So what IS psychology? The discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organisms physical state, mental state, and external environment.

Psychology is a lot like…

What psychology is NOT! 1)_______________ example: playing Mozart makes babies smarter 2) ________________ 3) ________________

Above All… Psychology is an EMPIRICAL EMPIRICAL science! What does that mean?

How does psychology affect our World?

Student Becomes Youngest American Rhodes Scholar Coral Gables, FL, December 11, Devi Sridhar, 18, has become the youngest U.S. Rhodes scholar in the organizations 100- year history. The University of Miami student was named one of 32 Americans to receive the prestigious scholarship to Oxford University. Sridhar, the daughter of two doctors, speaks five languages and is coauthor, with her siblings, of a book on Indian mythology. She joins a group of select Americans who have been Rhodes scholars, including former President Bill Clinton and Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

5 Teens Arrested In Connection With Violence At Mosque Waterport, NY, August 31, Five teenagers have been arrested in the vicious harassment of Islamic worshippers at a local mosque. The victims claim that, Monday night during evening prayers, cars drove by the mosque with people yelling obscenities and squealing tires and gunshots were fired at the building. One of the mosque goers attempted to confront the teens upon which he was beaten, receiving injuries to his jaw and hip. Its been going on for years, the mosque leader said, Its never been taken seriously. It takes the police at least a half hour to get down here. Police believe the attack was unprovoked.

Zaniness on Parade in Pasadena Pasadena, CA, April 17, The 31 st annual Doo Dah Parade, a joyful celebration of wacky weirdness, will take place tomorrow in Pasadena. Known as the other parade (the more famous one being Pasadenas Rose Parade), the event has entertained thousands of spectators over the years. Participants get to shed their inhibitions and dress as outrageously as they can. A Doo Dah Queen is chosen in public tryouts, which are open to all women and men of any age, color, shape, and mental state, and is presented with a crown of foam Cheetos and a bouquet of fake flowers.

McDonalds Sued for Causing Obesity New York, NY, November 22, A lawsuit filed today on behalf of several overweight teenagers charges McDonald s, the fast-food company, with contributing to the young people s obesity and health problems. The suit, one of several, brought recently against fast-food chains, alleges that McDonald s deliberately misled consumers into thinking their hamburgers and french fries were nutritious. The mother of one plaintiff, a 15-year-old who weighs more than 400 pounds, wrote in papers filed with the courts, I [had] always believed McDonald s was healthy for my son.

Geographic Breakdown of the obesity epidemic in America

The Obesity Epidemic in America …obesity skyrocketed between 1985 and The CDC reports that during that time obesity among adults more than doubled, and obesity among adolescents tripled. Normal-weight adults are now a minority in the United States; nearly one-third of the adult population is obese, and childhood obesity is at an all-time high. In 1991, four states had obesity rates of 15%-19%, and no states had rates at or above 20%. In 2011, only one state (Colorado) has an obesity rate of less than 20% (19.8%). -Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011

Bottomless Soup Bowl Experiment