Psychology: A Journey Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Introducing Psychology and Research Methods.

Psychology: A JourneyChapter 1

Chapter 1Introducing Psychology and

Research Methods


What Is Psychology?

• Psychology– Psyche: Mind– Logos: Knowledge or study

• Definition: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes– Behavior: Overt; i.e., can be directly observed (crying)– Mental Processes: Covert; i.e., cannot be directly

observed (remembering); private, internal• Empirical Evidence: Information gathered from direct

observation• Psychology is a science (teach, conduct research) and a

profession (counseling, mental illness)


Psychologists

Applied(Clinician) Basic

(Experimental Psychologists)

Clinical Psychologists Counseling Psychologists

Many Specialty AreasDevelopmental

LearningPersonality

SocialCognitive

1. Where would you position psychiatrists on this org. chart?

2. What are the major differences in the duties of psychiatrists vs. psychologists?

3. How are clinicians and experimental psychologists different?


What Might a Psychologist Research? • Development: Course of human growth and

development

• Learning: How and why it occurs in humans and animals

• Personality: Traits, motivations, and individual differences

• Sensation and Perception: How we come to know the world through our five senses


What Might a Psychologist Research?(cont’d)

• Social: Human and social behavior

• Cultural: How culture affects human behavior

• Cognitive: How reasoning, problem solving, and other mental processes relate to human behavior

• Evolutionary: How our behavior is guided by patterns that evolved during human history


What Are the Goals of Psychology? • Description of Behaviors: Naming and classifying various

observable, measurable behaviors• Understanding: The causes of behavior(s)• Prediction: Forecasting behavior accurately• Control: Altering conditions that influence behaviors

– Positive Use: To control unwanted behaviors, (e.g., smoking, tantrums, etc.)

– Negative Use: To control peoples’ behaviors without their knowledge


History of Psychology (Brief!): Beginnings • Wilhelm Wundt: “Father” of Psychology

– 1879: Set up first lab to study conscious experience– Stimulus: Any physical energy that affects the person

and provokes a response– Introspection: Looking inward (i.e., examining and

reporting your thoughts, feelings, etc.)– Wundt’s ideas brought to the U.S. by Tichener and

renamed Structuralism– Question: What are the building blocks of mental

experience? Structuralists disagreed, and no way to prove who was correct!


History of Psychology: William James • William James (American) and Functionalism

Assumed consciousness is an ever-changing flow of images and sensations so…What does the mind do?– How the mind functions to help us adapt to our

environment?– Functionalists admired Darwin and his theory of

Natural Selection: Animals keep features through evolution that help them adapt to environments


History of Psychology: Behaviorism and Cognitive Behaviorism

• Behaviorism: Watson and Skinner – Psychology must study observable behavior

objectively– Watson studied Little Albert with Rosalie Raynor;

Skinner studied animals almost exclusively• Cognitive: Study thoughts, memory, expectations,

perceptions, and other mental processes• Cognitive Behaviorism: Ellis and Bandura

– Our thoughts influence our behaviors; used often in treatment of depression


History of Psychology: Gestalt

• “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

• Key names: Wertheimer, Perls

Psychology: A JourneyChapter 1Figure 1.2

FIGURE 1.2 The design you see here is entirely made up of broken circles. However, as the Gestalt psychologists discovered, our perceptions have a powerful tendency to form meaningful patterns. Because of this tendency, you will probably see a triangle in this design, even though it is only an illusion. Your whole perceptual experience exceeds the sum of its parts.


History of Psychology: Freud

• Psychoanalytic: Freud– Our behavior is largely influenced by our

unconscious wishes, thoughts, and desires, especially sex and aggression.

– Freud performed dream analysis and was an interactionist (combination of our biology and environment make us who we are).

• Repression: Unconscious thoughts held out of awareness because they are threatening


History of Psychology: Humanism • Humanism: Rogers and Maslow

– Goal of psychology is to study unique aspects of the person; focuses on subjective human experience.

– Each person has innate goodness and is able to make free choices (contrast with Skinner and Freud).

• Maslow: Self-actualization: Develop one’s full potential and become the best person you can be


Psychology Today • Biopsychology: Our behavior can be explained through

physiological processes– Uses brain scans to gather data (CT, MRI, PET)– Looks at neurotransmitters– Treats psychological problems with medications

• Positive Psychology: Study of human strengths, virtues, and optimal behavior


Cultural Awareness • Many thoughts and behaviors are influenced by our

culture.• Psychologists need to be aware of the impact cultural

diversity may have on our behaviors.• What is acceptable in one culture might be unacceptable

in another.


Psychologists Observe & Measure Behavior


1. Silently choose a number between 2 & 9.2. Multiply that number by 9.3. Add the 2 digits of the resulting number.4. Subtract 5 from that result.5. Think of the letter of the alphabet that corresponds to

the number arrived at in step 4.6. Write the name of a country that begins with this letter.7. Write the name of an animal that begins with the last

letter of this country.8. Write the name of a color that begins with the last

letter of that animal.9. Look at & concentrate on the listed country, animal,

and color.


The Scientific Method

• Six Basic Elements– Observing– Defining a problem– Proposing a hypothesis (an educated guess that can

be tested)– Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis– Publishing results– Building a theory


Some Terms

• Hypothesis: Testable hunch or educated guess about behavior

• Operational Definition: States exact procedures used to represent a concept. Allows abstract ideas to be tested in real-world terms.


FIGURE 1.4 Operational definitions are used to link concepts with concrete observations. Do you think the examples given are reasonable operational definitions of frustration and aggression? Operational definitions vary in how well they represent concepts. For this reason, many different experiments may be necessary to draw clear conclusions about hypothesized relationships in psychology.


• Operational definitions

– Which of the following might be used as an operational definition of “attraction?”

• A feeling of affection when two people are together. (1)

• The number of minutes during which two people are touching each other over a four-hour period. (2)

(2)


What is a double-blind study?


FIGURE 1.5 Psychologists use the logic of science to answer questions about behavior. Specific hypotheses can be tested in a variety of ways, including naturalistic observation, correlational studies, controlled experiments, clinical studies, and the survey method. Psychologists revise their theories to reflect the evidence they gather. New or revised theories then lead to new observations, problems, and hypotheses.


Experiments • To identify cause-and-effect relationships, we conduct

experiments.• A formal trial to confirm/disconfirm a hypothesis

– Directly vary a condition you might think affects behavior.

– Create two or more groups of subjects, alike in all ways except the condition you are varying.

– Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior.


FIGURE 1.8 Elements of a simple psychological experiment to assess the effects of music during study on test scores.


Critical Thinking

• Ability to analyze, evaluate, compare, critique, and synthesize information

• Based on four principles– Few truths transcend the need for empirical testing– Judging the quality of evidence is crucial– Authority or claimed expertise does not automatically

make an idea true– Critical thinking requires an open mind


How to Critically Evaluate New Information

• Ask the following:– What claims are being made?– What test (if any) of these claims has been made?– Who did the test; how good is the evidence?– What was the nature and quality of the tests? Are

they credible and can they be repeated?– How reliable and trustworthy were the investigators?– How much credibility can the claim be given?– Can we rule out other alternative explanations?


Pseudo-Psychologies • Pseudo means “false.” Any unfounded “system” that

resembles psychology and is NOT based on scientific testing– Palmistry: Lines on your hands (palms) predict future

and reveal personality – Phrenology: Personality traits revealed by shape of

skull and bumps on your head• Graphology: Personality revealed by your handwriting.• Astrology: The positions of the stars and planets at birth

determine your personality and affect your behavior. – Extremely popular today (“What’s your sign?”).


Why are there so many believers?

• Uncritical Acceptance: Tendency to believe positive or flattering descriptions of yourself

• Fallacy of Positive Instances: When we remember or notice things that confirm our expectations and forget the rest.

• Barnum Effect: Always have a little something for everyone. Make sure all palm readings, horoscopes, etc. are so general that something in them will always apply to any one person! • (e.g., “Crossing Over with John Edward”)


Separating Fact from Fiction • Be skeptical.• Consider the source of information.• Ask yourself, “Was there a control group?”• Look for errors in distinguishing between correlation and

causation (are claims based on correlational results yet passed off as causations?).


Separating Fact from Fiction (cont’d) • Be sure to distinguish between observation and

inference (e.g., Robert is crying, but do we know why he is crying?).

• Beware of oversimplifications, especially those motivated by monetary reasons.

• “For example” is no proof, i.e., one example is not proof

Psychology: A Journey Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Introducing Psychology and Research Methods.

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