what is psychology?

What is Psychology?

Chapter 1

Why Study Psychology?

1. Understand why people act the way they do

2. Learn about your own thoughts and feelings

Psychology

• The scientific study of behavior and mental processes– Emotions – affect both

behavior and mental processes; good to study as well

Goals of Psychology

• Observe• Describe• Explain• Predict• Control

Psychological Theories

• Theory – Statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are

• Allows psychologists to predict behavior and mental processes

Psychological Research

• Pure Research – research due to interest

• Applied Research – research to find solutions to specific personal or social problems

• Use scientific research to seek answers to questions

Research

• Surveys and experiments most common

• Sometimes even use animal behavior and apply findings to human beings

Careers in Psychology

• Most are clinical psychologists

• Other fields include school, developmental, social, environmental, industrial, sports, forensic, and consumer psychologists

Roots from Ancient Greece

• Socrates said we can learn much about ourselves by carefully examining our thoughts and feelings– Introspection – looking within

• Plato, a student of Socrates, recorded his teachers advice: “Know thyself.”

• Aristotle, a student of Plato, outlined many laws of associationism – experiences often remind us of similar experiences in the past– Used scientific approach

• Most Ancient Greeks believe gods punished people for wrongdoing by causing them confusion and madness

• Hippocrates suggested these problems are caused by abnormalities in the brain, not supernatural forces

Middle Ages

• Most believed that problems like agitation and confusion were signs of possession by demons

• Possession was punishment for sins and the result of deals made with the devil

• “Tests” were used to determine whether a person was possessed– Water-float test

Women in the 15th century suspected of witchcraft were put to the water-float test. If you float, you're a witch and you're executed. If you

sink, you're not a witch … but you drown and die anyway.

Birth of Modern Science

• Maybe we need evidence to explain human behavior and mental processes??

• Psychology became a modern laboratory science

Wilhelm Wundt & Structuralism

• German psychologist that founded structuralism– Discovering the basic elements of

consciousness – Human mind functions by

combining basic elements of experience

• Relies on introspection• First to open a lab to study

behavior• The “Father of Psychology”

William James & Functionalism

• Experience is a continuous “stream of consciousness”

• Published The Principles of Psychology (first modern psychology textbook)

• Functionalism – how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment

John B. Watson & Behaviorism

• Founder of American behaviorism

• Psychology is the scientific study of observable behavior

• To be a natural science – must be measurable

B.F. Skinner & Reinforcement• Animal more likely

to repeat behavior if reinforced

• People learn the same way animals do…Behave in certain ways because they’ve been reinforced for doing so

1. How many of you had teachers that used these?2. When was this?3. Why don’t high school teachers use them?

How can carnival workers get these animals to behave like this?By using Skinner’s idea of reinforcement…food!

Gestalt Psychology• Importance of perception in influencing

thinking & problem solving• Learning is active & purposeful, but not

mechanical – occurs because of insight, not repetition

Inner circles are the same size

Inner circles are the same size!

The following slides have pictures that our brains automatically fill in the missing lines.

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalysis

• Importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts

• Gained understanding by meeting with patients

• Unconscious processes, especially sexual & aggressive urges, most important in governing people’s behavior and feelings

Psychodynamic Thinking

• Most of what exists in an individual's mind is unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses, urges, and wishes

• Human behavior is aimed at satisfying these desires but still being decent human beings

How superstitious are you?101 or more Extremely high score – mistake?

76-100 Very superstitious

51-75 Definite tendency to be superstitious

26-50 Good balance between superstition and skepticism

11-25 Very little superstition

0-10 Extremely low score...maybe a mistake?

Biological Perspective

• Biological processes influence behavior and mental processes

• Subject matter: Nervous system, glands, hormones, genetic factors

Cognitive Perspective

• Perceptions and thoughts influence behavior

• Subject Matter: Interpretation of mental images, thinking, language

Humanistic Perspective

• People make free and conscious choices based on their unique experiences

• Subject Matter: Self-concept

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Unconscious motives influence behavior

• Subject Matter: Unconscious processes, early childhood experiences

Learning Perspective

• Personal experience and reinforcement guide individual development

• Subject Matter: Environmental influences, learning, observational learning

Sociocultural Perspective• Sociocultural, biological,

and psychological factors create individual differences

• Subject Matter: Ethnicity, gender, culture, socioeconomic status

Chapter 2

Research Methods

Proverbs

• “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”• “Out of sight, out of mind”• “Give someone an inch and they will take a mile”• “People who live in glass houses should not

throw stones”• Rome was not built in a day• “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t

make it drink”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Research Methods

1. Form Question2. Form hypothesis3. Test hypothesis4. Analyze results5. Draw conclusions• Then..– Replication– Form new questions

Survey Method

• Asked to respond to a series of questions about a particular subject

• Written questionnaires or oral interview (face to face or over phone)

Populations and Samples

• Target Population – whole group you want to study– Too expensive

• Sample – only part of the target population– Saves money

Selecting Samples

• Random Sample– Individuals selected by

chance– Everyone has equal

chance of being involved

• Stratified Sample– Subgroups represented

proportionately in sample

– Example – African Americans

– Large, random sample is usually stratified

Generalizing Results

• Can’t make inferences about everyone if only study small group

Volunteer Bias

• Predisposition to a certain point of view• May think differently than people who don’t

volunteer• Could skew results

Methods of Observation

1. Testing Method– Intelligence tests,

aptitude tests, personality tests

– Problem – may not provide complete representation of one’s skills

Methods of Observation

2. Case Study Method– In-depth investigation of an individual or small

group– Problem: can’t be replicated

Methods of Observation

3. Longitudinal Method– Study over years /

decades and observe changes over time

– Problems: time consuming, expensive, risky

Methods of Observation

4. Cross-Sectional Method– Instead of following a set of individuals over a

number of years, may just include people of different ages

– Problems: less reliable

Methods of Observation

5. Naturalistic Observation / Field Study– We do this all the time without even noticing – Try not to interfere with those they’re observing– Problem: Can’t control environment

Methods of Observation

6. Laboratory Observation– Often used to control

environment– Anywhere that

provides opportunity to observe or experiment

– Skinner boxes & mazes for rats

Analyzing Observations

• Correlation – measure of how closely one thing is related to another

• Positive correlation – as one goes up, so does the other– Example: achievement & occupational success

• Negative correlation – As one goes up, the other goes down– Example: stress & health

Limits of Correlation

• Just because two things are related doesn’t necessarily mean one caused the other– Example: Positive correlation between grades &

participation in extracurricular activities• Selection Factor – source of bias when

participants are allowed to choose a specific treatment in a study

Correlation

The Experimental Method

• Method used to answer questions about cause and effect

• Participants in an experiment receive a treatment– Example: change in room temp / new drug

• Researchers observe how the treatment influences their behavior (if at all)

• Problem with experiments:– Conditions created may not accurately reflect real life

conditions

Independent & Dependent Variables

• Experiments contain variables (factors that can vary or change)

• IV – factor that researchers manipulate so they can determine its effect

• DV – depends on the independent variable

• Example: Do warm temperatures cause aggression in humans?

Experimental & Control Groups

• Experimental Group – receive the treatment

• Members of a control group do not

• All other conditions are held constant for both groups

• Researchers randomly assign members to both groups

The Placebo Effect

• Placebo – substance or treatment that has no effect apart from a person’s belief in it

Single-Blind Studies

• Participants don’t know whether they are in the experimental or control group

• Some given treatment, others given placebo

Double-Blind Studies

• Both the participants and the experimenters are unaware of who receives treatment

• To get rid of bias

Central Tendency

• Find central tendency to organize data and make generalizations

• A few ways to find this…– Mean – add all scores and divide the sum by the

number of students who took the test • The average

– Median – middle score when scores are laid out from lowest to highest or highest to lowest

– Mode – the most frequent score

Distribution of Data

• Two methods used to document the range of scores– Standard Deviation

• A measure of distance of every score to the mean• The larger the standard deviation the more spread out the

scores are• Subtract the mean from each score• Can be positive or negative deviation

– Range• The lowest score in the data is subtracted from the highest

Let’s try it!

• If five students got 7 out of 10 questions correct on the test, two students got all 10 questions correct, and one got five questions correct..– Find the mean, median, mode, standard deviation,

and range

Answers

• Scores: 5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 10, 10 – 5 + 7 +7 + 7 + 7 + 7+10 + 10 = 60

• Mean – 60 / 8 = 7.5• Mode – 7 (most common answer)• Median – 7 (middle answer)• Standard Deviation – Subtract mean from

each score– (7.5 – 5), (7.5 – 7), (7.5-10)

Central Tendency Practice

• Scores on test: – *80%– 90%– 72%– 55%– 33%– 92%– *60%– 80%– 83%– *70%– 55%

• Find the Mean, Median, Mode, Range, and Standard Deviation for the starred scores

Answers

• Mean: 70• Median: 72• Mode: 80 & 55• Range: 59• Standard Deviation– 80: 10– 70: 0– 60: -10

Ethical Issues

• Ethics – standards for proper and responsible behavior

– Must be objective when presenting & storing data

– Standards • promote dignity of research participants & clients• foster human welfare• maintain scientific integrity

Ethics

• 3 major principles1. Confidentiality – records are private (people

more likely to be honest)2. Informed Consent – people agree to participate

in a study only after they’re given a general overview of the research

3. Deception – can only be used under certain circumstances – debriefing after experiment

Research with Animals

Pros Cons

• Potential benefits to humans outweigh harm done to animals

• Many advances in medicine and psychology wouldn’t have happened otherwise

• As unethical to harm animals as it is to harm humans