AP PsychologyAugust 7, 2014

Ms. Grace

WELCOME!!!

Critical Thinking about Psychology

• 1. Do you think it’s ever okay to handcuff a child? Why or why not?

Course Introduction & Overview• Survey of psychology including

history, perspectives, and methods; structure and functions of the nervous and endocrine systems; development; perception; learning; memory; intelligence, thinking and language; motivation and emotion; personality; psychopathology; psychotherapy; stress and health; and social cognition and behavior.

• 1. Explain what “the power of the situation” means.

• 2. Explain the four major perspectives.

• 3. Explain the levels of analysis.

Objectives

So what does all of that mean?

Course Introduction & Overview

• In this course, we’ll cover many topics that most researchers spend their entire careers studying.

• In the brief time we have together, we’ll try to touch on the major areas of interest for psychologists and psychological research.

Thinking Critically About Course Content

• 1. How is your behavior affected by the presence of other people?– In other words, do

people do “bad” things because they are “bad” people or because they are in “bad” situations?

Questions posed in class, or on slides, will most

likely show up on quizzes or exams. You should

write them down and be ready to discuss your

reactions in small groups or with the whole class.

Thinking Critically About Course Content

• 1. How is your behavior affected by the presence of other people?– In other words, do

people do “bad” things because they are “bad” people or because they are in “bad” situations?

Critically Thinking About Psychology

• 1. Summarize: What was the Stanford Prison Experiment trying to study?

• In other words, what do you think the research question was?

• Write down your responses to the questions—in your spiral notebook

Critically Thinking About Psychology

• 1. Summarize: What was the Stanford Prison Experiment trying to study?

• In other words, what do you think the research question was?

• 2. Do you think this study was an effective way to answer the question or test the theory? Why or why not?

• Let’s discuss this—what do you think?

Thinking Critically About Course Content

• 1a. What is typical or atypical development?

• 1b. How do the brain and environment interact to produce behaviors or actions, such as learning how to read?

• Let’s discuss this. • We’re brainstorming at

this point—or just sharing ideas.

• What are your thoughts and ideas?

Critically thinking about course content

• Anxiety disorders are very common in children, affecting 1 in 10 children. – Do you think anxiety in

children is a problem?– The video says that

untreated anxiety issues persist into adulthood—how would you research anxiety in children?

– Is there typical or atypical anxiety?

Critically thinking about course content

• Anxiety disorders are very common in children, affecting 1 in 10 children. – Do you think anxiety in

children is a problem?– The video says that

untreated anxiety issues persist into adulthood—how would you research anxiety in children?

– Is there typical or atypical anxiety?

Discuss these three questions with your research group. We’ll come back together as a group in a few minutes to discuss this as a class.

How do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?

How do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?

• Why do people commit crimes?

How psychologists ask questions…

Social Psychology• What is it about a person’s

neighborhood/cultural history/gender role expectations that influences their “desire” to commit crimes?

• In other words, the SOCIAL aspects of our lives influence our behavior.

How psychologists ask questions…

• Developmental Psychology– Is this person’s

behavior influenced by their developmental stage?

– In other words, some “anti-social” behaviors can be explained because of a particular phase of life.

• “Psychological and neurobiological research shows that adolescents often lack the capabilities to make mature judgments, control impulses, weigh the consequences of their actions and resist coercive pressure when they are with other teens, argued psychologist Laurence Steinberg, PhD, during the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association Conference, April 14-17 in Phoenix.”

•

How psychologists ask questions…

• Developmental Psychology– Is this person’s behavior

influenced by their developmental stage?

– In other words, some “anti-social” behaviors can be explained because of a particular phase of life.

Cognitive Psychology, Neuropsychology

What’s the relationship between the brain and decision making processes? How does brain development affect behavior?

How psychologists ask questions…

• Evolutionary Psychology– People do what they do, i.e. commit crimes,

because there is some reproductive or survival benefit which outweigh the cost of the behavior.

– In other words, our behaviors can be described by our desires to survive and/or reproduce.

Your Turn

• Phase 1:– Summarize the focus of

each of the four perspectives presented here.

• Social-cultural• Developmental• Cognitive/Neuroscience• Evolutionary

Figure 1.1 Biopsychosocial approachMyers: Exploring Psychology, Ninth EditionCopyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: Different perspectives focus on explaining behavior in different ways.

Figure 1.1 Biopsychosocial approachMyers: Exploring Psychology, Ninth EditionCopyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: Different perspectives focus on explaining behavior in different ways.

You would say this: A biological level of analysis focuses on the relationship between genes, the brain, and hormones on behavior.

Your Turn

• Phase 1:– Summarize the focus of

each of the four perspectives presented here.

• Social-cultural• Developmental• Cognitive/Neuroscience• Evolutionary

• Phase 2:– Which of the

perspectives do you think provides the most interesting attempt to explain why people might commit crimes?

• Social, developmental, cognitive, evolutionary

Your Turn

• Phase 3• Come up with your own

psychological theory to answer a research question your group comes up with.

• You can use any of the perspectives.

Your Turn

• Phase 3• Come up with your own

psychological theory to answer this research question:• Why are most serial killers

male?

• Most serial killers are male because…

• You can use any of the perspectives.

Your book defines theory as the following: an explanation using an

integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or

events.

Your Turn

• We should be able to put your theory to the test—is your theory valid?

• A valid theory produces testable predictions—hypotheses.

• The following picture might be helpful (it also comes from your book…)

Figure 1.2 The scientific methodMyers: Exploring Psychology, Ninth EditionCopyright © 2014 by Worth Publishers

What did we cover today?

• 1. Thinking critically about psychology: Stanford prison experiment, developmental psychology, the brain

• 2. How psychologists ask questions + the scientific method

• 3. Three main levels of analysis• 4. Psychology’s current perspectives: social,

developmental, cognitive/neuroscience, evolutionary