PSYC 2510 NOTES

What is psychology?

• The scientific study of mind & behavior

• Both natural science (biological) and social science (influenced socially)

Theory

The best understanding of the natural world

What is psychological science based on?

Empirical evidence & measurable data

Empirical method

• Based on observation, experimentation, rather than only logical arguments or previous authorities.

• Tangible and replicable evidence

What are aspects of critical thinking?

Abstract reasoning, skepticism, recognizing personal biases, logical thinking & observations

Wilhem Wundt

• 1832

• First psychologist

• defined psychology as the conscious experience

• Introspection

• Believed in free will of patients in experimentation to understand intentions

• Observed basic experiences (pain, pressure temp) by scientific processes

Scientific process in psych

• Scientific method prevents us from fooling ourselves: subjective, bias, memory

• Objective to base future scientific knowledge upon

conformation bias

• seeks answer & evidence to support preexisting beliefs

• distorts information

belief perseverance

• persists your idea although contradicting evidence is presented

naive realism

• assuming ones experiences & perception are common to all

• eg: feels still-earth is moving, earth seems flat

systemic observation

• involves a scale and physiological measures

• eg: how to measure attraction

Structuralism

• by Edward Titchener (Wundt’s student)

• Contents of mental processes rather than their function

• basic elements of consciousness

• Studied reaction time from a stimulus

Functionalism

• William James, John Dewey, and Charles Sanders Peirce

• Inspired by Darwin: Natural selection

• Seeks to understand adaptive purpose of psychological characteristics

• Mental processes that allow for an organism to fit/survive in environment

• Eg: Why do we get jealous?

• Opposite of structuralism: focus on the mind as a whole instead of individual parts

Critique of Structuralism

• Introspection remained subjective due to little agreement between individuals

• Limited knowledge of own behavior

• Introspection has bias

• reflexivity: behavior changes when being observed

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Sigmund Freud

• Unconscious mind causes behavioral problems

• Treatment of psychological disorders by focuses on unconscious mind and early childhood experiences

• Mostly discredited due to lack of testability

Ivan Pavlov

• 1849–1936

• Early study of behaviorism

• Classical conditioning

  • Reaction to a stimulus to produce a reaction. Works with similar stimuli

  • Eg: Salivation response in dogs when hearing the bell

John B. Watson

• 1878-1958

• BEHAVOIRISM

• Believed consciousness was flawed objective analysis of the mind was impossible,

• Anything inside of the mind is outside scientific study

• Focus on observable behavior such as punishment and reward

• Common in animals

Behaviorism

• focus on observing and controlling behavior

• Established psychology as a scientific discipline

• used in cognitive behavioral therapy and classroom setting

BF. Skinner

• 1904-1990

• Behaviorist

• Reinforcement and punishment driving behavior

• Skinner box: animal pushes button receiving food or noise

Humanism

• Psychologists felt that behaviorism was pessimistic and simplified

• Perspective within psychology that emphasizes the innate potential for good in all humans

• Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

• Qualitative research on happiness, self-concept, meditation

Deterministic

• all actions driven by the unconscious

• Behaviorism is deterministic at its core: human behavior as determined by genetics and environment

Abraham Maslow

• (1908–1970)

• Hierarchy of human needs

• basic needs: shelter food water

• higher level needsL moticate beahoir

• highest is self acrualization:

Carl Rogers

• (1902–1987)

• Therapeutic technique known as client-centered therapy

• Client takes a lead role in therapy session

• Therapist needs to display: unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy

• Client center session commonly used today

The Cognitive Revolution

• 1950s

• Work of humanists redirected psychology away from behaviorists external study and back the the human

• Linguistics, neuroscience and computer science influenced the study of the mind

  • interdisciplinary approach: the cognitive sciences

• Reestablish collaboration between European and American psychologists

Noam Chomsky

• Influential in cognitive revolution

• American linguist

• Believed psychology’s focus on behavior was limited and must integrate mental functioning

Mary Whiton Calkins

• completed all requirements towards PhD in psychology

  • Harvard refused to award her because she was a woman

• First woman president of American Psychological Association

• Studied memory and consciousness

Margret Floyd Washburn

• 1st woman to obtain pHD

• Studied animal cognition

Ruth Howard

• 1st African American woman to complete psych doctorate

• Developmental history of triplets

Why is Psychology difficult?

1. Behavior is difficult to predict

2. Behavior is multiply determined (caused by many factors)

3. Individuals are different in groups

4. Influences go unnoticed

5. Determinants are not independant

6. Concepts are ill defined eg: love

7. Particapants act diffrently when being studied

Cocktail party Effect

Brain can filter and process many things without it being the main form of information

• Eg: when you are not paying attention and someone mentions your name, you are then focused onto that

American Psychological Association (APA)

professional organization representing psychologists in the United States

biopsychology

study of how biology influences behavior

biopsychosocial model

perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine an individual’s health

clinical psychology

area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior

cognitive psychology

study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions

counseling psychology

area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals

developmental psychology

scientific study of development across a lifespan

dissertation

long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s doctoral training

empirical method

acquiring knowledge based on:

• observation

• experimentation

  rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities

forensic psychology

area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within and related to the justice system

functionalism

focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment

introspection

process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to break it into its component parts

personality psychology

study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique

personality trait

consistent pattern of thought and behavior

sport and exercise psychology

focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in exercise

Gestalt psychology

• Influential in Europe

• Wertheimer, Koffka, and Köhler immigrated to the US due to Nazi power

• Brough ideas of sensation and perception US

• early 20th century

I/O Psychology

• industrial and organizational psychologist

• focus on the behavior of employees in the workplace

deductive reasoning

ideas are tested with real world observations

• begins with a generalization- hypothesis

• then used to reach logical conclusion

eg: all living things require energy to survive. ducks are living things, therefore ducks require energy to survive

inductive reasoning

• real-world observations lead to new ideas

• empirical observations to conduct broad generalizations

• used to formulate theories which are then tested with deductive reasoning

• eg: apples and oranges grow on trees therefore all fruits grow on trees

hypothesis

testable prediction about how the world will

Naturalistic Observation

• Ensure researchers presence is not felt during a study

• observing behavior in its natural setting

  • eg: mics on kids at a playground to observe the others

• provides higher degree of validity and realism

• rules out observation bias (acting differently when being studied)

• Difficult to set up and control

observer bias

• people who act as observers are closely involved in the research project may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals

surveys

• larger sample size

• information may be inaccurate: lie, misremember, answer differently

archival research.

relies on looking at past records or data sets to look for interesting patterns or relationships.

Longitudinal research

• data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time.

• survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again at age 40.

cross-sectional research

• researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time.

• researcher might directly compare different groups of people by age.

Correlation

• there is a relationship between two or more variables

• does not mean cause and effect

• when one variable changes, so does the other

• from -1 to +1, represented as the letter r

positive correlation

• variables move in the same direction.

• one variable decreases so does the other

• eg: exercise increases health benefits

negative correlation

• variables move in opposite directions

• eg: the later you wake up, the lower the likelihood of catching the bus

confounding variable

• other variable that may distort or mask the effects of another variable

cause and effect

• correlation does not equal causation

• seems clear and intuitive but is merely an assumption

Illusory Correlations

• false correlations, occur when people believe that relationships exist between two things when no such relationship exists

• eg: astrology

expermiental resresearch

controlling the environment establish causation

• manipulate variables

• variables need to be equivalent (same age, same up brining

  • requires: manipulation of potential factors affecting behavior

  • measurement of behavior

  • controlling all aspects

Designing an Experiment

• experimental group: gets the experimental manipulation

• control group: receives no manipulation

• changes presented are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance

Experimenter bias

refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study

single-blind study

meaning that one of the groups (participants) are unaware as to which group they are in (experiment or control group)

double-blind study

both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments.

independent variable

• manipulated or controlled by the experimenter

• random assignment

• eg: learning style

Dependent variable

• researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had

• controlled results

• eg: learning exhibited by participants

placebo effect

people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience

statistical analysis

• analysis determines how likely it is that any difference found is due to chance (not valid)

• eg: same results with placebo and not= not effective

• statstically signficant if “false positive” claims 5% or less

Reliability

ability to consistently produce a given result.

• inter-rater reliability (diffrent items on a survey correlate)

• internal consistency (diffrent items on a survey)

• test-retest reliability (consistancy)

Validity

the extent to which a given instrument or tool accurately measures what it’s supposed to measure

• ecological reliability (if captures real world)

• construct validity (if captures goal of measurement)

• face validity (seems valid on the surface)

institutional review board (IRB)

• any research upon humans must have acess to an IRB

• review proposals for research that involves human

informed consent form

a written description of what participants can expect during the experiment, including risks

Deception

• can be necessary to preserve the experiment

• maintains integrity of experience

• not harmful

• debriefing must be provided upon conclusion

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

ensures that all experimental proposals require the humane treatment of animal research subjects.

clinical case study

• studying few individuals for extended period of time

• depth of information

• generalization is problematic

operational definition

description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables

natural selection

• organisms that are better suited for their environment will survive and reproduce

Evolutionary psychology

• psychological phenomena

• may have evolved as adaptations, including fear response, food preferences, mate selection, and cooperative behaviors

behavioral geneticists

individual differences arise, in the present, through the interaction of genes and the environment.

genetic variation

• contributes to a species adaptation to its environment

• human: begins with 100 million sperm, fertilization and egg

Chromosomes

• 23 pairs of chromosomes

• long strings of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

• make up genes that control visible traits

allele

specific version of a gene

eg: gene code for blue eyes

genotype

genetic makeup of the individual

phenotype

• inherited physical characteristics

• combination of genetic and environmental influence

homozygous

• having 2 copies of the same allele

  • BB

heterozygous

combination of alleles for a gene

Bb

dominant allele

results in phenotype if one dominant allele is present

Bb BB

recessive

results in phenotype only if homozygous with recessive allele

“bb”

sickle cell anemia

Pairing of 2 RESSIVE GENES

• heterozygous carriers: develop blood resistance to malaria

• homozygous: can die due to sickle cell presence

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

• recessive

  • (each parents must have at least one recessive allele)

• condition in which individuals lack an enzyme that normally converts harmful amino acids into harmless byproducts.

• untreated results in reduced cognitive functioning, seizures, increased risk of psychiatric disorders

Polygenic

• controlled by more than one gene.

  • eg: height, skin color, weight

mutation

• sudden, permanent change in a gene

• cons: can be harmful or lethal

• pros: gene variability in a population, advantage over those without mutation

gene diversity

• without diversity, a drastic change in the environment would cause the same reaction throughout the population

• allow individuals to preform better (creates advantages and disadvantages)

Range of reaction

• genes set the boundaries for our capabilities, environment dictates our potential within such range

  • eg: being born with intellect but raised without stimulation

• some disagree: genes do not set a limit on a persons potential, reaction norms are by environment

  • abuse/neglect resulting in psychological conditions in life