Chapter 1

Introduction to Psychology and Research Methods

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What is Psychology?

Psychology Psyche: Mind Logos: Knowledge or study

Definition: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes Behavior: Overt, i.e. can be directly observed

(crying) Mental Processes: Covert, i.e. cannot be directly

observed (remembering)

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Philosophers try to explain psychological processes

2,000 yrs ago Aristotle wrote about sleep, dreams, the senses and memory.

1600s Rene Descartes puts forward idea of interactive dualism – the mind and body are 2 separate entities working together to form who we are and

what we know.

PSYCHOLOGISTS STILL DEBATE AND STUDY MUCH OF THE SAME ISSUES THAT PHILOSOPHERS DID CENTURIES AGO. HOW HAS IT CHANGED?

Influence of Physiology

Studies functions and parts of living organisms.

Most responsible for helping psych become a scientific discipline. Scientific discoveries made by physiologists helped prove

that scientific methods could be applied to describe human behavior and mental processes.

What Might a Psychologist Research?

Development: Course 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

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What Might a Psychologist Research? (cont.)

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

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What Might a Psychologist Research? (cont.)

Cultural: How culture affects behavior

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

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Psychology Today

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 processesPositive: Study of human strengths, virtues, and optimal behavior

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Many Flavors of Psychologists

Psychologists: Usually have masters or doctorate; Trained in methods, knowledge, and theories of psychologyClinical Psychologists: Treat more severe

psychological problemsCounseling Psychologists: Treat milder

problems, such as adjustment disorders

Not all psychologists perform therapy!

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Other Mental Health Professionals

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: Many have masters degrees and perform psychotherapy Presently a very popular profession

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History of Psychology (Brief!): Beginnings

Wilhelm Wundt: “Father” of Psychology1879: Set up first lab to study conscious

experience Introspection: Looking inward (i.e.,

examining and reporting your thoughts, feelings, etc.)

Experimental Self-Observation: Incorporates both introspection and objective measurement; Wundt’s approach

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History of Psychology: Structuralism

Wundt’s ideas brought to the U.S. by Tichener and renamed Structuralism

Structuralists often disagreed, and no way to prove who was correct!

Structuralists: Introspection was a poor way to answer many questions

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Structuralism

Theory that the structure of conscious experience could be understood by analyzing the basic elements of sensations and feelings.

E.B. Titchener (1867-1927)

Analyzed the intensity, clarity and quality of the parts of consciousness

Founder of structuralism

Studied with Wundt in

Germany.

History of Psychology: Functionalism

William James (American) inspired by Wundt Taught A&P at Harvard Began writing about how the mind functions to

help us adapt and survive Functionalists admired Darwin and his Theory of

Natural Selection: Animals keep features through evolution that help them adapt to environments

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William James (1842-1910)

First American psychologist

Author of the first psychology textbook, Principles of Psychology

Founder of Functionalism

“stream of consciousness”

Functionalism

Behavior functions to allow people and animals to adapt to their environment.

Used direct observation and introspection.

Tried to apply psychology to areas such as education, child rearing, and the work environment.

No longer exist!

StructuralismLimited to

introspectionFocused on

conscious experiences

Wanted to identify specific essential structures of consciousness

FunctionalismAdded direct

observationFocused on

conscious experiences

Believed consciousness was an ongoing stream of changes

History of Psychology: Behaviorism (1913)

Psychology must study observable behavior

Came from Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, that demonstrated dogs learn to associate a neutral stimulus (bell) with an automatic behavior (salivating for food).

The goal was to discover the fundamental principles of learning – how behavior is acquired and modified in response to environmental influences.

John Watson

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Behaviorist -B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

American psychologist whose brand of behaviorism focused on the role of responses in learning.

Focused on learning through reinforcement or punishment. (pigeons and rats)

Behaviorism dominated psychology for almost half of a century.

History of Psychology: Freud (Austria)

Psychoanalyis Our behavior is largely influenced by our unconscious wishes,

thoughts, and desires, especially sex and aggression Freud emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in

determining behavior and personality. Glimpses of unconscious impulses are revealed through dreams,

memory blocks, slips of the tongue, and spontaneous humor. Childhood experiences form adult personality. Repression: When threatening thoughts are unconsciously held

out of awareness Recent research has hypothesized that our unconscious mind is

partially responsible for our behaviors.

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History of Psychology: Humanism (1950s)

School of thought that focuses on the study of conscious experience, the individual’s freedom to choose, and the capacity for personal growth Each person has innate goodness and is able to

make free choices (contrast with Skinner and Freud)

Determinism: Behavior is determined by forces beyond our control

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Carl Rogers/Abraham MaslowProminent Humanists

Rejected idea that behavior is controlled by rewards and punishments

Stressed free will in decision making

Carl Rogers

Hierarchy of NeedsMaslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs, proceeding through safety needs and then to psychological needs

Higher-level needs won’t become active until lower-level needs have been satisfied.

Self-actualization (Maslow): Fully developing one’s potentials and becoming the best person possible

Contemporary psychology

Biological Perspective

Psychodynamic Perspective

Humanistic Perspective

Behavioral Perspective

Cognitive Perspective (how mental processes influence behavior: focuses on how people process info, develop language, solve problems, and think) 1950s

Cross-Cultural Perspective (how culture influences behavior, 1980s)

Evolutionary Perspective (refers to the application of principles of evolution to explain psychological processes and phenomena, that psychological processes are subject to natural selection)

Read pgs14&15

What Are the Goals of Psychology?

Description of Behaviors: Naming and classifying various observable, measurable behaviors

Explain/Understand: The causes of behavior(s), and being able to state the cause(s)

Prediction: Predicting behavior accurately

Control: Altering conditions that influence behaviors in predictable ways Positive Use: To control unwanted behaviors, (e.g., smoking,

tantrums, etc.) Negative Use: To control peoples’ behaviors without their

knowledge

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Scientific Method

Definition: set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions.

Psychology is based on empirical evidence, evidence that is the result of objective observation, measurement, and experimentation.

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Psychologists assume…

Behavior and mental processes follow consistent patterns.

Events are explainable.

Behavior and mental processes have a cause or causes that can be understood through careful, systematic study.

Critical Thinking, the active process of …..

Trying to minimize the influence of preconceptions and biases while rationally evaluating evidence.

Determining the conclusions that can be drawn from evidence.

Considering alternative explanations.Read Pg 17

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Steps in the Scientific MethodFormulate a hypothesis (can describe the relationship between two or more variables)that can be tested empirically.

Design the study and collect data Descriptive Method – for observing and describing behavior, including identifying the factors that

seem to be associated with a particular phenomenon. Who, what, when, where, why?s Naturalistic observation, surveys, case studies, and correlational studies

Experimental Method – used to show how one variable causes change in a second variable. Researcher deliberately varies one factor, then measures the change produced in the second factor.

Analyze the data and draw conclusions. Researchers use statistics to summarize, analyze, and draw conclusions. Statistics helps determine

whether their results support their hypothesis. Statistically significant findings mean the results probably didn’t occur by chance.

Report the findings Who participated How participants were selected How variables were operationally defined What procedures of methods were used How the data were analyzed What the results seems to suggest

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As research findings accumulate from studies, eventually theories develop.

A system of ideas that interrelates facts and concepts, summarizes existing data, and predicts future observationsA good theory generates predictions and

new hypotheses that can be tested by further research.

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Descriptive MethodsNaturalistic 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., “Anya, my cat, is acting like that because she’s feeling depressed today.”)

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

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Correlations and Relationships (cont.) Positive Correlation: Increases in one variable are

matched by increases 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

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Case Studies Intensive, in-depth investigation of an

individual.Most often used by clinical psychologists.Used to investigate rare, unusual, or extreme

conditions. Case studies can provide information that can

used to help explain normal behavior.

Surveys A direct way to find out about the behavior, attitudes, and

opinions of people. People respond to a structured set of questions about their

questions, beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes. Researchers select a sample – a segment of the larger

group or population.A representative sample very closely parallels, or

matches, the larger group on relevant characteristics, such as age, sex, race, marital status, and educational level.

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

Samples are not representative

The Experimental Method

To identify cause-and-effect relationships, we conduct experimentsDirectly vary a condition you might think

affects behaviorCreate two or more groups of subjects,

alike in all ways except the condition you are varying

Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior

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VariablesDefinition: 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)

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Groups

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

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Evaluating Experiments’ Results

Statistically Significant: Results gained would occur very rarely by chance alone

Meta-analysis: Study of results of other studies

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Placebo EffectsPlacebo: 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

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Controlling Placebo Effects

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 effect

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Experimenter Effects

Definition: 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

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The Clinical Method

Case Study: In-depth focus on all aspects of a single caseNatural Clinical Tests: Natural events, such as accidents, that provide psychological dataSurvey Method: Using public polling techniques to answer psychological questions

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Table 1.5 – Comparison of Psychological Research Methods

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Pseudo-Psychologies

Pseudo means “false.” Any unfounded “system” that resembles psychology and is NOT based on scientific testingPalmistry: Lines on your hands (palms)

predict future and reveal personality Phrenology: Personality traits revealed by

shape of skull and bumps on your head

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Pseudo Psychologies (cont.)

Graphology: Personality revealed by your handwriting

Astrology: The positions of the stars and planets at birth determine your personality and affect your behaviorExtremely popular today (“What’s your

sign?”)

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Pseudo Psychologies (cont.)

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”; Miss Cleo)Uncritical Acceptance: Tendency to believe positive or flattering descriptions of yourselfFallacy of Positive Instances: When we remember or notice things that confirm our expectations and forget the rest

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Separating Fact from Fiction (Are the Stories in the “National Enquirer” True?)

Be skepticalConsider the source of informationAsk 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?)

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Separating Fact from Fiction (Are the Stories

in the “National Enquirer” True?) (cont.)

Be sure to distinguish between observation and inference (e.g., Robert is crying, but do we know why he is crying?)Beware of oversimplifications, especially those motivated by monetary reasonsSingle examples are not proof!

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Ethical Guidelines for Psychological Research

Do no harm

Accurately describe risk to potential subjects

Ensure that participation is voluntary

Minimize any discomfort to participants

Maintain confidentiality

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Ethical Guidelines for Psychological Research (cont.)

Do not unnecessarily invade privacy

Use deception only when absolutely necessary

Remove any misconceptions caused by deception (debrief)

Provide results and interpretation to participants

Treat participants with dignity and respect

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