PSYA01 Textbook Notes - Chap 1- 4

8/3/2019 PSYA01 Textbook Notes - Chap 1- 4

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Notes by Mary Lee Notes from Psychology the Science of Behavior4th

Ed. Carlson/Heth

CHAPTER 1: The Science of Psychology

What Does a Psychologist Do?

- Research, teaching, counseling, psychotherapy- Advise industry and governmental agencies about personnel matters, design of products,

advertising and marketing, legislation

- They make up and perform tests for personality, achievement and ability- They study different things: physiological processes of the nervous system, genetics,

environmental events, personality, mental abilities, social interactions

- Psychology is a new discipline, the first psychologist lived into the 1920sWhat Is Psychology?

- Psychology: a science with a special focus on behavior; discovering and explaining the causes ofbehavior

- These discoveries then lead to treatment for psychological disorders and improving the society- But what we focus on is how psychologists made their discoveries- The word psychology comes from two Greek words: psukhe (breath or soul) and logos (word or

reason)

- The modern meaning: psycho (mind) and logy (science) science of the mind, but it is really thescience of behavior

- Over time, what psychologists have thought about the mind has changed- First, they thought of it as an independent, free-floating spirit- Then, they said it was a characteristic of a functioning brain, whose main role is to control

behavior- So before, psychology was about the mind (something we cant observe) and now its more about

behavior (something we CAN observe)

- Since the brain is the organ that contains the mind and controls behavior, psychology alsoinvolves studying the brain

How Is Behavior Studied?

- Psychology: to understand human behavior, why do people do what they do- First step: describe the behaviors, be familiar with the things people do and categorize/measure

them so that psychologists in different places can know they are observing the same things

- Second step: find out the causes to these behaviors, what are the events responsible? if thispart is done, then it means we have explained the behavior- Causal events: events that cause other events (such as behavior) to occur- There are different kinds of behavior and different levels of explanation- Ex. of different kinds of behavior: studying how vision and movement is coordinated vs.

courtship


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- Ex. of different levels of explanation: its the same behavior but looking at it from a literal sense,or a metaphorical sense, looking at physiological causes vs explaining using hypothetical mental

states like anger or fear

- Or, you could only look at how events in the environment causes a behavior to occurWhy Is Behavior Studied?

- Why do we study behavior, vs studying a non-observable mind?- Ans: Human behavior is the root for many world problems- War and conflict poverty and hunger/starvation- Lack of exercise, drugs, stressful lifestyles health problems- Polluting habits global warming and acid rain- Other examples: overpopulation, bigotry, oppression, terrorism- Psychology tries to solve these problems- Psychology is also related to other sciences, in the way that a discovery in another science may

need psychology to help implement it- British explorer James Cook knew that sauerkraut prevented scurvy, but sailors didnt like it - He forced the officers to eat it (increasing the status of the sauerkraut) and soon the sailors

wanted this privilege too and scurvy became not as common

Fields of Psychology

- Scientists in psychology: discover causes of behaviors- Applied psychology: applying psychological discoveries to the solutions to worldly problems- Some psychologists do both

Areas of Psychological Research

- Most research psychologists: colleges, universities, or employed by private/governmentalresearch laboratories

- Research psychologists differ by1) the types of behavior they investigate

2) the causal events they analyze

- So they explain different types of behaviors and they explain it in terms of different types ofcauses

- Ex. Two people both study the behavior of memory, but one explains it using physiologicalcausal events and the other explains it using environmental events

- To show the different areas of psychological research, we will take a look at drug abuse fromdifferent points of views

Physiological Psychology

- Focuses on the physiology of behavior- They explain things by looking at the organisms physiology, especially the brain


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- Learning, memory, sensory processes, emotional behavior, motivation, sexual behavior and sleep- Those are studied in non-humans and then serves as a model to help explain human behavior- On drug abuse- All drugs have the potential for addiction because it acts on a part of the brain that is involved

with our reactions to pleasurable events (food, warmth, sex)- Some drugs can artificially activate this system- Knowing how drugs affect the brain can lead to medications to help break habits

Comparative Psychology

- The study of the behavior of members of a species to try to explain behavior in terms ofevolutionary adaptation to the environment

- Topics studied are similar to those of physiological psychologists- Study inherited behavioral patterns (courting, mating, predation, defensive and parental

behaviors)

- On drug abuse- They tested many different mammals and found that they react like humans do with addictive

drugs

- Test animals are addicted if they are able to control the amount injected into their veinBehavior Analysis

- What is the effect of environmental events on behavior?- Focus on learning and motivation- They think that the cause of a behavior is related to the relationship between the behavior and the

consequent event- Ex. if there are pleasant outcomes, the behavior will be repeated- Research is done in labs, schools, homes, businesses applied to teaching, business

management, psychotherapy

- On drug abuse- They found methods for studying the way that pleasurable events make people repeat certain

behaviors

- The negative effects of using drugs are learned (ex. withdrawal symptoms)- Found methods of seeing if a new drug has the potential to make people addicted

Behavior Genetics

- They study the role of genetics in behavior- They examine similarities in the physical and behavioral characteristics of blood relatives- They perform breeding experiments with lab animals to see which types of behavior can be

passed down to the next generation


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- Using molecular genetics, they alter some genes during experiments and see what behavior ischanged

- On drug abuse- They developed strains of lab animals that are especially susceptible to the effects of drugs (more

likely to be addicted)- This helps us understand physiological mechanisms involved in drug dependence

Cognitive Psychology

- They study mental processes and complex behaviors- Perception, attention, learning and memory, verbal behavior, concept formation, problem solving- Events that cause behavior include functions of the brain that occur in response to environmental

events

- Most of them do not study physiological mechanisms, but some collaborate with neurologists andwork with brain scanning

- Brain scanning helps us measure the activity of various parts of the brain- On drug abuse- They developed therapeutic methods that are useful in the treatment of drug addictions- They found the importance of teaching people coping strategies that helps them to resist

temptations

Cognitive Neuroscience

- Closely related to cognitive psychology and physiological psychology- Interested in the same topics as cognitive psychology-

Focuses on trying to discover brain mechanisms that are responsible for cognitive processes- Ex. study the behavior of people whose brains are damaged by stroke, diseases, tumors- On drug abuse- They developed tests that can assess behavioral and cognitive deficits caused by abnormal brain

functions

- Ex. they have tests that show the effects on a baby caused by the use of drugs of a pregnantwoman

Developmental Psychology

- They study physical, cognitive, emotional and social development (especially children)- Or they may study effects on aging on older people- Causal events studied: physiological processes, cognitive processes, social influences- On drug abuse- They show how drug-taking behavior can change over the course of a persons life- Research on infant development shows the time at which cognitive abilities (like memory) are

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Social Psychology

- Study of the effects of people on people- Ex. perception (of oneself and of others), cause and effects relationships in human interactions,

attitudes and opinions, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics, emotional behaviors

(aggression and sexual behavior)

- On drug abuse- Children dont start smoking because it is pleasant, more because their peers do it and because of

how smoking is portrayed

- There are social influences related to drug takingPersonality Psychology

- Study of individual differences in temperament and patterns of behavior- They look for causal events in a persons history, both genetic and environmental - Some are closely related to social psychologists- On drug abuse- A persons personality plays a role on the susceptibility of that person to drugs - They developed tests of personality which then can be used to study factors involved in

susceptibility to drugs

Evolutionary Psychology

- Tries to explain cognitive, social and personality aspects of psychology from an evolutionaryperspective

- They are interested in discoveries made by comparative psychologists and behavioral geneticists- Their guiding principle: theory of evolution and natural selection- They explore how humans adaptive advantages might explain behaviors of modern humans - On drug abuse- Why would an advanced species fall prey to such harmful substances?- They explore the side effects of drugs- Maybe addictions are caused by processes that usually work to our benefit, but we react

harmfully to drugs because they were substances that were not part of the environment of early

humans

Cross-Cultural Psychology

- Study of the impact of culture on behavior- Ancestors of different races lived in different environments with different problems and

opportunities

- So there are many different strategies developed specifically for that environment- Laws, customs, myths, religious beliefs, ethical principles


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- On drug abuse- Some cultures have drug use traditions (not necessarily abuse)- In some cultures, they have more problems with their members so then turn to drugs- There may also be genetic differences, ex. ability to metabolize alcohol, sensitivity of nerve cells

to drugs)

- They study the customs and habits related to drug use (ex. drugs can be associated with rituals)Clinical Psychology

- Study of psychological disorders and problems of adjustments- Most are practitioners that try to help people solve their problems- The rest are scientists that look for causal events to these problems (both genetic and

physiological and environmental like parents and siblings)

- They research about methods of psychotherapy- On drug abuse- These psychologists are the ones we call on to apply what we learned about causes to theindividuals- Their contribution: development of therapeutic methods to prevent and treat drug abuse

But most psychologists work outside of the lab, in applied areas

Summary: page 9, Table 1.1

The Growth of Psychology as a Science

- Psychology started in late 19th century in Germany- Its roots are traced back to philosophy and the natural sciences

Philosophical Roots of Psychology

- We are all conscious of our own existence, and we generally have the impression that ourconscious mind controls our behavior

- Ex. we consider alternatives, we make plans, and then act (engage in behavior)- We also know that others, and animals also are conscious- When we have similar behaviors, we think that we have similar minds/mental states- Long ago, anything that moved or grew, we said that their bodies were controlled by their

minds/spirits- Ex. the sun, the moon, wind, tides- The belief that all animals and all moving objects possess spirits providing their motive force is

called animism primitive philosophy which we only look at historically

- Even gravity was explained with animism: rocks fell because they wanted to be reunited with theEarth


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- When we try to find out why people do what they do, we tend to attribute behavior to the actionof a motivating spirit: a will

- On a scientific level though, this is not a good explanation because a will cannot be directlyobserved and measured

- When we study psychology as a science, we need to look at behavior as subject to physical laws,just like all other natural phenomena

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

- In reality, the history of Western philosophy began with the ancient Greeks- 17th century French philosopher and mathematician- Called the father of modern philosophy and of a biological tradition that led to modern

physiological psychology

- He used sensory experience and human reasoningWhat Descartes Believed

- The world is mechanical and was set in motion by God- To understand the world, we must understand how it was created- Animals were creatures of the natural world only, their behaviors were controlled by natural

causes that could only be understood with science

- The human body is a machine affected by natural causes and producing natural effects- Ex. hot object to finger immediate withdrawal; these did not need participation from the mind,

they happened automatically: energy from the outside source is reflected back through the

nervous system to the muscles (which would contract)

- Reflex: an automatic response to a stimulusMind vs. Matter (Dualism)

- What set human apart from the rest of the world?- Descartes said it was their possession of a mind- The mind is not part of the natural world, and obeyed different laws- Descartes had dualism: the philosophical belief that reality consists of mind and matter (all

reality can be divided into one of the two groups)

- Physical bodies (extended things) vs. minds (thinking things)- He said that physical bodies dont think and minds are not made of normal matter- Descartes wasnt the first to think of dualism- He was the first to say there was a link between the mind and its physical housing which other

philosophers said didnt agree with dualism

- But later on, people did begin to study the interaction between mind and matter, though they weresaid to be separate

Descartes also says: Mind andMatter

- He said the mind controls the movements of the body- The body, through its sense organs, supply the mind with information about the environment


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- Descartes thought that the interaction between the mind and body happened in the pineal body- The pineal body is a small organ at the top of the brain stem, under the large cerebral hemispheres

of the brain

- Mind decides to perform an action the pineal body is tilted a certain way fluid flows fromthe brain into the proper set of nerves flow of fluid causes appropriate muscles to move

- Descartes came up with this because it was a time period full of scientific advances- He thought of muscles like balloons, that become inflated when a fluid is passed through thenerves that connected the muscles to the CNS

- It is inflation that causes us to move- This is similar to water moving through pipes to cause statues to move

A Model

- Descartes was one of the first people to explain something using a technological device as amodel

- Model: a relatively simple system that works on known principles and is able to do some of thethings that a more complex system can do

- Ex. scientists found out that nervous system communication was due to electrical impulsesmodel of the brain: telephone switchboards, computers

- There are also abstract models, which are completely mathematicalBack to Descartes Model

- So he described the human body as something mechanical that was controlled by a non-mechanical mind

- This makes humans greater than the sum of their physical parts- Descartes always said that there was a spiritual basis to human actions (maybe because of the

Church)

John Locke (1632-1704)

- English philosopher- Descartes used rationalism looking for the truth through reason- Locke used empiricism looking for the truth through observation and experience

- the philosophical view that all knowledge is obtained through the senses

- He said that ideas were NOT innately present in an infants mind, that all knowledge camethrough experience

Lockes Model of the Mind

- Tabula rasa or cleaned slate- He compared the mind to the waxed tablets that people used to write on, where they had to scrape

clean before using

- Our minds are empty at birth, and ready to accept the writings of experience- Locke says that our knowledge is developed through simple sensations, so small ideas combine to

form complex ones


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- George Berkeley (1685-1753) also added: our knowledge of the world also requires inferencesbased on past experiences we must learn how to perceive

- Ex. our perception of depth requires observing movements of objects as we move our head/eyesand focus on near/close objects; so many simple things combine into a secondary complex

response

- Together, Locke and Berkeley worked on the origins of knowledge and concept of learning- Descartes model of the mind was rejectedJames Mill (1773-1836)

- Scottish philosopher- It went from animism (physical matter animated by spirits) materialism (mind composed

entirely of matter)

- Materialism: a philosophical belief that reality can be known through an understanding of thephysical world, of which the mind is a part

- Mill didnt invent materialism but developed it- His assumption: humans and animals were the same, both are completely physical things and aresubject to the physical laws of the universe- He agreed with Descartes approach of looking at the human body but disagreed about the

immaterial mind

- To Mill, the mind is also a machine, no less than the bodyBiological Roots of Psychology

- Descartes was a bit biological when you look at his physiological model of the muscle- He lived around the same time as Galileo, who used models of inclined planks to try to explain

physical laws of motions

- Descartes, unlike Galileo, only used simple similarity as proof, he had no scientific proofLuigi Galvani (1737-1798)

- Italian physiologist- Proved Descartes hydraulic model of muscular movement to be wrong- He found that muscles could contract when we applied an electrical current directly to them or to

the nerves attached to them

- There was no need for pressurized fluid- A British physician also proved it wrong by flexing his arm under water his muscles did not

increase in volume as Descartes had said

Johannes Muller (1801-1858)

- German physiologist- Recommended that biologists not only need to observe and classify, but also remove/isolate

organs, test their responses to chemicals and change conditions to see how the organism worked


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- Doctrine of specific nerve energies: his famous observation that different nerve fibres conveyspecific information from one part of the body to the brain, or vice versa

- The message along all nerves was the same electrical impulse, and the impulse itself is thesame, whether its for seeing or hearing

- Question: How then does the brain distinguish between the different kinds of sensoryinformation?

- Answer: messages are sent over different channelsex. optic nerves are attached to eyes, so brain interprets these impulses as visual sensations,

sensations of light

- Mullers answer led to the thought that the brain may be specialized- After all, different nerves convey messages about different types of info, then it could be that the

regions that receive such messages have different functions

Pierre Flourens (1774-1867)

- French physiologist- Provided experimental proof for Mullers doctrine about nerves- He removed various parts of the nervous system and found that there were different effects,

depending on which part was removed

- He would remove a part, see what the animal could no longer do, then associated the missing partwith that ability

- Ex. remove a part of brain animal can no longer move leg that region must control legmovements

- Experimental ablation: the removal/destruction of a portion of the brain of an experimentalanimal to study the functions of that region

- Experimental ablation was soon adopted by neurologists and is still used today- Using this method, Flourens found regions of the brain that controlled heart rate and breathing,

purposeful movements, visual/auditory reflexes

Paul Broca (1824-1880)

- French surgeon- Applied Mullers logic (the doctrine) to humans- He found the region of the brain for speech thanks to a man who had a stroke who could no

longer speak

- The centre of speech was found to be the cerebral cortex on the left side of the brain- Later, research showed that there was no single centre that controls speech, but the area that

Broca indicated did indeed involve speech production

- Psychologists can play around with animals brains, but unfortunately can only study effects ofbrain damage in humans due to natural causes

Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig

- German physiologists- In 1870, introduced the use of electrical stimulation as a tool for mapping the functions of the

brain


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- The outcomes using this method matched with the outcomes found through experimental ablationand even more was discovered

- You send a small electric shock to a part of the cerebral cortex and a certain part of your bodywill move

- Later on, Wilder Penfield (Canadian neurosurgeon) showed that you could also map memoriesand specific sensory experiences using the same method

Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894)

- German physicist and physiologist- Showed that mental phenomena could be explained by physiological means- Contributed to physics and physiology- He purposely separated himself from natural philosophy because there were so many unproven

theories

- Helmholtz had no room for assumptions with unproved or unprovable phenomena, he had ascientific approach with conclusions based on investigation and measurement

The Speed of Nerve Impulses

- Before, people thought that the transmission of impulses through nerves took the speed ofelectricity in wires, which is pretty much instantaneous

- Helmholtz measured the speed of the nerve impulse: 27 m/s (slower than electricity)- This led people to think that maybe the nerve impulse is more complex than electricity through a

wire

The Speed of a Persons Reaction to a Physical Stimulus

- He found that there was no one law because it varied from person to person- People thought, You could measure the speed of nerve impulses and of a persons reaction, so if

only we could investigate the mental events themselves

Ernst Weber (1795-1878)

- Anatomist and physiologist- His work led to the development of a method to measure the magnitude of human sensations- Weber found that peoples ability to distinguish between two similar stimuli followed orderly

laws

- Ex. brightness of two lights, heaviness of two objects- This led to the study of perception from a physical and biological perspective- Psychophysics : the study of the relation between the physical characteristics of a stimulus andthe perceptions produced

- measures the quantitative relation between physical stimuli and perceptual experience

Applications in Education and Therapy

- Descartes believed in free will, the ability to make decisions for which it was morally responsible


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- This matches with the Catholic faith but not with fate or karma (that individual decisions weredetermined by outside forces)

- Philosophers eventually realized that to believe in empiricism and materialism, would mean tobelieve in determinism

- Determinism: the doctrine that behavior is the result of prior events- Psychologists have different views on determinism- Ex. Sigmund Freud believed in determinism based on internal psychological events- Others emphasize autonomous choice as a factor (humanistic psychologists)- But most psychologists believe in some form of determinism due to philosophical and biological

reasons

From Descartes to Helmholtz: Changes in the Society

- American and French revolutions: new conception of government as an institution that improveslives of citizens (inspired by Lockes writings)

- Education became important for improvement and so became more public- There were medical advances, cures for diseases (including diseases of the mind)The Wild Boy of Aveyron

- 1880s, the study of change became more popular thanks to the wild boy- In 1800, wild boy was found- He knew no language, couldnt contact with humans, did not want to be clothed, only wante d to

eat and sleep, and didnt know what a mirror was

- French scholars debated what his problem was- Some said he grew up in the wild and was a noble savage-

Some said he suffered from a psychological disorder- The boy was put in Parisian institute for the deaf where the young physician Jean-Marc GaspardItard worked with him

- He tried to discover what the boy could learn and tried many different procedures (some workedbetter than others)

- The boys deficits in language only slightly improved- This led to people thinking that maybe all children should be taught with methods suited to them

specifically

Child Education

- Child education became more important in the US at this time- By late 1800s, most states had the system American Common School

John Dewey (1859-1952)

- Philosopher- Said that education should match the way in which childrens abilities develop- Children learn activities that are organized around goals and that education should match this

natural way of learning


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- Said that education should aim to establish habits that will integrate the child into the community- This shaped Progressive Education- But how should these integrative habits be learned? This leads to Thorndike.

Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

- Originally studied the behavior of animals and responses that indicate intelligence- What decides whether or not a response occurs again?- Pleasant events stamp in a response and so it is more likely to occur again - Noxious events seem to stamp out the response and so it is less likely to occur- Today we call these processes reinforcement and punishment- Law of effect: Thorndikes observation that stimuli that occur as a consequence of a response can

increase or decrease the likelihood of making that response again

- The law of effect gives us a universal principle by which habits could be learned- Goals: they satisfy and so cause the action to occur more frequently- The ideal curriculum: to identify discrete units that make up the task to be learned- stamping in kind of implies that learning was automatic and inevitable

Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

- At that time in Italy, the only profession for women was teaching, but Montessori was also adoctor

- She was appointed to make an institution for children with developmental disabilities- Montessori used Itards approach on the savage boy individualized instruction- She wondered if children without disabilities would also benefit from this approach

-

She tested her theories when she organized a school for poor preschool children- She added more things and developed the Montessori method children matured through stagesand were sensitive to different kinds of teaching at specific age ranges

- Education was believed to be the most effective when it matched the competency of the child attheir stage

- She was against what Thorndike said about rewards, she said that extrinsic rewards interfere withthe childs natural incentive to learn

- She also thought that movement was related to thought and so moving around the class wasencouraged

- Montessori had attention in Europe but not so much in North America, she felt only she couldtrain teachers in her methods

- Later on, trends in psychology support more of Thorndikes philosophy of learningPhilippe Pinel (1745-1826)

- Father of psychiatry, the medical specialty that treats psychological disorders- Before Pinel, the mentally ill were the responsibility of the family but they were often locked up

in dirty places


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- The activist governments started looking for solutions, ex. to build asylums where they could becared for

- Pinel was hired to administer an asylum- Pinel wanted to show that an asylum could become a therapeutic institution, with proper practices- They tried to restore the cognitive abilities of the ill using different approaches, mostly socialinterventions such as, long conversations with a therapist or poetry reading- That was because it was believed that mental illness had a social cause and so could be cured in a

similar way

Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893)

- In the 1800s, asylums became more numerous and more people became committed to them- Not all patients truly had mental illnesses- One example is women who had symptoms such as memory loss, intermittent paralysis and

insensitivity to painful stimuli

- They were thought to have the nervous disorder hysteria - Charcot proposed that hysteria was related to the condition produced by hypnosis and so treatedthe patients by hypnotizing them

- Today, hysteria is no longer recognized as a disorder- Charcots linking of hypnosis to treatment of mental illnesses was important

Major Trends in the Development of Psychology

Germany: The Birthplace of Psychology

- Psychology as a science began in Germany in the late 19th century- Wilhelm Wundt was the first to call himself a psychologist who studied the human mind

scientifically

- He wrote the first textbook of psychology: Principles of Physiological Psychology- German science also emphasized the importance of classification- Experimental physiology started in Germany- There were many reasons why psychology began in Germany

1) social, political and economic influences

2) abilities of its scientists and scholars

- German university system was well established and had highly respected profs- Universities were well financed, there was money to support researchers who wanted to explore

new fields- The scientific approach was emphasized (on history, phonetics, archaeology, aesthetics,

literature)

- French and British mostly had a philosophical approach to studying the human mind


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Structuralism

- Structuralism: the system of experimental psychology that began with Wundt; it emphasizedintrospective analysis of sensation and perception

psychology was viewed as the science of immediate experience

the subject matter was the structure of the mind, built from elements of consciousness (ideasand sensations)

How Wundt Studied the Nature of Mental Processes

- The raw material came from observers who described their own experiences- Introspection: looking within in an attempt to describe ones own memories, perceptions,

cognitive processes, or motivations

- The observers did introspection and Wundt noted how changes in the stimuli caused changes inthe observers verbal reports the nature of mental processes

More About Wundt

- Like Berkeley, Wundt was interested in the way the basic sensory info gave rise to complexperceptions

- Ex. seeing red is elementary and perception of an apple is complex- Wundt wrote many books and trained other scientists- The scientists then brought the new conception of psychology to North America

James Mark Baldwin (1861-1934)

- Was trained by Wundt- Appointed professor of psychology at the University of Toronto- Since he was the first modern psychologist, there were many debates- Other trained scientists went to University of Alberta, and Queens University

The Death of Structuralism

- Structuralism died out in the early 20th century- Main problem: it was hard to report the raw data of sensation, unmodified by experience- Another problem: psychology shifted from the study of the mind to the study of behavior- More recently, we started the study of the mind again, but we use better methods- Structuralism and Wundt are still acknowledged- Psychology was established as an experimental science, independent of philosophy- And Wundt trained many psychologists

Functionalism

- This was the next major trend in psychology- This was a reaction against structuralism


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- Functionalism:the strategy of understanding a species structural or behavioral features byattempting to establish their usefulness with respect to survival and reproductive success

- Structuralists components of consciousness (ideas and sensations)Functionalists process of conscious activity (perceiving and learning)

- Started by Charles Darwin, and the biological significance of natural processes (includingbehavior) was stressed

- There was more of a focus on observable behaviors rather than private mental eventsCharles Darwin (1809-1882)

- Proposed the theory of evolution in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection- Consequences of an animals characteristics affect its ability to survive- From then on, biologists began to look at adaptive significances of the ways in which species

differed

- Darwins theory was also important to psychology- Behaviors (like other biological characteristics) could also be explained by understand their rolein the adaptation of an organism to its environment- Behaviors, just like body parts, can be inherited, they have evolutionary histories- The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals: facial gestures animals make to express

emotions came from movements that previously had other functions

William James (1842-1910)

- American scholar who most embraced functionalism- He said that thinkings function was to produce useful behaviors- He didnt do much research, mostly read, thought, taught and wrote-

His teaching and writing influenced those who followed him- He was most famous for his theory of emotionFunctionalism

1) It is the study of mental operations, and not of mental structuresex. the mind remembers, it does not contain a memory

- we shouldnt just compile what the mind does, but understand what the mind accomplishes by

doing it

2) Mental processes are not studied as independent, isolated events but as the biological activity ofthe organism

- we look at the processes as aspects of the organisms adaptation to the environment, a product

of evolutionary history

ex. we are conscious, this implies that consciousness has adaptive value in humans

3) It is the study of the relation between the environment and the response of the organism to theenvironment

- mind and body are of the same entity


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Freuds Psychodynamic Theory

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

- Started as a neurologist, so his work is firmly rooted in biology- Became interested in behavioral and emotional problems- Was impressed by Charcots demo of how a psychological event, hypnosis, could cause the

neurological disorder hysteria

- Freud had a theory of the mind, which included structures, but was different from Wundts - He made up the concepts of ego, superego, id, etc. by talking to his patients rather than through

experiments

- Freud emphasized function, he showed us our animal naturePsychology in Transition

- Psychology took a turn in early 20 th centuryBaldwin:

- The controversy eventually died down- He set up the first psychological lab in the British Dominion and it was used for the experimental

investigation of the mine, with attention to the control of noise and light

New Emphasis on Experiment and Observation

- Experiment and observation were becoming more prominent in the classroom- Calkins described her senior class- Students were taught the anatomy of the brain, and had exercises about lamb brain dissection,

measurement of sensation and comparison of associations to simple words- Experiments of taste were unpopular

Canada and Psychology

- Psychology became a part of the university curriculum in Canada- Psychology profs became recognized as part of an emerging scientific discipline- 1938: a group of psychologists began to establish the Canadian Psychological Association

Psychology Textbooks

- Textbooks began to reflect the prominence of physiological observation and the measurement ofhuman reactivity

- Baldwin wrote a major handbook of current psychological knowledge- It included work of Mill, Wundt, Darwin and other natural historians- He made up the Baldwin effect that he thought could explain the evolution of mental phenomena- In addition, he talked about the relationship between consciousness and muscular movement


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In summary

Before: Wundt said the science of psychology should describe the contents of the mind

20th century: James and Baldwin (and others) say: How do we understand the actions that the mind

supposedly determines?

Behaviorism

- Behaviorists say that because psychology is the study of observable behaviors, then mental eventsare outside of the realm of psychology, since they cannot be observed

- Behaviorism: the study of the relation between peoples environments and their behavior,without looking at the hypothetical events occurring in their heads

a movement in psychology that says that the only proper subject matter for scientific study in

psychology is observable behavior

- Thorndike, who formulated the law of effect, was one of the first behaviorists- His law stated that the consequences of a behavior act back upon the organism, affecting the

likelihood that the behavior will occur again

- This is similar to natural selection- Organisms that successfully adapt are more likely to survive and reproduce- Behaviors that cause useful outcomes are more likely to reoccur

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

- Russian physiologist who help develop the behavioristic trend- Studied the physiology of digestion- He was studying the stimuli that produce salivation and he realized that hungry dogs would

salivate at the sight of the attendant who usually brought them food

- First, he called this psychic reflex, but soon, Pavlov traced it to the experience the dog hadreceived

- He found that the dog would salivate at any stimuli, if the stimuli were quickly followed by thedelivery of food (ex. a bell rings)

- Pavlov showed that an animal could learn to respond to a stimulus through experience- Pavlov explains how organisms learn cause and effect relations in the environment- Thorndike explains how an individuals behavior adapts to its particular environment- These are two important principles in behaviorism

John B. Watson (1878-1958)

- Professor of psychology- He published the bookPsychology from the Standpoint of a Behavioristand so began

behaviorism as a formal school of psychology

- Watson said: Psychology is a natural science, whose domain is restricted to observable events:the behavior of organisms


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- The elements of consciousness studied by the structuralists were too subjective and couldnt bestudied scientifically

- He defined psychology the objective study of stimuli and the behaviors they producedModern Behaviorists

- Moved away from the strict behaviorism of Watson- We again consider mental processes such as imagery and attention- An example of the view of a modern behaviorist is Margaret Floy Washburn

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)

- She had her own version of structuralism- She suggested to behaviorists that they look at introspection as a form of behavior itself, which

could help make sense of mental processes

Objectivity in Psychology

- Watson had an emphasis on objectivity in psychological research, and that remained- When a psychologist tries to study private mental events, they realize that they can only study it

indirectly, through behavior

- Unfortunately, behavior is not a pure reflection of these mental events, there are also other factors- Psychologists try to keep an objective stance to make sure that their research findings can be

verified

Humanistic Psychology

- Humanistic psychology developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a reaction to behaviorism andpsychoanalysis- At that time, researchers could not agree on object ways to study things like free will, creativityand consciousness

- Psychoanalysis said that: people are products of their own environment and of unconscious forces- Humanistic psychologists say: human nature goes beyong environmental influences, and they

should study conscious processes, not unconscious ones

- They also say that psychoanalysis is too preoccupied with disturbed people, and ignore positivephenomena (ex. happiness)

- Humanistic psychology: an approach to the study of human behavior that emphasizes humanexperience, choice and creativity, self realization and positive growth

humanistic psychologists emphasize the positive sides of human nature and the potential weall share for personal growth

they do not believe that human consciousness and behavior could be understood through

scientific research

do not view psychology as a science

major contribution: development of methods of psychotherapy based on a positive view of

human potential


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Reaction against Behaviorism: The Emphasis on Cognition

- Recall that behaviorism was all about restricting psychology to observable behaviors- But over time, even though behaviorism was the dominant trend in psychology, there began the

thought that maybe unobservable factors influence larger patterns of human consciousness

Max Wertheimer (1880-1943)

- German psychologist, who began the movement- He bought a toy that showed many similar pictures in rapid successions, so there was an

impression of continuous motion

- He then suggested that psychological processes provided the continuity- Thus began the attempt to discover the organization of cognitive processes, not their elements- The approach was called Gestalt psychology- Gestalt psychology: a movement in psychology that emphasized that cognitive processes could

be understood by studying their organization, not their elements

perceptions result from patterns of interactions among many elements

ex. we recognize a song as the relation between the notes, rather than the individual notes by

themselves

- Today, the Gestalt school of psychology no longer exists, but its contribution was that theelements of an experience are organized into larger units

- The organizational processes are not directly observable, but they do determine behavior- For the past few decades, many psychologists have begun to reject behaviorism and also study

consciousness, feelings, imagery and other private events

The Approach of Cognitive Psychology

- Cognitive psychology used an approach called information processing- Information processing: explaining the workings of the brain information received through the senses is processed by systems of neurons in the brain

some systems store the info in the form of memory, other systems control behavior

some systems operate automatically and unconsciously, other systems require effort and are

conscious

for most cognitive psychologists, the modern model of the human brain is the computer

Cognitive Psychology is Objective

- Even though cognitive psychologists now study mental structures and operations, they did not goback to the introspective methods of structuralists like Wundt

- Like behaviorists, they use objective research methods


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- Ex. when studying imagery- The experience of imagery cannot be shared in a scientific sense, the apple Im imagining may be

different from yours

- But Kosslyn found a way to measure behaviors based on imagesKosslyns Experiment

- Memorize several drawings- Imagine one of them, focusing on a particular feature- Then he asked a question about a detail of the image that was near or far from the point they were

focused on

- Observation: people could answer quickly if the detail was close to the focused point- If it was far, they took longer, as if they had to scan their mental image to get from one place to

another

- The concept of imagery is still hypothetical because we cannot observe what is happening insidea persons head

- The hypothetical concept does give some concrete results, such as the time needed to give an ans- This is an example of how private mental events could be empirical and objective through

behavioral data

Reaction against Behaviorism: The Emphasis on Neurobiology

- The scientific roots of psychology were in biology and physiology- Recently, the biological approach has become stronger- During the early and mid 20th century, when behaviorism dominated, biology was pushed aside- At that time, scientists didnt have a way to study what went on inside the brain, so people just

made theories of how the brain controlled behavior- They thought that since they couldnt see for sure what was happening inside the brain, then there

was no point in inventing explanations that couldnt be verified

Donald Hebb (1904-1985)

- Canadian psychologist- He challenged the behaviorists- He argued that behavioral and mental phenomena is related directly to brain activity- He suggested that the nervous system organized itself into special circuits that could represent

mental activity

Advances in Neurobiology

- Like early behaviorists, cognitive psychologists were suspicious of the value of biology inexplaining behavior

- So the cognitive revolution didnt lead to interest in biology- Advances in neurobiology in the late 20th century revolutionized psychology


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- Neurobiologists are biologists who study the nervous system- They have developed ways to study the brain, the details of nerve cells, find interconnections,

analyze the chemicals used for communication, produce drugs that block the action of these

chemicals/mimic their effects, find the internal structure of the brain, measure activities in parts

of the brain

- Almost every day a new gene is discovered that plays a role in a certain behavior- Drugs are created to mimic or block effects of these genesCHAPTER 2: The Ways and Means of Psychology

- The goal of psychology is the explain behavior- Most psychologists study behavior objectively- The method that they use is called the scientific method- A properly conducted research follows the scientific method- The scientific method helps us not to be misled by casual observations and helps us to distinguish

between good and bad research displayed by the media

The Scientific Method in Psychology

- To explain behavior, we must use a method that is both precise and general- Precise so that it can be understood by others- General so that it could be applied to many situations- Scientific method: a set of rules for the collection and analysis of data which was gained

through observational studies or experiments

it is a set of rules that tell a scientist a procedure in which he should follow for his research

rules are based on logic and common sense

originally thought of by philosophers

Three Major Types of Scientific Research

1) Naturalistic observation and clinical observation- naturalistic observation: observation of the behavior of people/animals in their natural

environments

- clinical observation: observation of the behavior of people who are undergoing diagnosis or

treatment

- getting facts from observations, it is very unconstrained

- ex. Darwin

he observed animals/plants in their environment, which gave him raw material for the theory

of evolution

- ex. Montessori

she watched children in the classroom, which gave her ideas about child development


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- ex. Broca

observed a man with no ability to speak, which led him to suggest specific region responsible

for speech production

2) Correlational Studies- correlational studies: examination of relations between two or more measurements of behavior

- also observational in nature, but involves more formal measurements

- you may measure environmental events, individual social and physical characteristics, etc.

- researchers look at the relations between these measurements to explain observed behaviors

3) Experiment- experiment: a study in which the researcher changes the value of an independent variable and

observes whether this manipulation affects the value of a dependent variable

only experiments can confirm whether there is a cause and effect relation between variables

- researcher not only makes mere measurements

- they manipulate things and observes results

-- the three types of scientific research, naturalistic observation/clinical observation, correlational studies

and experiment give more and more evidence

Example: 3D images

- An example is those 3D images- Some people take less/more time to see the image- Recall that the three types of scientific research give more and more evidence1) Naturalistic observation:- Observing you and your friends looking at the image would give you the context of the problem,

you will observe that some people take longer than others to see the image

- Observational evidence identifies the phenomenon and may indicate magnitude2) Correlational Studies:- This starts when you observe relations between observations

ex. you may note that you guys bring the 3D object into focus much faster of given a 2D picture

of it

3) Experiment:- This gives you concrete evidence about the causal role that you think visual hints play when

seeing 3D images

- They provide us with evidence about the psychological processes that affect behavior


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- Ex. if we see that people with a 2D hint can find the 3D image faster, you now have evidence thatvisual hints have a causal role

The Scientific Method: 5 Steps (In a Nutshell)

First Step: Identify the problem, and make up hypothetical cause and effect relations between variables

- Identify the variables (the behavior, the environmental/physiological event)- Describe the relation between the variables- Ex. expectation of an image and detection of that same image are the two variables

The relation is that the first will increase the second

Second Step: Design the experiment

- The experiment must involve the manipulation of an independent variable and the observation ofa dependent variable (s)

- Independent variable vs. dependent variableproduce an expectation vs. change in personsability to see 3D image

- Independent variable must be controlled and be the only cause in changes in the dependentvariable

Third Step: Perform the experiment

- Organize materials, train people who will perform, recruit volunteers whose behavior will beobserved

- Randomly assign volunteers to experimental/control groups- Observations are recorded

Fourth Step: Evaluate the hypothesis by examining obtained data

- Do the results support the hypothesis?- Sometimes requires mathematical procedures to determine if effects are statistically significant

Fifth Step: Communicate the results

- Tell others about findings, for example, write an article- Articles are sent to journals that publish results- Journal editors and reviewers choose which articles to publish- Can also present findings at conferences/conventions- This step is good because other psychologists can incorporate these findings into their own

thinking

Identifying the Problem: Getting an Idea for Research

- Great science comes from the work of many individual researchers part of a larger group- Ex. universities or other institutions- Long-term projects require financial support- Therefore, it is important to have good ideas, and good ideas come from observations


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Hypotheses

- Hypothesis: a statement (usually to be tested in an experiment), that expresses a cause and effectrelationship between two or more events

it is an idea that the scientist wants to test in his research

hypothesis means suggestion

Theories

- Theory: a set of statements designed to explain a set of phenomena explains known facts, proposes relations among variables and makes new predictions

a more elaborate hypothesis

- A good theory includes a testable hypothesis, which can be supported or proven wrong byresearch

- Cant be too general or too abstract- Ex. Freud had a theory that conflicts between mental structures (such as the id and the superego)

strongly determine personality and behavior

but it was too abstract to test

- Sometimes people dont just try to make a theory stronger, but they try to show that there isevidence that is consistent with the hypothesis, or they explore more relationships within the

theory

- Sometimes people look at old problems in a new wayObservations: Sources of Hypotheses and Theories

- By ordinary experience, we learn much about behavior- Ex. observing people, listening to their stories, films, novels this is naturalistic observation

- Careful systematic observations are made to discover subtle categories of behavior and develophypotheses

Naturalistic Observations

- A naturalist: they observe animals in their natural environment with little disturbance naturalists do naturalistic observation

- It is important that the observer does not interfereClinical Observations

- Case studies: a detailed description of an individuals behavior during the course of clinicaltreatment/diagnosis

it is what clinical observers write down

- Like naturalistic observations, it could lead to hypotheses- Unlike naturalistic observations, the observer is NOT in the background, the point of therapy is to

change the patients behavior and to solve their problems


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- The clinician still has a limitation: he cannot interfere with the treatment prescribedInterferences

- In some cases, psychologists DO interfere with the natural/clinical setting- Ex. when you go and ask questions- Survey study:a study of peoples responses to standardized questions the kind of behavior studied is the answer to the questions

the more precise the questions asked, they give us the same formal measurement of relations

in correlational studies

- Another case where psychologists interfere with the natural/clinical setting is that a clinicalpsychologist may manipulate a patients treatment in order to make them produce a more

beneficial response

- This is more of an experiment, and less of just an observation

Designing an Experiment- Observations can classify behaviors and make hypotheses, but an experiment is needed to see

whether the hypothesis is true

Variables

- Variable: anything capable of assuming any of several values things that can vary in value, can differ in amount

ex. temperature, happiness

- Scientists either manipulate, or measure variables- Manipulate: setting the values of an independent variable in an experiment to see whether the

value of another variable is affected

it means to handle

ex. for the 3D image exp, you may manipulate visual expectation present and visual

expectation absent

Groups of Volunteers

- The volunteers must be grouped, to test a hypothesis- Experimental group: exposed to a particular value of the independent variable, which has been

manipulated by researcher

we would give this group a similar 2D picture to look at first- Control group: they are the comparison group, they are exposed to naturally occurring, or zero

value, of the independent variable

they would not receive any 2D picture as a clue

- You then measure the ability of seeing the 3D image of both groups, and we will be able to seedifferences in detection ability depending on expectation


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Independent vs. Dependent Variables

- We examine the effect of one variable on another- Independent variable: the variable that is manipulated in an experiment in order to determine

cause and effect relations

ex. expectation of the image

- Dependent variable: the variable that is measured in an experiment recognition of the image

- Sometimes scientists generalize behaviorsex. they would put into the category of interpersonal aggression: hitting, kicking, etc.

they would assume that these behaviors have similar causes

Nominal Fallacy

- Nominal fallacy: the false belief that one has explained the causes of a phenomenon byidentifying and naming it

ex. you think you explained lazy behavior because you said it was caused by laziness

- Just because you have named a behavior, it doesnt mean that you have explained the causes - Classifying Explaining- Ex. a guy is throwing stuff and yelling at people

If you say that he is angry, you have only classified, you have not explained his behavior

It doesnt tell us WHY he is acting the way he is, we have only described it

- A better explanation would be that he is acting like that because he has a painful achePreceding Events

- However, identifying preceding events identifying causes- Ex. a guy gets off the train

there were many preceding events such as the stop was announced, a guy coughed

but the CAUSE was that his stop was announced

- The psychologists task is to determine THE event that caused the behaviorOperational Definitions

- Operational definition: the definition of a variable in terms of the operations the researcherperforms to measure/manipulate it

- The setting, independent and dependent variables are described thoroughly so that it could berepeated by others

- Ex. you would need to give a good description of what a SIRD stereogram image is and describethe one used in the experiment

Validity


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- Validity: the degree to which the operational definition of a variable accurately reflects thevariable it is designed to measure/manipulate

the validity of the operational definitions refers to how appropriate they are for testing the

hypothesis, how accurate do they represent the variables?

only if the operational definitions of their variables are valid, then you will get meaningful

results

- Ex. what if the person pushes the button to say they saw the 3D image but it was reallyimagination?

- To make this more valid, you could ask them to point out which quadrant the image was in, andonly the correct people will count

Control of Independent Variables

- Changes in the dependent variable caused by changes in the independent variable give us a causeand effect relation

- Only the independent variable is controlled, and it must be done carefully- Ex. we play a tv program and notice that a persons reading speed is slower because of the noisebut how can we be sure that the person wasnt distracted because the program was interesting?

If we want to see if noise has an effect on reading speed, then we must choose a neutral noise

- Confounding of variables: inadvertent simultaneous manipulation of more than one variable.The results of an experiment involving confounded variables give no valid conclusions of cause

and effect relations

ex. introduce the effects of another variable besides noise on reading speed (such as an

interesting program)

confound = fail to distinguish

when a researcher introduces more independent variables, then they wont know the effects of

either independent variable on the dependent variable

we say that the effects of the variables are confounded

noise from the program and the content of the program would make TWO independent

variables

Predator Experiment

- Would a species of bird recognize a large bird that usually preys on it?- We showed pictures of the predator, two non-carnivorous birds and a triangle- The most predator-like model produced the greatest response when shown in that order- However, we should take habituation into account- The more they see the same model, the lesser the response habituation- So we dont know if the bird got less and less alarmed because of habituation or if its because th

model looked less and less like the predator


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- A way to fix the problem and to find the real cause of a lesser reaction would be to present todifferent birds, different orders of the models

- This procedure is called counterbalancing- Counterbalancing:a systematic variation of conditions in an experiment which prevents

confounding of independent variables with time-dependent processes (like habituation, fatigue)

ex. of variation of conditions is the order of presentation of stimuli so that differentparticipants encounter them in different orders

counterbalance = weigh evenly

that way, effects of habituation would be spread evenly/equally among all the stimuli in the

predator experiment

Performing an Experiment

- After designing an experiment, you must think of the best way to conduct the experiment- Choosing participants, what instructions to give, materials to use

Reliability of Measurements

- Reliability: repeatability of a measurement, the likelihood that if the measurement was madeagain, it would yield the same value

if we say a procedure has high reliability, it means that it produces consistent results under

consistent conditions

ex. measuring a persons height is reliable

academic aptitude is reliable but a little less

- Reliable valid- When a person blinks is reliable, but if we define the detection of the 3D image as the time it

takes until the person blinks, this is not valid- Many things could have caused the person to blink, not just the detection of the 3D image- Achieving reliability is easier than achieving validity

External Factors Decreasing Reliability

- Sometimes there are external factors that can decrease the reliability of a variable- Ex. some images projected were not properly scanned and so were out of focus, this will cause

differences in measurement of detection among participants

- There are some things that could help with the control of extraneous factors that affect reliabilityof measurements

- Give the same set of instructions to each participant- Make sure all equipment functions properly- Assistants are well trained- Noise and other distractions are kept to a minimum

Subjectivity and Reliability


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- Subjectivity is a factor that could affect reliability- At times, some measurements are subjective and requires judgment and expertise- Ex. we want to study the number of friendly interactions that a child has with other children in a

group

but a friendly interaction to me may not be friendly to you

- One possible solution is to specify a friendly interaction- Another solution is to have more than one observer and have them score independently- If their ratings agree, the scoring system has a high interrater reliability- Interrater reliability: the degree to which two or more independent observers agree in their

ratings of another organisms behavior

- If their ratings disagree, the interrater reliability is low and the experiment has no point incontinuing

- Thats why its important that a rating system is defined well and that raters are trained properly Selecting the Participants

- Who should we choose? How do we split the participants into the control and experimentalgroups?- If we dont randomly assign participants, conclusions will not be valid - Ex. research on which teaching method is better, one taught at 8 am or one taught at 4 pm

(students choose which class to sign up for)

there may be too many differences between the two groups of participants

maybe the 8 am students are athletes who have practices in the afternoon

maybe the 4 pm students all like to sleep in

- Random assignment: procedure in which each participant has an equally likely chance of beingassigned to any of the conditions/groups of an experiment

a common way to avoid confounding participant characteristics with the values of the

independent variable

you could toss a coin

people have different abilities, personalities, etc. that could affect outcome of the experiment,

but if we do random assigning, then the differences are equally spread across the groups

Anger Experiment

- They wanted to study whether anger has an effect on ability to concentrate- Experimental group: were treated rudely by experimenters- Control group: were treated politely- Both groups were asked to identify when a certain letter appeared- Problem: some angry participants of the experimental group walked out of the experiment- The control group and the leftover of the experiment group are no longer equivalent, they have

distinguishable differences in personality

- Experimental group: people who will put up with rudeness


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- Control group: people who will or will not put up with rudeness- Moral: sometimes confounded variables occur while the experiment is under way- There is no solution to this particular problem

Expectancy Effects

- The Hawthorne effect: when participants in an experiment know that theyre being observed, itmay affect their behavior

observation can change that which you observe

- Ex. experiment where they tested whether increasing the level of lighting in the plant wouldincrease productivity of workers

results: yes, but it was short-lived

peoples productivity actually increased even when they decreased the light levels

explanation: the workers knew that they were being observed on their productivity

- Eventually, methods were developed where the Hawthorne effect was countered- Sometimes, participants try to help the researchers confirm their hypothesis there is a type of cooperation where participants, knowing the hypothesis, will sometimes

unintentionally behave in the way to make the hypothesis true

- That is why researchers at times dont disclose their hypothesis until after the dependent variablehas been measured

- Rarely, researchers may use deception, providing the participant with an alternative explanationfor the experimental events to prevent the person from purposely confirming the hypothesis

- However, when using deception, researchers must tell participants the truth as soon as they couldto regain their trust

Techniques to Cope with Hypothesis Awareness

Single-Blind Experiments

- Single-blind study: experiment in which the researcher but not the participant knows the value ofthe independent variable

- Ex. we want to study whether a stimulant drug has any effect on a persons ability to perform atask requiring fine manual dexterity

- We could get one group to take the pill and the other not to, and then see how many needlethreading are done in a 10 minute period

- Problem: the administration of a drug itself have an effect on behavior, now you have twoindependent variables, on top fo the physiological effects of the drugs, you have theadministration of the drug

- To cope, we can do a single-blind study- Both groups take a pill, but they dont know if its a stimulant drug or a placebo - Placebo: inert substance that cant be distinguished in appearance from a real medication; it is

used as the control substance in a single-blind/double-blind experiment

- Participants now only know that they have 50-50 chance that they took the stimulant drug


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Double-Blind Experiments

- Double-blind study: experiment in which neither participant, nor researcher knows the value ofthe independent variable

often used when observation is subjective for the researcher

- Ex. we want to test whether a psychological disorder person taking a drug would cause them to bemore willing to engage in conversation (because enhanced communicability would facilitate their

therapy)

- Their quality of conversation is a difficult dependent variable to measure and the rating issubjective, which is why researchers also should not know whether the participant received the

drug or the placebo

- If the researcher doesnt know, then the ratings of the conversation quality wont be affected byany preconceived ideas

- Ex. we want to see if a type of psychotherapy causes a person to be more willing to engage inconversation

- The person doing the psychotherapy and the person rating the conversation should be a differentperson

Correlational Studies

- There are some things that a researcher cannot manipulate, for example, a persons sex, genetichistory, income, social class, family environment, personality

- But these factors may affect behavior- A correlational study studies these factors- Correlational study: the examination of 2 or more measurements of behavior or other

characteristics of people/animals

in a correlational study, we measure 2 variables and determine if they are related, using thestatistical procedure correlation

Shyness Experiment

- If two variables are correlated, we cannot necessarily say that there is cause and effect relation- There was a study that hypothesized that shy people tend to daydream more than less shy people- They looked at the relation between the shyness of a person and the time per day they septn

daydreaming

- Results showed that shy people spent more time daydreaming- That gives us a correlation, it shows that shyness and daydreaming are related- However, we cannot make a cause and effect conclusion- We cannot tell whether shyness causes daydreaming or vice versa, or another variable that causes

shyness and more daydreaming

Major in University Experiment

- Allen conducted a study that was focused on the employability of social science graduates


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- He tracked the income growth of graduates with bachelors degree in social sciences from theirearly 20s to their 50s (the peak)

- He also did the same for graduates of other educational programs- Results showed that the income growth was the highest for social science graduates- There is a correlation between graduating from a social science program and long-term career

growth- This correlation doesnt imply a cause and effect relation, there are many other factors - It could be that people who have a secure career path take social sciences- It could be that people who take social sciences have good people skills which brings them

success in their positions

- To determine if there is a causal role, we would have to randomly assign participants to variousprograms, then track their income (do an experiment)

- Since we cannot make such an interference, we can only accept the correlation as suggestiveAnother Correlation Example

- People who read a certain newspaper have a high income- This is a correlation, not necessarily a cause and effect relation- This doesnt mean that reading the newspaper would increase your income- It could be that people with high incomes reach the newspaper because there is news about their

profession

How to Reduce Uncertainty in Correlational Studies

- Matching: a systematic selection of participants in groups in an experiment/correlational studyto ensure that the mean values of important participant variables of the groups are similar

instead of selecting participants randomly, we match the participants in each of the groups onall of the relevant variables expect the one being studied

- Ex. for the shyness experiment, we can separate 2 groups: shy and not shy, then make sure thatboth groups have the same average age, intelligence, income, personality

- If we still find a relation between shyness and increased daydreaming, then we can say that thereis in fact a relation of cause and effect between the two variables (we now have no 3rd variable to

worry about)

- Limitation to the matching procedure: we may not know all the variables that should be heldconstant

if the two groups are not matched on an unknown important variable, results will be

misleading- Also, even with the matching procedure, we do not know which variable is the cause and which is

the effect

Reporting and Generalizing a Study

- Scientists must report enough details so that the experiment could be replicated


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- Replication: repetition of an experiment/observational study to see whether previous results willbe obtained

ensures that erroneous results and incorrect conclusions are weeded out

other scientists repeat an experiment to make sure the results were not just a statistical fluke

if there is a problem replicating an experiment, then it shows that the research was done

incompetently or there were statistical mistakes

- Sample: a selection of elements from a larger populationex. a group of participants selected to participate in an experiment

when we study the behavior of a group of 5 year olds (the sample), we are making conclusions

about five year olds in general

- Generalization: the conclusion that the results obtained from a sample apply also to thepopulation from which the sample was taken

we generalize specific results to the population as a whole

we conclude something about human nature, not just the particular participants

- Generalization is very limited- Ex. when participants are 1st year psychology students we cannot generalize to people of other courses or other ages

we cannot generalize to all 1st year psych students because there might be a difference between

those who volunteer and those who dont

- Ex. if we used random samples of all ages of adults, we cannot even generalize to people of otherareas

- Replication helps us to know whether a result can be generalized or not- When results are replicated with different samples of people, we gain confidence in the

generalization of the results

Jean Chretien Experiment

- Not only do generalizing problems occur in experiments, but also in observation and correlationalstudies

- In 1993, advertisements by Kim Campbell making fun of Jean Chretien were broadcasted- More people became on Chretiens side- However, the people who developed these ads tested them on focus groups selected to represent

the target audience and found that even Chretien supporters found him embarrassing

this did not match with the public reaction

- Later, Haddock and Zanna did a before and after test where opinions about Chretien andCampbell were polled

- Attitudes for Chretien went up, it went down for Campbell- There are 2 reasons as to why the ads failed- 1) the focus groups may not have included a good balance of individuals of the general public

(could not generalize to the entire public)


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- 2) opinions may depend on context the public reaction was not available to the focus group, but was available to the Haddock and

Zanna group

maybe public criticism of the negative ad made people who thought Chretien was

embarrassing actually defend him

- Moral: generalization occurs in 2 ways- We try to generalize from observations of our sample to a different group- We try to generalize from one context to a different context

ETHICS

- There are living participants, so ethical rules must be appliedResearch with Human Participants

-

Federal research funding agencies require that all institutions that receive research support fundshave one or more Research Ethics Boards (REBs) review the ethics of human research

- All research must be reviewed by an REB before it is conducted- Researchers must follow ethical principles and guidelines- Two other guiding documents are Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists and the Ethical

Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Examples of Unethical Research

- During World War 2: terrible medical experiments under the Nazi regime in Germany- 1930s: poor African-American men went through the final stage of syphilis without treatment- 1950s and 1960s: brainwashing experiments conducted on psychiatric patients at Allan Memorial

Institute in Montreal

all without their consent

- A major source of ethical principles has been the values and concerns of the researchers- Researchers are concerned about respect for the dignity of their participants

Codes of Human Research Ethics

- In our everyday lives, we believe that:1) it is wrong to hurt others needlessly

2) it is good to help others

3) it is usually wrong to make others do things contrary to their own wishes

4) it is usually wrong to lie to others

5) we should respect others privacy

6) under most circumstances, we should not break our promises to keep others secrets

7) we should afford special protection to those who are more powerless and vulnerable

- The codes of research ethics tells us:1) we should minimize harm to participants (physical and mental)


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2) we should maximize the benefits of research to participants in particular and the society in

general

3) participants should be fully informed about the research (including risks and benefits) and their

informed consent must be voluntary

4) deception in research is generally unacceptable

5) we should not intrude into private lives of participants without permission6) should make sure that the information provided by participants remain anonymous/confidential

7) vulnerable populations should be treated with special care (ex. children, prisoners, seriously ill,

compromised cognitive abilities)

- Informed consent: agreement to participate in an experiment after being informed about thenature of the research and any possible risks and benefits

- Confidentiality: privacy of participants and non-disclosure of their participation in a researchproject

- At times, good research procedures are in conflict with good treatment of participants- The goal is to have a research procedure that is both as ethical and as scientifically valid as

possible

Exceptions to Ethical Rules

- Ex. sometimes telling the participants the full truth about the nature of the research will invalidatethe research results

the whole hypothesis awareness thing

- At times, researcher may conceal the hypothesis, or actively deceive you, which is consideredgood science

- The researcher is allowed to use concealment and minor deception, only if there is no foreseeableharm to the participants and only if the research can get back their trust

- Upon completion of the experiment, the researcher will disclose the truth in a debriefing- Debriefing: full disclosure to research participants of the nature and purpose of a research project

after its completion

Research with Animal Participants

- Some psychologists study the behavior of animals- The research must be humane and worthwhile- Must maintain lab animals in good health and in a comfortable, sanitary place- If surgery is involved, then animals should not have to suffer- There are ethical guidelines developed by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)- All projects involving animals must be reviewed by a committee and they could be prevented or

halted if the procedure does not follow the principles

Animal Use: Exploitation?


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- You could say that we are doing a form a exploitation since humans have the power to decidewhether a research project is carried out and the animals do not

- But we exploit animals all the time: we eat them, have them as pets, extract insulin from themShould We Use Animals?

- We must consider the nature of controls placed on research activity- There is a lot of control when compared to other uses of animals- Ex. pet ownership causes more suffering among animals than scientific research does- Pet owners dont have permission from boards of experts (including vets)- Pet owners arent subject to periodic inspections to ensure they have a clean environment, that

their pets have enough space to exercise and that the diets are appropriate

- All research facilities in Canada are inspected by a special team of vets and scientists every 3year

PSYA01 Textbook Notes - Chap 1- 4

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Transcript of PSYA01 Textbook Notes - Chap 1- 4