PHSYH 100A - Chapter 1 Cue Cards

Lecture notes: Introduction to physchology and Research Methods

What disciplines are related to psychology?

• Sociology → social roles & forces

• Anthropology → culture & traditions

• Biology → biochemical processes

• Medicine → health behaviours & attitudes

• Psychiatry → psychological disorders/problems

• Business → groups, morale & human factors

• Computer Science → AI & information systems

• Law → forensic psychology

• Literature → personality & human expression

Where did psychology come from?

Psychology developed from the combination of philosophy + physiology, eventually becoming a modern scientific and professional discipline.

Key shift:
Philosophical speculation → systematic scientific study

What is psychology?

• The scientific study of behaviour, mind, thinking, feeling, and reactions to stress.

• Psychology considers biological, mental, environmental, sociocultural, and other influences.

• James (1890): psychology is the science of mental life.

Plato — Theory of Forms

• Believed there are universal patterns/forms behind things we experience.

• More abstract forms were considered more real.

• Influenced the search for universal truths in science.

Descartes — Mind-Body Dualism
Two different worlds of existence:

Body:

• Physical

• Takes up space

• Determined by physical processes

Mind:

• Not physically located

• Has intentionality & free will

• Considered capable of existing beyond the body

Locke — Empiricism & Tabula Rasa

Empiricism: knowledge comes through sensory experience.

Tabula rasa: we are born like a blank slate and experience writes/“fills” our knowledge.

• Simple ideas → complex ideas

• Emphasized individualism, liberty, and democracy.

Kant — Rationalism

Rationalism: knowledge comes from the correct use of reason.

• Some structures/processes of knowledge are a priori (existing before experience).

• We have innate processes/templates that help us understand the world.

Locke vs. Kant:
👉 Locke = experience
👉 Kant = reason + innate structures

Wundt — Beginning of scientific psychology

• 1879: established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig.

• Studied consciousness/immediate experience scientifically.

• Used experimental self-observation (introspection).

• Studied things like reaction time, sensation, perception, memory, attention, and thinking

What is introspection?

introspection = systematic self-observation.

Participants were placed in standardized, repeatable situations and reported simple, measurable experiences.

Important: Psychology moved away from casual observation/speculation toward systematic experimental study.

What is Freudianism?

Freudianism = ideas associated with Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis.

Key ideas:

• Much behaviour is influenced by the unconscious mind.

• Early childhood experiences can influence later behaviour.

• People may have unconscious conflicts/desires.

• Freud emphasized the role of unconscious processes in understanding thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.

Think: Freud → unconscious + childhood + psychoanalysis

What is Völkerpsychologie?

Wundt's study of psychology through culture and history.

Focused on:

• Language

• Religion & myths

• Customs

• Shared worldview of a social group

Volkgeist = “folk mind” / group mind — the idea that a group has a collective psychological character.

Basic vs. Applied Psychology

Basic psychology:
→ seeks knowledge and understanding of psychological processes.

Applied psychology:
→ uses psychological knowledge to address real-world problems.

Think:
Basic = understand
Applied = use

Natural Science vs. Human Science

Natural Science:

• Looks for general laws

• Uses quantitative methods

• Attempts to predict/control behaviour

• Often uses experiments

Human Science:

• Seeks to understand human experience

• Focuses on individual/social context

• Often qualitative

• Uses narratives and lived experiences

Dilthey: both approaches are valuable.

What are major schools/areas of psychology?

• Structuralism

• Functionalism

• Behaviourism

• Gestalt

• Humanism

• Cognitive

• Developmental

• Social

• Personality

• Cultural

• Psychoanalysis/Freudianism

Why is psychology considered a science?

Psychology developed by moving from philosophical speculation and common sense toward systematic observation, experimentation, and evidence.

Psychologists study:

• Sensation & perception

• Memory & attention

• Thinking

• Emotion

• Behaviour

• Social interactions

What are theory, hypothesis, and falsifiability?

• Theory: an organized system of ideas used to explain a phenomenon.

• Hypothesis: a specific statement that describes/explains a phenomenon; usually derived from a theory and used to test it.

• Falsifiability: a hypothesis must be potentially testable/falsifiable to be scientific.

What is an operational definition?

• A statement of how a phenomenon will be observed and recorded.

• Provides a standardized way of measuring it.

What are the main types of measures?

• Self-reports: interviews, questionnaires, diaries.

• Behavioural observations: counting/coding behaviour.

• Bio-physiological measures: heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves/scans.

• Archival records: medical, school, government records, newspapers.

What are self-reports and surveys?

Self-reports: people provide their own answers about themselves.

• Quick/easy and can reveal inner feelings, but may be inaccurate or influenced by wanting to “look good.”

Surveys: collections of questions by phone, internet, or paper.

• Open-ended → qualitative responses

• Coded → responses are tallied and analyzed statistically

What are behavioural, bio-physiological, and archival measures?

• Behavioural: directly count/code behaviour; may be more objective, but behaviour may change when observed.

• Bio-physiological: measure physical processes such as heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves/activity.

• Archival: use existing records; may be incomplete or lack the exact information needed.

Laboratory vs. naturalistic observation

Laboratory research:

• Controlled setting → greater precision/standardization.

• May cause reactivity → participants change behaviour because they are being studied.

Naturalistic observation:

• Everyday, natural setting → more natural behaviour.

• Less control and may have observer bias.

What is participant observation?

• Researcher is both an observer and a participant in the setting.

• May influence people's behaviour/results.

• Advantage: provides an “insider” perspective.

What are qualitative studies and case studies?

Case study: detailed, in-depth analysis of a specific person or group.

• Provides a rich description of their life/conditions.

• May not generalize to everyone, but can reveal patterns or qualities people share.

What are populations and samples?

Population: a very large group of individuals being studied; usually diverse rather than homogeneous.

Sample: a smaller group taken from the population.

• Main concern: Is the sample representative of the population?

What are psychological tests/inventories?

Used to measure/evaluate abilities, traits, interests, values, etc.

Objective tests:

• Produce numerical scores/subscores.

• Example: IQ tests

Projective tests:

• Designed to assess unconscious feelings or motives.

• Examples: TAT and inkblot tests

What are reliability, validity, and standardization?

Standardized: same procedure for giving/scoring the test, often using reference norms.

Reliability: how consistent scores are when the same person takes the test twice.

Validity: whether the test actually measures what it is intended to measure.

What are correlational studies?

• Examine how two or more variables are associated.

• Positive correlation: both variables move in the same direction. ↑↑ / ↓↓

• Negative correlation: variables move in opposite directions. ↑↓

• No correlation: no consistent relationship.

⚠ Correlation does NOT establish causation.

What are experimental studies and variables?

experimental studies: used to make inferences about cause and effect.

• Independent Variable (IV): manipulated/changed by the researcher.

• Dependent Variable (DV): resulting behaviour/condition being measured.

• Experimental group: receives the treatment/manipulation.

• Control group: receives placebo, waitlist, time-out, or distractor.

• Random assignment: helps control extraneous variables.

What are placebo effects, experimenter effects, and blinding?

Placebo effect: a person believes they received a real treatment but actually received an inert/sham treatment.

Experimenter bias: unconscious influence of the researcher on study outcomes.

Single-blind: participant doesn't know whether they received treatment.

Double-blind: neither participant nor experimenter knows who received treatment.

What are descriptive/inferential statistics and research ethics?

Descriptive statistics: summarize data.

• Mean: average

• Median: middle score

• Mode: most frequent score

• Range: highest − lowest

• Standard deviation: how spread out scores are around the mean

Inferential statistics: use data to make educated guesses/inferences about results and chance.

• Null hypothesis: assumes no difference between groups.

• t-test: compares means of 2 groups.

• Statistical significance: commonly p ≤ .05.

• ANOVA: examines differences involving multiple influences/groups.

Ethics: considers what is right/wrong in research. Important examples include Milgram's obedience experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment.