PSYC1101: Chapter 1 The Science of Psychology

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

behavior

includes anything we do that can be measured, including all of our outward actions & reactions
ex) talking, facial expressions, & movement

mental processes

refers to all the internal, covert activity of our minds
ex) thinking, feeling, & remembering

4 goals of psychology

-description
-explanation
-prediction
-control

Why is psych considered a science?

-researchers must observe objectively in order to prevent possible biases from leading to faulty observations
-precise and careful measurements are necessary

What does description begin with?

an observation

Description involves-

observing a behavior and noting everything about it

theory

general explanation of a set of observations or facts

prediction

determining what will happen in the future

control

the modification of some behavior to change from an undesirable one to a desirable one

structuralism focuses on-

the structure or basic elements of the mind

Wilhelm Wundt's psych laboratory

-Germany 1879
-developed objective introspection

objective introspection

process of objectively examining and measuring one's thoughts and mental activities

Edward Titchener

-Wundt's student
-brought structuralism to America

Who is the "father of psychology?" Why?

Wilhelm Wundt; brought attention to objectivity, established the first true experimental lab in psychology

Who believed that every experience could be broken down into its individual emotions and sensations?

Titchener

G. Stanley Hall

-one of Wundt's students
-founded the first psychology lab in the U.S.
-received the first Ph.D. in psychology
-founded the American Psychological Association (APA)
-became the APA's 1st president

William James

proposed functionalism

functionalism

a perspective from the early history of psychology that focused on the function of our. mental processes and behaviors

functionalism influenced modern fields of-

educational, evolutionary, & I/O psychology

Whose ideas heavily influenced James?

Darwin's natural selection theory

Mary Whiton Calkins

-one of James' students
-denied a Ph.D. because she's female
-first female president of APA

Francis Cecil Sumner

-the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psych
-assumed by many to be the father of African American psychology

psychoanalysis

the theory and therapy based on Sigmund Freud that emphasizes unconscious mental activity and the long-lasting influence of childhood experiences

patients that underwent psychoanalysis suffered from-

nervous disorders with no found physical cause

Sigmund Freud

-proposed that there's an unconscious mind into which we push (repress) all of our threatening urges and desires
-believed that the repressed urges, in trying to surface, created nervous disorders
-stressed the importance of early childhood experiences

behaviorism

-the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior, which must be directly seen and measured
-introduced the concept of reinforcement to behaviorism
-major force in the 20th century

Who proposed behaviorism?

John B. Watson (and B. F. Skinner)

What did John B. Watson believe?

phobias were learned, as seen in the case of "Little Albert"

Whose work was behaviorism based off of?

Ivan Pavlov's; demonstrated a reflex could be learned

Freud believed all behavior stems from-

unconscious motivation

Watson believed that all behavior-

is earned

Name the major modern psychological perspectives

1. multiculturalism
2. evolutionary psychology
3. cognitive psychology
4. neuroscience
5. positive psychology
6. biopsychosocial theory

psychodynamic perspective

-modern version of psychoanalysis
-more focused on development of a sense of self and the discovery of other motivations behind a person's behavior than repressed desires

humanistic perspective

-more roots in the field of philosophy than medicine and physiology
-emphasizes human potential

early founders of the humanistic perspective

-Abraham Maslow
-Carl Rogers

self-actualization

achieving one's full potential or ideal self

cognitive perspective

focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning

cognitive neuroscience

study of physical changes in the brain and nervous system

sociocultural perspective

reminds people that how they and others behave is influenced not only by whether they are alone, with friends, in a crowd, or part of a group, but also by the social norms, fads, class differences, and ethnic-identity concerns of the particular culture in which they live

social psychology

basic research specialization in which psychologists focus on how people, think about, influence, and relate to each other

cultural psychology

the study of cultural behaviors, values, and expectations

biopsychological perspective

human and animal behavior is seen as a direct results of events in the body

evolutionary perspective

-focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that all humans share
-seeks to explain general mental strategies and traits
-looks at the way the mind works and why it does

In evolutionary psych, behavior is seen as-

having an adaptive/survival value

Who is one of the widely recognized founders of positive psych?

Martin Seligman

Reasons for research

-allows psychologists to collect facts and data to support theories
-may lead to new theories
-results can be applied to everyday problems

list the 9 major subfields of psych

-clinical
-counseling
-developmental
-experimental
-social
-personality
-physiological
-comparative
-industrial/organizational (I/O)

difference between psychiatrists and psychologists

-psychiatrists: medical doctors that can prescribe medication
-most psychologists do not have the medical training or authority to prescribe medication

counseling psychology

area of psychology in which psychologists treat people with less severe problems, such as adjustment to stress, marriage, & other areas of daily life (school, jobs, etc.)

developmental psychology

area of psychology in which psychologists study the changes in people\--- the way people think, how people relate to others, and the way they feel as they age

experimental psychology

area of psychology in which the psychologists primarily do research and experiments in the areas of learning, memory, thinking, perception, motivation, and language

physiological psychology

area of psychology in which the psychologists study the biological bases of behavior

personality psychology

area of psychology in which the psychologists study the differences in personality among people

comparative psychology

area of psychology in which the psychologists study animals and their behavior for the purpose of comparing and contrasting it to human behavior

industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology

area of psychology concerned with the relationships between people and their work environment

How does psych benefit society?

-research, counseling, treatment, and teaching are used to understand the mind and improve lives
-researchers conduct experiments, which can improve both human and animal lives

scientific method

system of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement is reduced

steps in the scientific method

1. posing a question
2. conducting a literature review
3. developing a hypothesis
4. testing the hypothesis by collecting data
5. analyzing the data and drawing conclusions

hypothesis

a tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations

list the types of descriptive methods

-naturalistic observation
-laboratory observation
-case study
-surveys
-correlation method
-experiment

naturalistic observation

watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment without interacting with them in any way

advantage of naturalistic observation

realistic picture of behavior

disadvantages of naturalistic observation

-observer effect
-observer bias
-each naturalistic seeing is unique and observations may not hold

observer effect

tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed

observer bias

tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

laboratory observation

watching animals or humans behave in a laboratory setting

advantage of laboratory observation

control over environment

disadvantage of laboratory observation

artificial situation that may result in artificial behavior

case study

study of one individual or individual group in great detail

advantage of a case study

realistic picture of behavior

disadvantages of a case study

-cannot apply to others
-vulnerable to bias

famous case study

Phineas Gage

survey method

researchers will ask a series of questions about the topic under study

sample

the subset of the population who actually participates in the research

advantages of surveys

-data from large numbers of people
-study covert behaviors

disadvantages of surveys

-have to ensure representative sample (or results not meaningful)
-people are not always accurate (courtesy bias)

population

the whole range of people on whom the research is focused

2 methods that allow researchers to know more than just a description of what has happened

correlations and experiments

variable

anything that can change/vary

measures of 2 variables go into a mathematical formula and produce a \___________ (r), which represents 2 things--

correlation coefficient, the direction & strength of the relationship

T/F: Knowing the value of one valuable allows researchers to predict the value of the other variable

true

T/F: Correlation proves causation

false

experimental group

subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable

control group

subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment (controls for confounding variables)

random assignment

-process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group
-controls for confounding (extraneous, interfering) variables

experiment

a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships

operational definition

a specific, measurable definition of a variable for the purpose of a scientific study

Parents or guardians of minors must give \_____ \_____ (permission to participate in experiment after the risks and purpose of the experiment have been explained)

informed consent

independent variable (IV)

variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter

dependent variable (DV)

variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment

placebo effect

-the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior
-ex) Single-blind study: students do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group (reduces placebo effect)

experimenter effect

tendency of the experimenter's expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study

double-blind study

-neither the experimenter nor the subjects knows if the subjects are in the experimental or control group (reduces placebo effect and experimenter effect)
-everything gets coded or tracked by a confederate (assistant to experimenter)

What does psychology and animal research do?

answer questions we could never do with human research

T/F: Benefits to humans outweigh hazards to which research animals are exposed

true

Give examples of benefits to humans from animal research

-Tobacco/caner correlation
-Vaccines for deadly diseases
-Insulin treatments for diabetes
-Transplants

Institutional review boards (IRBs)

scrutinize research proposals to make sure the ethical standards are maintained

common ethical guidelines

-humanitarian
-informed consent
-justification
-right to withdraw
-risks and benefits
-debriefing
-confidentiality

humanitarian

rights and well-being of participants must be weighted against the study's value to science