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Psychology

Psychology

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Psychology

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  1. General Psychology Instructor: Dan Benkendorf

  2. What is Psychology? • The science of behavior and mental processes • Psychology answers questions like… • What is the relationship between structures and chemicals in the brain and behavior? • Why do people’s personalities differ? What are the origins of my personality? • Why do people conform to social norms? • How do people learn new habits, and why are they so hard to break? • What are the causes of mental illness? • What traits are characteristic of good leaders? • Why do people hold stereotypes about other people?

  3. Specialty Areas in Psychology • Biological • Cognitive • Experimental • Developmental • Social • Personality • Health • Educational • Industrial/Organizational • Clinical

  4. The Scientific Method • A set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions. • 4 Basic Goals of Psychology • Describe • Explain • Predict • Control

  5. Knowledge of the Scientific Method Helps You to be a Wiser Consumer of Information

  6. Knowledge of Research Methods Enables Us to Make Accurate Predictions

  7. The Steps in the Scientific Method • Formulate a hypothesis • Design the study and collect the data • Analyze the data and draw conclusions • Report the findings

  8. Building Theories: Integrating the Findings • What is a theory? • What is pseudoscience? • Are claims of paranormal phenomena considered pseudoscience? • Characteristics of pseudoscientific claims: • Many violate the rule of falsifiability • Proponents often use anecdotes or testimonials as evidence to support their claims • There are alternative explanations (other factors that account for causes or explain the claims) • They typically apply scientific principles in ways that are not substantiated by empirical evidence and are actually contradicted by scientific explanation

  9. Descriptive Research Methods • The descriptive research methods are strategies for observing and describing behavior. • Naturalistic observation • Case studies • Surveys • Correlational studies

  10. Correlational Studies • Examines how strongly two variables are related to, or associated with, each other • Can be used to analyze the data gathered by any type of descriptive research method • Correlation coefficient • Positive correlation • Negative correlation

  11. Correlations Far left - strong positive correlation; Near left - weak positive correlation Far right - strong negative correlation; Near right - weak negative correlation

  12. The Experimental Method • The experimental method is a research method used to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between changes in one variable and the effect that is produced on another variable. • Independent variable • Dependent variable

  13. Variations in Experimental Design • Placebo control group • Can help researchers check for expectancy effects, which are changes that may occur because subjects expect changes to occur—sometimes referred to as placebo effects. • Double-blind study – • Purpose is to guard against the possibility that the researcher will inadvertently display demand characteristics—subtle cues or signals that communicate what is expected of certain subjects • Single-blind study

  14. Limitations of Experiments • Artificial conditions • Ethical limitations

  15. Ethics in Psychological Research • The American Psychological Association (APA) has developed a strict code of ethics for conducting research with both human and animal subjects, the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. • Psychologists must: • Respect the dignity and welfare of participants • Not expose research participants to harmful or dangerous conditions • Obtain approval from the ethics panel at the institution where the study is to be conducted

  16. Five Key Provisions of the APA Ethical Guidelines • Informed consent and voluntary participation • Students as research participants • The use of deception • Confidentiality of records • Information about the study and debriefing

  17. Questions About the Use of Animals in Psychological Research • Research using animal subjects must have an acceptable scientific purpose. • There must be a reasonable expectation that the research will • Increase knowledge about behavior • Increase understanding of the species under study • Produce results that benefit the health or welfare of humans or other animals

  18. Evaluating Media Reports About Psychology • Be especially skeptical of sensationalistic claims or findings • Anecdotes are the essence of talk shows, not scientific evidence • Remember that the goal of “shock” radio and televisions is ratings • Look for the original source of a professional publication • Consider how the research was funded • Consider the methods and operational definitions used • Remember the distinction between correlation and causation • Skepticism is the rule, not the exception, in science

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