Objections to Psychoanalysis
1. Unconscious mind cannot be observed or
tests
2. Therapeutic method (the talking cure)
relies on theory of unconscious mind
3. Dream interpretation cannot be confirmed
4. Interpretation of symptoms cannot be
confirmed
Drive towards a SCIENTIFIC
Psychology
• Empiricism: the belief that accurate
knowledge of the world requires observation
of it
• Method: a set of rules and techniques for
observation that allow observers to avoid the
illusions, mistakes, and erroneous conclusions
that simple observation can produce
The Scientific Method
• Purpose: State the problem
• Research: Find out about the topic
• Hypothesis: predict the outcome of the
problem
• Experiment: used to test the hypothesis
• Analysis: analyze the data from your
experiment
• Draw conclusion
Question!
• I want to measure someone’s happiness level
over the course of a two-hour movie. How
might I do this?
• Operational Definition: a description of a
property in measurable terms
• We can never measure an abstract concept
such as “happiness” but we can measure
“happiness” as defined as _____________.
Question!
• I’ve met one French person. He was mean to
me. Is it reasonable for me to I conclude that
some French people are mean? Is it
reasonable for me to conclude that all French
people are mean?
Strength In Numbers
• Case Method: method of gathering scientific
knowledge by studying a single individual
• Population: the complete colelction of objects or
events that might be measured
– Sample: the partial collection of objects or events that
is measrued
– Law of large numbers: as sample size increases, the
attributes of the sample more closely rflect the
attributes of the popoulation from which the sample
was drawn
Fun with Frequency Distributions!
• Normal Distribution (aka the Bell Curve): a
frequency distribution in which most
measurements are concentrated around the
mean and fall off toward the tails
Question!
• I want to find out whether more men or
women buy chocolate at the grocery store.
How should I make my observations?
How to Observe?
• Naturalistic Observation: unobtrusively
observing people in their natural
environments
– Some things don’t occur in natural (e.g., Are drunk
people better or worse than sober people at
piloting helicopters?)
– Some studies require participants to be observed
in a controlled environment
Help Me, I’ve Gone BLIND!
• Single Blind: participants don’t know the
purpose of the experiment
• Double Blind: participants AND examiner
don’t know the purpose of experiment
• Question: WHY make an experiment
single/double blind?
Correlation vs. Causation!
• Correlation: the changes in two variables are
synchronized
• Causation: one variable makes another
change
Question!
• I’ve noticed that, in general, men seem to
sweat more than women.
• From this observation, can I conclude that
there is a correlation between being a man
and being sweaty/being a woman and being
less sweaty?
• Can I conclude that there is causation
between sex and sweating?
Ice Cream  Crime?

?
Correlation DOES NOT IMPLY
Causation!
• Hidden Third Variable: there may be an
invisible, unknown, MYSTERIOUS third
variable causing a correlation.
• Question: There is a correlation between
children watching violent TV shows and
children who commit violent actions. What
can we conclude from this correlation?
How to Get Rid of the Third Variable
Problem?
Question: Your TV is turning on and off. You
notice that your TV turns off when your friend
sends a text from his phone. What do you do to
determine whether the phone is (somehow)
turning off the TV?
Design an Experiment!
• Independent Variable: the variable that is
manipulated by the psychologist!
• Dependent Variable: the variable that is
measured; variable whose changes may be
caused by the independent variable
• Question: In the TV example, what is the
independent variable? What is the dependent?
Question!
A researcher seeks to determine the effect of a
new drug on people sick with the flu. The
researcher administers the drug to a large
population of sick people and many get better.
However, how can we be sure a third variable
hasn’t caused the improvement?
Use Two Groups!
• Experimental Group: the group of people who
are treated in a particular way
• Control Group: the group of people who are
not treated in this particular way
Placebo Effect
Unnatural Selection?
• I want to determine whether the average
adult human has at least one violent thought
every day. To answer this question, I go out on
the street and ask every man I see whether he
thinks he has at least one violent thought
every day. What are some of the problems
with this method?
Randomize!
• Randomization: using random events to
ensure that the population being tested is
representative of the population about whom
conclusions are to be determined
– Also used to ensure a participant’s assignment to
the experimental group or control group is not
determined by any third variable.
Ethics
• Ethics: rules and norms used to ensure that
experimenters treat their participants with
respect
• Informed consent: a written agreement to
participate in a study made by an adult who as
been informed of all the risks that partcipation
may entail
– Basically means the participant has to know if
he/she’s going to be hurt, embarassed, etc. by the
study
Debrief!
• Debriefing: a verbal description of the true
nature and purpose of the study
Baby Albert Experiment