Notes on Introductory Psychology Lectures Overview

Introductory Psychology

Lecture One: The Research Enterprise in Psychology

• Introduction and Key Topics
  • Paul the Octopus: A case study in cognition and prediction
  • Cognitive Illusions: How cognitive biases shape our perceptions
  • Important biases discussed:
  • Naive Realism: Belief that we see the world as it is and others are biased.
  • Belief Perseverance: Tendency to hold on to initial beliefs despite contrary evidence.
  • Hindsight Bias: Seeing events as predictable after they have occurred.
  • Confirmation Bias: Favoring information that confirms existing beliefs.
  • Illusion of Patterns: Seeing patterns where none exist.
  • Fallacies:
  • Bandwagon Fallacy: Assuming something is true because many believe it.
  • Not Me Fallacy: Believing oneself to be immune to biases.

Key Cognitive Biases

• Anchoring: The first piece of information serves as a reference for future judgments.

  • Example: Initial price of an item influences perceived value during sales.

• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continuing an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made.

  • Example: Staying in a losing situation because of what has already been invested.

• Availability Heuristic: Decisions based on immediate examples that come to mind.

  • Example: Overestimating the danger of flying after hearing about a plane crash.

• Curse of Knowledge: Difficulty in imagining what it's like for someone who lacks your knowledge.

• Dunning-Kruger Effect: The less you know, the more overconfident you can be about your abilities.

  • Experts tend to underplay their knowledge and uncertainties.

• Backfire Effect: Strengthening of beliefs when confronted with contradictory evidence.

• Barnum Effect: Believing vague, general statements apply specifically to oneself.

• Self-serving Bias: Attributing personal successes to internal factors and failures to external ones.

• Groupthink: The tendency for group members to conform to the consensus viewpoint, rather than evaluating alternatives critically.

• Negativity Bias: Negative experiences have a more lasting impact than positive ones.

Cognitive Biases Impacting Judgment

• Optimism Bias: Overestimating the likelihood of good outcomes.
• Pessimism Bias: Overestimating the likelihood of negative outcomes.
• Spotlight Effect: Overestimating how much others notice or care about your behavior.

Miscellaneous Cognitive Terms

• Placebo Effect: Improvement resulting from the belief in treatment.
• Halo Effect: The influence of a person's positive traits on their overall impression.

Conclusion of Lecture One

• Understanding cognitive biases is essential for improving rational thinking and decision-making.
  • Resources:
  • Video links available on YouTube regarding Paul the Octopus and cognitive biases to study further.

Lecture Two: Scientific Thinking - A Framework

• Key Topics:

  • Empiricism: Knowledge through experience and observation.
  • Scientific Skepticism: Questioning the angle of evidence while seeking evidence for claims.

• Important Terms:

  • Falsifiability: The capacity for a claim to be disproven.
  • Occam’s Razor: Preference for simpler explanations.
  • Correlation vs Causation: Correlation does not imply causation.
  • Extraordinary Claims: Require extraordinary evidence.

Lecture Three: Steps in a Scientific Investigation

• Main Steps:
  1. Formulate a Hypothesis: Initial prediction or explanation.
  2. Design the Study: Plan the study methodically.
  3. Collect Data: Gather the data needed for analysis.
  4. Analyze Data: Evaluate the data collected for patterns or trends.
  5. Report Findings: Share and present the results accurately.

Research Methods in Psychology: Descriptive and Correlational Research

• Study Topics:

  • Naturalistic Observation: Observing subjects in their natural environment.
  • Case Studies: In-depth examination of a single subject or group.
  • Surveys: Tools for collecting data from a larger audience.

• Key Biases in Research:

  • Social Desirability Bias: Respondents may answer in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.
  • Response Set Bias: Patterns of responses that do not reflect true feelings.

Lecture Five: Experiments in Psychology

• Key Elements:
  • Independent Variable: The factor manipulated by the researcher.
  • Dependent Variable: The measured outcome.
  • Control Group and Experimental Group: Group that does not receive the treatment vs. the group that does.
  • Random Assignment: Ensuring every participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group.

Descriptive Statistics and Inferential Statistics

• Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, median, and mode.
• Variability: How spread out the data points are.
• Normal Distribution: Understanding the typical pattern of distribution for variables in psychology.

Ethics in Psychology

• Core Values: Respecting participants, confidentiality, and informed consent.
• Consequences for Ethics Violations: Discussing guidelines and ramifications from infractions in research practices.