Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology and Research Methods

1. Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology and Research Methods

2. What Is Psychology? Psychology Psyche: Mind Logos: Knowledge or study Definition: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

3. Behavior Types Directly observable actions and responses Overt; i.e., can be directly observed (crying) Covert; i.e., cannot be directly observed (remembering); private, internal

4. Empirical Evidence Information gathered from direct observation

5. Psychological Research Scientific Observation: A systematic empirical investigation that is structured to answer questions about the world Research Method: Systematic approach to answering scientific questions

6. What Might a Psychologist Research? Development: Course of human growth and development from conception to death Learning: How and why it occurs in humans and animals Personality: Traits, motivations, and individual differences Sensation and Perception: How we come to know the world through our five senses

7. What Might a Psychologist Research? Continued Comparative Psychologists: Study and compare behavior of different species, especially animals Biopsychologists: How behavior relates to biological processes, especially nervous system activities Cognitive: How reasoning, problem solving, and other mental processes relate to human behavior Gender Psychologists: Study differences between females and males

8. What Might a Psychologist Research? Continued Social: Human social behavior Cultural: How culture affects human behavior Evolutionary: How our behavior is guided by patterns that evolved during human history

9. What Are the Goals of Psychology? Description of Behaviors: Naming and classifying various observable, measurable behaviors Understanding: The causes of behavior(s) Prediction: Forecasting behavior accurately Control: Altering conditions that influence behaviors Positive Use: To control unwanted behaviors, (e.g., smoking, tantrums, etc.) Negative Use: To control peoples� behaviors without their knowledge

11. History of Psychology: Beginnings Wilhelm Wundt: �Father� of Psychology 1879: Set up first lab to study conscious experience Stimulus: Any physical energy that affects the person and provokes a response Introspection: Looking inward (i.e., examining and reporting your thoughts, feelings, etc.) Wundt�s ideas brought to the U.S. by Tichener and renamed Structuralism

12. History of Psychology: William James and Functionalism Functionalism: How the mind functions to help us adapt to our environment Functionalists admired Darwin and his theory of Natural Selection: Animals keep physical features through evolution that help them adapt to environments

13. History of Psychology: Behaviorism Watson and Skinner Psychology must study observable behavior objectively Watson studied Little Albert with Rosalie Raynor; Skinner studied animals almost exclusively

14. History of Psychology: Gestalt �The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.� Key names: Wertheimer, Perls Wertheimer: Mistake to analyze psychological events into pieces; many experiences cannot be broken into smaller units

15. Psychoanalytic Psychology: Freud Our behavior is largely influenced by our unconscious wishes, thoughts, and desires, especially sex and aggression All thoughts and actions are determined; nothing is an accident Freud performed dream analysis and was an interactionist (combination of our biology and environment make us who we are) Recent research has hypothesized that our unconscious mind is partially responsible for our behaviors

16. Repression Unconscious thoughts held out of awareness because they are threatening

17. Humanism Rogers Goal of psychology is to study unique aspects of the person; focuses on subjective human experience. Each person has innate goodness and is able to make free choices (contrast with Skinner and Freud). Maslow: Self-actualization: Develop one�s full potential and become the best person you can be

18. Psychology Today Biopsychology: Our behavior can be explained through physiological processes Uses brain scans to gather data (CT, MRI, PET) Looks at neurotransmitters Positive Psychology: Study of human strengths, virtues, and optimal behavior

19. Sociocultural Perspective Many thoughts and behaviors are influenced by our culture Psychologists need to be aware of the impact cultural diversity may have on our behaviors What is acceptable in one culture might be unacceptable in another Cultural Relativity: Behavior must be judged relative to the values of the culture in which it occurs Social Norms: Rules that define acceptable and expected behavior for members of various groups

21. Psychologists Usually have masters or doctorate. Trained in methods, knowledge, and theories of psychology Clinical Psychologists: Treat psychological problems or do research on therapies and mental illnesses Counseling Psychologists: Treat milder problems, such as poor adjustment at work or at school

22. Psychiatrists MD; usually use medications to treat problems; generally do not have extensive training in providing �talk� therapy

23. Many Flavors of Psychologists Psychoanalysts: Receive additional Freudian psychoanalytic training post-Ph.D. or post-M.D. at an institute Counselors: Advisers who help solve problems with marriage, career, school, or work Psychiatric Social Workers: Many have masters degrees and perform psychotherapy Use social science principles Presently a very popular profession Not all psychologists perform therapy!

24. The Scientific Method Six Basic Elements Observing Defining a problem Proposing a hypothesis (an educated guess that can be tested) Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis Publishing results Building a theory

25. Hypothesis Predictable outcome of an experiment or an educated guess about the relationship between variables Operational Definition: States exact procedures used to represent a concept. Allows abstract ideas to be tested in real-world terms

26. Naturalistic Observation Observing a person or an animal in the environment in which the person or animal lives

27. Limitations Observer Effect: Changes in a subject�s behavior caused by an awareness of being observed Observer Bias: Occurs when observers see what they expect to see or record only selected details Anthropomorphic Error: Attributing human thoughts, feelings, or motives to animals, especially as a way of explaining their behavior (e.g., �Anya my cat is acting like that because she�s feeling depressed today.�)

28. Correlations Existence of a consistent, systematic relationship between two events, measures, or variables

29. Coefficient of Correlation Statistical index ranging from -1.00 to +1.00 that indicates direction and degree of correlation Closer the statistic is to �1.00 or to +1.00, the stronger the relationship Correlation of 0.00 demonstrates no relationship between the variables

30. Positive Correlation Increases in one measure are matched by increases in the other measure

31. Negative Correlation Increases in one measure are matched by decreases in the other measure

32. Correlation and Causation Correlation does not demonstrate causation: Just because two variables are related does NOT mean that one variable causes the other to occur

33. Experiments A formal trial to confirm/disconfirm a hypothesis and to identify cause and effect relationships

34. Performing an Experiment Directly vary a condition you might think affects behavior Create two or more groups of subjects, alike in all ways except the condition you are varying Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior

35. Variables Any condition that can change and that might affect the outcome of an experiment

36. Independent Variable Condition(s) altered by the experimenter; experimenter sets their size, amount, or value. These are suspected causes for behavioral differences

37. Dependent Variable Measures the results of the experiment; Condition is affected by independent variable

38. Extraneous Variables Conditions that a researcher wants to prevent from affecting the outcomes of the experiment (e.g., number of hours slept before the experiment)

40. Groups Experimental Group: The group of subjects that gets the independent variable Control Group: The group of subjects that does NOT get the independent variable Random Assignment: Subject has an equal chance of being in either the experimental or control group

41. Placebo A fake pill (sugar) or injection (saline) Placebo Effect: Changes in behavior that result from expectations that a drug or other treatment will have some effect; the belief that one has taken an active drug

42. Experiment Types Single Blind: Only the subjects have no idea whether they are in the experimental or control group Double Blind: The subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects are in the control or experimental group Best type of experiment if properly set up

43. Experimenter Effects Changes in subjects� behavior caused by the unintended influence of the experimenter�s actions Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A prediction that leads people to act in ways to make the prediction come true

44. The Clinical Method Case Study: In-depth focus of all aspects of a single subject Natural Clinical Tests: Natural events, such as accidents, that provide psychological data

45. The Survey Method Using public polling techniques to answer psychological questions Representative Sample: Small group that accurately reflects a larger population Population: Entire group of animals or people belonging to a particular category (e.g., all married women) Courtesy Bias: Problem in research; a tendency to give �polite� or socially desirable answers

47. Critical Thinking Ability to analyze, evaluate, compare, critique, and synthesize information

48. Critical Thinking Principles Few truths transcend the need for empirical testing Judging the quality of evidence is crucial Authority or claimed expertise does not automatically make an idea true Critical thinking requires an open mind

49. How to Critically Evaluate New Information Ask the following: What claims are being made? What test (if any) of these claims has been made? Who did the test; how good is the evidence?

50. How to Critically Evaluate New Information Continued Ask the following: What was the nature and quality of the tests? Are they credible and can they be repeated? How reliable and trustworthy were the investigators? How much credibility can the claim be given?

51. Psychology in the Media: Separating Fact from Fiction Be skeptical Consider the source of information Ask yourself, �Was there a control group?� Look for errors in distinguishing between correlation and causation (are claims based on correlational results yet passed off as causations?)

52. Psychology in the Media: Separating Fact from Fiction Continued Be sure to distinguish between observation and inference (e.g., Robert is crying, but do we know why he is crying?) Beware of oversimplifications, especially those motivated by monetary reasons �For example� is no proof, i.e., one example is not proof