Lectures 1, 2, 3
1. What Is Psychology?
2. A History
3. Research Methods
Learning Outcomes
• Define psychology.
• Describe the various fields and subfields of
psychology.
Learning Outcomes
• Describe the origins of psychology and identify
those who made significant contributions to the
field.
Learning Outcomes
• Describe modern approaches to research and
practice – critical thinking, the scientific method,
and ethical considerations.
1.Truth or Fiction? Popular Psychology
Knowledge
Most people use only about 10% of their brain
capacity
All people w/dyslexia see words backward (taccat)
In general, it’s better to express anger that to
hold it in.
The lie detector (polygraph) test is 90-95 %
accurate at detecting falsehoods.
2.Truth or Fiction?
People tend to be romantically attracted to
individuals who are opposite to them in
personality and attitude
The more people present at an emergency, the
more likely it is that at least one of them will
help.
All effective psychotherapies require clients to
get the root of their problems in childhood
3.Can we always trust our Common Sense?
Birds of a feather
flock together
Absence makes the
heart grow fonder
Opposite attract
Two heads are better
than one
Action speak louder
than words
Too many cooks spoil
the broth
The pen is mightier
that the sword
Out of sight, out of
mind
Psychology as a Science
4. What is Psychology?
• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes .
• Psychology Is an Empirical Science:
Psychological science relies on empirical
evidence as a way of knowing about how we
think, feel, and behave
5. What is a Theory?
• A theory is a general set of principles proposed to
explain how a number of separate facts are
related (map reading example)
• A theory allows you to
– propose reasons for relationships
– derive explanations
– make predictions
6. Goals of Psychology
• Psychology seeks to
– describe
– explain
– predict, and
– influence behavior and mental processes
What Psychologists Do
7. What Do Psychologists Do?
• Research
– Pure research, or basic
– Applied research
• Practice (clinical, counseling)
• Teaching
8. Fields of Psychology
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clinical
Counseling
School
Educational
Developmental
Personality
Social
Environmental
• Experimental
• Industrial
– Organizational
– Human Factors
– Consumer
• Health
• Sport
• Forensic
Where Psychology Comes
From: A History
Lecture 2.
1. Ancient Contributors to Psychology
• Greek- Aristotle & Plato; Hippocrates,
• Roman- Galen
• Socrates
– Introspection
• China- Confucius (551-479)
• Muslim scholars- Al Kindi (801-866)
- Al- Tabari (838-870)
2. Psychology as a Laboratory Science
• John Stuart Mill
-- A System of Logic
(1843)
• Wilhelm Wundt –founded
modern experimental
psychology
– First psychology
laboratory (1879)
3. Experimental Psychology begins with
Structuralism
• Edward Titchener, Wundt’s student
• Structuralism breaks conscious experiences into
– objective sensations (sight or taste), and
– subjective feelings (emotions, memories,
dreams)
• Mind functions by combining objective and
subjective elements of experience
4. Functionalism
• William James
• Functionalism focused on behavior in addition to
mind and consciousness
• Used direct observations to supplement
introspection
• Influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution or
natural selection
5. Behaviorism
• John Broadus Watson
• Behaviorism focuses on learning observable
(measurable) behavior
• B.F. Skinner
– Learned behavior is behavior that is reinforced
– Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971)
6. Gestalt Psychology
• Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler (1920s)
• Gestalt focused on perception and its influence
on thinking and problem solving
– Perception are more than sum of their parts
– Active and purposeful
– Insight learning
6. Gestalt Psychology
• Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler
• Gestalt focused on perception and its influence
on thinking and problem solving
– Perception are more than sum of their parts
– Active and purposeful
– Insight learning
The Importance of Context
Some Insight Into Insight
10. Psychoanalysis
• Sigmund Freud
• Psychoanalysis
– Influence of
unconscious motives
and conflicts
– Theory of personality
– Therapy
11. Cognition Affects Behavior
• Tolman- animals could learn by observation
(behavioral approach could not make sense any more)
• Research on memory
• 1957- George Miller launched the cognitive
revolution in psychology.
• Ulric Neisser - Cognitive Psychology (1967)
• C. Ps. is concerned with higher-order mental
functions such as intelligence, thinking,
language, memory, and decision making
• Computers-information processing theories
How Psychologists Study
Behavior and Mental
Processes
Research Methods
Lecture 3
12. Principles of Critical Thinking
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•
•
Be skeptical
Insist on evidence (sugar study) (Wolraich, Wilson, and White 1995).
Examine definitions of terms
Examine the assumptions or premises of
arguments (example of Mozart effect)
• Be cautious in drawing conclusions from
evidence
13. Principles of Critical Thinking (continued)
• Consider alternative interpretations of research
evidence
• Do not oversimplify
• Do not overgeneralize
• Apply critical thinking to all areas of life
14. The Scientific Method
systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena to answer questions about What
happens, When it happens, What causes it, and Why?
• Formulate a research question
• State the hypothesis (People who report poorer self-images also score higher
on a depression scale).
• Test the hypothesis ( respond to statements: “I’m fun to be with, or I have good
ideas’
• Draw conclusions based on findings
• Publish research
• Replicate study
15. Scientific Method
16. Samples and Populations
• Sample (Mozart study-college students)
– Segment of population
• Population
– Entire group targeted for study
• Representative samples allow generalization of
findings (when can we generalize?)
17. Random and Stratified Sampling
• Random sample
– Each member of population has equal chance
of selection
• Stratified sample
– Subgroups are represented proportionally
• Volunteer bias
– Bias represented by studying people who
volunteer to participate
18. Methods of Observation
• Case Study
– Gather information about individuals or small
groups
– Sometimes used to investigate rarities
• Survey
– Used to collect information that cannot be
observed directly
19. Methods of Observation
• Naturalistic Observation
– Observe subjects in their natural environment
– Unobtrusive measure
– Observers bias
– Limitations: No cause-effect & wait for event to
occur
• Laboratory Observation
20. Correlational Method
• Mathematical method of determining a
relationship between variables
• Correlation coefficient
– Number between +1.00 and –1.00
– Indicates strength and direction of relationship
between variables
• Does not prove cause and effect (example)
21. Positive and Negative Correlations
22. Experimental Method
• Demonstrates cause and effect through scientific
method
– Independent variable (IV) (treatment) manipulated
– Dependent variable (DV) (outcomes)- measure
of assumed effect of the IV
– Lang Study (1975)
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Group 1. Expected alcohol, received only tonic
Group 2. Expected alcohol, received alcohol mixed w/tonic
Group 3 . Expected tonic, received alcohol mixed w/tonic
Group 4. Expected tonic , received only tonic
23.Experimental Method
• Experimental groups, those that received treatment (alcohol), and expected
alcohol, received tonic (3 groups)
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Control groups, expected tonic, received tonic
Placebos , expected alcohol, but received tonic, expected tonic, but received alcohol
Blind (all groups)
Double-blind study (when neither researcher nor participants do not know who
received treatment)
24. Experimental Conditions in the Lang Study
25. Ethics of Research with Humans
• Ethical review committee and ethical standards
– Promote individual dignity, human welfare and
scientific integrity
– Ensure no harm will come to subjects
• Informed consent
• Confidentiality
• Deception
• Debriefing
26. Ethics of Research with Animals
• Animals are used when research cannot be
carried out with humans
• Animals may be harmed, when
– there is no alternative, and
– benefits of the research justify the harm
Video Connections: Facial Analysis The Scientific Method in Action
• What might be some real-world applications of
facial applications?
• Explain why facial analysis might be a more
objective measure of emotions than our own
perceptions?
• Explain why the use of computers can be so
important in research.
Facial Analysis
PLAY
VIDEO