PSYC 1113 Chapter 1

Intro
Chapter 1:
Introduction and
Research Methods

What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior
and mental processes

Philosophical Developments
• A Question: How are
mind and body related?
• RenéDescartes (1596–1650)—
Interactive dualism
• The mind and body interact to produce
conscious experience

Philosophical Developments
Another Question: Nature vs. Nurture
• Are abilities determined by our genes or
our experiences?
• What are the interactions between
genetics and environment?
• What effect does it have on behavior?

Foundations of Modern Psychology
• Separated from philosophy in 19th century
– influences from physiology remain
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920)
– Leipzig, Germany
– established first psychology research laboratory
– applied laboratory techniques to study of the mind
• Edward Titchener (1867–1927) Wundt’s student,
professor at Cornell University
– developed approach called structuralism—involving
introspection and studying basic components of
conscious experiences.
• focused on basic sensory and perceptual processes
• measured reaction times

Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) E. B. Titchener (1867–1927)

Other Pioneers
• William James (1842–1910)
– started psychology at Harvard in 1870s
– opposed Wundt and Titchener’s approach
– his ideas shaped school of functionalism – also
influenced by Darwin to focus on how behaviors
help us adapt to the environment
• Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
– Austrian physician that focused on illness
– psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders

William James (1842–1910) Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Schools of Psychology
• Psychoanalysis—personality theory and
form of psychotherapy that emphasizes
the role of unconscious factors in
personality and behavior
• Behaviorism—emphasizes the study of
observable behaviors, especially as they
pertain to the process of learning
• Humanistic—emphasizes each person’s
unique potential for psychological growth
and self-direction

Key Influences in the Development of
Behaviorism
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
– Behaviorism grew out of his work with dogs
associating a neutral stimulus with an
automatic behavior
• John B. Watson (1878–1958)
– psychologists should study overt behavior
• B. F. Skinner (1904–1990)
– American psychologist at Harvard
– studied learning and effect of reinforcement
– behaviorism

Perspectives
• Perspective is a way of viewing phenomena
• Psychology has multiple perspectives
– Biological
– Psychodynamic
– Behavioral
– Humanistic
– Positive Psychology
– Cognitive
– Cross-Cultural
– Evolutionary

Biological Perspective
• Study the physiological mechanisms in the
brain and nervous system that organize and
control behavior
• Focus may be at various levels
– individual neurons
– areas of the brain
– specific functions like eating, emotion, or learning
• Interest in behavior distinguishes biological
psychology from many other biological
sciences

Psychodynamic Perspective
• View of behavior based on experience treating patients
• Psychoanalytic approach (Sigmund Freud)
– both a method of treatment and a theory of the mind
– behavior reflects combinations of conscious and
unconscious influences
– drives and urges within the unconscious component
of mind influence thought and behavior
– early childhood experiences shape unconscious
motivations

Behavioral Perspective
• View of behavior based on
experience or learning
–Classical conditioning
–Operant conditioning

Humanistic Perspective
• Developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers
– behavior reflects innate ‘actualization’
– focus on conscious forces and self
perception
– more positive view of basic forces than
Freud’s

Carl Rogers (1902–1987) Abraham Maslow (1908–1970)

Cognitive Perspective
• How is knowledge acquired, organized,
remembered, and used to guide
behavior?
• Influences include
– Piaget – studied intellectual development
– Chomsky – studied language
– Cybernetics – science of information processing

Cross-Cultural Perspective
• The study of cultural effects on behavior and
mental processes
• The study of psychological differences
among people living in different cultural
groups
• How are people’s thoughts, feelings and
behavior influenced by their culture?
• What are the common elements across
culture? Are these innate?

Other Cultural Terms
• Ethnocentrism—the belief that one’s own
culture or ethnic group is superior to all others,
and the related tendency to use one’s own
culture as a standard by which to judge other
cultures.
• Individualistic cultures—those that emphasize
the needs and goals of the individual over the
needs and goals of the group
• Collectivistic culture—those that emphasize the
needs and goals of the group over the needs
and goals of the individual

Evolutionary Perspective
• Influenced by Darwin and the emphasis on
innate, adaptive behavior patterns
• Application of principles of evolution to
explain behavior and psychological
processes

Specialty Areas in Psychology
• Biological
• Clinical
• Cognitive
• Counseling
• Educational
• Experimental
• Developmental
• Forensic
• Health
• Industrial/organizational
• Personality
• Rehabilitation
• Social
• Sports

Similarities and Differences between
clinical psychologists and psychiatrists
• Both trained in the diagnosis, treatment,
causes, and prevention of psychological
disorders
• Clinical psychologists receive doctorate
(Ph.D. or Psy.D.)
• Psychiatrists receive a medical degree (M.D.
or D.O.) followed by years of specialized
training in treatment of mental disorders

Psychology should study how behavior and
mental processes allow organisms to adapt to
their environments.
School/Approach Evolutionary perspective
Founder Charles Darwin

Psychology should emphasize people’s unique
potential for psychological growth.
School/Approach Humanistic
Founder Maslow

Psychology should only study observable behavior.
School/Approach Behaviorism
Founder Watson/Skinner

Goals of Psychology
• Describe
• Explain
• Predict
• Control
behaviorial and mental processes

Scientific Method
• Formulate testable questions
– Develop hypotheses
• Design study to collect data
– Experimental
– Descriptive
• Analyze data to arrive at conclusions
– Use of statistical procedures
– Use of meta-analysis
• Report results
– Publication
– Replication

Definitions
• Empirical evidence—based upon objective
observation, measurement, and/or
experimentation
• Hypothesis—tentative statement about the
relationship between variables
• Variables—factors that can vary in ways
that can be observed, measured, and
verified (independent versus dependent)
• Operational definition—precise description
of how the variables will be measured

Example of how to report findings

Theory
• Tentative explanation for observed
findings
• Results from accumulation of findings
of individual studies
• Tool for explaining observed behavior
• Reflects self-correcting nature of
scientific method.

Research Strategies
• Descriptive—strategies for observing and
describing behavior
– Naturalistic observation
– Case studies
– Surveys
– Correlational methods
• Experimental—strategies for inferring
cause and effect relationships among
variables

Descriptive Study
• Describes a set of facts
• Does not look for relationships between facts
• Does not predict what may influence the facts
• May or may not include numerical data
• Example: measure the percentage of new
students from out-of-state each year since
1980

Naturalistic Observation
Researchers directly observe and
record behavior rather than relying
on subject descriptions. In naturalistic
observation researcher records
behavior as it occurs naturally.

Case Study Method
• Highly detailed description of a single
individual
• Generally used to investigate rare,
unusual, or extreme conditions

Survey Methods
Designed to investigate opinions,
behaviors, or characteristics of a
particular group. Usually in self-report
form.

Samples and Sampling
• Population—large (potentially infinite)
group represented by the sample.
Findings are generalized to this group.
• Sample—selected segment of the
population
• Representative sample—closely parallels
the population on relevant characteristics
• Random selection—every member of
larger group has equal chance of being
selected for the study sample

Correlational Study
• Collects a set of facts organized into two or
more categories
– measure parents’ disciplinary style
– measure children’s behavior
• Examine the relationship between
categories
• Correlation reveals relationships among
facts
– e.g., more democratic parents have children who
behave better

Correlational Study
• Correlation cannot prove causation
– Do democratic parents produce better behaved
children?
– Do better behaved children encourage parents to
be democratic?
• May be an unmeasured common factor
– e.g., good neighborhoods produce democratic
adults and well-behaved children

Coefficient of Correlation
Numerical indication of magnitude and
direction of the relationship between
two variables
– Positive correlation—two variables vary
systematically in the SAME direction
– Negative correlation—two variables vary
systematically in OPPOSITE directions

Experiments
• Direct way to test a hypothesis about
a cause-effect relationship between
factors
• Factors are called variables
• One variable is controlled by the
experimenter
– e.g., democratic vs. authoritarian classroom
• The other is observed and measured
– e.g., cooperative behavior among students

Experimental Variables
• Independent variable (IV)
– the controlled factor in an experiment (i.e.
the one you manipulate)
– hypothesized to cause an effect on
another variable
• Dependent variable (DV)
– the measured facts
– hypothesized to be influenced by IV

Independent Variable
• Must have at least two levels
– categories – male vs. female
– numeric – ages 10, 12, 14
• Simplest is experimental vs. control
group
– experimental gets treatment
– control does not

Experimental Design
• Random sample—every member of the
population being studied should have an equal
chance of being selected for the study
• Random assignment—every subject in the
study should have an equal chance of being
placed in either the experimental or control
group
• Randomization helps avoid false results

Sources of Bias
• Expectancy effects—change in DV
produced by subject’s expectancy that
change should happen
• Demand characteristics—subtle cues or
signals by the researcher that
communicate type of responses that are
expected

Control of Bias
• Placebo control group—exposed to a fake
IV (placebo), the effects of which are
compared to group receiving the actual IV
• Double-blind study—technique in which
neither the experimenter nor participant is
aware of the group to which participant is
assigned

Limitations of Experimental
Designs
• Often criticized for having little to do
with actual behavior because of strict
laboratory conditions
• Ethical considerations in creating
some more “real life” situations

Ethical Guidelines
• Informed consent and voluntary
participation
• Students as participants
• Use of deception
• Confidentiality of information
• Information about the study and
debriefing

Using Brain Imaging in
Psychological Research
Used for both descriptive and experimental
research (Henson, 2005).
Types:
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Functional MRI (fMRI)

Using Animals in Psychological
Research
• 90% of psychology research actually uses
humans, not animals, as subjects
• Many psychologists are interested in the
study of animal behavior for its own sake
(comparative psychology)
• Animal subjects are sometimes used for
research that could not feasibly be
conducted on human subjects

Evaluating Media Reports
• Be skeptical of sensationalist claims.
• Goal of “shock” media is ratings.
• Look for original sources.
• Separate opinion from data.
• Consider methodology and
operational definitions.
• Correlation is not causality.
• Skepticism is the rule in science.

PSYC 1113 Chapter 1

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