Chapter 1

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Contemporary Approaches

• Biological• Behavioral• Psychodynamic• Humanistic• Cognitive• Evolutionary• Sociocultural



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Biological Approach

• Focus on brain and nervous system• Neuroscience• Structure, function, development, genetics,

biochemistry of nervous system• Brain and nervous system are central to

understanding behavior, thought, and emotion



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Behavioral Approach

• Emphasis on observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants

• Chapter 5• Notable behaviorists• John B. Watson (1878-1958)• B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)



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Psychodynamic Approach

• Emphasis on:• Unconscious impulses• Conflict between biological drives and society• Childhood family experiences

• Founding father:• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)



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Humanistic Approach

• Emphasis on:• Positive human qualities• Capacity for positive growth• Freedom to choose any destiny

• Notable humanistic psychologists• Carl Rogers (1961) • Abraham Maslow (1971)



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Cognitive Approach

• Emphasis on mental processes involved in knowing

• How we:• Direct attention

• Perceive, remember, think

• Solve problems



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Evolutionary Approach

• Use of evolutionary ideas such as:• Adaptation

• Reproduction

• Natural selection

• Used as a basis for explaining specific human behaviors



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Sociocultural Approach

• Examination of ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior

• Focus on comparisons of behavior across:• Countries

• Ethnic and cultural groups within countries



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Types of Psychological Research

• Descriptive research• Finding out about some variable

• Correlational research• Discovering relationships between variables

• Experimental research• Establishing causal relationships



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Descriptive Research

• Describing some phenomemon, without answering questions of how and why

• Observation• Surveys and interviews• Case studies- also known as case histories they

are an in-depth look at a single individual



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Correlational Research

• Examining whether and how variables are related and change together

• Correlation Coefficient: -1.00 ≤ r ≤ 1.00• Strength: Number

• Direction: Sign



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Figure 1.4 - Scatter Plots Showing Positive and Negative Correlations



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Correlation and Causation

• Correlation ≠ causation• Third variable problem• Some other variable accounts for relationship

between two variables

• Third variables also called confounds



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Longitudinal Designs

• Obtaining measures of variables of interest in multiple waves over time

• Can suggest potential causal relationships• Causal variable would come first in time• Causal relationships are not completely clear



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Experimental Research

• Determining whether causal relationship exists between variables

• Experiment• Manipulation of one or more variables that are

believed to influence some other variable• Random Assignment• Researchers assign participants to groups by

chance



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Experiments and Causation

• Random assignment helps establish causation• Independent variables manipulated • Dependent variables measured• Experimental groups• Experience manipulation

• Control groups • Serve as baseline for comparison



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Experimental Research: Validity

• External validity• Do experimental results apply, or generalize, to

real world?

• Internal validity• Are changes in dependent variables due to

independent variables?



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Experimental Research: Bias

• Experimenter bias• Demand characteristics

• Research participant bias• Placebo effect

• Double-blind experiment



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Research Samples• Population: entire group of individuals of interest

• Sample: a small selection of the population chosen by the researcher for the study.

• Random samples likely to be representative of population

• To allow generalizing of research results

• Every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.



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Research Settings

• Laboratory research• Control, but with some drawbacks

• One major drawback is that it is difficult to generalize findings to real world

• Naturalistic observation• Real-world setting

• Major drawback is that it is difficult to control and view the behavior of interest



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Ethical Research

• History: World War II• Research participants have certain rights• Human participants

• Animal research

• Institutional review board (IRB)- must go through each institutions review board and be approved before conducting research.



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APA Ethics Guidelines• Informed consent- participants must be aware of what

they are getting into• Confidentiality- participants private information must be

protected and secure• Debriefing- informing participants of the purpose of the

research and the methods used as well as answering any questions

• Deception- when you lie to a participant, before or during the study, about something being done in the study. This is allowed but only under special circumstances and always when the research is concluded a debriefing follows.

Participation Activity

• You may leave when your group finishes the activity.• Remember if someone is not present in your group

then do not place their name on the assignment.• Write 2 multiple choice questions from the

lecture and answer the questions.• Provide an explanation as to why it is the

correct answer. • Questions need to be from different topics

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