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General Psychology and Methods

General Psychology and Methods. Lap 1. What is Psychology?. Psychology: the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Chapter 1, Section 1. What does Psychology want to accomplish?. Approaches to Psychology.

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General Psychology and Methods

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  1. General Psychology and Methods Lap 1

  2. What is Psychology? Psychology: the scientific study of the mind and behavior Chapter 1, Section 1

  3. What does Psychology want to accomplish?

  4. Approaches to Psychology Many different approaches to study behavior each does it differently (the how) Developmental (Lap 5) Cognitive (Lap 5) Neuroscience/ Psychobiology– the brain Socio-cultural/ Social-- interactions Health/ Clinical/ Mental illness Chapter 1, Section 1

  5. How does Psychology reach its goals?By studying behaviors… • Objective • XX is holding a pencil • Facts- detached, balanced, unbiased • Subjective Observations • I like your headband • Opinions- personal, emotional, biased • Observable • Examples: eat food • Unobservable • Examples: hunger, boredom, coping mechanism…

  6. Goals of Psych • Q: What does each indicate is important to psychologists? • Why valuable? • How misused? • Which is most important? • Q: What future behaviors could be predicted based on your own past behaviors?

  7. Historical Approaches to Psychology The Beginning • Wm.Wundt – founder of Psych as a science • First experimental Psych research lab • To scientifically study and collect data on the mind • Structuralism –Study behavior to determine a structure to the thought process • Methods: Systematic Introspection- describe your own experiences/ thoughts with self-observation • Collect data on one’s own conscious experiences/ reactions • Flaws- reporting own feelings is unreliable/ biased Chapter 1, section 2

  8. Historical Approaches to Psychology • William James- Father of Psych (in the US) • Book: The Principles of Psychology • Functionalism- Studied functions of mental processes • Especially when in adapting to the environment • What is the purpose of behavior and mental processes? To adapt and survive (Darwin • Reaction to Structuralism • Methods: improved research methods/ scientific method • Flaws: can this be studied directly??

  9. Historical Approaches to Psychology • Sigmund Freud • Book: The Interpretation of Dreams • Psychoanalysis- Studied the unconscious mind • To explain behavior, personality, and mental/ physical disorders • Thoughts and desires influence our behavior • Expressed in dreams and “slips of the tongue” • CONTROVERSIAL • Methods: Psychothreapy (with Jung) • To collect data and interpret unconscious thoughts • Dream analysis • Free Association- say anything • Flaws- reporting and analysis unreliable/ biased

  10. Newer Approaches to Psychology • Watson and Skinner • Behaviorism- Behavior is a product of prior learning • Behavior without thought… like a reaction/ impulse • A response to Functionalism and Psychoanalysis • Method: study observable behaviors • More in Lap 3!

  11. Wertheimer • Gestalt psychology emphasized perception of “whole pattern” (‘Gestalt’) of behavior • See behavior in its entirety, not in isolation • Reaction to Structuralism, Behaviorists, and Freud • Method: focus on the conscious mind to study how sensations affect perceptions… leads to Humanist and Cognitive Psychology • Flaw:

  12. Sir Francis Galton • Nature vs. nurture • Inheritable Traits- Study genius, ability, character, and personality to determine if they are hereditary • Methods: invented modern personality tests

  13. Newer Approaches to Psychology • Carl Rogers, Abe Maslow • Humanism-the importance of the individual • Emphasizes the inner-self and the importance of feelings, not the unconscious or environment • Behaviors are self-directed • See the whole person • A response to Psychoanalysis, Behaviorists, and Gestalt • Methods: client centered therapy, emphasized subjective meaning • Flaws: unobservable inner experiences– data???

  14. Newer Approaches to Psychology • Piaget, Ellis • Cognitive Psych.- Studied mental processes • Inner mental processes outward, measurable behavior • How do our thoughts determine behavior? • How do we process, store, retrieve, and use info? • How do we perceive, learn, and remember info? • A response to Functionalism, Gestalt, and Behaviorism • Methods: study observable, measurable behavior • Flaws: • More in Lap 3!

  15. The Scientific Method: See Activity #3Chart Chapter 2, Sec 1

  16. Scientific Method • Example Question: Does Bayer Aspirin relieve headaches better than a placebo? • Hypothesis: • Control Group vs. Experimental Group • Independent Variable vs. Dependent Variable • Perform Experiment- systematically gather data • Analyze data and draw conclusions

  17. Scientific Method • Independent Variable (IV) –manipulated by the researcher IF • Ex: If you take aspirin in X dose, will your headache go away? • Dependent Variable (DV) – the behavior or response that is measured THEN • The headache- hopefully, is affected by the aspirin Chapter 2

  18. Scientific Method • Biased sample • Placebo effect • Double Blind Experiment • Correlations • Validity • Reliability

  19. Experiments • Which type of experiment would you do? • Case Study • Survey • Experiment • Naturalistic Observation

  20. Psychology as a Profession • Psychologist • Psychiatry- medical doctor • Clinical psychologist- interprets tests • Councilor – everyday life • Developmental/ Educational • Etc….

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