Intro
Chapter 1
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The Science of Psychology
I.
Psychological Science
A.
Psychology is about mental processes and behavior, both exceptional and
ordinary
B.
Goals of psychology
1.
describe
2.
explain
3.
predict
4.
control
mental processes and behavior
C.
Behavior – outward, observable acts of an individual or group
II.
Brief History of Psychology
A.
The evolution of psychology as a science
1.
people have always been interested in why they and others do the
things they do; how we think, feel, and behave
2.
psychology has its roots in philosophy and physiology
B.
Early theories of psychology
1.
Structuralism – the school of psychology that wanted to identify
the basic elements of experience and to describe the rules and
circumstances under which these elements combine to form mental
structures
a.
Wilhelm Wundt
1.
first psychology lab (1879)
2.
wanted to identify the “building blocks” of
consciousness.
3.
used “introspection” – looking within
b.
Edward Titchener – an American student of Wundt who
brought the ideas of structuralism to America
2.
Functionalism – the school of psychology that wanted to
understand the ways that the mind helps individuals function, or
adapt to the world; why people think feel and behave as they do
a.
influenced by Charles Darwin
b.
focused on issues of society, i.e. improving education
c.
William James – founder of functionalism; father of
American psychology
3.
Gestalt psychology – an approach to understanding mental
processes that focuses on the idea that the whole is more than the
sum if its parts; overall patterns of thoughts or experience.
a.
Max Wertheimer
b.
Basis for studying perception – interested in the perception
unit or whole
C.
Psychodynamic Theory: Sigmund Freud
1.
psyche – mind; dynamo – power; refers t the continual push and
pull interaction among conscious and unconscious forces
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D.
E.
F.
G.
2
2. unconscious – type of mental process; outside conscious awareness
and not able to be brought to awareness at will
Behaviorism – focuses on how a specific stimulus (object, person, or
event) evokes a specific response; S-R
1.
rejected the idea that psychology should focus on these unseen
phenomena
2.
psychology should concentrate on understanding directly
observable behavior
3.
believed that responses usually produce consequences, either
negative or positive, which in turn affect how the organism
responds the next time it encounters the same stimulus
Humanistic Psychology – humanism
1.
assumes people have positive values, free will and deep inner
creativity, the combination of which leads them to choose lifefulfilling paths to personal growth.
2.
Each person as dignity and self-worth
3.
Many therapies used today reflect the humanistic influence
Cognitive Psychology
1.
uses the computer as a model for the way human mental processes
work.
2.
attempts to characterize the nature of human information
processing (the way information is stored and operated on in the
mind)
3.
mental processes are like computer software programs and the
brain is like the hardware
4.
believe that just as different types of software can be discussed
without considering how the hardware works, mental processes
can be discussed without knowing the complete structure of the
brain.
Evolutionary Psychology
1.
based on the idea that certain cognitive strategies and goals are so
important that natural selection has built them into our brains
2.
general cognitive strategies and certain goals are inborn
See Table 1.1 page 20
III.
Schools of Psychological Thought
What Psychologists Do Today
A.
Clinical and Counseling Psychology
1.
psychotherapy – involves listening and talking to clients and
helping them discover the causes of and solutions to their
difficulties
2.
areas
a.
clinical neuropsychology – work specifically with tests
designed to diagnose the effects of brain damage on
thoughts, feelings and behavior and to indicate which parts
of the brain may be damaged
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counseling psychology – may provide psychotherapy, but
more involved in career counseling and vocational testing
c.
psychiatry – medical doctor with specific training in
medications for mental illness and and can prescribe drugs
d.
social work – work with families and individuals using
psychotherapy but also coordinate social services between
client and community
e.
psychiatric nurse – provides psychotherapy in a hospital or
clinic; works with doctors to monitor and administer
medications
Academic Psychology; teaching and research
1.
teach classes in a psychology or counseling program
2.
do research in a variety of areas and publish papers
3.
it is through research that we learn how to diagnose people’s
problems and how to help them
Applied Psychology
1.
use the principles and theories of psychology in practical areas
such as education, industry, and marketing
b.
B.
C.
See Table 1.2
IV.
What Psychologists Do
The Science of Psychology
A. The Scientific Method – a way to gather facts that will lead to the formulation
and validation of a theory
1.
Parts:
a.
specifying a problem
b.
systematically observing events
c.
forming a hypothesis of the relation between variables
d.
collecting new observations to test the hypothesis
e.
using such evidence to formulate and support a theory
f.
testing the theory
What do each of these mean?
1.
specifying a problem
a.
what are you interested in?
b.
a problem isn’t necessarily bad
c.
a question to answer or a puzzle to solve
2.
systematically observing events
a.
just the facts; not impressions or interpretations
b.
data – information collected that are careful observations or
numerical measurements
c.
replicated – can the same results be obtained by others;
repeated and see the same things
d.
careful observations that produce numbers are preferred
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3.
4.
5.
5.
V.
forming a hypothesis of the relation between variables
a.
hypothesis – tentative idea that might explain a set of
observations
b.
variable – an aspect of a situation that can vary or change
collecting new observations to test the hypothesis
a.
phenomena or events that apply to the thing you are
investigating
using such evidence to formulate and support a theory
a.
theory – a set of principles that are supposed to explain a
set of observations
b.
predictions – expectations about specific events that
should occur in particular circumstances if the hypothesis
or theory is correct
testing the theory
a.
each time a theory makes a correct prediction, the theory is
supported; each time it fails to make a correct prediction,
the theory is weakened
b.
a good theory is falsifiable; the theory can be rejected if the
predictions are not confirmed
Scientific Research
A.
Experimental Design
1.
experiment – controlled situations where variables are manipulated
2.
independent variable – aspect of the situation that is intentionally
varied; the thing being manipulated
3.
dependent variable – the thing being measured; the value of the
dependent variable depends on the value of the independent
variable
4.
effect – the difference in the dependent variable that is due to
changes in the independent variable
5.
confounding variables – are other possible aspects of the situation
that have become entangled with the aspects that you have chosen
to vary; could affect what is measured
6.
control group – a second group that is treated identically in the
course of the experiment except that that it is not exposed to the
independent variable
7.
control condition – instead of testing a separate control group, you
test the same group another time, keeping everything the same as
in the experimental conditions except for the single independent
variable of interest
B.
Correlational Research
1.
correlation – a relationship in which changes in the measurements
of one variable are matched by the changes in measurements of
another variable.
2.
positive correlation – the values of one variable increase as the
values of another variable increase
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negative correlation – the values of one variable increase as the
values of another variable decrease
4.
allows the comparison of variables that cannot be manipulated
directly
5.
correlation does not mean causation; the 2 things change in
relationship to one another, but one does not cause the other to
occur
Naturalistic Observation
1.
collecting data from real life settings
2.
also does not provide for an explanation – only observation
3.
cannot control for confounded variables
Case Studies
1.
focuses on a single instance of a situation, examining it in detail
2.
cannot always generalize from one case to another
Surveys
1.
set of questions, typically about beliefs, attitudes, preferences or
activities
2.
inexpensive
3.
collect lots of data
4.
quickly done
5.
help to form hypothesis
6.
relies on people reporting truthfully and accurately
Meta-Analysis
1.
techniques that allows researchers to combine results from
different studies
2.
can determine whether a relationship exists among variables that
transcends any one study; discovers patterns in the data
3.
population – sample group that is measured or observed; entire set
of relevant people or animals
3.
C.
D.
E.
F.
See Table 1.3 page 33
Summary of Research Methods
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Aspects of Research to Consider
A.
Reliability – consistency; repeating the experiment and getting the same
results
B.
Validity – the study measures what it is supposed to measure
C.
Bias – leaning toward a particular result, whether conscious or
unconscious
1.
response bias – tendency to respond in a particular way regardless
of actual knowledge or beliefs relevant to performing the task
2.
sampling bias – occurs when the participants or items are not
chosen at random, but are selected so that no attribute is over or
underrepresented
D.
Experimenter expectancy effects – occurs when an investigator’s
expectations lead him or her to treat participants in a way that causes the
expected results
1.
double blind design – the participant and the experimenter are both
“blind” or unaware of the predictions of the student and so are
unable to consciously or unconsciously give desired responses or
results