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Psych 001 – Chapter 1
Why Is Psychology Important to You?
Understanding and applying the principles
of psychology can affect us in critical ways
Psychology can help us understand other
people and ourselves
Psychology can help us improve our lives
What is Psychology?
Psychology is a word deriving from Greek
roots:
o Psyche – “soul” or “mind”
o Logos – “word”
Psychology is the systematic study of
behavior and experience (Mental
processes).
Psychologists engage in the study of
psychology in order to understand, explain
and predict behavior.
Critical thinking
o Systematically evaluating
information to reach reasonable
conclusions best supported by
evidence
o Three steps:
“What am I being asked to
believe or accept?”
“What evidence is provided
to support the claim?”
“What are the most
reasonable conclusions?”
Psychology Helps Us Succeed in School and
at Work
Academic success
o Learning about psychology’s major
issues, theories, and controversies
will help you succeed in your
academic work
Professional success
o Studying psychology will also
prepare you for success in your
professional life
How Can Psychology Help Me Study?
o The following learning strategies are
all based on psychological research:
The right goals lead to
success
A little stress management
goes a long way
Cramming is a crummy way
to learn
Learning is an active
endeavor
Explaining enhances
understanding
There are many ways to
learn
The goal of understanding human thought
and behavior actually originated in
philosophy
The Major Philosophical Issues
Free Will Versus Determinism
o Are the causes of behavior
knowable, and is behavior
predictable?
o Free will is the belief that behavior is
caused by an individual’s
independent decision-making.
o Determinism is the assumption that
everything that happens has a cause
or determinant in the observable
world.
o A believer in free will assumes that
even with complete information
regarding causes and conditions,
predictions regarding human
behavior can never be fully accurate.
o A determinist assumes that
everything that happens has a cause
that can be known.
o Benjamin Libet's experiment.
The Mind-Brain Problem
How is experience related to the brain?
o Dualism is the belief that the mind is
separate from the brain but
somehow controls the brain and
through it also the rest of the body.
o Monism is the view that conscious
experience is generated by and
therefore is inseparable from the
brain.
o Data from brain imaging research
suggests that brain activity and
mental activity are two aspects of
the same thing. Yet this question is
far from resolved.
The Nature-Nurture Issue
o How do differences in behavior
relate to differences in heredity and
environment?
o Nature. Differences in behavior are
due to the influence of genes.
o Nurture. Differences are a result of
aspects of the environment such as
culture, expectations, and resources.
o This issue shows up in virtually
every field of psychology, and
knowledge gained through research
seldom provides a simple answer.
History of Psychology
Experimental psychology began in 1879,
when Wilhelm Wundt established the first
psychology laboratory.
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o Although other psychology
experiments had been done, this
was the first laboratory devoted
exclusively to the activities of
psychological research.
o The purpose of the laboratory was
to identify the basic parts, or
structures, of the conscious mind.
o Wilhelm Wundt was trained as a
physician and did research on the
workings of the senses.
o He used:
o Reaction time
o Introspection - He presented
subjects with a variety of stimuli,
and asked them to look within
themselves, to introspect.
Edward Titchener was a student of
Wundt who immigrated to the United States
in 1892.
o He developed the approach he
called structuralism.
o In structuralism, the researcher
attempts to describe the structures
that compose the mind – the
sensations, feelings and images.
o Edward Titchener presented a
stimulus to his subjects and asked
them to analyze its separate
features.
o After his death in 1927, his research
methods were abandoned.
o There was no feasible way to check
the accuracy of his subjects’
observations.
American psychologist William James was
keenly interested in what the mind does,
rather than the elements the mind is made
of.
o He rejected the methods of Wundt
and Titchener.
o He wanted to learn how the mind
produces behaviors. He called his
approach functionalism.
Evolutionary Psychology
o An Evolutionary Psychologist tries to
explain behavior in terms of the
evolutionary history of the species,
and how specific behaviors are
selected through Natural Selection.
o In his presentation of compelling
evidence that humans and other
animal species were related, Charles
Darwin forced people working in
many disciplines to consider the
basic features held in common by
many or all animals, such as thinking
and intelligence.
o Comparative psychologists, who use
this perspective, are specialists who
compare different animal species.
o Early comparative psychologists
devised a number of experiments to
try to measure animal intelligence,
such as:
The delayed response
problem
The detour problem
The pattern recognition
problems
o Some species appeared to be gifted
in one set of tasks and highly
deficient in another.
o Eventually the inconsistencies in
performance between different tasks
across a single species suggested
that questions about animal
intelligence might be meaningless.
o This issue is similar to some of the
problems that we are encountering
in the controversial area of
measuring human intelligence.
Francis Galton was one of the first scientists
to try to measure human intelligence and
determine to what extent heredity
influenced variations in human cognitive
abilities.
o He studied the sons of accomplished
men and found that the offspring of
the talented and famous had a high
probability of being accomplished
too.
o He explained this as due chiefly to
the influence of heredity. Is this the
only possible explanation?
Alfred Binet devised the first useful
intelligence test in 1905, for use in
identifying children who might be in need of
special services.
o His test was imported to the United
States after his death, and was the
“template” for many tests of
intelligence.
Sigmund Freud proposed the existence of
an “unconscious mind” rooted in our animal
origins.
o He worked with his patients to
understand how this hidden part of
the mind influenced their mood and
behavior by analyzing their dreams,
fantasies, and exploring their
perceptions of their own early
childhood experiences.
o Although much of his theory has
been recently questioned or rejected
as unscientific, modern psychology
is still heavily influenced by his
ideas.
Gestalt Psychology: Experiencing the
“Whole”
o Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang
Kohler
o Gestalt psychology developed in
opposition to structuralism.
o Gestalt theory: The idea that the
whole of personal experience is
different from simply the sum of its
parts.
Structuralism was abandoned because it
was difficult to study the subjective
perception of experience.
Behaviorism is a field of psychology that
concentrates on observable, measurable
behaviors and not mental processes.
The earliest researchers in the field of
learning expected to find that it operated
using simple, basic and predictable laws,
comparable to Newton’s physical laws of the
universe.
Behaviorism dominated psychological
research well into the early 1960s
Ivan Pavlov
o Classical Conditioning.
John B. Watson
o Often considered the father of
Behaviorism.
o Conditioning of emotions like fear.
B.F. Skinner
o Radical Behaviorism.
o Operant Conditioning.
o No need for internal agents.
By the 1950s, researchers such as Alfred
Miller and Ulric Neisser were challenging
the behaviorists’ assumptions, arguing that
internal cognitive processes could and
should be studied by psychologists.
Early cognitive psychologists developed
techniques for measuring thinking and
reasoning processes objectively that are still
used by researchers today.
Cognitive neuroscience
o Cognitive psychologists, computer
scientists, philosophers, and brain
researchers.
Social Psychology
o Situations Shape Behavior
o Milgram Study
o Stanford Prison Experiment
Humanistic psychology, led by Abraham
Maslow and Carl Rogers in the 1960s, was a
reaction against both behaviorism and
Freud’s psychodynamic theory.
o Internal experience was important
for understanding behavior.
o Human nature is inherently good,
and people want to improve
themselves if they can.
o Humanistic approaches involved
treating clients as peers rather than
subordinates, and changing the
environment as a way to help
improve the individual.
Mary Calkins was one of the pioneering
women in the field of psychology . Her
graduate education in at Harvard was paid
for as part of her teaching salary at
Wellesley College.
o Although she never received the
Ph.D. that she earned from Harvard,
she went on to do research, study
the function of memory, and serve
as the president of the American
Psychological Association.
Christine Ladd-Franklin
o psychologist, logician,
mathematician, physicist and
astronomer
Leta Stetter Hollingworth
o Psychology of women and sex
differences
Margaret Washburn
o First PhD
o animal behavior
Karen Horney
Anna Freud
What Psychologists Do
There are many specialties in the broad
science of psychology.
o Teaching and Research
o Service Providers to Individuals
o Service Providers to Organizations
Teaching and Research
o Biological Psychologist (or
neuroscientist, etc.)
A bio-psychologist tries to
explain behavior in terms of
biological factors, such as
anatomy, electrical and
chemical activities in the
nervous system, and the
effects of drugs, hormones,
genetics and evolutionary
pressures.
Sample Question: How do
drug abuse, brain damage,
and exposures to
environmental toxins change
nervous system functioning
(and by extension,
behavior)?
o Cognitive Psychologist
A cognitive psychologist
studies the processes of
thinking and acquiring
knowledge.
Sample Question: What do
“experts” in a field know or
do that sets them apart from
other people?
o Social Psychologist
A social psychologist studies
how an individual influences
and is influenced by other
people
Sample Question: To what
degree to the demands and
expectations of authority
figures influence our
behavior? How strong is the
human tendency to conform?
o Developmental Psychologist
A developmental psychologist
studies the behavioral
capacities typical of different
ages and how behavior
changes with age.
Sample Question: What do
people do or know as adults
that they do not know as
children? Why did this
change occur? Was the
change due to biological
changes, increased
experience, or a combination
of these?
Service Providers to Individuals
o There are many types of
psychotherapists, professionals with
training in psychology who specialize
in helping people with psychological
problems, actually are trained in a
variety of disciplines.
o Clinical psychologists have advanced
degrees in psychology (PhD, PsyD),
with a specialty in understanding
and helping people with mental and
emotional problems.
They receive training in
intellectual and psychological
testing intended to aid in
diagnosis and treatment.
o Psychiatrists are trained as medical
doctors.
In addition to learning the
principles of psychology, they
are educated in how to use
prescription drugs to treat
psychological distress.
o Psychiatric nurses receive standard
nursing education plus additional
training in the care of emotionally
troubled individuals. They usually
work in medical clinics and hospitals.
o Psychiatric and clinical social
workers combine training in
traditional social work with
specialized knowledge of how to
treat emotionally disturbed people
and advocate for their well being
within the larger community.
o Psychoanalysts are psychotherapists
who use techniques that are based
on the theories and methods
pioneered by Sigmund Freud.
Freud believed that an
unconscious component of
the mind affects our
functioning in day-to-day life.
o Counseling psychologists have an
advanced degree in psychology and
help people with educational,
vocational, marriage, health, and
other important life decisions. They
receive training in therapy and some
types of psychological testing.
Service Providers to Organizations
o Forensic psychologists provide
advice and consultation to those
who work in the criminal justice
system.
o Industrial/Organizational
Psychologists study people’s
behavior in the workplace using a
combination of social, cognitive, and
motivational psychology principles,
and often employing psychological
tests.
Sample Question: Workers in
two separate departments at
an aerospace engineering
firm have started to withhold
information from each other
and this has been
detrimental to morale and
productivity. How can this
behavior be stopped without
terminating or reassigning
any employees?
o An ergonomist, or human factors
specialist, attempts to facilitate the
use of machinery and appliances so
that the average user can operate
them as efficiently and as safely as
possible.
Sample Question: How can
the design of a clerical
workstation in an office be
improved to minimize the
possibility of repetitive stress
related injuries occurring to
the employee who occupies
it?
o A school psychologist specializes in
the psychological condition of the
students, usually at the kindergarten
through secondary school levels.
They often use educational and
psychological tests to assist with
educational planning for individual
students.
Sample Question: Does a
fourth grade student whose
grades have been declining
over the past year have an
identifiable learning
disability, or is there an issue
related to the student’s
emotional well-being
affecting his performance?
Scientific Methods in Psychology
Psychologists cannot answer questions
based on beliefs, hearsay, rumor, or even
expert opinions
Folk Psychology
Psychology is a science
o Scientific method: A systematic
procedure of observing and
measuring phenomena (observable
things) to answer questions about
what happens, when it happens,
what causes it, and why. This
process involves a dynamic
interaction between theories,
hypotheses, and research methods.
There are 5 steps in the scientific method:
o Theory
o Hypothesis
o Testing the hypothesis
o Analyze the data
o Report results and embark on
further inquiry
Research design
o Descriptive -- Describe
Observational
Naturalistic Observation
Case Study
Self-report
o Correlational – Describe & Predict
o Experimental – Describe, Predict &
Explain
o Descriptive Methods Describe
What Is Happening
Observational
A research method
that uses systematic
and objective
description of what is
occurring
Naturalistic Observation:
Careful monitoring
and examination of
what people and
animals do under
more or less natural
circumstances.
Example: Dr. Jane
Goodall’s decades-
long observation of
chimpanzees in the
forest of Gombe,
recording their social
organization and
biological functioning.
Case Study:
A thorough
observation and
description of a single
individual,
appropriate only
when done for an
unusual condition or
circumstance.
Example: Example:
The case of Phineas
Gage, whose bizarre
and unfortunate
accident taught
medical doctors and
psychologists much
about the nature of
the prefrontal cortex
of the brain.
Self-report:
Survey, Interview
A survey is a study of
the prevalence of
certain beliefs,
attitudes, or
behaviors, based on
people’s responses to
specific questions.
Example: Example:
Albert Kinsey’s 1948
survey of the sexual
preferences and
habits of Americans
was ground breaking,
although not by any
means beyond
criticism.
A Few Concerns
About Self-report
Research:
o Problems with
obtaining a
random or
representative
sample
o Competence or
honesty of those
who respond
o The wording of
the questions
o Self-report bias
o Surveyor bias
o Correlation:
Correlation is a measure of
the relationship between two
variables which are both
outside of the investigator’s
control.
The numerical estimate of
the strength and direction of
a correlation is the
correlation coefficient.
The value of the correlation
coefficient can range from –
1.00 to +1.00.
The higher the absolute
value, the stronger the
relationship is, regardless of
the direction.
A negative correlation (-)
means that as one variable
increases, the other
decreases.
A positive correlation (+)
means that as one variable
increases, so does the other.
A zero or near zero
correlation means that the
variables have no
relationship; that changes in
one are not related to any
type of change in the other.
Some Problems with
Correlational Research:
Illusory Correlation:
An apparent
relationship based on
casual observations of
unrelated or weakly
related events.
Example: The belief
in “moon madness.”
The directionality
problem.
“Third Variable”
Correlation ≠
Causation:
Correlational research
only tells us if two
variables are related
and how strongly. It
does not tell us why.
Example: “The more
someone weighs, the
larger his or her
vocabulary is.” Do
you know why?
o Experiment:
A study in which the
investigator manipulates at
least one variable
(independent) while
measuring at least one other
variable (dependent).
Experimental methods test
causation.
Example: To test whether
the hormone adrenaline
enhances memory in
mammals, a researcher
teaches rats to run a maze.
She gives a randomly
selected portion of the rats a
drug to block production of
adrenaline. She then times
all the rats on the maze.
Example: A researcher wants
to know if men or women are
better at a particular set of
spatial relationship tasks. He
compares a randomly
selected group of 50 men
and 50 women on a test of
the task.
Example: A researcher wants
to know if a particular herbal
supplement is helpful for
improving memory. She
selects 100 college
sophomores who achieved
an average score on a
memory test, gives half of
them the herb for one
month, half of them an inert
pill, and then re-tests them
all.
Example: To test whether
the hormone adrenaline
enhances memory in
mammals, a researcher
teaches rats to run a maze.
She gives a randomly
selected portion of the rats a
drug to block production of
adrenaline. She then times
all the rats on the maze.
Other important terminology
Experimental group:
The set of individuals
who receive the
treatment that the
experiment is
designed to test.
Control group: The
individuals who are
treated in the same
way as the
experimental group
except for the
procedure that the
experiment is
designed to test.
Random selection: A
method that uses a
procedure based on
chance to select a
sample from a
population.
Random assignment:
A selection method
that assigns subjects
to groups using a
procedure based on
chance.
Operational
definition: Detailed
description of the
variables
Operational definition
Sometimes what we
study in psychology is
not tangible. We call
these “constructs”.
In order to accurately
measure these
constructs, we
develop behavioral or
observable definitions
of them.
We call these
definitions operational
definitions.
An operational
definition is a way to
give an intangible
idea a numerical
value
Operational definition
So if we are
investigating the
effect of watching
violence on television
on children’s
aggressive behavior:
We need to
operationalize
“violence” on
television.
We need to
operationalize
“aggressive
behavior.”
Violence might be
operationalized as
“the number of times
in a one-hour show
that one person
threatens or injures
another person.”
Aggressive behavior
might be
operationalized as
“the number of
insults, threats and
assaults by the
subject over a 24-
hour period after
watching a particular
television program.”
Populations & Samples
Usually in research
we are asking
questions that are
pertinent to a large
population of interest
such as:
o Seven to ten-
year-old children
o People diagnosed
with depression
But it is not practical
to study all the
individuals in the
population.
We take a relatively
small number of
observations or
individuals from the
population, and we
generalize from that
small number.
The small number of
individuals or
observations is called
a sample.
There are several
types of samples and
sampling procedures:
o A convenience
sample is a group
chosen because of
its ease of
availability and
study.
o A random sample
is one in which
every individual in
the population
has an equal
chance of being
selected.
Manipulation of Variables
Control is necessary
to determine causality
A properly performed
experiment depends
on rigorous control
Confound: Anything
that affects a
dependent variable
and that may
unintentionally vary
between the study’s
different experimental
conditions
Experimenter Bias
Because (fallible)
humans do the
research, we need to
keep in check the
various tendencies
that can lead to
erroneous research
findings or
interpretations of
findings.
Experimenter bias is
the tendency of an
experimenter to
unintentionally distort
the procedures or
results of an
experiment based on
the expected or
desired outcome of
the research.
For example: You are
a researcher testing
the hypothesis that
children who have
been diagnosed with
learning disabilities
(LD) are on average
more creative than
children who have no
diagnosis.
You may find it hard
to “ignore your
hypothesis” as you
observe the children
with LD going about
whatever tasks you
have devised to
operationalize
“creativity.”
Methods are used to
help counteract these
normal human
tendencies that
create bias:
o Using blind
observers who
record data
without knowing
what the
researcher is
studying.
o Using a placebo
control. A placebo
is a pill or other
sham treatment
that makes it
difficult for the
subjects (single-
blind) or the
subjects and
experimenter
(double-blind) to
know who has
received the
treatment and
who has not.
Demand Characteristics
Demand
Characteristics: Cues
that tell a subject
what is expected of
him or her, and what
the researcher hopes
to find.
Example: If the
subject knows that
the drug being tested
is supposed to
improve mood, he or
she may “feel better.”
Placebo Effect: When
people react to a
treatment they
believe they are
getting, but is not
actually being given.
o Example: A
patient feels
better when he
starts getting pills
for his illness that
he believes will
make him feel
better, but which
are in fact just
sugar pills.
Nocebo Effect: When
people don’t react to
a treatment they
believe they are not
getting, but is actually
being given.
o Example: A
patient still feels
pain after a shot
of morphine
because she
believes the shot
was an antibiotic.
Hawthorne Effect:
When people react to
any treatment.
o Example:
Employees at a
coffee shop can
make
mochachinoatos
faster after new
lights are
installed, because
they are told the
new lights will
improve their
productivity.
Clever Hans Effect:
When behavior
appears intelligent,
but it’s not. At least
not in the way you
thought it was.
o Example: A parrot
always says “very
pretty” to his
owner when she
wears a particular
blue dress. She
believes the
parrot is really
paying her a
compliment, when
in fact the parrot
has learned that if
he makes the
noise “very
pretty” when his
owner wears that
dress, he is likely
to get a cracker.