What is Psychology?
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
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes
Scientific?
 Not just common sense or guesses
 Psychology uses the scientific method
 Scientific Method is careful observations and the experimental
testing of hypothesis
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
Behavior – what people do on the outside
Mental Processes – What is going on inside someone's
head. We call this cognition.
Psychology includes the study of both humans and
animals
Approaches to the field of
Psychology
Biological
2. Evolutionary
3. Behavioral
4. Cognitive
5. Psychodynamic
6. Humanistic
7. Social
1.
1. Biological Psychology

Investigates the biological basis of human
behavior, thoughts and emotions. Looks at
how the following biological mechanisms
effect your behavior and mental processes.
 Brain
 Neurotransmitters
 Hormones
 Drugs (both legal and illegal)
 Gender differences in brain structure and
function
2. Evolutionary Psychology

Asks the question: How did our species get to be the
way we are?
 Language – Why do we talk?
 Altruism – Why are we nice to each other?
 Sexual attraction / mate selection – Why are some people
considered beautiful?
Answers these questions by looking at what would
most help us pass on our genetic code.
 Very concerned with reproduction!

3. Behavioral

This approach only studies observable human
behavior focusing on how we learn, react and
manipulate our environment.
We learn observable responses through
conditioning or by trying to get rewards/avoid
punishments.
 Mind is a BLACK BOX. Can’t see it? Don’t study it.
 Big names

 Pavlov – Dogs
 Watson – Little Albert
 Skinner – Operant Conditioning
4. Cognitive Psychology

School of psychology that studies mental
processes
 Thinking, feeling, remembering, making
decisions and judgments
Studies how we encode, process, store,
and retrieve information.
 Studies behavior and makes inferences
about the mental processes behind the
behavior
 Thanks to new technologies like CAT
scans, MRIs and fMRIs, we can open the
black box.

5. Psychodynamic Psychology
Personality theory that says behavior
springs from unconscious drives and
conflicts
 Unconscious is a dynamic cauldron of
primitive drives, forbidden desires and
nameless fears
 Psychoanalysis – patient lies on a couch
and recounts dreams and conducts free
association.
 Sigmund Freud

6. Humanistic Psychology
School of psychology that emphasizes
nonverbal experiences and altered states
of consciousness as a means of realizing
one’s full human potential
 Importance of love, belonging, human
potential, and self-esteem.
 Abraham Maslow
 Not mainstream, more a cultural and
spiritual movement.

7. Sociocultural Psychology


Study of how people influence one another
Topics include:

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
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
First impressions
Interpersonal attraction
Attitude formation
Prejudice
Behavior in a group
Obedience to Authority
Some Applications include:
 Support groups
 Family Therapy
 Sensitivity Training
Careers in Psychology
1. Clinical and Counseling
2. Developmental
3. Educational
4. Experimental
5. Personality
6. I/O (Health, Sports, Motivation)
7. Personality
8. Psychometric
9. Social-Psychology
1. Clinical and
Counseling
Psychology
About 50% of all Psychologists
Counseling psychologists deal with “normal” problems,
such as stress caused by career change or marital
problems
 Counseling psychologist’s focus more on the
psychologically healthy individual where clinical focuses
on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g.
schizophrenia).
 Clinical psychologists are concerned with diagnosis and
treatment of psychological disorders
 Split time between treatment and researching the cause
of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of
different types of psychotherapy and counseling.


2. Developmental Psychology
Study of physical and mental growth
from birth to old age
 study of changing abilities from womb to
tomb
 Subfields

 Child psychology
 Adolescent psychology
 Life-span psychology
3. Educational
Psychology
School Psychologist
 psychological evaluations
 consult with school personnel in relation to
students’ learning, behavior, and
environments
 they are trained to look at the effectiveness
of academic programs, classroom
agendas, and treatment interventions,
which assists in the development of
specific interventions.

4. Experimental
Psychology
Design research experiments
 May or may not have a direct impact on the
treatment of patients
 Animal subjects
 Drug trials

5. Human Factors
The science of understanding the
properties of human capability (Human
Factors Science).
 The application of this understanding to the
design, development and deployment of
systems and services (Human Factors
Engineering).
 It can also be called ergonomics.

6. Industrial and Organizational
Psychology
Study of psychological principles in
industry and business
 Examples

 Selecting and training personnel
 Productivity improvement
 Optimizing working conditions
 Managing the impact of automation on
workers
7. Personality Psychology

Study of how people differ from one
another on traits such as
 Openness
 Conscientiousness
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Neuroticism
7. Psychometics
Test creation
 Validity
 Reliablity
 Culture fair
 Statistics

Psychiatry
 A branch of medicine dealing
with psychological disorders
 Practiced by physicians who
sometimes use medical (for
example, drug) treatments as
well as psychotherapy
Licenses in Psychology
Psychologists - Ph.D., Psy.D.
 Psychiatrists - M.D.
 Psychoanalysts - M.D. or Ph.D.
 Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW
 Marriage Family Therapists - M.A.

Psychology’s Roots Are in
Philosophy
Prescientific
Psychology
 Do you have a soul?
 Is the mind connected to
the body or distinct?
 Are ideas inborn or is
the mind a blank slate
filled by experience?
Prologue:
Psychology’s Roots
Psychology’s Roots

Psychological Science Is Born
 Empiricism –
 Knowledge comes from experience via
the senses
 Science flourishes through observation
and experiment
Psychology’s Roots

Wilhelm Wundt
opened the first
psychology
laboratory at the
University of
Liepzig (c. 1879)
Psychology’s Roots

Wundt’s
significance?
 By insisting on
measurement and
experimentation he
moves Psych from
Philosophy to
Science
Psychology As Science
Psychologists use the scientific method
 Steps to the scientific method

 Collect data
 Generate a theory to explain the data
 Produce a testable hypothesis
 Systematically test the hypothesis
Psychology’s Roots

Bradford Titchener
 Emulates the analysis
of compounds by
looking at atoms
 Structuralism used
introspection (looking
in) to explore the
elemental structure of
the human mind
Psychology’s Roots

Structuralism –
 School of psychology
that stressed the basic
units of experience
(physical sensation,
feelings, and memories)
and the combinations in
which they occur.
 Study these ‘atoms of
experience’ to get the
structure of the mind
Prologue:
Psychology’s Roots


William James
Rejects
Structuralism
 Influenced by Darwin
 Functionalism –
theory of mental life
and behavior that is
concerned with how
an organism uses its
perceptual abilities to
function in its
enviroment.
The Growth of Psychology

Sigmund Freud: Psychodynamic
psychology
 Behavior results from forces at work within
the individual, often at an unconscious level
○ Sexual and aggressive drives
 Late 1800s
 Lasting Impact of the field
 Hard to prove or disprove scientifically
Return to the observable in the early
1900s

John B. Watson: Behaviorism
 Studied only observable behaviors
 Expanded upon the work of Pavlov

B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism revisited
 Expanded behaviorism
 Viewed the mind as a “black box” that was
irrelevant
The Cognitive Revolution

The precursors to cognitive psychology:
 Gestalt psychology
○ Study of how we perceive objects as whole
patterns
○ Therapy that wishes to treat the whole person
 Humanistic psychology
○ Emphasizes realization of full potential
○ Recognizes importance of love, self esteem,
belonging, and self-actualization
The Cognitive Revolution of
the 1960s

Study of mental processes
 Thinking
 Learning
 Feeling
 Remembering
 Decision making
New Directions in Psychology

Evolutionary psychology
 Studies the adaptive value of behaviors and
mental processes

Positive psychology
 Study of the subjective feelings of happiness
and well-being
 Focus is on positive attitude
 Response away from victimization
Multiple Perspectives

There is no single right answer

Several perspectives can provide insight
into behavior
Psychology’s Big Issues

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Nature-nurture controversy
 Are we a product of innate, inborn tendencies controlled by our genetic
make-up?
 Are we a reflection of experiences and upbringing?
Person–Situation
 Is behavior caused by factors inside the person or outside?
Stability–Change
 Are behavior patterns learned in childhood permanent or do people
change over time?
Diversity-Universality
 How am I like every person, like some people, and like no one else?
Mind–Body
 What is the relationship between the mind and the body?
Research Methods: Experiments
Research Methods – Essential Methods
How do psychologists use the scientific
method to study behavior and mental
processes?
 What are the strengths and weaknesses of
the different research methods?
 How do psychologists draw appropriate
conclusions about behavior from research?

Scientific Method
Create testable
operational
definitions
Be curious.
Question your
world.
Collect data using
DESCRIPTIVE
Research
Conduct more
research
Naturalistic
Observation
Survey
Case
Study
Form a
Hypothesis
Relationship?
CORRELATION
Causation?
EXPERIMENT
Doesn’t support
the hypothesis
Continue to
retest
Use this to
predict and
explain the world
Supports the
hypothesis
Create a Theory
Be curious!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Does involvement in HS athletics improve academic
performance?
Does excessive texting impede face-to-face
relationships?
Does personality influence musical preferences?
Do ads portraying unrealistic body types reduce the
self-image of the viewer?
Does student consumption of caffeine in the morning
improve first period grades?
Does gamification of the classroom improve increase
student engagement?
Be curious!
Does a community service requirement positively or
negatively impact student opinions of community
service?
8. Does HR increase communication in a large
suburban HS?
9. Do teacher websites improve student performance in
class?
10. Does focus on minor rules (flip-flops and hats)
reduce student adherence to major rules
(insubordination or class cutting)?
7.
Research Methods
1.
2.
3.
Description – gathering evidence about A and B
Correlation – A and B are related
Experiment – A causes B
Descriptive Research Methods
in Psychology

Case Studies
 Detailed in-depth description and analysis of

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one or a few people
Observation, scores on psychological tests,
interviews etc.
Prominent in psychology
Piaget used this to develop his theory of
cognitive development
Takes advantage of nonreplicable situations
Observer bias is a problem
Unable to make generalizations past person
being studied
Research Methods in
Psychology

Naturalistic Observation
 Systematic observation in natural setting
 The main drawback is observer bias
○ (expectations or biases of the observer that might distort
or influence the interpretation of what was observed.)
 Observing and recording behavior of animals in
the wild, to recording self-seating patterns in
lunch rooms in a multiracial school constitutes
naturalistic observation.
 Not replicable so you can’t generalize
Research Methods in
Psychology

Surveys
 A technique for ascertaining the self-reported
attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people
usually by questioning a representative, random
sample of people.
 Questionnaires or interviews, such as polls prior
to an election
 Can generate a lot of information for a fairly low
cost
 Questions must be constructed carefully so as
to not elicit socially appropriate answers
Survey
Wording Effect
Wording can change the results of a survey.
Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography be allowed
on television? (not allowed vs. forbid)
Survey
False Consensus Effect
A tendency to overestimate the extent to
which others share our beliefs and
behaviors.
Survey
Random Sampling
From a population if
each member has an
equal chance of inclusion
into a sample, we call
that a random sample
(unbiased). If the survey
sample is biased, its
results are questionable.
The fastest way to know about the
marble color ratio is to blindly
transfer a few into a smaller jar and
count them.
Comparison
Research Method
Advantages
Limitations
Naturalistic
Observation
•More accurate than reports
after the fact
•Behavior is more natural
•Observer can alter behavior
•Observational Bias
•Cannot be generalized
Case Studies
•Depth
•Takes advantage of
circumstances that could not
be coordinated in an
experiment
•Not representative
•Time consuming and
expensive
•Observational Bias
Surveys
• Immense amount of data
•Quick and inexpensive
• Sampling biases can skew
results
•Bad Questions can corrupt
data
•Accuracy depends on the
ability and willingness of the
participants.
Research Methods in
Psychology

Experimental Research
 The only research method that can be used
to determine cause and effect
 Often called the experimental method
 A researcher systematically manipulates a
variable under controlled conditions.
Components of an Experiment
Participants or subjects
 Variable – Factors that can have different values
 Operational Definition – Describes the specific
procedure used to determine the presence of a
variable
 Independent variable (IV)

 Cause (what you are studying)
 This is the variable that is manipulated by the
experimenter

Dependent variable (DV)
 Effect (result of experiment)
 This is the variable that is measured by the experimenter
 It DEPENDS on the independent variable
Components of an Experiment
cont’d

Things to worry about
 Confounding/Intervening Variables – differences (other
than the IV of course) that arise due to poor planning,
sloppy work, or bias.
 Experimenter Bias - Expectations by the experimenter
that might influence the results of an experiment or its
interpretation.
Hint
A good way to determine the IV from the
DV is to word the Hypothesis in the form
of an “If . . . then . . .” statement.
 What follows the IF is the IV
 What follows the THEN is the DV

Components of an Experiment that
involves treatments of some kind.
Experimental
group
 Receives treatment or has the DV changed
Control
group
 Does not receive treatment or doesn’t have the DV
changed, but is the same in every other way
 Demand Characteristics – clues participants perceive
about the experiment suggesting how they should
respond.
Clinical Research
Studies performed in humans that are
intended to increase knowledge about how
well a diagnostic test or treatment works in a
particular patient population.
Clinical Research cont’d
Single-blind Procedure11a
Participants don’t know which treatment
group – experimental or control – they are in
Placebo / Placebo effect12
Fake treatment / Some paricipants expect
improvement in health so they imagine it
Double-blind Procedure11b
In evaluating drug therapies it important to
keep the patients and experimenter’s
assistants blind to which patients got real
treatment and which placebo.
Clinical Research cont’d
Random Assignment
Assigning participants to experimental
(Breast-fed) and control (formula-fed)
conditions by random assignment minimizes
pre-existing differences between the two
groups.
This is not the same as random selection!
A summary of steps during experimentation.
Breast milk makes babies smarter!
Experimentation
Exploring Cause and Effect
Like other sciences, experimentation makes the
backbone of research in psychology.
Experiments isolate causes and their effects.
Research Methods: Correlation
Hypothesis
Hypothesis is a testable prediction that lets
us accept, reject or revise a theory.
For Example: If families do not stress
gender differences then there will be fewer
sex differences in siblings.
Theory
Theory is an EXPLANATION based on evidence
that PREDICTS behaviors or events.
A Theory must:
1. Fit the known facts
2. Predict new discoveries
3. Be falsifiable
4. Be simple. The simpler the better – Occam’s
Razor
Families influence the gendering of their
children.
Research Methods in
Psychology

Correlational Research
 Research technique based on the naturally
occurring relationship between two or more
variables
 Used to make PREDICTIONS, such as the
relation between SAT scores and success at
college
 Cannot be used to determine cause and
effect
Scatterplots
Perfect positive
correlation (+1.00)
Scatterplot is a graph that comprises of points
generated by values of two variables.
The slope of points depicts the direction,
The amount of scatter shows the strength of
relationship.
Scatterplots
Perfect negative
correlation (-1.00)
No relationship (0.00)
Scatterplot on the left shows a relation between the variables, and the one on
the right shows no relationship between the two variables.
Correlation
When one trait or behavior accompanies
another, we say the two correlate.
Indicates strength
of relationship
(0.00 to 1.00)
Correlation
coefficient
Correlation Coefficient is a
statistical measure of relationship
between two variables.
r = + 0.37
Indicates direction
of relationship
(positive or negative)
Operational Definition
An exact description of how to derive a
value for a characteristic you are
measuring. It includes a precise
definition of the characteristic and how,
specifically, data collectors are to
measure the characteristic.
 What you are studying determines the
type of data you get.

Study of
Low Self Esteem and Depression
You do the research because you
assume the two are related
 Compare two variables

 Variable 1 = Score on a self-esteem test
 Variable 2 = Length of a bought of
depression in months
–Score on a self-esteem test
–Length of a bought of depression in months
Correlation and Causation
or
Correlation is not Causation:
It only predicts!!!!
Children with big feet reason better than
children with small feet.


(Children who are older have bigger feet than
younger children; thus they can reason better)
Study done in Korea: The most predictive
factor in the use of birth control use was the
number of appliances in the home.


(Those who have electrical appliances probably
have higher socioeconomic level, and thus are
probably better educated.)
Correlation is not Causation:
It only predicts!!!!
People who often ate Frosted Flakes as
children had half the cancer rate of those
who never ate the cereal. Conversely, those
who often ate oatmeal as children were four
times more likely to develop cancer than
those who did not.


Cancer tends to be a disease of later life. Those
who ate Frosted Flakes are younger. In fact, the
cereal was not around until the 1950s (when
older respondents were children, and so they
are much more likely to have eaten oatmeal.)
In a Gallup poll, surveyors asked, “Do you
believe correlation implies causation?’”
64% of American’s answered “Yes” .
 38% replied “No”.
 The other 8% were undecided.

The Simpsons
(Season 7, "Much Apu About Nothing")
Homer:
Not a bear in sight. The
"Bear Patrol" is working like a charm!
Lisa: That's specious reasoning, Dad.
Homer:
[uncomprehendingly]
Thanks, honey.
Lisa: By your logic, I could claim that
this rock keeps tigers away.
Homer:
Hmm. How does it work?
Lisa: It doesn't work; it's just a
stupid rock!
Homer:
Uh-huh.
Lisa: But I don't see any tigers
around, do you?
Homer:
(pause) Lisa, I want to
buy your rock.
Consider the following research undertaken by
the University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio appearing to show a link between
consumption of diet soda and weight gain.
The study of more than 600 normal-weight people
found, eight years later, that they were 65
percent more likely to be overweight if they
drank one diet soda a day than if they drank
none. And if they drank two or more diet sodas
a day, they were even more likely to become
overweight or obese.
Third or Missing
Variable Problem
A relationship other than causal
might exist between the two
variables. It's possible that
there is some other variable or
factor that is causing the
outcome.
There are two relationships which
can be mistaken for causation:
1. Common response
2. Confounding

Ice cream sales and the number of
shark attacks on swimmers are
correlated.
• Skirt lengths and stock prices are highly
correlated (as stock prices go up, skirt
lengths get shorter).
• The number of cavities in elementary
school children and vocabulary size are
strongly correlated.
1. Common Response:
Both X and Y respond to changes in some
unobserved variable, Z. All three of our
previous examples are examples of
common response.