Copyright 2004 Prentice Hall1-1 Psychology Definition – the science of behavior and mental processes.

Copyright 2004 Prentice Hall 1-1

Psychology

• Definition – the science of behavior and mental processes


Research Methods in Psychology

• The goals of psychology are to describe, predict and control behavior.

• These goals are accomplished by using the scientific method, which is systematic and empirical (based on observable events).


Goals of Psychology

• 1. Describe – the information gathered through scientific research helps us to describe psychological phenomena more accurately

• Example – Kinsey report


Goals of Psychology

• 2. Predict – detect and describe patterns in nature

• Example – Differential effects of stress on performance (Yerkes-Dodson Law)


Goals of Psychology

• 3. Understand – adding an explanation to our descriptive and predictive knowledge

• Note: this is not to say that we understand psychological phenomena when we have an explanation – our current explanations are tentative – are theories

• Definition – tentative explanations of facts and relationships in science


Theories in Science

• Science is not a set of finished truths – it is a method of gaining information, and the process may never be complete.

• Theories are always subject to revision as more and more information becomes available– Ex: Newtonian physics


Philosophy of Science

• The business of science can be thought of as the revision of theories using scientific method. Scientists make predictions (hypostheses) based on a theory; they then test their hypothesis.

• If predictions are accurate – the theory is supported

• If predictions are not – are disconfirmed


Philosophy of Science (cont.)

• Even a supported theory may be only one possible explanation

• If a theory is consistently supported, it may achieve the status of a law (def – a strongly supported and widely accepted theory)

• Even a law is not the truth


Goals of Psychology (cont.)

• Influence – to affect behavior

• This goal does not/cannot apply to all sciences



• By asking questions of a representative sample, researchers using the survey method can provide useful information about a much larger population.

• The wording of the questions can influence participants' responses.



• A case study is an in-depth analysis of a single person or event.

• Although the findings of a case study may apply only to the person who was studied, they may provide direction for further study using other methods.



• To study behavior in real-life settings, psychologists often use naturalistic observation.

• This technique also may suggest research projects using more controlled approaches.

• In using naturalistic observation, the onlooker must be unobtrusive and avoid influencing the behavior being studied.



• Correlational research tells whether the values of two variables are related.



• Although correlational methods do not inform us about causality, they can provide useful insights and help us to make predictions.



• Because it can generate cause-and-effect statements, many psychologists believe that the experimental method is the most powerful research approach.

• By manipulating an independent variable (the cause), the researcher determines whether it influences the dependent variable (the effect).



• By manipulating an independent variable (the cause), the researcher determines whether it influences the dependent variable (the effect).



• Despite the strengths of the experimental method, the results and interpretation of a scientific experiment can be influenced by;– the specific way the research is conducted,– the culture in which the research is

conducted, – and the experimenter's personal biases.



• Statistics involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.

• Descriptive statistics summarize data.

• Inferential statistics are used to determine whether or not the results of an experiment are significant.



• Measures of central tendency provide information about the typical score in a set of numbers.

• Measures of variance provide information about the variability or spread in a set of data.



• The American Psychological Association has established ethical guidelines for making decisions about research with both human and animal participants.


Psychology as a Science

• The questions of interest to psychologists have been around for a very long time

• They have, historically, been addressed by philosophers, but there have been small steps along the way toward scientific explanations

• e.g., Galileo (1562 – 1642) – described the universe as a giant machine (and ultimately understandable)

• Descartes (1561 – 1626) – extended this mechanistic view to humans

• British Empiricists (ex – John Locke (1632 – 1704) – believed that all knowledge is acquired through the senses – led to the scientific study of sensory mechanisms

• Psychophysics – Helmholtz (1821 – 1894) – first to record the speed of a neural impulse


The Origins of Modern Psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879.

• The goal of Wundt’s school of psychology, known as structuralism was to identify the elements of conscious experience by using the method of introspection.



• Another perspective, which came to be known as functionalism focused on the purposes of consciousness and was especially concerned with the applications of psychology.

• Gestalt psychology is concerned primarily with our perception of our environment.

• Cognitive psychology studies higher mental processes such as thinking, knowing, and deciding.



• Gestalt psychology is concerned primarily with our perception of our environment.



• Cognitive psychology studies higher mental processes such as thinking, knowing, and deciding.



• Influenced by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson was interested in how the environment affects behavior.

• Because consciousness cannot be observed directly, Watson defined psychology as the study of observable behavior.

• The behavioral perspective was continued by B. F. Skinner, probably the best known and most influential psychologist of our time.



• Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic perspective focused on unconscious determinants of behavior.

• Freud also developed a treatment approach known as psychoanalysis.



• Dissatisfaction with both the behavioral and the psychodynamic perspectives led psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers to develop the humanistic perspective

• Humanists believe that other perspectives pay too little attention to uniquely human characteristics such as free will and individual control.



• The psychological perspective focuses on the underlying biological bases of all forms of behavior.



• The evolutionary perspective focuses on why a particular behavior or physical structure developed and how that behavior or structure aids in adaptation to the environment.



• The field of psychology has begun to recognize the contributions made by women and ethnic minorities, and additional contributions from these groups can be expected in the future.

• The cultural and diversity perspective focuses on such research contributions.


Psychological Specialties

• Most psychologists have earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or Psy-D.).

• Although many psychologists teach and engage in research, a growing number provide direct services to clients.

Copyright 2004 Prentice Hall1-1 Psychology Definition – the science of behavior and mental processes.

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