What is Psychology?
Chapter 1
Why Study Psychology?
1. Understand why people act the way they do
2. Learn about your own thoughts and feelings
Psychology
• The scientific study of
behavior and mental
processes
– Emotions – affect both
behavior and mental
processes; good to study
as well
Goals of Psychology
•
•
•
•
•
Observe
Describe
Explain
Predict
Control
Psychological Theories
• Theory – Statement that attempts to explain
why things are the way they are
• Allows psychologists to predict behavior and
mental processes
Psychological Research
• Pure Research – research due to interest
• Applied Research – research to find solutions
to specific personal or social problems
• Use scientific research to seek answers to
questions
Research
• Surveys and
experiments most
common
• Sometimes even use
animal behavior and
apply findings to human
beings
Careers in Psychology
• Most are clinical
psychologists
• Other fields include
school, developmental,
social, environmental,
industrial, sports,
forensic, and consumer
psychologists
Roots from Ancient Greece
• Socrates said we can learn much about ourselves by
carefully examining our thoughts and feelings
– Introspection – looking within
• Plato, a student of Socrates, recorded his teachers
advice: “Know thyself.”
• Aristotle, a student of Plato, outlined many laws of
associationism – experiences often remind us of similar
experiences in the past
– Used scientific approach
• Most Ancient Greeks believe gods punished people for
wrongdoing by causing them confusion and madness
• Hippocrates suggested these problems are caused by
abnormalities in the brain, not supernatural forces
Middle Ages
• Most believed that problems like agitation and
confusion were signs of possession by demons
• Possession was punishment for sins and the
result of deals made with the devil
• “Tests” were used to determine whether a
person was possessed
– Water-float test
Women in the 15th century suspected of witchcraft were put to the
water-float test. If you float, you're a witch and you're executed. If you
sink, you're not a witch … but you drown and die anyway.
Birth of Modern Science
• Maybe we need evidence to explain human
behavior and mental processes??
• Psychology became a modern laboratory
science
Wilhelm Wundt & Structuralism
• German psychologist that
founded structuralism
– Discovering the basic elements
of consciousness
– Human mind functions by
combining basic elements of
experience
• Relies on introspection
• First to open a lab to study
behavior
• The “Father of Psychology”
William James & Functionalism
• Experience is a continuous
“stream of consciousness”
• Published The Principles of
Psychology (first modern
psychology textbook)
• Functionalism – how mental
processes help organisms
adapt to their environment
John B. Watson & Behaviorism
• Founder of American
behaviorism
• Psychology is the
scientific study of
observable behavior
• To be a natural science
– must be measurable
B.F. Skinner & Reinforcement
• Animal more likely
to repeat behavior
if reinforced
• People learn the
same way animals
do…Behave in
certain ways
because they’ve
been reinforced for
doing so
1. How many of you had teachers that used these?
2. When was this?
3. Why don’t high school teachers use them?
How can carnival workers get these animals to behave like this?
By using Skinner’s idea of reinforcement…food!
Gestalt Psychology
• Importance of perception in influencing
thinking & problem solving
• Learning is active & purposeful, but not
mechanical – occurs because of insight, not
repetition
Inner circles are the same size
Inner circles are the same size!
The following slides have pictures that our
brains automatically fill in the missing lines.
Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalysis
• Importance of unconscious
motives and internal conflicts
• Gained understanding by
meeting with patients
• Unconscious processes,
especially sexual & aggressive
urges, most important in
governing people’s behavior
and feelings
Psychodynamic Thinking
• Most of what exists in an individual's mind is
unconscious and consists of conflicting
impulses, urges, and wishes
• Human behavior is aimed at satisfying these
desires but still being decent human beings
How superstitious are you?
101 or more
Extremely high score – mistake?
76-100
Very superstitious
51-75
Definite tendency to be superstitious
26-50
Good balance between superstition and skepticism
11-25
Very little superstition
0-10
Extremely low score...maybe a mistake?
Biological Perspective
• Biological processes
influence behavior
and mental processes
• Subject matter:
Nervous system,
glands, hormones,
genetic factors
Cognitive Perspective
• Perceptions and
thoughts influence
behavior
• Subject Matter:
Interpretation of
mental images,
thinking, language
Humanistic Perspective
• People make free and
conscious choices
based on their
unique experiences
• Subject Matter: Selfconcept
Psychodynamic Perspective
• Unconscious motives
influence behavior
• Subject Matter:
Unconscious
processes, early
childhood
experiences
Learning Perspective
• Personal experience
and reinforcement
guide individual
development
• Subject Matter:
Environmental
influences, learning,
observational learning
Sociocultural Perspective
• Sociocultural,
biological, and
psychological factors
create individual
differences
• Subject Matter:
Ethnicity, gender,
culture, socioeconomic
status
Chapter 2
Research Methods
Proverbs
•
•
•
•
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”
“Out of sight, out of mind”
“Give someone an inch and they will take a mile”
“People who live in glass houses should not throw
stones”
• Rome was not built in a day
• “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t
make it drink”
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Research Methods
1. Form Question
2. Form hypothesis
3. Test hypothesis
4. Analyze results
5. Draw conclusions
• Then..
– Replication
– Form new questions
Survey Method
• Asked to respond
to a series of
questions about a
particular subject
• Written
questionnaires or
oral interview
(face to face or
over phone)
Populations and Samples
• Target Population – whole group you want to
study
– Too expensive
• Sample – only part of the target population
– Saves money
Selecting Samples
• Random Sample
– Individuals selected by
chance
– Everyone has equal
chance of being involved
• Stratified Sample
– Subgroups represented
proportionately in
sample
– Example – African
Americans
– Large, random sample is
usually stratified
Generalizing Results
• Can’t make
inferences about
everyone if only
study small group
Volunteer Bias
• Predisposition to a certain point of view
• May think differently than people who don’t
volunteer
• Could skew results
Methods of Observation
1. Testing Method
– Intelligence tests,
aptitude tests,
personality tests
– Problem – may not
provide complete
representation of
one’s skills
Methods of Observation
2. Case Study Method
– In-depth investigation of an individual or small
group
– Problem: can’t be replicated
Methods of Observation
3. Longitudinal Method
– Study over years /
decades and observe
changes over time
– Problems: time
consuming, expensive,
risky
Methods of Observation
4. Cross-Sectional Method
– Instead of following a set of individuals over a
number of years, may just include people of
different ages
– Problems: less reliable
Methods of Observation
5. Naturalistic Observation / Field Study
– We do this all the time without even noticing
– Try not to interfere with those they’re observing
– Problem: Can’t control environment
Methods of Observation
6. Laboratory
Observation
– Often used to control
environment
– Anywhere that
provides opportunity
to observe or
experiment
– Skinner boxes &
mazes for rats
Analyzing Observations
• Correlation – measure of how closely one
thing is related to another
• Positive correlation – as one goes up, so does
the other
– Example: achievement & occupational success
• Negative correlation – As one goes up, the
other goes down
– Example: stress & health
Limits of Correlation
• Just because two things are related doesn’t
necessarily mean one caused the other
– Example: Positive correlation between grades &
participation in extracurricular activities
• Selection Factor – source of bias when
participants are allowed to choose a specific
treatment in a study
Correlation
The Experimental Method
• Method used to answer questions about cause and effect
• Participants in an experiment receive a treatment
– Example: change in room temp / new drug
• Researchers observe how the treatment influences their
behavior (if at all)
• Problem with experiments:
– Conditions created may not accurately reflect real life conditions
Independent & Dependent Variables
• Experiments contain variables (factors that can
vary or change)
• IV – factor that researchers manipulate so they
can determine its effect
• DV – depends on the independent variable
• Example: Do warm temperatures cause
aggression in humans?
Experimental & Control Groups
• Experimental Group – receive
the treatment
• Members of a control group
do not
• All other conditions are held
constant for both groups
• Researchers randomly assign
members to both groups
The Placebo Effect
• Placebo – substance or
treatment that has no
effect apart from a
person’s belief in it
Single-Blind Studies
• Participants don’t know whether they are in
the experimental or control group
• Some given treatment, others given placebo
Double-Blind Studies
• Both the participants
and the
experimenters are
unaware of who
receives treatment
• To get rid of bias
Central Tendency
• Find central tendency to organize data and
make generalizations
• A few ways to find this…
– Mean – add all scores and divide the sum by the
number of students who took the test
• The average
– Median – middle score when scores are laid out
from lowest to highest or highest to lowest
– Mode – the most frequent score
Distribution of Data
• Two methods used to document the range of
scores
– Standard Deviation
• A measure of distance of every score to the mean
• The larger the standard deviation the more spread out the
scores are
• Subtract the mean from each score
• Can be positive or negative deviation
– Range
• The lowest score in the data is subtracted from the highest
Let’s try it!
• If five students got 7 out of 10 questions
correct on the test, two students got all 10
questions correct, and one got five questions
correct..
– Find the mean, median, mode, standard deviation,
and range
Answers
• Scores: 5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 10, 10
– 5 + 7 +7 + 7 + 7 + 7+10 + 10 = 60
•
•
•
•
Mean – 60 / 8 = 7.5
Mode – 7 (most common answer)
Median – 7 (middle answer)
Standard Deviation – Subtract mean from
each score
– (7.5 – 5), (7.5 – 7), (7.5-10)
Central Tendency Practice
• Scores on test:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
*80%
90%
72%
55%
33%
92%
*60%
80%
83%
*70%
55%
• Find the Mean, Median,
Mode, Range, and
Standard Deviation for
the starred scores
Answers
•
•
•
•
•
Mean: 70
Median: 72
Mode: 80 & 55
Range: 59
Standard Deviation
– 80: 10
– 70: 0
– 60: -10
Ethical Issues
• Ethics – standards for proper and responsible
behavior
– Must be objective when presenting & storing data
– Standards
• promote dignity of research participants & clients
• foster human welfare
• maintain scientific integrity
Ethics
• 3 major principles
1. Confidentiality – records are private (people
more likely to be honest)
2. Informed Consent – people agree to participate
in a study only after they’re given a general
overview of the research
3. Deception – can only be used under certain
circumstances – debriefing after experiment
Research with Animals
Pros
• Potential benefits to
humans outweigh harm
done to animals
• Many advances in medicine
and psychology wouldn’t
have happened otherwise
Cons
• As unethical to harm
animals as it is to harm
humans