Chapter 1 Nature of Psychology

Definition and goals History Psychology in the Philippines Areas of specialization Methods of research Indigenous research

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Definition

What is Psychology? The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology focuses on critical thinking and is scientific. Pseudopsychologies (e.g., psychics, mediums) are nonscientific.John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychologys Four Goals1. 2.

3.

4.

Description: tells what occurred Explanation: tells why a behavior or mental process occurred Prediction: identifies conditions under which a future behavior or mental process is likely to occur Change: applies psychological knowledge to prevent unwanted behavior or to bring about desired goalsJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Early history

Greeks how does the soul/mind give rise to memory, sensation, movement, etc. where is the soul/mind located

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History - PrescientificSocrates (469 399 BC) and Plato (428348 BC) Mind is inseparable from body and continues after the body dies. Knowledge is innate born within us

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Aristotle (348 322 BC) The soul is not separable from the body Knowledge is not preexisting it grows from experiences stored in our memoriesJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Descartes 1595 1650 The mind is entirely distinct from the body and is able to survive after death

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John Locke (1632 1704) The mind at birth is a blank slate a white paper on which experiences write.

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Psychology Is BornFirst Experimental Psych Lab (1879) Focuses on the scientific study of the mind. WW insists that Psych methods be as rigorous as the methods of chemistry & physics.Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Wundts students start labs across USA (1880-1900)University of Leipzig Harvard University Yale University Columbia University Catholic University Univ of Pennsylvania Cornell University Stanford University

Structuralism vs FunctionalismStructuralismAnalyze consciousness into basic elements and study how they are related

Introspection - self-observation of ones own conscious experiencesWilhelm Wundt

FunctionalismInvestigate the function, or purpose of consciousness rather than its structure

Leaned toward applied work (natural surroundings)

William James (1842-1910)

Freud & PsychoanalysisProposes the idea of the UNCONSCIOUSThoughts, memories & desires exist below conscious awareness and exert an influence on our behaviorSigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Unconscious expressed in dreams & slips of the tongue

Psychoanalytic Theory attempts to explain personality, mental disorders & motivation in terms of unconscious determinants of behavior

BehaviorismScientific Psychology should focus on observable behavior. PsychJohn Watson (1878-1958)

the Science of Behavior

Mental Processes cannot be studied directly

Stimulus Response PsychologyIvan Pavlov

Gestalt PsychologyThe whole is different than the sum of its parts. Phi PhenomenonMax Wertheimer (1880-1943)

Illusion of movement created by presenting visual stimuli in rapid succession. A reaction against Structuralism An attempt to focus attention back onto conscious experience (i.e., the mind)

WHY?

Women of PsychologyMary Calkins - student of William James atHarvard but was not awarded a Ph.D. Founded psych lab at Wellesley College (1891)

Maragaret Washburn - first woman to receivePh.D. in Psychology. Wrote The Animal Mind, which helped begin the Behaviorist movement.

Leta Hollingworth - Debunked popular theoriesthat suggested women were inferior to men. Did pioneering work on adolescent development, mental retardation & gifted children.

Humanist perspective:

free will, self-actualization, and a positive, growth-seeking human nature (Rogers and Maslow were key figures)

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Cognitive PsychologyCognition the mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing & using information Cognitive Psychologists return to the study of learning, memory, perception, language, development & problem solvingNoam Chomsky Language

Advent of computers (late 1950s) provides a new model for thinking about the mind

Positive PsychologyA recent addition to the field Focuses on the characteristics that make people happy and successful Asserts that psychology has, in the past, focused too much on the negative

Different Perspectives in PsychologyBiological Psychology Behavioral/Clinical Psychology Cognitive Psychology Social-Cultural Psychology

Biological PerspectiveFocus How the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences.

Sample Issues How do evolution and heredity influence behavior? How are messages transmitted within the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Behavioral/Clinical Perspective

Focus How we learn from observable responses. How to best study, assess and treat troubled people. Sample Issues How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors? What are the underlying causes of: Anxiety Disorders Phobic Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Cognitive PerspectiveFocus How we process, store and retrieve information.

Sample Issues How do we use info in remembering and reasoning? How do our senses govern the nature of perception? (Is what you see really what you get?) How much do infants know when they are born?

Social-Cultural PerspectiveFocus How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures. Sample Issues How are we, as members of different races and nationalities, alike as members of one human family? How do we differ, as products of different social contexts? Why do people sometimes act differently in groups than when alone?

One Unifying Theme of Modern Psychology

Biopsychosocial Model: an integrative model combining the seven major perspectivesJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

In the Philippines

Academic - scientific psychology (USC, UP) Academic philosophical psychology (UST) Ethnic or indigenous psychology (katutubong sikolohiya ) exploring Filipino psyche Psycho-medical psychology religious movements, faith healing

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Areas of specialization

Biopsychology/ neuroscience Clinical and Counseling psychology Cognitive psychology

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Areas of specialization

Developmental psychology Educational and School psychology Experimental psychologyJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Areas of specialization

Forensic psychology Gender/Cultural psychology Health psychology Industrial/Organizational psychology Social PsychologyJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Percentage of Psychology Degrees by Specialty

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Ethnicities of Doctorate Recipients in Psychology

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Why Do Psychologists and Other Scientists Need Multiple Perspectives?

Do You See a Vase or Two Faces?

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The Science of Psychology

Psychological research can be either: Basic: conducted to advance scientific knowledge or Applied: designed to solve practical problems

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Is This Basic or Applied Research?

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The Science of Psychology: The Scientific MethodJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: Ethical Guidelines

Key Issues for Human Research Participants: Informed consent Voluntary participation Restricted use of deception Debriefing Confidentiality Alternative activitiesJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology:Research Methods

Four Major Research Methods: 1. Experimental 2. Descriptive 3. Correlational 4. Biological

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The Science of Psychology: Four Major Research Methods (Continued)

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The Science of Psychology: Four Major Research Methods (Continued)1. Experimental Research: carefully controlled scientific procedure that manipulates variables to determine cause and effect

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The Science of Psychology: ResearchMethodsExperiment (Continued)

Key Features of an Experiment: Independent variable (factor that is manipulated) versus dependent variable (factor that is measured) Experimental group (receives treatment) versus control group (receives no treatment)John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: ResearchMethodsExperiment (Continued)

Does TV increase aggression? Only an experiment can determine cause and effect.John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsExperiment (Continued)

Potential Researcher Problems: Experimenter Bias (researcher influences the research results in the expected direction) Ethnocentrism (believing one's culture is typical of all cultures)John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: ResearchMethodsExperiment (Continued)

Potential Participant Problems: Sample Bias (research participants are unrepresentative of the larger population) Participant Bias (research participants are influenced by the researcher or experimental conditions)John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: ResearchMethodsExperiment (Continued)

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The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsDescriptive Research2. Descriptive Research: observes and records behavior without producing causal explanations Three Types of Descriptive Research: Naturalistic Observation--observation and recording of behavior in natural state or habitat Survey--assessment of a sample or population Case Study--in-depth study of a single participant

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Why Study Psychology? You Can Now Understand the Underlying Humor of This Cartoon?

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The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsCorrelational Research3. Correlational Research: scientific study in which the researcher observes or measures (without directly manipulating) two or more variables to find relationships between them

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The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsCorrelational Research

Positive correlation: two variables move (or vary) in the same directioneither up or down

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The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsCorrelational Research

Negative Correlation: two variables move (or vary) in the opposite directioneither up or downJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsCorrelational Research

Zero correlation: no relationship between two variables (When one variable increases, the other can increase, decrease, or stay the same)

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The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsCorrelational Research

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The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsCorrelational Research

This is why correlation can never show cause and effect.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

The Science of Psychology: Research MethodsBiological Research

4. Biological Research: scientific study of the brain and other parts of the nervous system

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Indigenous research methods

Pakapa-kapa Groping method Pagtatanung tanong pag uusisa Pagmamasid paguusyuso, pakikiramdam Pakikipanayam Pagdalaw - dalaw

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Tools for Student Success

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Tools for Student Success (Continued)

Four Major Tools:Active Reading (SQ4R technique) Time Management (setting up a realistic schedule) Grade Improvement (note taking, study habits, test taking tips) Additional Resources (instructors, classmates, study groups, etc.)John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Tools for Student Success: The Importance of Time Management

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)