Unit 1

The History and Science of Psychology

Defining Psychology

Role of philosophy Influence of biology Importance of outward behavior Psychology is defined as the scientific

study of behavior and mental processes.

The Birth…and Afterbirth of Psychology

Classical origins Wilhelm Wundt

First psychology lab, 1879 at the University of Leipzig

Examined introspection, or the analysis of one’s conscious experiences

Schools of Thought: “Old Skool”

Structuralism E.B. Titchener Introspection Break down immediate sensation, past memories, feelings

Functionalism William James Darwin’s influence Conscious experience is adaptive Stream of consciousness

Titchener James

Break it down!

No, Beotch! Why is it

ADAPTIVE?

Holla!

Schools of Thought:Old Skool

Early contributions of women Limitations on access to education Restrictions on awarding advanced degrees Exclusion from psychological societies

Mary Whiton Calkins Margaret Floy Washburn Rosalie Rayner

Today, women earn the majority of Ph.D.s in psychology and hold nearly half of the leadership roles in psychological societies

Gimme my Ph.D. or I’ll shank ya!

Schools of Thought:Classics

Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud Role of the

unconscious Sex and aggression Early childhood events Evolved into

psychodynamic school Behaviorist School

John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner

Observable, measurable behavior

I torture babies!

Behaviorist John B. Watson

Und zen zie child becomes neurotic!

Sigmund Freud

Schools of Thought:Classics

Gestalt Max Wertheimer,

Fritz Perls Human tendency to

perceive patterns “the whole is greater

than the sum of its parts”

Useful in understanding process of perception

Black spots, or a dalmatian?

Schools of Thought:Classics

Humanistic School Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow Human potential for growth Free will Here and now Need for acceptance and love

Cognitive School Jean Piaget, Albert Ellis, Aaron

Beck Importance of thoughts and

thought processes Perception, thinking, memory,

languageCognitive psychologist Jean Piaget

Schools of Thought:New Directions

Today, contemporary schools of thought have expanded to also include the following: Neuroscience Evolutionary Psychology Behavioral Genetics Social-Cultural

Schools of Thought:The Biopsychosocial Approach

Regardless of the particular school of thought, contemporary psychology has come to embrace the biopsychosocial approach Biological influences Psychological influences Social-Cultural influences

OBEY.

Schools of Thought:The Biopsychosocial Approach

Each particular school of thought may emphasize one area more than another

Which area/s do you think each school would emphasize?

Enduring Issues in Psychology Psychologists representing all schools of

thought debate what shapes behavior Some on-going debates include the following:

Nature vs. Nurture Person vs. Situation Mind vs. Body Stability vs. Change Diversity

The failure to resolve the debates suggests both sides are valid and shed light on behavior

An eclectic approach may be most appropriate

Psychology Careers:Education The Degrees

BA – 4 year study MA – 2-3 Years beyond BA Ph.D./Psy.D./Ed.D. – 6-7 years beyond BA M.D. – Psychiatrists (prescribe medication) – medical school

Increased career opportunities for advanced degrees Admission is competitive!

Strong GPA and GRE scores Related work or volunteer experience Close relationships with professors Publish if possible!

Psychology Careers:Fields of Study Research vs. Applied Psychology? The majority of psychology professionals work as therapists in

some capacity Clinical Psychologists Counselors Psychiatrists

Psychology’s Diverse Subfields Cognitive Community Developmental Educational Experimental Forensic Industrial/Organizational Neuropsychologists School Social

Conducting Research

Goals of Psychology Describe Explain Predict Control

Pitfalls of intuition and “common sense” explanations Hindsight bias Overconfidence

Remember psychology’s definition: “The scientific study of behavior and mental processes”

Conducting Research

The Scientific Attitude: Rely on Empiricism! Curiosity: passion to explore and understand Skepticism: questioning results; retesting Humility: understanding humans’ limitations and

the possibility for error Ultimately, psychologists must be critical

thinkers Do not accept “truths” without first testing them Look at evidence, question assumptions, filter out

bias

The Scientific Method

Generate a question Formulate a theory Develop a hypothesis Test hypothesis

Operational definitions Clear and concise

Replication of results

Descriptive Research Methods

Case Study In-depth Research Can we generalize?

Survey Lots of information – FAST! Population Random sample Stratified Sample Wording

Naturalistic Observation Hawthorne Effect minimized Observer bias Interobserver reliability Control?

Correlational Methods What is the relationship between two factors? Allows prediction, but NOT cause and effect! Correlation vs. causation

A positive or negative relationship does not establish the direction of the relationship

It does not PROVE the if-then Measuring the Strength of Relationship

Correlation Coefficient Between -1 and 1 Stronger relationships are closer to -1 or to 1, closeness to 0

indicates weak or no relationship Positive correlation vs. negative correlation Scatterplots

Reading Scatter Plots:Match the Correlation Coefficient with the Graph!

A. .86 B. -1.0 C. 0 D. .99

Correlational Studies:Pitfalls

Illusory Correlations We can be influenced to see correlations when we

believe they exist Fueled by confirmation bias, or the tendency to only

remember examples that support what we already believe is true

E.g. “Old people are cheap!”

Experimental Method

Researcher deliberately manipulates selected variables and then measures the effects of these manipulations

Because the researcher has this level of control, the experiment can establish causation

However, the level of control can be somewhat artificial, and results may not generalize to the real world outside the lab

Also, it may be unethical to manipulate certain variables

The Experiment: An Example

Situation: New insomnia drug called DROW-Z’s…does it work?

Want to establish a cause and effect relationship or if-then, SO we must do an…

EXPERIMENT!

Personnel - Who is involved?

Experimenter Runs and/or designs the experiment

Subjects/Participants Those being tested Sample - group that represents the larger group we are

generalizing about (i.e. insomniacs) Random Selection - everyone has an equal chance of

being chosen! Confederates

People who help the experimented administer the experiment

Variables - What is happening? Independent Variable

The variable being TESTED Experimenter can manipulate it E.g. exposure to DROW-Z’s

Dependent Variable The RESULT What happens as a result of exposure to the independent

variable E.g. do subjects on DROW-Z’s SLEEP better?

Confounding Variable Throws off results Unwanted!

Experimental vs. Control Groups Experimental Group

The group exposed to manipulation of the independent variable

E.g. receives the DROW-Z’s

Control Group Group NOT exposed to manipulation of the

independent variable E.g. does NOT receive DROW-Z’s May instead receive a PLACEBO

Random assignment to groups All subjects have an equal chance of being in either

the control group or experimental group!

Operational Definitions, Etc. Operational Definitions

What are we measuring and how? Allows experiment to be replicated by others E.g. what is a “better” night’s sleep?

Sample Size: the bigger the better! What is the difference between groups? Replication?

Avoiding PitfallsDouble- and Single-blind procedures

Single - subject doesn’t know who is in control group and who is in experimental group

Double - subject and confederate don’t know who is in which group

Placebo Reduces confounding variable Reduces demand characteristics (subject

bias)

Analyzing Results:Statistical Analysis

Statistics Defined A branch of mathematics used to organize and

analyze data Necessary to use statistics to understand what

results actually MEAN – if they mean anything at all…

Be skeptical of sweeping generalizations E.g. “Males are better at math and science than

females” How was this measured?

Statistical Analysis: Scales of Measurement Nominal Scale

Set of categories for classifying E.g. types of cars in the student lot

Ordinal Scale Scale that indicates relative position; ranks data E.g. class rank

Interval Scale Scale with equal distance between values, but without a

true zero E.g. temperature

Ratio Scale Scale with equal distance between values, but WITH a true

zero E.g. Inches of rain

Statistical Analysis:Descriptive Statistics

Frequency Distribution A count of the

number of scores that fall within each series of intervals

Frequency histogram and Frequency polygraph

Descriptive Statistics:Measures of Central Tendency

This is a single score that represents a set of scores Mode

Most frequently occurring score

Mean Average

Median The midpoint – half the

scores fall below, and half are above

Sample Data Set:1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5,

5Mode = ?Mean = ?Median = ?This is a NORMAL CURVE,

where all measures of central tendency are equal!

Descriptive Statistics:The Skewed Distribution Frequency distribution is asymmetrical Mean, median and mode are different values

Negative (left) – just a few very low scores Positive (right) – just a few very high scores How can a few atypical scores distort data?

Descriptive Statistics:The Bimodal Distribution

As the name implies, a bimodal distribution has TWO modes

Descriptive Statistics:Measures of Variation Range – the difference between the highest and lowest score

in a distribution What does it tell you? What DOESN’T it tell you?

Standard Deviation – how much do scores vary from the mean in a distribution? (see table 1.4 in packet p. 36)

1. Calculate mean2. Subtract each score from the mean3. Square that difference4. Add the sum of the squares5. Divide by the number of scores in the distribution6. Take square root of this7. The number is equal to the value of ONE standard deviation

Descriptive Statistics:Measures of Variation So what?

In a normal curve, this number reveals the percentage of scores that falls within a particular range

68% fall within one standard deviation from the mean 95% fall within two standard deviations from the mean 99% fall within three standard deviations from the mean

What must the standard deviation be for this distribution of IQ scores?

Inferential Statistics:Statistical Significance

Significant Difference What is the difference between the experiences of the

control and the experimental groups? What is the chance that the difference happened due to

chance? .05 value generally accepted (1 in 20 due to chance) If it IS a significant difference, how important is that

difference (e.g. difference between IQ scores of first- and later-born children is significant, but due to its very small value, it is not important.

WITHIN vs. BETWEEN group variation?

Inferential Statistics:Reliability

When can we generalize about a population based on the results from our sample? Sample is a representative sample The less variation in the data, the more reliable (if

variability is high in a distribution, the mean becomes less meaningful)

The more examples the better! (ask 2 friends how they like the class vs. asking 25)

Research and Ethics Setting Standards

APA (American Psychological Association) PsyETA (Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals) Human Subjects Review Board/Ethics Committee

Must Haves: Informed Consent Confidentiality Justified use of deception Protection from harm/discomfort Debriefing

How did Milgram, Landis, Watson, and Zimbardo challenge ethical standards?