Thinking Critically With
Psychological Science
Chapter 1
1
Psychology Today
the scientific study of behavior (what we do)
and mental processes (inner thoughts and
feelings).
2
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis- Biopsychosocial Approach
3
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Neuroscience
How the body and brain
enables emotions?
How are messages transmitted in
the body? How is blood chemistry
linked with moods and motives?
Evolutionary
How the natural selection of
traits the promotes the
perpetuation of one’s genes?
How does evolution influence
behavior tendencies?
Behavior genetics
How much our genes and our To what extent are psychological
environments influence our
traits such as intelligence,
individual differences?
personality, sexual orientation,
and vulnerability to depression
attributable to our genes? To our
environment?
4
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Psychodynamic
How behavior springs from
unconscious drives and
conflicts?
How can someone’s personality
traits and disorders be explained
in terms of sexual and aggressive
drives or as disguised effects of
unfulfilled wishes and childhood
traumas?
Behavioral
How we learn observable
responses?
How do we learn to fear
particular objects or situations?
What is the most effective way to
alter our behavior, say to lose
weight or quit smoking?
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Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Cognitive
How we encode, process,
store and retrieve
information?
How do we use information
in remembering? Reasoning?
Problem solving?
Social-cultural
How behavior and
thinking vary across
situations and cultures?
How are we — as Africans,
Asians, Australians or North
Americans – alike as members
of human family? As products
of different environmental
contexts, how do we differ?
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Psychology’s Subfields: Research
Psychologist
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Personality
Social
What she does
Explore the links between brain and mind.
Study changing abilities from womb to
tomb.
Study how we perceive, think, and solve
problems.
Investigate our persistent traits.
Explore how we view and affect one
another.
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Psychology’s Subfields: Applied
Psychologist
Clinical
What she does
Studies, assesses, and treats people with
psychological disorders
Counseling
Helps people cope with academic,
vocational, and marital challenges.
Educational
Studies and helps individuals in school
and educational settings
Industrial/
Organizational
Studies and advises on behavior in the
workplace.
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Why Do Psychology?
1. differentiate between opinion and tested
results
2. leads to our understanding of how
people feel, think, and act as they do!
3. closer examination of intuition, common
sense, hindsight bias and overconfidence
4. CURIOSITY
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Hindsight Bias
Hindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon.
After learning the outcome of an event, many people
believe they could have predicted that very outcome.
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Overconfidence
Sometimes we think we
know more than we
actually know.
How long do you think it
would take to unscramble
these anagrams?
People said it would take
about 10 seconds, yet on
average they took about 3
minutes (Goranson, 1978).
Anagram
WREAT
WATER
ETYRN
ENTRY
GRABE
BARGE
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Asking Questions
Scientific Method
Description Studies
Correlation
Experimentation
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How Do Psychologists Ask &
Answer Questions?
scientific method :
construct theories that organize, summarize
and simplify observations
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Theory
an explanation that integrates principles and
organizes and predicts behavior or events
EX: low self-esteem contributes to
depression.
Hypothesis
a prediction that can be tested to accept,
reject or revise a theory
EX: People with low self-esteem are apt to
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feel more depressed.
Research Observations
-administer tests of self-esteem and
depression
- Individuals who score low on a self-esteem
test and high on a depression test would
confirm our hypothesis.
15
Research Process
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Case Study
Survey
Is language uniquely human?
http://www.lynnefeatherst
one.org
Susan Kuklin/ Photo
Researchers
-ascertaining
. the selfreported attitudes,
-one person is studied in opinions or behaviors
depth to reveal
of people
underlying behavioral
- done by questioning
principles.
a representative,
random sample of
people.
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Survey
Random Sampling
If each member of a
population has an equal
chance of inclusion into a
sample, it is called a
random sample
(unbiased). If the survey
sample is biased, its
results are not valid.
The fastest way to know about the
marble color ratio is to blindly
transfer a few into a smaller jar and
count them.
18
Naturalistic Observation
Observing and recording the behavior of animals or people
in their own setting
Are boys more adventurous than girls?
Courtesy of Gilda Morelli
http://www.mcli.dist.maric
opa.edu/proj/res_meth/rm
vl/natobs_psych.html
19
Descriptive Methods
Summary
Case studies, surveys, and naturalistic
observation describe behaviors.
These are not experiments.
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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 the
relationship between two
variables.
r = + 0.37
Indicates direction
of relationship
(positive or negative)
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Correlation and Causation
Correlation does not mean causation!
or
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Illusory Correlation
The perception of a relationship where no relationship
actually exists..
If we notice or believe a relationship exists we are likely
to find examples that support it.
-Sugar makes children hyperactive
-Getting cold and wet causes someone to catch a cold
-Weather patterns trigger arthritis pain
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Order in Random Events
Given random data, we look for order and
meaningful patterns.
Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is
precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.
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Experiments
(1) manipulate factors that interest us, while other
factors are kept under (2) control.
**Effects generated by manipulated factors isolate
cause and effect relationships.
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Procedures
Double Blind
patients and experimenter’s assistants should
remain unaware of which patients had the real
treatment and which patients had the placebo
treatment.
Random Assignment
Assigning participants to experimental and
control conditions by random assignment
minimizes pre-existing differences between the
two groups.
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Independent Variable
An independent variable is a factor manipulated
by the experimenter.
The effect of the independent variable is the focus
of the study.
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Dependent Variable
A dependent variable is a factor that may change
in response to an independent variable.
In psychology, it is usually a behavior or a mental
process.
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Experimentation
A summary of steps during experimentation.
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Comparison
Below is a comparison of different research
methods.
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