Chapter 1

Long Tradition

• Eternal Questions– Who are we?– Why do we act the way we do?– How can we understand and manage others?

Short History

• Wilhelm Wundt (1879)– First Lab– Used introspection

• Charles Darwin– Voyage around the world– Naturalist– Origin of the Species

Short History

• Sigmund Freud– 19th century Vienna– Jewish MD– Hypnosis– Emphasized the unconscious

• Early Women in Psychology– Mary Calkins and Margaret Floy Washburn

Short History

• Humanistic Psychology– Another response to behaviorism– Carl Rogers and Abram Maslow– “self-” is indicative of humanistic psychology (e.g.,

self-esteem, self-image, self-actualization– Brought human agency back into psychology

Short History

• Behaviorism– Begun by John B. Watson– (think of him at Walmart checkout)– Fully developed by B. F. Skinner– Brought animals back into psychology (especially

rats and pigeons)

Short History

• The (so called) Cognitive Revolution– More of an evolution– Begins around 1945– Computer and Computer metaphor– Computer is hardware– Thinking is software

Science

• Attitude– Naturalistic explanations

• Method– Each science has its own methods (e.g., geologists

and rock hammers)– All methods are objective and data driven– Psychology methods covered near end of chapter

Contemporary Psychology

• Neuroscience—Chap 2• Evolutionary—Chap 2• Behavioral Genetics (hot area)—Chap 2• Psychodynamic (Freud, etc.)-Chaps 11, 12, 13• Behavioral—Chap 6• Cognitive—Chap 7• Social Cultural—We will not cover

Big Ideas

• Critical Thinking-(e.g., happiness)• Biosocial Approach-biology, psychology, and

sociocultural• Two-track Mind (conscious-unconscious)-blind

woman who can still grab objects• Human Strengths-positive psychology: +

emotions, +character, +groups, communities, and cultures

Why Do Psychology?

• Limits of Intuition and Common Sense– Hindsight Bias– Overconfidence

• Scientific Attitude– Curiosity– Skepticism– Humility

How We Ask and Answer Questions

• The Scientific Method– Theories– Hypotheses– Operational Definitions– Replications

• Types of Psychological Research– Descriptive– Correlational– Experiments

Descriptive Methods

• Case Studies– Close study of person or group

• Surveys– Most common method– Sampling is key (random samples)

• Naturalistic Observation– Observing people or animals in their natural habitat

• Participant Observation*– Inserting self into a naturalistic situation

Correlations

• Relationship between two or more variables• Range from -1.00 to + 1.00• Positive vs. Negative (show cheerleader i.e.)• Cannot show cause and effect• Illusory Correlations

Experiments

• Two group minimum• Independent Variable (IV)• Dependent Variable (DV)• Control and Experimental Groups• Single and Double Blind• Placebos• Toothpaste and Nox-Out©

FAQs About Psychology

• Does lab research reveal general principles?• What are the ethical safeguards for human

and animal research?– See APA Ethical Standards

• Is psychology value free?

Advantages of Science

• Rapid Communication– Internet, Meetings, Journals, Books– “invisible university”

• Reliable Data– Replication helps avoid issues like “cold fusion”

• Intellectual Freedom– Freedom to follow ideas and data

Disadvantages of Science

• Information Overload– PsycINFO and other databases to the rescue

• Scientific Fraud• Anti-Scientific Bias• Politics (e.g., global warming, evolution)• Popularity (stiff academic requirements) STEM• Moral (e.g., Hobby Lobby, evolution)

Cross-Cultural Psychology

• Psychology criticized in past for being “the study of American college sophomores”

• Social Cultural values affect behavior and mental life

• Brazil and Clocks– Levine found that Brazilians have a different sense

of time– Follow up studies of bank clocks confirmed that

Cognitive Science

• Newer area; serves as “umbrella for:– Psychology, computer science, linguistics, AI, logic,

and neuroscience• Includes humans, animals, and machines• Chess, AI, and Deep Blue– Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in chess

• Robotics and Autonomous Navigation– Would you board a driverless bus?

Mind-Body Problem

• Mind = internal; Body = external• Descartes separated the two into equal and

co-acting parts: “interactionism”– Could not supply a physiological mechanism

• Alternatives to interactionism include: idealism and materialism

• Psychology must deal with both halves

What Psychologists Do

• Ask Questions– Motivational Questions• Jim Jones or Heaven’s Gate

– Ecological Questions• How, Where, How Often

• Report Findings– Internet, meetings, articles, books

• Interpret Findings

Test 1

• 20 True-False– Not tricky

• 20 Multiple Choice– Four choices each time

• 10 Matching– 5 people– 5 things– Strategy explained