Introduction to the Course & Methods

Hindsight Bias

“I knew it all along” phenomenon, once you know the answer you think that you already knew it or you could have predicted it - and this is not the case, even the most obvious topics must be studied as people are surprising

Psychology

The science of behaviour and mental processes

Scientific

Use systematic methods

Behaviour

Observable, recordable events, external experiences

Mental Processes

(Un)conscious states, internal experiences

Philosophy

Ideas about how knowledge can be acquired

Natural Science (Physiology)

Progress in understanding the nervous system, senses, etc.

Modern 

Psychology

The idea of applying the methods of science to the study of human behaviour

Empiricism

Knowledge through experience

Structuralism

Studying the “atoms (structure) of the mind” 

How the elements of the mind (sensations, feelings, images) determine our experiences.

Introspection

Thinking about your thoughts, providing descriptions (initial feelings, thoughts, etc) as the person is doing a behaviour

Functionalism

How does the mind function to help us better adapt to our environments 

Understanding why we do certain things, what is the purpose of consciousness

Behaviourism

Observing the behaviour of individuals in comparison to the unseen aspects of their psychology (cognitive, mind, etc.)

Gestalt Psychology

When you perceive something your mind will fill in the blanks to create something more or something different

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Applied Research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Laboratory Research Setting

Research conducted in a regulated environment where participants can be carefully observed

Field Research Setting

Research that is conducted in real-world locations

Case Study

Studying one individual or group in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic 

Observations

Observing and recording behaviour in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Surveys and Interviews

Obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviours of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Illusory Correlation

Perceiving a relationship where none exists or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

Regression toward the mean

Tendency for extreme/unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average

Independent Variable

Cause, manipulated; One or more factor that the researcher manipulates in experimental research,

Dependent Variable

Effect, measured; on some behaviour or mental process, what is being measured/ the outcome

Random  Assignment

Participants are randomly assigned to the conditions, they are put in random groups. Equal chance of being in either the control or experimental group

Double Blind

Neither the participants nor the experimenter know what conditions they are in, they both don’t know if they are in the control or experimental groups

Placebos

Deceptions to avoid knowing if you are in the experimental or control group, e.g. giving the control group decaf and the

experimental group caffeinated coffee

History of Psych

Aristotle {Philosopher} 

➔ Naturalist: Humans are the very top of natural scale of intelligence (right above elephants) 

➔ Empiricism is born 

◆ Knowledge through experience 

➔ Environment & upbringing shape cognitive abilities

John Locke {Philosopher} 

➔ Nothing can exist within the intellect that did not have its origins in the senses ➔ If you didn’t experience it then you don’t have that knowledge 

➔ Our minds are “tabula rasa” or “blank slates” at birth 

➔ Our experiences with the world determines who we are as people

 Charles Darwin {Scientist} 

➔ Natural Selection, individuals who are best suited for their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce their genes to the next generation 

➔ Nothing special about humans–study animals to make predictions about humans

Ivan Sechenov {Scientist} 

➔ He influenced Ivan Pavlov 

➔ All complex behaviour can be explained by reflexes – little evidence to support this but used in conditioning and teaching people certain behaviours 

Early Psychology (1800s) 

Wilhelm Wundt 

➔ First psychology lab 

➔ Founder of Structuralism 

◆ Mind is made of three basic elements: sensations, feelings, images\ ◆ What does the nose smell

William James 

➔ Father of American Psychology 

➔ Functionalism 

◆ How consciousness adapt an organism to its environment so they are better able to survive 

◆ Doesn’t care about the components of the mind, rather focus on its function

Wolfgang Kohler 

➔ Gestalt Psychology 

◆ the whole ＞the sum of its parts 

➔ Issue: when Nazi Germany began, Kohler and his other partners fled and research on Gestalt Psychology was interrupted 

Sigmund Freud 

➔ Austrian physician who focused on mental disorders 

➔ Psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders 

◆ The importance of unconscious processes 

◆ Impact of unresolved past conflicts 

➔ Despite, his controversial statements and debunked theories, he is important as he got people to think about certain topics