module 1
psych is the scientific study of mind and behavior
uses scientific method (purpose, research, hypothesis, experiment, analysis, conclusion)
→ this means psychologists must frame questions in a way that allows for empirical testing
chapter 1 textbook
1.1
why do different people experience different situations related to mental health?
theory → best understanding we have of a part of the natural world
hypothesis must be EMPIRICAL | empirical method based on observation
psychology is social science and also biological science
evaluating the validity of information is necessary → maintain attitude of skepticism
1.2
Wilhelm Wundt and William James are credited as the founders of psychology
William Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) first “psychologist”
goal of psychology → identify components of consciousness and how they combine to form our conscious experience.
introspection → a process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible
voluntarism → people have free will and should know the intentions of a psychological experiment if they were participating
One of Wundt’s students, Edward Titchener, developed structuralism
structuralism → focus is on the contents of mental processes rather than their function
Wundt used instruments that measure reaction time
William James
William James, John Dewey, Charles Sanders Pierce establish functional psychology
accepted Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection
functionalism → psychology’s purpose is to study the function of behavior in the world
→ focuses on mind as a whole, not its parts
How do mental activities help an organism fit into its environment?
believed introspection could be useful, but relied on more objective measures, including various recording devices, examinations of concrete products of mental activities and of anatomy and physiology
naturalistic observation
observation of behavior in its natural setting
typically hidden under scrutiny
also used with animals
inductive - observation
deductive - prediction based off of general premise, tested against empirical world
B.F. Skinner - how is behavior affected by its consequences
humanism - potential for good that is innate to all humans
cognitive revolution - By 1950s, the mind became the new focus of scientific inquiry
feminist, multicultural
psychology in beginning dominated by white male academics
sensation and perception - Focuses on both physiological aspects of sensory systems and the psychological experience of sensory information
sensation - sensory information
perception - experience of the world is influenced by where we focus our attention\
developmental psychology - studies the physical and mental attributes of aging and maturation
personality psychology - focuses on behaviors and thought patterns that are unique to each individual (conscious and unconscious)
social psychology - focuses on how we interact with and relate to others
health psychology - focuses on how individual health is directly related or affected by biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences
clinical psychology - Focuses on diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and problematic patterns of behavior
others → Industrial-organizational psychology, sports and exercise psychology, forensic psychology
Observation, question, hypothesis, experiment, analysis, conclusion
surveys: can be delivered in many ways
archival research: uses past records or data sets to answer various research questions or to search for interesting patterns or relationships
cross-sectional: compares multiple segments of a population at a single time (such as different age groups)
longitudinal: compares one segment of a population at different times (days, weeks, months)
correlation - relationship between two or more variables
correlation coefficient - strength of correlation (-1 to 1)
positive correlation - variables change in same direction
negative correlation - variables change in different directions
correlation does NOT = causation
cause and effect - changes in one variable cause changes in the other variable, can be determined only through an experimental research design
confounding variable - unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable
illusory correlations - seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists
confirmation bias - tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.
causality - only way to establish cause and effect is through a scientific experiment
hypothesis can be formulated through observation or after review of previous research
designing an experiment
Experimental group - The participants that experience the manipulated variable (group designed to answer the research question).
Control group - Participants that do not experience the manipulated variable.
Serve as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the stud
Operational definition - description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables.
avoiding bias
experimenter bias - researcher expectations skew the results of the study
participant bias - participant expectations skew the results of the study
Single-blind study - Experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group but participants do not (Controls for participant expectations)
double-blind study - Experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments (Controls for both participant and experimenter expectations)
placebo effect - People's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation
participants - subjects of psychological research
sample - subset of individuals selected from the larger population
participant assignment
random assignment - Method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group.
without random assignment, an experiment cannot find a true cause and effect relationship. Any relationship can be due to pre existing differences between the groups.
Random assignment helps to avoid pre existing systematic differences so that any significant differences between groups can be said to be the result of the manipulation
issues to consider -
sometimes experimental designs are super complicated
some questions can’t be answered because they’d be unethical to experiment with
statistical analysis - Determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance
peer reviewed journal article - Article read by several other scientists with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication
reliability - consistency and reproducibility of a given result
validity - accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure
ethics and research involving human participants
IRB is a committee that reviews experiments involving humans
federal
informed consent
Ethics and research involving animals
90% of psychological research involves rodents or birds
minimize pain or distress
animals basic processes are sufficiently like those in humans