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Psychology

Psyche: Mind

Logos: Knowledge or study

Definition: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior: Overt- behaviors that can be directly observed (crying)

Mental Processes: Covert – behaviors that cannot be directly observed (remembering)

Empiricism: Goals of

To measure and describe behaviors

To gather empirical evidence: Information gained from direct observation and measurement

To gather data:  Observed facts

Scientific Observation

Definition: Designed and structured to answer questions about the world

Research Method: A systematic procedure for answering scientific questions

Critical Thinking:

Few truths transcend the need for empirical testing

Evidence varies in quality

Authority or claimed expertise does not automatically make an idea true

Critical thinking requires an open mind

Ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information

What would you expect to see if the claim were true?

Gather evidence relevant to the claim

Evaluate the evidence

Draw a conclusion

 Psychologists and research

Development: Life to Death Study of human growth and development

Learning: How and why it occurs in humans and animals

Personality: Traits, motivations, and individual differences

Sensation and Perception: How we come to know the world through our five senses

Comparative: Study and compare behavior of different species, especially animals

Biopsychology: How behavior is related to biological processes, especially activities in the nervous system

Gender: Study differences between males and females and how they develop

Social: Human and social behavior/ groups, cults, discrimination, ageism ect.

Cultural: How culture affects behavior

Evolutionary: How our behavior is guided by patterns that evolved during our history

Goals of Psychology:

Describe:  Behaviors: Naming and classifying various observable, measurable behaviors

Understand: The causes of behavior – for instance why do some people become mentally ill/ what factors may lead to mental illness

Predict: Predicting behavior accurately – violence at schools

Control: Altering conditions that influence behaviors in predictable ways/ possibly to prevent acts of violence by changing environment

History of Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt: “Father” of Psychology

1879: Set up first lab to study conscious experience

Schools of Psychology:

Behaviorism: Watson and Skinner

Psychology must study observable behavior objectively

Focus is on learning and conditioning

Radical Behaviorism - People have no free will and respond automatically due to rewards and punishments in childhood and adulthood

Cognitive Behaviorism: Ellis and Bandura

Our thoughts influence our behaviors; used often in treatment of depression

Psychoanalytic: Freud

Our behavior is largely influenced by our unconscious wishes, thoughts, and desires, especially sex and aggression

Childhood sexual stages form our adult  personalities    

Freud performed dream analysis and free association to gain insight into our unconscious mind / Example of unconscious becoming conscious – Slips of the Tongue or Freudian Slip

Recent research has shown that our unconscious mind is partially responsible for our behaviors

Humanism: Rogers and Maslow

Goal of Humanistic psychology is to understand subjective human experience 

Each person has innate goodness and is able to make free choices (contrast with Skinner: no free will and Freud: our behaviors are determined by unconscious sexual and aggressive forces

Biopsychology: Our behavior can be explained through physiological processes

Uses brain scans to gather data (MRI, PET)

Looks at neurotransmitters

Cognitive: Study thoughts, memory, expectations, perceptions, and other mental processes

Psychologists: Usually have masters or doctorate;  Trained in methods, knowledge, and theories of psychology

Clinical Psychologists: Treat more severe psychological problems

Counseling Psychologists: Treat milder problems, such as adjustment disorders

Not all psychologists perform therapy!

Psychiatrists: MD; usually use medications to treat problems;  Generally do not have extensive training in providing “talk” therapy

Psychoanalysts:  Receive post-PhD. or M.D. training in Freudian psychoanalysis at an institute

Counselor: Adviser who helps solve marriage, career, work, or school problems

Psychiatric Social Workers: LCSW

Many have masters degrees and perform psychotherapy 

Presently a very popular profession

Marriage and Family Therapist

School Psychologist

Research Methods

The Scientific Method

Six Basic Elements

Observation

Defining a problem

Proposing a hypothesis (an educated guess that can be tested)

Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis

Publishing results

Building a theory

Theory: A system of ideas that interrelates facts and concepts, summarizes existing data, and predicts future observations

A good theory must be falsifiable; i.e., operationally defined so that it can be disconfirmed

Naturalistic Observation

Observing a person or an animal in the environment in which they/it live(s)

Problems:

Observer Effect: Changes in behavior caused by an awareness of a person or animal being observed

Observer Bias:  Occurs when observers see what they expect to see or record only selected details

Anthropomorphic Fallacy:  Attributing human thoughts, feelings, or motives to animals, especially as a way of explaining their behavior (e.g., “Scooter, my weasel, is acting like that because he is very depressed”

Correlations:

Correlational Studies: Find existence of a consistent, systematic relationship between two events, measures, or variables

Correlation Coefficient: Statistic ranging from –1.00 to +1.00; the sign indicates the direction of the relationship

Closer the statistic is to –1.00 or to +1.00, the stronger the relationship

Correlation of 0.00 demonstrates no relationship between the variables

Positive Correlation: Increases in one variable are matched by increases in the other variable. Decreases in one variable are matched  by decreases in the other variable. 

Negative Correlation: Increases in one variable are matched by decreases in the other variable

Correlation does not demonstrate causation: Just because two variables are related does NOT mean that one variable causes the other to occur

Experiments:

To identify cause-and-effect relationships, we conduct experiments

Directly vary a condition (independent variable) you might think affects behavior

Create two or more groups of subjects, alike in all ways except the condition you are varying

Record whether varying the condition (variable) has any effect on behavior

Type of Variables:

Definition: Any condition that can change, and might affect, experiment's outcome

Independent Variable: Condition(s) altered by the experimenter; experimenter sets their size, amount, or value; these are suspected causes for behavioral differences

Dependent Variable: Demonstrates effects that independent variables have on behavior

Extraneous Variables: Conditions that a researcher wants to prevent from affecting the outcomes of the experiment (e.g., number of hours slept before the experiment)

Experimental Group:  The group of subjects that gets the independent variable

Control Group:  The group of subjects that gets all conditions EXCEPT the independent variable

Random Assignment: Subject has an equal chance of being in either the experimental or control group

Statistically Significant: Results gained would not occur by chance alone. Results must reach the 95% level of confidence.

Placebos:

Placebo: A fake pill (sugar) or injection (saline)

Placebo Effect: Changes in behavior that result from belief that one has ingested a drug

Placebos alter our expectations about our own emotional and physical reactions

These expectancies then influence bodily activities

Relieve pain by getting pituitary to release endorphins

 Also gain some effect through learning

Controlling for Placebo Effect and Experimenter Effect

Single Blind Experiment: Only the subjects have no idea whether they get real treatment or placebo

Double Blind Experiment: The subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects get real treatment or placebo

Best type of experiment if properly set up

Herbal remedies may be based on placebo effectDefinition: Changes in behavior caused by the unintended influence of the experimenter

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A prediction that leads people to act in ways to make the prediction come true

Clinical Method:

Case Study: In-depth focus on all aspects of a single case

Natural Clinical Tests: Natural events, such as accidents, that provide psychological data

Survey Method:

Survey Method: Using public polling techniques to answer psychological questions

Representative Sample: Small group that accurately reflects a larger population

Population: Entire group of animals or people belonging to a particular category (e.g., all married women)

Internet Surveys: Web based research; low cost and can reach many people

Courtesy Bias: Problem in research; a tendency to give “polite” or socially desirable answers

Problem may exist if Samples are not representative

Pseudo-Psychology

Pseudo means “false.”  Any unfounded “system” that resembles psychology and is NOT based on scientific testing

Palmistry: Lines on your hands (palms) predict future and reveal personality 

Phrenology: Personality traits revealed by shape of skull and bumps on your head

Graphology: Personality revealed by your handwriting

Astrology: The positions of the stars and planets at birth determine your personality and affect your behavior. Popular Pseudo Psychology:  (“What’s your sign?”)

Barnum Effect:  Always have a little something for everyone;  Make sure all palm readings, horoscopes, etc. are so general that something in them will always apply to any one person!(e.g., “Crossing Over with John Edward”)

Uncritical Acceptance: Tendency to believe positive or flattering descriptions of yourself

Fallacy of Positive Instances: When we remember or notice things that confirm our expectations and forget the rest

Separating Fact from Fiction

Be skeptical

Consider the source of information

Ask yourself, “Was there a control group?”

Look for errors in distinguishing between correlation and causation (are claims based on correlational results yet passed off as causations?)

Be sure to distinguish between observation and inference (e.g., Mary  is crying, but do we know why she is crying?)

Beware of oversimplifications, especially those motivated by monetary reasons

Single examples are not proof.  One person’s story is just that only one person’s narration of an event, be skeptical.