Introduction to Psychology

Chapter 1

Definition

Psychology – study of human and animal behavior and mental processesHow people thinkHow people feelHow people behave

Hypothesis – educated guessTheory – ideas that are tested, but not proven

Scientific Method

Identify problemFormulate hypothesisTest hypothesisCollect dataAnalyze data

Identify Problem

Students with ADD have problems sitting in a classroom for entire class period

Formulate hypothesis

If the teacher has the student assigned to tasks to get the child out of their seat periodically the child will be able to pay attention for the rest of the amount of time

Test Hypothesis

Create the tasks for the student and have them complete the tasks

Collect the dataDocument the child’s attention span during “learning times”

Analyze Data

Was there a change in the students attention?

Goals of psychology

DescribeExplainPredictControl

DescribeA student that is depressed will sleep more often, change friends, possibly use drugs and alcohol

Explain

They change friends because of the use of drugs/alcoholThey lack seratonin in the brain

Predict

A student with depression will struggle in school unless they get help

ControlPut the child on medication that increases serotoninGet the child therapy

History of Psychology

Ancient greeks – people were dominated by the gods1600’s – dualism – world is divided into 2 parts, mind and matterRene Descartes – link between mind and matterEnd of 1600’s – John Locke

John Locke

Empiricism – all knowledge obtained from observation and experienceTabula Rosa – blank slate

Sir Francis Galton 1869

Hereditary influencesBelieved in natureBegan nature vs. nurture debate

Psychology as a Science

Wilhelm Wundt (1879) – founder of psychologyPhysiologist but interested in studying the mindIntrospection – method of self-observation

William James

interested in conscious mindThinking, feeling, remembering

Ivan Pavlov 1904

Classical conditioningTraining a reflex

Sigmund Freud 1938

Interested in Unconscious mindPrimitive biological urgesFree association – say whatever comes to mind (uncover unconscious thoughts)Dream analysis – similar to free association but used dreams

B.F. Skinner 1940’s

Observable behaviorOperant conditioningTrain a voluntary responseIdeas used to toilet train, lose weight, quit smoking

Research

Samples – selecting a small group to studyMust represent wide variety of population

Biased sampleWhen your sample isn’t representative of entire populationAvoiding biased sampleRandom samplingEx. Draw from a hatStratified samplingEx. Researcher picks to represent all subgroupsSample size

Types of research

CorrelationExperimentNaturalistic observationCase studySurveyLongitudinal studyCross - cultural

CorrelationRelationship between 2 sets of dataPositive correlation – high value for one variable corresponds to a high value of another variableNegative correlation – high value for one variable corresponds to a low value of another variable

ExperimentIndependent variable (IV) – variable the experimenter delibrately controlsDependant variable (DV) – variable researchers believe will be affected by the IVControl group – doesn’t research treatment (placebo)Experimental group – subjects undergo treatment

Naturalistic observationObserving human/animals in natural settingAd. Get accurate behaviorDis. Hard to be in natural setting

Case studyIntense study of an individual or small group over a period of timeAd. Look at individual problemDis. Sample size too small

SurveyPractical way to gather data on beliefs, attitudes, actions of a large groupAd. eliminates research biasDis. Subjects could lie

Longitudinal studyStudy the same group of subjects over a long period of timeAd. Consistent and inconsistent behaviorDis. Time consuming

Cross-Cultural StudyComparison of people’s beliefs, values, behaviors from different cultures