psych 102 Chap 1-4

Psychology

Scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior

Levels of analysis in psychology

1. biological: molecular or neurochemical level, involves the brain and neurotransmitters.

2. psychological, mental level; involves thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

3. social/cultural influences; involves relating to observable environmental behaviours

Example of psych analysis levels: Depression

Bio: People who are depressed have lower levels of neurotransmitter that impacts their depression

Psychological: people who are depressed think negatively, causing them to feel down

Social: environment factors, (lost job, health problems, family problems).

Scientific theory

Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world

Hypothesis

Testable prediction derived from a scientific theory

Confirmation bias

Tendency to seek evidence that supports our hypotheses and dismiss contradictory evidence

Belief perseverance

Tendency to stick to initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

Pseudoscience

Set of claims that seem scientific but are not

Examples: astrology, goop, diet/wellness industry, mind reading.

Metaphysical claims

Assertions about the world that cannot be tested

examples: life after death, religion, god

Dangers of pseudoscience

1- Opportunity cost: Forgoing effective treatments due to pseudoscience (collecting crystals because its therapeutic instead of going to a therapist).

2- Direct harm: Can cause psychological or physical harm- even death. (ex: rebirthing/conversion therapy)

3- inability to think scientifically as citizens; Need scientific thinking skills to reach education decision

Scientific skepticism

Approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind and insisting on persuasive evidence

Cynicism

Dismissal of claims without evaluation

Principle: Ruling out rival hypotheses

Excluding alternative explanations for findings; there are various explanations for findings.

example: thought field therapy for anxiety, TFT works better than nothing, but therapy also treats anxiety.

Principle: Correlation-causation fallacy

Error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must cause the other.

Variable

Anything that can vary in a study; height, age, weight, IQ, anxiety levels, etc...

Falsifiability

Capable of being disproven

Extraordinary claims

Claims that contradict what is already known and require strong evidence - David Hume

Ex: big foot exists, aliens! etc..

Occam's Razor (aka "Principle of Parsimony")

Principle of selecting the simpler explanation when multiple explanations are possible.

- by 14th-century British philosopher and monk, Sir William of Occam.

Psychology in popular culture

Learning about psychology from media and entertainment

Common sense

Useful for some purposes but can be wrong in psychology

Burglar alarms and increased burglary risk

Example of an non-obvious finding in psychology

Individual differences

Variations in thinking, emotion, personality, and behavior, gender, age, ethnicity, among people

Reciprocal determinism

bidirectional influence. Example: boy impacted by his environment, boy impacts his environment.

Anecdote

A single person's story that lacks generalizability

Warning sign- Meaningless psychobabble

Using scientific-sounding words that have no real meaning

Warning sign- Proof vs evidence

science uses evidence to support or contradict claims: future research should use: "suggests", "appears", "raises the possibility that."

Scientific thinking skills

Skills needed to evaluate psychological claims and make informed decisions

Overreliance on anecdotes

Relying too heavily on individual stories as evidence

Talk of proof instead of evidence

Claiming absolute proof instead of providing scientific evidence

Five major challenges in Psychology

1- Actions are multiply determined

2- Psych influences are rarely independent:

3- Individual differences among people

4-People influence one another through reciprocal determinism

5- Behavior is shaped by culture

gave an example to "Actions are multiply determined"

Ex #1: Child's IQ in India.

can be affected by brain activity, parents education levels, and learning abilities etc...

Give an example to "Psych influences are rarely independent"

Example: anorexia. a lot of variables are highly related to each other that cause this, body image issues, social media, compulsive exercise, gender, etc..

Give an example to "Individual differences among people"

Everyone is different in terms of thinking emotions, personality and behaviours

Give an example to "People influence one another through reciprocal determinism"

personal factor: child doesn't enjoy school. Environmental: Teacher makes child sit alone. Behaviour: Acts out in class.

Given an example to "Behaviour is shaped by culture"

Ex: Takahiko Masuda study (eye tracking).

results: Japanese looked more at background expressions (collectivist society)

Americans looked more at middle character's expression (individualistic society)

2 types of biases

1- confirmation bias: seeks out evidence that advances self-interest while ignoring contradicting evidence.

2- Belief perseverance: sticking with beliefs even when acknowledging other evidence contradicts them.

proponent of Mind-Body Problem?

René Descartes

Concept of Mind-Body Problem

Some human behaviour is mechanistic. (physical body)

Proposed the idea of dualism= mind/body are separate.

Mind and body interacted at the pineal gland.

A Modern-Day Mind vs. Body Research Example

Lorina Naci, Adrian Owen:

• healthy vs brain injured patients watch climax clip.

• results- vegetative patient had similar brain activity reaction as normal patient.

• moral of study: mind is different to study

proponent of Reaction time experiment?

Franciscus Donders

Donder's Reaction Time Experiment

Reaction Time (RT): How long it takes to respond to a stimulus.

what are two types of reaction times? How to calculate Decision time?

1- Simple reaction time: press "J" when lights on

2- Choice Reaction Time: Pres "J" for right, "K" for left

(Choice RT- Simple RT = Decision time)

What did Wilhelm Wundt establish in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879, and what was its significance for psychology?

• Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.

• scientific methods for studying consciousness.

• Wundt's lab explored questions about sensory perception, reaction times, and the process of introspection

What is Structuralism in psychology, and who was its proponent?

Structuralism, led by Edward Titchener, wanted to find the basic building blocks of the mind using introspection.

Problems with Structuralism

1. Reports were subjective.

2. Imageless thought.

Lasting Scientific Influence of Structuralism

Correctly emphasized the importance of systematic observation.

Wundt's methods used qualitative and quantitative data.

Ebbinghaus' memory experiment

• repeated nonsense syllables to himself, until no errors

• Took him 1,000 seconds to learn a list for the first time. After a break, he relearned the list.

William James (functionalism)

• understanding why we think and behave the way we do.

• our thoughts and actions help us adapt to our surroundings and solve problems.

• looks at the bigger picture of how our mind works in real life.

True or False: Structuralists asked "what" questions. Functionalists asked "why" questions.

True

Who is the founder of behaviorism?

John B Watson

What is Behaviourism?

objectively focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment

What is B.F Skinner Known For?

examined operant conditioning (rewards & punishments)

What Area did Watson Focus on in Behaviourism?

classical conditioning "little albert"

What findings did Tolman contribute?

• Trained rats to find food in a four-armed maze.

• Tolman believed the rat created a cognitive map, a representation of the maze in its mind.

Cognitive Psychology

The study of mental processes.

Proponent to cognitive psychology

Jean Piaget- "children think in different ways than adults."

cognitive neuroscience

Examines the relationship between brain activity and thinking.

Psychoanalysis

• Focuses on internal psychological processes of which we are unaware.

• Strong role of childhood experiences

Unconscious mind (Freud)

contains thoughts, memories, and desires below the surface of conscious awareness.

"Freudian Slips"

a verbal memory mistake linked to unconscious mind.

criticism of psychoanalysis

Difficult to falsify.

Lasting Influence: of Psychoanalysis

Importance of childhood development.

The idea that some processing is unconscious.

e.g., biases, priming

Humanism

emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs concludes that:

Psychological disorders result from hindering of human needs.

Modern Psychology:

• women outnumber men in psychology graduate programs

• need for more ethnic diversity

Evolutionary Psychology

Applies Darwin's theory of natural selection to human and animal behaviour.

Mating Strategies Study (evolutionary)

Bressler and Balshine (2006) Humour Study

• females attracted to humours male, males did not care about females humor.

• humor is seens as being more socially adaptable/resourceful

Why do we need Research Methods?

• gives legitimacy to scientific claim

• Understanding our data better

• Prevent people from wasting time on ineffective treatments

Research methodology

is a way to systematically solve or answer a research problem.

Selection of the research method is crucial for

what conclusions you can make.

Guiding Principle 1- External validity (generalizability)

Refers to whether the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and other people.

• Need a representative sample of the population.

• Population depends on the research question.

"WEIRD" Samples

Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies represented ~80% of the study participants.

Random Selection

A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample

Non-random selection reduces the generalizability of studies

ex: How does the average person feel about Drake?

Should we ask 100 randomly sampled people in North America or 100,000 people in Toronto?

Guiding Principle 2- reliability

Reliability- Consistency of measurement.

interrater reliability

the amount of agreement in the observations of different raters who witness the same behavior

Guiding Principle 3- validity

Validity (Construct Validity)- Extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure.

Difference between Reliability vs Validity

For a test to be good and trustworthy (valid), it must first be consistent and dependable (reliable).

Just because a test is consistent and dependable (reliable), it doesn't necessarily mean it measures what it's supposed to measure accurately (valid).

Naturalistic Observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate the situation

Pros of Naturalistic Observation Studies

High in external validity.

Good starting point.

Can be used to study animal behavior.

Cons of Naturalistic Observation Studies

Cannot draw cause-and-effect inferences

Case Studies

Examine one person or a small number of people in great detail, usually studies rare conditions.

Pros and Cons of Case Studies

pros: in-depth view; compelling evidence to support theory

cons: can be less than objective (because interviewer is interpreting); may be an unusual case that can't be generalized

self-report measures

a method of gathering data about people by asking them questions about a sample of their behavior

Surveys

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.

Survey Challenges

Acquiring valid survey data is not easy.

Some people lie, some change their minds.

Survey answers are influenced by the wording and the sequence of the questions.

Pros and cons of self-report measures

pros: quantitative response, easier to get large sample size, interactive data collection (interviews)

cons: accuracy of responses

Correlational Designs

studies that measure two or more variables and their relationship to one another; not designed to show causation

Illusory Correlations

statistical relationships that really exist only in the mind, rather than in reality (ex: traffic whenever I have to be somewhere important)

Experimental Designs

a group of approaches that allow inferences about causes and effects to be drawn (internal validity)

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions, minimizing differences between groups.

Within-subject Design

in an experiment, each participant acts as his or her own control

independent vs dependent variable

IV: variable that is changed or controlled in an experiment to test the effects on the dependent variable.

DV: variable being tested and measured in a scientific experiment.

Confounding Variables

Variables of environment or participants which may influence data/dependent variable

placebo effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

experimenter expectancy effect

actual change in the behavior of the people or nonhuman animals being observed that is due to the expectations of the observer

Double blind designs

neither the experimenter nor the participants know who received a placebo or an active treatment

Demand Characteristics (Hawthorne Effect)

when participants act differently simply because they know that they are in an experiment (horror movies impact on mood)

Reactivity

tendency of participants to change their behavior when they know that they are being observed.

Social Desirability Bias

Our tendency to respond in ways that we feel are more appropriate or socially acceptable to others