Psychology In Your Life Lecture PowerPoint chapter 1

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Psychology in Your Life

SECOND EDITION

Chapter 1Introducing the World of

Psychology

Sarah Grison • Todd Heatherton • Michael Gazzaniga

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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1.1 Why Is Psychology Important to You?

• Understanding and applying the principles of psychology can affect us in critical ways– Psychology can help us understand other

people and ourselves– Psychology can help us improve our lives

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Psychology Explains Our Mental Activity and Behavior

• Psychology – The study of mental activity and behavior, which

are based on brain processes• Mental activity lets us perceive the world; that is, we

use our senses—sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch—to take in information from outside ourselves

• Behavior refers to all of our actions that result from sensing and interpreting information

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Psychology Teaches Us to Think Critically

• Critical thinking– Systematically evaluating information to reach reasonable

conclusions best supported by evidence

• Three steps in becoming a skilled critical thinker1. “What am I being asked to believe or accept?”2. “What evidence is provided to support the claim?”3. “What are the most reasonable conclusions?”

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Psychology Teaches Us to Think Critically (1)

• Evaluating psychology in the news– Media reports seek to grab attention. Their claims

may be based on psychological research, but they may be hype instead

– Thinking critically about claims in psychology will help you in your daily life

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Psychology Teaches Us to Think Critically (2)

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Psychology Helps Us Succeed in School and at Work (1)

• Academic success– Learning about psychology’s major issues,

theories, and controversies will help you succeed in your academic work• Important abilities learned from psychology: Analyzing

information by breaking it into pieces, evaluating ideas by drawing conclusions about them, and communicating about psychological concepts

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• Professional success– Studying psychology will also prepare you for success in

your professional life• Teachers and education professionals need to understand how

people’s thinking, social abilities, and behaviors develop over time• People in business, marketing, advertising, and sales need to know

how attitudes are formed or changed and how well people’s attitudes predict their behavior

• Opportunities for people with graduate degrees in psychology are expected to grow by about 12 percent by 2022

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How Can Psychology Help Me Study?

• The following learning strategies are all based on psychological research– The right goals lead to success– A little stress management goes a long way– Cramming is a crummy way to learn– Learning is an active endeavor– Explaining enhances understanding– There are many ways to learn– Self-quizzing improves learning

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1.2 What Do PsychologistsInvestigate?

• The goal of understanding human thought and behavior originated in the study of philosophy

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Psychology Originated inPhilosophical Questions

• The beginnings of psychology– Aristotle and Plato– Nature/nurture debate: Both nature and nurture

influence our psychological development– Mind/body problem: Are the mind and the body

separate and distinct?– Descartes and dualism: The mind and the body are

separate yet intertwined

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Psychologists Investigate theConscious and Unconscious Mind (1)

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Psychologists Investigate theConscious and Unconscious Mind (2)• After a school of thought emerged, it would

dominate until the flaws of that approach became apparent; then a new school of thought would emerge

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Psychologists Investigate theConscious and Unconscious Mind (4)• Experimental psychology begins

– Experimental psychology began in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory

– The purpose of the laboratory was to identify the basic parts, or structures, of the conscious mind• Reaction time experiments• Introspection methods

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Psychologists Investigate theConscious and Unconscious Mind (6)• Structuralism: Components of the conscious

mind– Structuralism: An early school of psychology that

explored the structures of the mind through introspection

– Titchener pioneered a school of thought that became known as structuralism• This school is based on the idea that conscious

experience can be broken down into underlying parts

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Psychologists Investigate theConscious and Unconscious Mind (9)• Functionalism: Purpose of the conscious mind

– Functionalism: An early school of psychology concerned with the adaptive purpose, or function, of mind and behavior

– William James argued that the mind was much more complex than its elements and could not be broken down• The goal of functionalism was to describe how the

conscious mind aids adaptation to an environment

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• Evolutionary theory: Natural selection aids survival– One of the major influences on functionalism was

the work of the naturalist Charles Darwin. In 1859, Darwin published his revolutionary book On the Origin of Species. This work introduced the world to evolutionary theory• Darwin’s ideas have deeply influenced science,

philosophy, and society

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• Psychoanalytic theory: Unconscious conflicts– Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalytic theory

• To try to understand the connections between psychology and physical problems

– Freud used psychoanalysis to treat unconscious mental forces that conflicted with acceptable behavior and produced psychological disorders

– Freud’s goals: To understand how unconscious thoughts cause psychological disorders

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Psychologists Explore Behaviorand Mental Activity (1)

• In the early twentieth century, psychologists shifted away from studying the conscious and unconscious experiences of the mind

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• Gestalt psychology: Experiencing the “whole”– Gestalt psychology developed in opposition to

structuralism– Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler– Gestalt theory: The idea that the whole of

personal experience is different from simply the sum of its parts

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• Behaviorism: Stimuli and responses– John B. Watson– Behaviorism: A psychological approach that

emphasizes the role of environmental forces in producing behavior• Behaviorism dominated psychological research well

into the early 1960s• Watson’s views have been furthered by thousands of

psychologists, including B. F. Skinner

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• Humanistic psychology: Focus on positives– Humanistic psychology: A school of psychology

that investigates how people grow to become happier and more fulfilled and focuses on people’s basic goodness

– Psychologists such as Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers focused on how people are free to choose activities that make them happy and bring them fulfillment• Positive psychology

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• Cognitive psychology: Mental activity– Miller and Neisser: Learning was not as simple as

the behaviorists believed– Cognitive psychology: The study of how people

think, learn, and remember– Cognitive neuroscience is the interaction of

• Cognitive psychologists• Computer scientists• Philosophers• Brain researchers

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1.3 Who Are PsychologistsToday?

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Psychologists Work AcrossLevels of Analysis (1)

• Four levels of analysis used by psychologists1. The biological level of analysis deals with how

the physical body influences our thoughts and behavior

2. The individual level of analysis focuses on individual differences in personality and mental processes that affect perception and understanding

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3. The social level of analysis involves investigating how groups affect people’s interactions

and people’s influence on each other4. The cultural level of analysis explores how

people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are similar or different across cultures

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• Culture: The beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language and environment and that are transmitted through learning from one generation to the next

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Psychologists Investigate ManyDifferent Topics (1)

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• A psychologist’s career involves predicting behavior or understanding mental activity– Researchers who study the brain, the mind, and

behavior may work in schools, businesses, universities, or clinics

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Psychologists Today Follow StrictEthical Guidelines (1)

• When psychologists conduct research, they must fully consider the ethical issues involved– Institutional Review Boards (IRBs): Groups of

people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well-being of research participants

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• For research to be ethical, five main issues must be addressed1. Privacy: Researchers must respect participants’

privacy2. Confidentiality: Participants’ information must

be kept secret3. Informed consent: Informed consent means that

people must be told about the research and can choose whether to participate

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4. Deception: Knowing a study’s specific goals can sometimes alter participants’ behavior, so deception may be permissible but must be revealed at the study’s end.

5. Risks: Researchers cannot ask participants to endure unreasonable pain or discomfort.

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1.4 How Do PsychologistsConduct Research?

• Psychologists cannot answer questions based on beliefs, hearsay, rumor, or even expert opinions

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Psychologists Use the Scientific Method (1)

• Psychology is a science– Scientific method: A systematic procedure of

observing and measuring phenomena (observable things) to answer questions about what happens, when it happens, what causes it, and why. This process involves a dynamic interaction between theories, hypotheses, and research methods

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• There are five steps in the scientific method1. Theory: A model of interconnected ideas or

concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events

2. Hypothesis: A specific prediction of what should be observed if a theory is correct

3. Testing the hypothesis: Three main types of research methods to test your research question: descriptive, correlational, and experimental

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4. Analyze the data to see whether your hypothesis is supported: Summarize the raw data using descriptive statistics, then use inferential statistics to determine whether differences really exist

5. Report results and embark on further inquiry

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Descriptive Methods DescribeWhat Is Happening (1)

• Descriptive method– A research method that provides a systematic and

objective description of what is occurring

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• Observational study – A specific type of descriptive method involving

systematically assessing and coding observable behavior• Observational studies can be used either in the

laboratory or in natural environments

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• Self-report– A descriptive method that consists of obtaining

self-reports from research participants• Questionnaires or surveys can be used to gather data

from a large number of people in a short time• Self-report bias must be considered

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• Case studies– Case studies involve intensive examination of a

few unique people or organizations• Case studies of people with psychological disorders are

used frequently in psychology

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Correlational Methods Test Associations (1)

• Correlational methods– Research methods that examine how variables are

naturally related in the real world. The researcher makes no attempt to alter the variables or assign causation between them• Measure two factors and then determine the degree of

association between the two variables

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• Correlation is not causality– Directionality problem– Third variable problem

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Correlational Methods Test Associations

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Experimental Methods Test Causation (1)

• Experimental methods– Research methods that test causal hypotheses by

manipulating independent variables and measuring the effects on dependent variables

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• Variables and operational definitions– Independent variable: The variable that the

experimenter manipulates to examine its impact on the dependent variable

– Dependent variable: The variable that is affected by the manipulation of the independent variable

– Operational definition: Detailed description of the variables

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• Groups– Control group: In an experiment, a comparison

group of participants who receive no intervention or receive an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable being investigated

– Experimental group: In an experiment, one or more treatment groups of participants who receive the intervention of the independent variable being investigated

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• Control is necessary to determine causality– A properly performed experiment depends on

rigorous control– Confound: Anything that affects a dependent

variable and that may unintentionally vary between the study’s different experimental conditions

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• Random assignment removes confounds– Random assignment: Placing research participants

in the conditions of an experiment such that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the independent variable

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• Sampling– Random sample: A sample that fairly represents

the population by allowing each member of the population an equal chance of being included

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Psychology In Your Life Lecture PowerPoint chapter 1

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