The Science of Psychology

1. The Science of Psychology Unit 1 Lesson 4

2. Objectives • Students will define psychology. • Students will identify the goals of psychology. • Students will explain why psychology is considered a science. • Students will analyze the scientific method.

3. Warm Up • Which school of psych is the best descriptor of human behavior? Why?

4. Review • Psychoanalysis? • Freud • Unconscious • Behavioral? • Watson • Consequences & Connections, Observations • Cognitive? • Piaget • Input – Process - Output • Humanistic? • Maslow & Rogers • Hierarchy of Needs, Free Will • Neurobiological? • Genes, hormones, chemicals • Medication • Sociocultural? • Influences of group & society • Cultural expectations • Evolutionary? • Survival of fittest – adaptable traits • Eclectic – draw from multiple perspectives • Biopsychosocial- • Biological elements • Psychological elements • Social elements

5. Review • Definition of psychology? • Scientific Study • Behavior • Mental Processes • Psyche – soul • Logos – study • Goals? • Describe • Explain • Predict • Control

6. Making Research Scientific • All research must be • Replicable • Falsifiable • Parsimonious • Apply Scientific Method • Identify specific problem or question • Form a hypothesis • Conduct a study (research) • Analyze data • Construct theory • Retest

7. Ethical Considerations • With humans • APA Guidelines • IRB • Informed consent • Safety • Confidentiality • Debriefing • When is deception ethical?

8. Ethical Considerations • With animals • APA & Federal Guidelines • Clear benefit • Humane conditions • Least invasive procedures

9. Descriptive Research: observe & Record • Case Study – in-depth info about one subject • Observation – naturalistic/directed (lab) • Survey – questionnaires & interviews • Test – standardized, reliable, valid

10. Correlational Research • Statistical relationship between 2 variables • Positive Correlation- When 2 variables increase or decrease together • Negative Correlation- When 1 variable increases as the other decreases • Correlational Coefficient – # between +1.0 and -1.0. Zero = no relation.

11. Correlation is NOT causation! • Ex: Scary movie & nightmares

12. Experimental Research • Experimental Method • Seeks to establish a cause and effect relationship. • Handout…

13. Experimental Research • Identify hypothesis “If A, the IV is presented or changed, then B, the DV will occur or change.” • Identify Population, Randomly Select Sample, Randomly Assign to Group • Manipulate the IV – Placebo • Compare the results – Measure the DV

14. Experimental Method Vocab • Subject Expectancy- subject’s beliefs can influence his/her perception/behavior • Blinds- subjects are unaware of the treatment • Double-Blind Study- neither the subjects nor the experimenters know who has received the treatment

15. Activity 1 – Apply Experimental Method • A psychologist studying memory wants to test the hypothesis that an herbal supplement aids memory. The research involves having 80 people complete a memory test. Half of these individuals first consumed the herbal supplement; the other half consumed a placebo pill. • Independent Variable? • Herbal supplement • Dependent Variable? • Memory Retention • Control Group? • Took placebo • Experimental Group? • Took herbal supplement

16. Activity 1 – Apply Experimental Method • An educational psychologist wants to explore whether a new math program, which uses textbooks with special colored pictures, will help high school students in learning geometry. Half of the students are randomly assigned to traditional textbooks, while the other half are assigned to the special textbooks. Scores on a standardized geometry test are measured at the end of the semester. • Independent Variable? • New math book • Dependent Variable? • Performance on geometry test • Control Group? • Traditional book • Experimental Group? • New textbook

17. Activity 2 • In your groups, select two of the situations and decide which method of research would be best used to achieve the goal/objective of the situation. Explain. • Also, decide which of the methods would be the least effective for each of your situations. Explain

18. Methods of Research • You are interested in the honesty of people in America, especially with regards to stealing or taking objects which aren’t theirs. How could you determine how honest people are, including what % of the population can be trusted at any given time? • You’re interested in finding out what effects the moderate use (3-5 x’s per week) of marijuana has on high school students, including effects on academic performance, social relationships, motivation and accomplishments. • You wish to ascertain the effects of high Vitamin C on older (65+) peoples’ health. • You are ready to develop a romantic relationship with someone and you want to find the best person to meet your needs. How would you go about this? • You think your partner is cheating on you and you want to find out if this is true and, if so, with whom. • You want to find out who the smartest person is in the senior class. • You’ve been hired to determine the effects of caffeine on the mental alertness of truck drivers for a large cross-country shipping firm.

19. Closure • Do you think it is ethical to use animals in psychological research? Why or why not?