What Is Psychology?The study of behavior & mental processes. Subjective vs. Objective, Practical vs. Philosophical Natural Explanations for natural phenomena

Psychology is always changing.

“Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.”S. Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

What Is Psychology? Internet Listening:

Radio Lab (www.wnyc.org) Season Three: “Placebo” (excellent!)

Youtube: “Conspiracy Theories” Penn & Teller Learning Objectives: The Study of Psychology History of Psychology The Scientific Method

Psychology as a science 4 Goals of Psychology:

Describe Understand / Explain Control Predict the events it studies.

Historical Overview

Greeks: = breath of life (soul / spirit / mind)

Socrates (470-399 b.c.e.) “Know thyself” Study ourselves through rational thought

and introspection. Democritus (400 b.c.e.)

Behavior is determined by body & mind.

The Four Greeks Plato (428 - 347 b.c.e.)

Body & soul are separate Soul influences the body only

Aristotle (384 - 322 b.c.e.)

“Peri Psyches” 1st text Seek pleasure, avoid pain

Birth of Psychology ?“Prescientific Thought” Study of brain functions

Extirpation Clinical Method Electrical Stimulation

Empiricism Darwin & Evolution Influenced by Adam Smith

Gustav Fechner (1860) (Psychophysics)

Psychology as a Science

Structuralism(1879) Leipzig“Structures”

Wilhelm Wundt (“Voont”) Premise: The whole = sum of its parts Goal 1: Break conscious experiences into:

Objective sensations (sight / taste) Subjective feelings (emotional responses)

Functionalism William James 1890 (U.S.)

Viewed the mind as a stream (flows). Considered NOT very scientific. Habits, Introspection.

Goal: Apply to everyday problems.

The 6 Perspectives: Lenses Psychodynamic (1900) Freud

Importance of unconscious motives.

The “talking cure” Criticized as too unscientific and

untestable.

Behaviorism Watson, Pavlov, & Skinner

(1910 approx.) Searching for “Laws” the describe

and explain behavior. Reject the “Mind” Focus on learning.

COGNITIVE (Gestalt Psychology) Mind is “active”, always searching for

meaning. Focus on perceptions, Emphasis on the

“whole”.

HUMANISTIC-EXISTENTIAL (1950 - 1960’s)

“Third Force in ” Maslow & Rogers Focus on the individual (wholeness) Behaviorism too narrow, Freud too negative.

BIOPSYCHOLOGICALDescribes / explains behavior in terms of nerves and chemicals (localization of function)linked to technology

SOCIOCULTURALBehavior influenced by environmentSociology and AnthropologyFocus on the individual (dignity)SES, ethnicity, gender, and culture

Logical Positivism Get rid of all statements that

cannot be publicly verified or empirically tested.

View still strongly supported today. Can our senses mislead us?

What Psychologists DoPractice Teach Research (evidence based)

Basic (Pure): no immediate application.Applied: applied to everyday life.

Methodology Theories

Explanatory statements Hypotheses are derived from theories tested by observation revised as needed (to accommodate new

explanations.

Can we ever prove anything?

Problems with Proving We are often guided by opinions.

Opinions are not facts. We often seek evidence that proves

our view and avoid evidence that does not.

CONFIRMATION BIAS Hindsight Bias (“I knew it all along”)

Hindsight is “20/20” after all . . . .

Sir Karl Popper Set up criterion for testing theories Divided theories into 2 groups:

Scientific: disprovable Nonscientific: not disprovable

– (religion, politics, horoscopes, Freud)

Can explain everything: strength & weakness

because scientific testing is impossible.

Problems with Proving No amount of evidence can ever be

sufficient. There will always be new evidence. “Beyond a reasonable doubt.” Bruno Bettelheim

Theories can only be disproved, never proved. We build evidence / support.

Scientific Method Organized way of expanding, refining

knowledge, Systematic, Utilizes many methods, Popper’s Criterion and Induction, Peer reviewed, Must be testable, Evidence based.

Scientific MethodObservation

Theory

Hypothesis (prediction)

Experiment

Conspiracy Theories and the Scientific Method

Extraordinary Claims require Extraordinary Evidence

PROVING DISPROVING

(Construction) (Deconstruction) Render Decision (observation) Gather & Isolate Observations

Add selected observation together Compile all evidence

to build/reinforce viewpoint. (both pro & con)

Evaluate the “Whole” Evaluate each observation to

(Don’t examine all parts individually) render a decision

When an idea is refuted, return to a Refuted observations are

Position of suspicion (“nothing you can rejected/discarded.

say will change my mind.”)

“CONFIRMATION BIAS”

Hypothesis Prediction “What if” statement. Educated guess A specific statement about

behavior or mental processes tested through research.

Scientific MethodExperiment(2 Outcomes)

Theory is supported. Theory is wrong,

must be changed.

Regardless of outcome, always return to theory for refinement.

Populations & Samples Population: a complete group of people. Sample

part of a population. samples must accurately represent the

population they are intended to reflect. Generalize: particular to the general.

Experimental Method Cause and effect determination. Experimental Vs. Control groups

“Treatment” and the “Placebo Effect”

Independent Vs. Dependent variables(manipulated) (measures effect of I.V.)

Blind & Double Blind studies

Operational Definition (specificity)

Methods of Observation Case study (biography) Survey (large samples)

Random sample

Naturalistic Observation observed in natural environment

Correlational Method Relationships between variables

Positive Correlation: as one variable increases, so does the other.

Negative Correlation: as one variable increases, the other decreases.

Correlation does not imply causation.

Experimental Method Cause and effect determination. Experimental Vs. Control groups

“Treatment” and the “Placebo Effect” Independent Vs. Dependent variables (manipulated) (measures effect of I.V.)

Blind & Double Blind studies

Experimental Method Replicate (repeat, copy, reproduce)

Why is this important? Ex.: elements in periodic table

Reliability: consistency Validity: degree to which a test

measures what it’s supposed to.

Ethics Humans and animals Moral issues Informed consent Debrief