INTRODUCING PSYCHOLOGY

INTRODUCING PSYCHOLOGY

I. Going over the syllabus, our contract together, and how to succeed in this course

II. A definition of psychology: The systematic study of the behaviors and mental processes of individuals.

III. Who are psychologists and what do they do?

A. Basic and applied distinction

B. Many different psychologies

IV. Some basic themes of psychology

A. Psychology is empiricala science that focuses on systematic investigation

B. Behavior has a multitude of causeswe tackle problems from different angles

C. Individual and group variabilityit depends on who and what you are studying

D.Lots of evidence that we frequently are unaware of the causes of our own behavior!

V. Current Perspectives

A. Behaviorism

1. focus on objective measurement, behavior, not inside the mind (a black box)

2. learning principles apply to all organisms, so animal research is important

3. emphasizes environment and learning history rather than genetic background

4. key figures: Pavlov, Watson, Skinner

B. Cognitive perspective

1. the workings of the mind (perception, thinking, memory) matter

2. expectations, emotions, and interpretations are important; can be empirically studied

3. influence of the Gestaltists: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts

C. Biological/neuroscience approach

1. explores regions of the brain, working of neurons, role of neurotransmitters

2. genetic approach: what comes from genes & what comes from our experience?

D. Evolutionary perspectivesome behaviors provided a reproductive advantage

E. Psychodynamic (or Psychoanalytic) perspective

1. Freuds conscious and unconscious

2. motivations of sex and aggression

3. influence on personality and developmental psychology

F. Humanistic (or Phenomenological) perspective

1. more optimistic than Freud, not deterministic like Freud and Skinner

2. emphasizes human freedom and potential and responsibility; less scientific

3. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are key figures (well cover them later)

G. Sociocultural approach: influence of society and culture RESEARCH METHODS

I. Three goals of Psychology

A. Measurement and Descriptionwhat is happening?

B. Understanding and Predictionwhy is it happening?

C. Application and Control

II. Conducting Research: start with a theory

A. Definition: An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observations.

B. A good theory

1. fits the known factsthe data we have so far

2. makes predictionsnot just accounts for past results, but predicts the future

3. is both falsifiable and testable

C.Operational definitions: translating theory/hypothesis into something testableIII. Types of Research

A. Gathering information

1. case study or in-depth interviewlots of information about one person

2. naturalistic observationsimply observe in natural setting

3. surveysgather information on a large population

* issues: random sampling, deceptive answers, wording of the questions

B. Correlational studiesassociation between two variables

1. Interpreting correlation coefficients (r) that range from 1.0 to -1.0

2. Correlation does NOT imply causation

3. Three potential causal relationships behind a correlation

C. Experimentstesting a hypothesis

1. dependent variablewhat you measure

2. independent variablewhat you manipulate (could be more than one)

3. control groups and experimental groups

4. within participant vs. between participants

5. random assignment

6. more than one IV, and interactions among variables

IV. Problems in Research

A. Confounding variables and internal validity; external validity

B. Experimenter bias/experimenter effects (e.g., bloomer study)

V. Ethicssee textbook

A. Clearance from Institutional Review Board

B. Informed Consent & Anonymity

C. Debriefing

VI. Testsif time

A. Standardization

B. Reliabilitydoes your test yield consistent scores?

* example: test-retest reliability (high correlation or r when you take SAT again)

C. Validitydoes the test measure what its supposed to measure?

VII. Statisticsif timeA. Descriptive Statistics

1. Central Tendency (mean and median) of a sample

2. Variability (standard deviation) of a sampleB. Inferential Statistics & Statistical Significance (e.g., p < .05)

Use probability theory to determine if a difference between two or more groups is significant