Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology

Psychology

• scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• studying individuals
  • how we act in groups
  • how we treat each other
  • how we feel about each other
• diverse perspectives

Multiple Influences on the Individual

Neural: biological (brain, chemicals)

Evolutionary: ancestors (before races, roots, or past)

Cognitive: how we process and how we see the world

Social: interactions or people influence our behavior

Cultural: where we are born; immediate social context; geographical location → personality

Developmental: nature/nurture

Scientific Methods

1. making observations
2. defining a problem
3. proposing a hypothesis
4. gathering evidence or testing the hypothesis
5. theory building

Theory Construction

• Theory
• Hypothesis
• Empirical Research
• If … then
  • findings support the hypothesis
  • confidence in theory increases
  • findings do not support the hypothesis
  • revise and refine the theory
  • discard the theory

Quantitative Research Process (Deductive)

• measure variables
• assess the impact of these variables on an outcome
• test theories or broad explanations
• apply results to a large number of people

1. Identifying the Research Problem
   • description and explanation oriented
2. Reviewing the Literature
   • major role
   • justification for the research problem and specification for the need for the study
3. Specifying a Purpose for Research
   • specific and narrow
   • measurable, observable data
4. Collecting Data
   • predetermined instruments
   • numeric (numbered)
   • large number of individuals
5. Analyzing and Interpreting Data
   • statistical analysis
   • description of trends, comparison of groups, or relationship among variables
   • a comparison of results with predictions and past studies
6. Reporting and Evaluating Research
   • standard and fixed
   • objective and unbiased

• 1 - 3 are not as linear, you can still make revisions

  

A. Independent Variables

• factors, treatments, predictions, determinants, antecedent
• this is the expectation that this variable will influence the outcome

B. Intervening Variables

• Sometimes there are intervening variables identified and examined in research, sometimes there are none

C. Dependent Variables

• outcome, effect, criterion, consequence
• What is the outcome of the study?

Experiments

• A deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause and effect relationships
  • Independent Variable (cause) : the one that is manipulated or varied to see if it will influence the dependent variable
  • Dependent Variable (effect): the one that is affected by the independent variable
• The only way to determine if one thing is causally related to another is via an experimental design
  • In an experiment, you purposely manipulate variables, rather than just measure already existing differences.
  • Random Assignment of Participant Groups
  • Experimental Group: group that receives the manipulation
  • Control Group: group that does not receive the manipulation

Elements of a Simple Psychological Experiment

• Experimental designs are the most powerful research designs for identifying cause-and-effect relationships

  

3 Necessary Conditions for Causation

1. The Relationship Condition: Variables A and B must be related in a logical way
2. The Temporal Antecedence Condition: proper time order must be established
3. The Lack of Alternative Explanation Condition: The relationship between variables A and B must not be due to some confounding extraneous or “third variable”
   • Confounds:
     • Any difference between the experimental and control groups aside from IV
     • Makes IV effects uninterpretable
     • Cause and effect is possible to infer, with random assignment and manipulation of independent variable

Pitfalls in Experimental Design

1. Placebo Effect
   • Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement
   • Participants must be blind to their assignment to groups
   • Placebos show many of the same characteristics as real drugs
2. Nocebo Effect
   • Harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm
3. Experimenter Expectancy Effect
   • When researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias a study outcome
   • Clever Hans, the mathematical horse
   • Using a double-blind design can decrease this
4. Demand Characteristics
   • Cues that participants pick up allowing them to guess at the researchers’ hypotheses
   • Disguising the purpose of the study or using ”filter” items can help to decrease them

Correlation Designs

• Examine how 2 variables are related
• Correlations vary from -1 to +2 and can be:
  • Positive: as one increases, so does the other
  • Negative: as one increases, the other decreases
  • Zero: no relationship between variables
• Depicted in a scatterplot

Illusory Correlation

• Perception of a statistical association where none exists
• Examining a probability table helps to explain why we are all prone to seeing relationship where none exists
• Just because 2 things are related, does not mean that one causes another
• 3 Possible Explanations
  • A causes B
  • B causes A
  • C causes both A and B

Qualitative Research Process (Inductive)

• Learn about the views of individuals
• Assess a process over time
• Generate theories based on participant perspectives
• Obtained detailed information about a few people or research sites
• Inductive Approach
  • Typically used in qualitative research

1. Researcher gathers information
   • Interviews, observations
2. Researcher asks open-ended questions of participants or records field notes
3. Researcher looks for broad patterns, generalizations, or theories from themes or categories
4. Generalizations or theories to past experiences

3 Areas of Ethical Concern for Social and Behavioral Scientists

• Research Ethics
  • A set of principles to guide and assist researchers in conducting ethical studies
• Relationship between Society and Science
  • Revolve around the extent to which societal concerns and cultural values should direct the course of research
• Professional Issues
  • Research Misconduct: the fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research or reporting research results

Treatment of Research Participants “Basic” Research Ethics

• Non-Maleficence
  • Research should avoid harming participants
• Beneficence
  • Research on human subjects should produce some positive and identifiable benefit rather than simply be carried out for its own sake
• Autonomy or Self-Determination
  • Research participants’ values and decisions should be respected
• Justice
  • All people should be treated equally
  • There must be fairness in the distribution of benefits and possible risks across all research participants
• Concerns about Deception
  • Sometimes full disclosure of the nature and purpose of the study will alter the outcome and invalidate the study
  • Deception: misleading or withholding information from the research participant
  • Debriefing: a post study interview in which all aspects of the study are revealed, any reasons for deception are explained , and any questions the participant has about the study are answered
• Freedom to Withdraw
  • Participants have the right to withdraw from a study at any time unless otherwise constrained by their official capacity or roles
  • Participants’ perspective might not be sufficient
• Confidentiality, Anonymity, and the Concept of Privacy
  • Privacy
  • A person’s freedom to identify the time and circumstances under which information is shared with or withheld from others
  • The person’s right to decline receiving information that he or she does not want
  • Confidentiality
  • Not revealing the the identity of the participant to anyone other than the researcher or his or her staff

Social Recognition Biases

• Belief Perseverance
  • Motivated by a desire to be certain about one’s knowledge
  • Tendency to hold doggedly onto a belief, even in the face of evidence that would convince most people that the belief is false
• Confirmation Bias
  • A tendency to search out information that support one’s beliefs while ignoring contrary information
  • Strongly held prejudices include both belief perseverance and confirmation bias
• Availability Heuristic
  • Occurs when we experience unusual or very memorable events and then overestimate how often such events typically occur

Pseudoscience

• Emotional Reasoning Fallacy: using emotions rather than evidence as the guide
• Bandwagon Fallacy: lots of people believe it so it must be true
• “Not Me” Fallacy: other people may have biases but not me
• Intuition
  • Spontaneous perception or judgment not based on reasoned mental steps
• Common Sense
  • Another kind of intuition because of its dependence on informal methods
  • Emphasizes the agreement of a person's judgment with the shared attitudes and experiences of a larger group of people
• Good Scientists
  • Aware they might be wrong
  • Scientific knowledge is always tentative and open to revision
  • Science forces us to question our findings and conclusions

Public Skepticism of Psychology (Lilienfeld)

6 Common Criticisms of the Scientific Basis of Psychology and 6 Rebuttals

• Psychology…
  • Is merely common sense (from scientific method)
  • Does not scientific methods
  • Cannot yield meaningful generalizations because everyone is unique
  • Does not yield repeatable results
  • Cannot make precise predictions
  • Is not useful to society
• Public Skepticism towards Psychology
  • Psychology’s failure to police itself
  • The problematic face of public psychology
  • Popo psychologists
  • Confusion between psychologists and psychotherapists
  • Media is to blame
  • Hindsight Bias
  • Obviousness
  • The illusion of understanding
  • Personal experience vs factual studies
  • Greedy reductionism
  • Simplifying
  • The scientific impotence excuse
  • Ignore scientific facts
  • Failure to distinguish basic from applied research
  • Basic: empirical or test theories
  • Applied: program applied to groups

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