Post on 17-Jan-2016
What Isn’t Psychology?
What Isn’t Psychology?
Pseudopsychology Unscientific Astrology Horoscopes Polygraphs Psychics Fortune Telling
Pseudopsychology Confirmation Bias
Listen to evidence that confirms our beliefs, and ignore evidence that contridicts it.
Facilitated Communication Autism “Cure” revealed to be inneffective
by research
What Is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and the mind.
Psychology Behavior – yelling, smiling,
running, eating, laughing, sweating, talking, etc.
Mental Processes (the mind) – sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, feelings.
Psychology’s Roots
Pre-scientific Psychology Is the mind
connected to the body or distinct?
Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?
Socrates and Plato, 460-399 B.C.
Both of these great thinkers loved logic and believed:
•Knowledge and the mind are“entirely distinct from the body”and thus able to survive its death.
•Some ideas are innate – we are born with them.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)
Loved data Was an early scientist Believed knowledge was
not preexisting Believed knowledge grows
from experience that is stored in our memories
Psychology’s Roots
Empiricism knowledge comes from experience via the senses
science flourishes through observation and experiment
History of Psychology
Structuralism – Wundt and his student, Titchener
Functionalism – William James
Gestalt - Max Wertheimer
Psychoanalysis – Sigmund Freud
Behaviorism – Watson & Skinner
Psychology’s Roots
Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig (c. 1879)
Psychology’s Roots
Structuralism Wundt used
introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
So why didn’t structuralism last?
Psychology’s Roots
Functionalism focused on how behavioral processes function- how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and flourish
Gestalt, Max Wertheimer Began in Germany Defined psychology as the study of the
immediate experience of the whole organism Founded as a revolt against Wundt and
Structuralism Argued that the whole is different than the
sum of its parts Initiated the study of insight and problem
solving in animals and humans
Psychodynamic, Sigmund Freud
Developed outside the university setting
Focused on the development and treatment of abnormal behavior
Concluded that psychological maladjustment results from unresolved, unconscious conflicts
Used currently
Behaviorism, Watson United States. Argued that psychology should
study only what could be observed and measured objectively
No Introspection! How do people react to stimuli? Focused on how behaviors are
learned and modified
Behaviorism, Skinner Influential in theories of learning Skinner believed that external
influences shape behavior. Operant conditioning was the focus
of much of his work He died in 1990.
Psychology’s Growth
British Psychological Society membership
Contemporary Psychology
Biological View How does the physical makeup of
the brain influence behavior? Also called Neuroscience
Developmental View Which counts more heavily, Nature
or nurture? Child Development
Cognitive View How do we interpret our
experiences? Thoughts, expectations,
Perceptions, memories
Psychodynamic View The unconscious mind Focuses on mental disorders Sigmund Freud
Humanistic View People are motivated and
influenced by their need for personal growth and fulfillment
Behavioral View Study people entirely from the
outside. Focus on what they can observe
directly
Sociocultural View Other people exert influence on
each other Study things like loving, prejudice,
aggression
Evolutionary View How does behavior change over
time? Looks at people like Darwin looked
at animals
Trait View Individual Differences result from
enduring characteristics, or traits
Goals of Psychology
Not just to describe and explain behavior but also to predict and control behavior.
What do psychologists do?
Clinical Provides Psychotherapy; administers and interprets psychological tests
Counseling Help with everyday issues (e.g. family, career)
Cognitive Research and teach mental processes (e.g memory)
Social Research and teach how others affect us; human interaction
Personality Research and teach individual differences
Physiological Research and teach brain and brain/body interaction
Industrial/
Organizational
Apply psychology to the work place
Sport Apply psychology to improve athletic performance
School Applies psychology to improve development of kids
Why are you the way you are?
or
Nature-Nurture Controversy
the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to development of psychological traits and behaviors
Description
Psychologists describe behavior using case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation
Description
Population all the cases in a group, from which
samples may be drawn for a study Random Sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Description – Science??
Case Study
One or more persons is studied in great depth.
The goal is to learn something that can then be applied to all people.
Survey
Asks people their opinion
Asks people to describe their behavior
Uses a representative, random sample*Wording of questions*Say one thing do another
Naturalistic Observation This involves watching and
recording the behavior of organisms (people, animals) in their natural environment.
What Research Reveals About Love
What Research Reveals About Love
Psychologists have found that separation weakens romantic attraction.
As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.”
What do you think?
What Research Reveals About Love
Psychologists have found that separation strengthens romantic attraction.
As the saying goes, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Now, what do you think?
Thinking Critically With Psychological Science
Hindsight Bias we tend to believe, after learning an
outcome, that we would have foreseen it
the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon Overconfidence
we tend to think we know more than we do
Overconfidence “There is no reason for anyone to have a computer
in their home.” (Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Company, 1977)
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” (Lord Kelvin, British mathematician, physicist, and president of the British Royal Society, 1895)
“Reagan doesn’t have the presidential look.” (United Artists Executive when asked whether Ronald Reagan should be offered the starring role in the movie The Best Man, 1964)
“A severe depression like that of 1920–21 is outside the range of probability.” (Harvard Economic Society, Weekly Letter, November 16, 1929)
Overconfidence “Impossible!” (Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder when
asked whether Cassius Clay could last six rounds in his upcoming bout with heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, 1964)
“We know on the authority of Moses, that longer ago than six thousand years, the world did not exist.” (Martin Luther [1483–1546], German leader of the Protestant Reformation)
“Man will never reach the moon, regardless of all future scientific advances.” (Lee DeForest, inventor of the vacuum tube, 1957)
“Nuclear powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within 10 years.” (Alex Lewyt, manufactures of vacuum cleaners, 1955)
Intuition
Involves “hot and cold” streaks such as in:
Sports Cards Gambling The stock market
Two Random Sequences
Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.
Experimentation
Experiment an investigator manipulates one or
more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable)
by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors
Experimentation Double-Blind Procedure
both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo
commonly used in drug-evaluation studies Placebo
an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent
Experimentation
Random Assignment assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance
minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups
Experimentation
Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology
Why do psychologists study animals?
Is it ethical to experiment on animals?
Is it ethical to experiment on people?
Correlation When two or more things happen
together. Correlation coefficient is the
statistical relationship between them. Can be positive or negative (0 -
+1.00 or -1.00)Examples: IQs of parents and their
children, beauty and popularity, anxiety and test performance, crime and weather. What can you think of?
CorrelationThree Possible Cause-Effect Relationships
(1)Low self-esteem
Depression
(2)Depression
Low self-esteem
Low self-esteem
Depression
(3)Distressing events
or biologicalpredisposition
could cause
could cause
could cause
or
or
and
Illusory Correlation Illusory
Correlation the perception of
a relationship where none exists
Proving a Hypothesis What do you know about astrology? Do you know your zodiac sign? In the scientific method, the first
task is to create a hypothesis. Can you create a hypothesis based
on the assumptions astrologers make about human behavior?
*2 1-a &b
The Scientific Method Hallmark of scientific psychology The Scientific Method involves:
Theory—explains, organizes, predicts
Hypotheses—testable predictions from theory
Careful study Replication—follow up study
Experimentation Independent Variable
the experimental factor that is manipulated
the variable whose effect is being studied Dependent Variable
the experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable
in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process
Independent and Dependent Variables Independent variable (X): What
you change/manipulate between different groups. You think it affects the dependent variable.
Dependent variable (Y): What you measure from all groups. You think it is affected by the independent variable
Independent and Dependent Variables X affects Y: The independent
variable is believed to affect the dependent variable.
In other words, the value of the dependent variable is thought to DEPEND ON the independent variable.
Real-Life Practice Alcohol affects driving ability What variable “depends on” the
other? This is the dependent variable. What variable affects the other
variable? This is the independent variable.
Suppose you wanted to know whether tall people are better basketball players than short people.
Method: You gather a random sample of people of various heights and ask them to shoot baskets from the foul line. The number of baskets they make out of ten shots will be your measure of basketball ability.
Variables: Heights and number of baskets Independent Variable: The people in your sample.Dependent Variable: The number of baskets made.
ExamplesDependent and Independent
Variables
Practice 1 - Variables
An experimenter designs a study to assess whether teams wearing dark colors receive more penalties than teams wearing light colors.
Hypothesis? Dependent variable? Independent variable?
Practice 2 - Variables A group of college students were given a
short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course. Half the students were offered $5 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money.
Hypothesis? Dependent variable? Independent variable?
How Did you Do? Practice 2
Hypothesis: monetary incentive would influence student performance on a reading test taken at the end of a course.
Independent variable: Monetary incentive ($5 or no money)
Dependent variable: Performance on reading test
Practice 3 A government agency hires a
psychologist to study whether raising the driving age to 18 would reduce the number of car fatalities
Hypothesis? Dependent variable? Independent variable?
Practice 4 A social psychologist thinks that people are
more likely to conform to a large crowd than to a single person. To test this hypothesis, the social psychologist had either one person or five persons stand on a busy walking path on campus and look up. The psychologist stood nearby and counted the number of people passing by who also looked up.
Hypothesis? Dependent variable? Independent variable?
How Did you Do? Practice 4
Hypothesis: people are more likely to conform to a large crowd than to a single person.
Independent variable: Size of group (5 people or 1 person)
Dependent variable: Conformity (measured by number of people looking up)