The Science of Psychology Ch.1

The History of Psychology

Psychology- scientific study of behavior and mental

Behavior- outward or overt actions and variation

4 Goals of Psychology:

1. Description-

   -what is happening?

2. Explanation-

   -why is it happening?

3. Prediction-

   -will it happen again?

4. Control-

   -how can it be changed?

$Structuralism-$ $studied basic elements of the mind$

-by Wilhelm Wundt

• Object of Introspection- examining and measuring thoughts and mental activities
• Edward Titchener brought psychology (structuralism) to the U.S.

$Functionalism-$ $how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play$

-by William James, influenced educational psychology, industrial/organizational psychology

Gestalt, Psychoanalysis, and Behaviorism

• Gestalt- “good figure” psychology

  -by Max Wertheimer, who studied sensation and perception, believed people naturally seek out patterns, “wholes”

• Cognitive Psychology- perception, learning, memory, thought processes, problem solving
• $Psychoanalysis (Depth Psychology)-$ $by Sigmund Freud$

  $-insight therapy for treating fear and anxiety$

  $-emphasis on unconscious and early childhood$

• $Behaviorism-$ $focuses on observable$

$-by John B. Watson, must be seen and measured$

-based on Ivan Pavlov, reflex can be conditioned

-Watson believed phobias can be learned (case of “Little Albert”)

Modern Perspectives

• Psychodynamic Perspective- development of self and unconscious motives

  -motivation, relationships

• Behavioral Perspective- focus on kinds of conditioning and observable behavior

  -B.F. Skinner, operant and conditioning of voluntary behavior

• Humanistic Perspective- view that people have free will, emphasized human potential

  -self-actualization- achieving full potential

  -encounter groups- for growing personally

  -Abraham Maslow

  -Carl Rogers

• Cognitive Perspective- focuses on language, memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning

• Sociocultural Perspective- focuses on relationships

• Biopsychological Perspective- attributes behavior to biology of the body (genetics, hormones, and the nervous system)

• Evolutionary Perspective- focuses on universal characteristics we all share

-behavior seen as having an adaptive or survival value

Psychological Professions and Specialization

• Psychologist- training in testing and assessment, psychotherapy, teaching, research

  -has a Ph. D. or Psy. D.

  -diagnoses and treats severe mental disorders with psychotherapy and behavioral methods

  -psychology tests: IQ, achievement, personality

• Psychiatrist- medical doctor (treatment and diagnosis)

  -M.D. or D.O.

Psychiatric Social Worker- training in therapy methods

-degree in M.S.W or L.C.S.W.

-therapy

The Scientific Approach

1. question
2. hypothesis
3. testing hypothesis
4. drawing conclusions
5. report your results

• Scientific Method- system used for reducing bias and error in the measurement of data

Descriptive Methods

• Descriptive Stats- summarizing information from a study
• Inferential Stats- judgements or decisions about data and variables
• Naturalistic Observation- watching behavior in a normal environment
• Case Study- one individual in great detail
• Surveys- questions about topic under study given to representative sample; randomly selected from a larger population
• Correlation- measure of the relationship between 2 variables
• Experiment- manipulation of variable to see if changes in behavior result

  -determines cause and effect

• Operational Definition- precise meaning of a term used to describe a variable the research wants to measure
• $Independent Variable-$ $variable manipulated by experimenter$
• $Dependent Variable-$ $measurable response or behavior of the subjects$
• $Experimental Group-$ $subjects exposed to IV$
• $Control Group-$ $not exposed to the IV$
• $Comparison Baseline Group-$ $controls for interfering$
• $Debriefing-$ $revealing hypothesis after study completion$