Psychology 101
Summer 2010
Syllabi, First Day Handout, Introduction, Module 1 & 2
Where did Psych. come from?
Philosophy
How did I get here?
What should I go while I’m here?
What happens to me when I’m gone?
While Philosophy is pondering the metaphysical
realities, psychology studies the reasons why individuals
do things.
A question of paradigms
Objective
Subjective
Single Paradigm
Multiple Paradigms
One theory
Many theories
Easy to predict anomalies
Divergent solutions
Examples
Examples
Biology
Physics
Chemistry
Psychology
Sociology
Education
Definition
Psychology is the systemic, scientific study of behaviors and
mental process.
Behaviors—observable actions or responses in both human
and animals.
Mental Process—not directly observable, refers to a wide
range of complex mental process, such as thinking,
imagining, studying and dreaming.
Goals
Describe—the first goal of psychology is to describe the
different ways that organisms behave.
Explain—the second goal of psychology is to explain the
causes of behavior.
Predict—the third goal of psychology is to predict how
organisms will behave in certain situations.
Control—the fourth goal of psychology is to control
and organism’s behavior.
Approaches
Biological Approach—focuses on how our genes,
hormones, and nervous system interact with our
environments to influence learning, personality,
memory, motivation, emotions and coping techniques.
Cognitive Approach—examines how we process, store,
and use information and how this information
influences what we attend to, perceive, learn,
remember, believe, and feel.
Approaches, cont.
Behavioral Approach—studies how organisms learn new
behaviors or modify existing ones, depending on
whether events in their environments reward or punish
their behavior.
Psychoanalytic Approach—stresses the influence of
unconscious fears, desires, and motivations on
thoughts, behaviors, and the development of
personality traits and psychological problems later in
life.
Approaches, cont.
Humanistic Approach—emphasizes that each individual
has great great freedom directing his or her future, a
large capacity for personal growth, a considerable
amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous potential for
self-fulfillment.
Cross-Cultural Approach—examines the influences of
culture and ethnic similarities and differences on
psychological and social functioning of a culture’s
members.
Historical Approaches
Structuralism—the study of the most basic elements,
primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our
conscious mental experiences.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
Introspection—the method of exploring conscious
mental processes by asking subjects to look inward and
report their sensations and perceptions.
Historical Approaches, cont.
Functionalism—the study of the function rather than
the structure of consciousness, was interested in how
our minds adapt to our changing environment.
William James (1842-1910)
Gestalt Approach—emphasized that perception is more
than the sum of its parts and studied how sensations
are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences.
Max Wertheimer (1883-1943)
Historical Approaches, cont.
Behaviorism—emphasized the objective, scientific
analysis of observable behaviors.
J. B. Watson (1878-1958)
Discrimination in the Field
Women
Women not admitted into graduate schools
First woman Ph.D. 1908
More women receive Ph.D.’s than men, but job options
seem to be fewer
Minorities
First minority Ph.D. is psych, 1934
Professional memberships very small for minorities
Righting the wrongs
Careers
Psychologist—has a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D. in
Psychology
Clinical Psychologist—has specialized in clinical work
Counseling Psychologist—same as above, but focuses on
individual and family issues
Psychiatrist—an MD, years of clinical training,
diagnosis, neurological training, prescribes medication
Percentages
49%--work in clinical settings
28%--academic settings
13%--other career settings
6%--industrial settings
4%--secondary schools and other settings
Research Areas
Social and Personality
Developmental
Experimental
Biological
Cognitive
Psychometrics
Social and Personality
Social Psychology involves the study of social
interactions, stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes,
conformity, group behaviors, and aggression
Personality psychology involves the study of personality
development, personality change, assessment, and
abnormal behaviors
Development
Developmental Psychology examines moral, social,
emotional, cognitive development throughout a
person’s entire life
Experimental
Experimental Psychology includes areas of sensation,
perception, learning, human performances,
motivation, and emotions.
Biological
Biological psychology or psychobiology involves
research on the physical and chemical changes that
occur during stress, learning, and emotions, as well as
how our genetic makeup, brain and nervous system
interact with our environments and influence our
behaviors
Cognitive
Cognitive psychology involves how we process, store,
and retrieve information and how cognitive processes
influence our behaviors.
Psychometrics
Psychometrics focuses on the measurement of people’s
abilities, skills, intelligence, personality and abnormal
behaviors.
Module 2
Answering Questions
Survey—a way to obtain information by asking many
individuals—either in person, by phone, or by mail, a
fixed set of questions about particular subjects.
Case study—an in-depth analysis of the thoughts
feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of
a single individual.
Experiment—a method for identifying cause and effect
relationships by following a set of rules and guidelines
that minimize the possibility of error, bias, and chance
occurrences.
Correlation
Correlations is an association or relationship between the
occurrence of two or more events.
Correlation coefficient is a number that indicates the
strength of the relationship between two or more
events: the closer the number is to -1.00 or +1.00, the
greater the strength of the relationship.
Correlation terms
Perfect positive correlation coefficient (+1.00) means
that an increase in one events is always matched by an
equal increase in a second event.
Positive correlation coefficient indicates that as one
event tends to increase, the second event tends to, but
does not always increase.
Zero correlation indicates that there is no relationship
between the occurrence of one event and the
occurrence of a second event
Correlation terms, cont.
Negative correlation coefficient indicates that as one
event tends to increase, the second event tends, but
does not always, decrease
Perfect negative correlation coefficient means that an
increase in one event is always associated with an equal
decrease in a second event
Correlation v. Causation
Just because an event is correlated, it does not mean
that the first event caused the second event.
Although correlations cannot indicated cause-andeffect relationships, they do serve two very useful
purposes: Correlation helps predict behavior and also
points to where to look for possible causes.
Choosing Research
Techniques
An interview is a technique for obtaining information by
asking questions, ranging from open-ended to highly
structured, about a subject’s behavior, and attitudes, usually
in a one-on-one situation
A questionnaire is a technique for obtaining information by
asking subjects to read a list of written questions and check
of specific answers
A standardized test is a technique to obtain information by
administering a psychological test that has been
standardized, which means that the test as been given to
hundreds of people and show to be reliably measure
thought patterns, personality traits, emotions, or behaivors
Choosing Research
Techniques, cont.
Laboratory experiments are techniques to gather
information about the brain, genes, or behaviors with
the least error and bias by using a controlled
environment that allows careful observation and
measurement.
Animal model involves examining or manipulating
some behavioral, genetic, or psychological factors that
closely approximate some human problem, disease, or
conditions.
Settings
A naturalistic setting is a relatively normal environment
in which researchers gather information by observing
individuals’ behaviors without attempting to change or
control the situation
A laboratory setting involves studying individuals
under systematic and controlled conditions, with many
of the real-world influences eliminated
The Scientific Method
Ask
Identify
Choose
Assign
Manipulate
Measure
Analyze
Ethics
The American Psychological Association has published
a code of ethics and conduct for psychologists to follow
when doing research, counseling, teaching and related
activities