History of PsychologyApproaches & Main Topic Areas

Research In PsychologyHuman Diversity & Sociocultural

Factors

Journal Entry 1: A psychologist is a person who….

DEFINITION: PSYCHOLOGYscience that seeks to understand

behaviorMeasurable internal or external activity

mental processes Cognitive

apply that understanding to human welfare

2 Greek wordsPsyche = ‘life’ or ‘self’ Logos = reasoning & logic

GOALS OF PSYCHDescribe

state the facts

Gather infoExplain

why ppl behave, think, feel as they do

Predictwhat ppl will do, think, or feel in diff’t situations.

Studying accumulated knowledge = predict future behaviors

Influence / Modify influence in helpful wayshelp ppl gain control, change patterns, achieve their goals

PHRENOLOGY

Ancient Culturestrying to understand ppl… it’s part of the human condition!!

Egyptians drilled holes in the skull to let out evil spirits

Greeks – Socrates, Plato, Aristotlelobotomies & bloodletting

Chinese ability tests, acupuncture

Medieval

Abnormal behavior possession from the devil or witches.

*Remove from societyburned, drowned, tortured, & insane asylums

Renaissance Scientific Rev & Human Rights

Study body in scientific way

body, soul, & mind can be balanced or imbalanced.

4 humors (bodily fluids) can result in ailments.

* Hospitalization

4 Humors Blood = sanguine (cheerful)

Phlegm = phlegmatic (cold, apathetic)

Black Bile = melancholic (depressive)

Yellow Bile = choleric (easily angered)

1800’s mid 1900’sMid 1800’s – science still in its ‘infancy’

1859 – Theory of Evolutioninsane asylums ‘lunatics’

Dorothea Dix* ‘Moral’ Management

Suppress symptoms, not treat causes

* Society Cooperation & Interaction

TreatmentsLobotomiesElectricoconvulsive (shock) therapy

Ice baths

Difft psychologists have different perspectives & ideas.

Early psychologists established different ‘schools of thought’ – most important aspect of psychology

STRUCTURALISMWILHELM WUNDT: Father of Psych1879 - 1st lab; Univ of Leipzig, GER

Edward Titchner – student structures & elements of the consciousness… break down the human mind into parts Introspectionppl describe their sensations & emotions (‘building blocks’)

FUNCTIONALISMWILLIAM JAMESConcerned w/ how & why the mind functions to help ppl function & adapt in everyday environments

thinking = ‘stream of consciousness’, cont. flow not a series of separate thoughts (can’t isolate) Whole process, not bits!

PSYCHODYNAMICSIGMUND FREUDLate 1800s & early 1900spersonality dev, what can go wrong, & how to fix itEarly childhood experiences

influence of subconscious mindImpulses, sex, aggression, conflict

PSYCHOANALYSIS – free assoc, symbolism, uncon.

BEHAVIORISM JOHN WATSON, B.F. SKINNER, IVAN PAVLOV

 1920s + Impact of learningBelieved psych. should ignore mental events and focus on only what they can actually observebehavior & response to stimuli

Watson

Skinner

Pavlov

WHAT’S AN ‘APPROACH’?

evolved from ‘schools of thought’ WAY OF EXPLAINING (perspective)

set of assumptions, Qs, & methods that’s most helpful for understanding what’s being explored

Ppl think, feel, & act as they do b/c __________

Emphasizes diff’t aspectsEclectic - combo aspects of diff’t approaches

Can’t explain everything the same way!!

 BIOPSYCHOLOGICAL

physical factorsHormones, genes, nervous system,

brain structure & function, neurons, chemicals, rxns

BEHAVIORAL

role of learning

We are the result of all the diff’t experiences, types of responses, consequences, social learning throughout life

PSYCHOANALYTIC

subconscious conflict impulses vs society’s rules

inner forces are hidden in our mind & control our everyday behavior in a way we’re not aware ofbelow our level of awareness & control

EVOLUTIONARY result partly through natural selection

useful behaviors & cog. chances of survival

Adaptations, mutations, genes

reason, prob solve, form sexual attraction, etc.

understand why we have the kind of mind we have

COGNITIVEcognitive processes

Thoughts behavior!

thinking, perception, intelligences, prob solving, language, process info, reasoning, memory, creativity, etc.

take in info. from environ, analyze it, & come up w/ a solution

HUMANISTICFree will, freedom, choice

Ppl are basically good

Ppl naturally want to grow towards fulfilling their unique potentials (if all goes right)‘self-actualization’

SOCIOCULTURAL  

 influenced of social groups in which we liveCultural context of emotions, behavior, & thoughts

 expectations, religion, ethnicity, opportunities, activities, values, beliefs, goals, rules, gender, motivation, delinquency, family, education

MAIN TOPIC AREASPsychology is divided into topic areas … too big to study everything the same way w/ the same set of ideas & methods… must specialize!

Social Psych. Cognitive Psych. Developmental

Psych. Learning &

MemoryHuman Sexuality Sports Psych

Bio-PsychComparative

Psych. Evolutionary Psych. Abnormal Psych.Personality &

Individual Differences

Thinking Critically About Psych

Critical Thinking: process of assessing claims and making judgments on the basis of well-supported evidenceDon’t just be a sponge! Don’t believe claims without careful thought!

Do not believe everything you hear!Analyze a specific question

No broad assertions

Research = Cornerstone of Psych!

Psych is a social science that systematically studies behavior & mental processes

Psychologists rely on empirical research to collect and analyze informationProve or verify by experience or experiment

Perform scientific research procedures to gather & analyze information

Use scientific methods to test the validity of their conclusions/theories

* This is what makes psych a credible social science *

LESSON 1: CONSIDER THE SOURCE

Only take into consideration credible sources; that is, credible research done by credible scientistsPsychologist – earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D.). Can’t prescribe meds w/o additional certification

Psychiatrist - earned a medical degree (M.D.). Can prescribe meds

Usually handles more severe probs than a psychologist

valid (tests what they saying they’re testing in a correct way) & reliable (test results can be duplicated over & over again)

Beware of the ‘sleeper effect’ –over time, we will forget who the source of the info was & only remember the info

Know the difference! “pop” psychologists psychological scientistsOversimplify issuesCite unreliable or

invalid evidence… or don’t consider reliability/validity at all

Ignore good evidence if it contradicts their claims

pseudoscientific

Cautious!Suspend final

judgments about complex issues until they have better/more thorough data

LESSON 2: STATS CAN MISLEAD!

Statistical analyses are used in every area of psych

Guidelines/procedures for most statistical analyses are clear cutBUT! results can be presented in difft ways to support any argument!

2 MAJOR WAYS STATS CAN BE SHADY1) catchy graphs or charts – change the units of measurement to favor claim

2) altering the definition of what you’re reporting to fit claim(ex. safety on a college campus)

LESSON 3: CORRELATION = CAUSATION

News reports & ‘pop’ psych inaccurately report stats of the original studyi.e. “Young Marriage Leads to Divorce” or

“Yogurt: The Secret to Long Life” Correlation: stat that tells the researcher if 2

things are associated or related: 2 things can be related but that doesn’t mean that one variable is causing the other!

If one variable changes, the other changes alsoEx. owning a toaster oven & using birth control

Causation: one thing is directly causing the other to happen

LESSON 4: ESTIMATE YOUR CHANCES BASED ON EVIDENCE

NOT AVAILABILITY Look at credible

evidence instead of readily available info/images

Many of us overestimate our chances of certain events happening or being true because of memorable imagesex. Jaws movie

SO, ASK YOURSELF… 1) What am I being asked to believe? 2) What evidence is available to support the assertion?

3) Are there alternatives ways of interpreting the evidence?

4) What additional evidence would help to evaluate the alternatives?

5) What conclusions are most reasonable?

CONDUCTING RESEARCHMost good researchers follow the same

procedure: Form a hypothesis

Assumption or prediction about behavior that is being tested

Employ operational definitions Define, manipulate, & control the variables

Independent, dependant, randomCollect and analyze the data/data set:Test the reliability and validity:

TheoriesWhat’s A Theory & Why Are They Important? favored way to org. explanationsIntegrated set of statements

Designed to explain complex psychological phenomena

based on findings from a large # of studiesTENTATIVE; Subjected to scientific evaluationResearch & theories almost always raises more questions than it answers!

RESEARCH METHODSDiff’t methods are useful for gathering the

evidence needed to attain goals4 goals in psych. research:

Describe a phenomenonMake predictions about itHave enough control over the variablesExplain the phenomenon with confidence

*** 4 MAIN METHODS ***

Naturalistic Observation

Watching something in environ w/o interfering

LIMITATIONS!Ppl act difft if know they’re being

watchedSOLUTIONS!

Observe long enough for participants to get used to it, and eventually behave more naturally

Case StudiesSpecific to an individual, group,

or situation Close-up view

phenomenon is new, complex, rare, or unethical to reproduce

LIMITATIONS!represent ppl in general (?)Contain evidence that only a handful of researchers finds important

ExperimentsEst. cause & effect relationship

Changeable, manipulatecontrol over situation & manipulate variables Variables = something that’s subject to change unwanted influences

1) Independent variable = experimenters change/alter so they can observe its effects (what is being manipulated?)Ex. treatment or no treatment?

2) Dependent variable = one that changes b/c of independent variable; affected by (depends) on the independent variableex. hrs spent studying (i) affects your grade on test (d)

3)Random variable – uncontrolled or uncontrollable factors ex. personality, background, intelligence

Experimental group – exposed to independent variableReceives treatment

Control group - Participants that are treated the same way, but w/ no treatment (untouched) or a placebo. Compare to experimental group to

see what they’re reacting to.

Surveys & InterviewsGives broad portraits of large groups; descriptive

datawide range of topics, large amounts of data

Interviews, questionnaires, pollsask ppl about their behaviors, attitudes, beliefs,

opinions, characteristics, or intentionsValidity depends on:

wording of Q & representativeness of participants

LIMITATIONS!! (self-reporting)Won’t admit embarrassing/undesirable thingsSay what they think the researchers want to

hear

PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS IN RESEARCH

BIAS – certain expectations or beliefs about people or conditions that distorts research/dataExperimenter – lead to

errors in participant selection, interpretations, or conclusions; expect people to act in certain ways

Participant – act diff’t b/c they’re part of an experiment

Participant’s expectations – ex. if they expect a treatment to help, they will try harder to get betterPlacebo effect – change in patient’s illness or psych. State that results from the patient’s knowledge /perception of treatment

Self-fulfilling prophecy – person is aware of experimenter’s expectations/feelings toward them & they act accordingly

SOLUTIONSSingle-blind study

experiment in which the participants are unaware of if they received treatment or not

Double-blind study neither the experimenter or participants know who received the treatment until after

ETHICAL GUIDELINESPurpose

protect & promote the welfare of society & those with whom psych. work withAnalyze & report research fairly and accuratelyPreserve the welfare & dignity of their participantsConduct welfare in most humane fashion possiblePerform services that they are trained forDon’t reveal info about clients/students

Ethical Principles of Psychologist and Code of Conduct (APA [American Psychological Association], 1992)

HUMAN DIVERSITY

SCOPE OF BEHAVIOR & MENTAL PROCESSES

Humans are unique & diverse!

We are capable of experiencing the world around us & shape/change our environment. We can think about and remember it, solve problems, make decisions, have feelings & goals, form relationships, & suffer distress and disorder.

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE?

Individuality comes from: 1) Hereditary - physical characteristics & behavioral

tendencies inherited from parents (ex. height, alcoholism)

2) Environment & Experiences - especially when growing up - family, school, religious institute3) Social World - how and where you fit into the world (ex.

gender, labels, roles) - how you think about and relate to other people