INTRODUCING PSYCHOLOGY © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

INTRODUCING PSYCHOLOGY

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Study Psychology?


What is Psychology?Scientific Methods and Thinking

SCIENCE BEHAVIOR


The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

MENTAL PROCESSES

Critical Thinking

Process of objectively evaluating, comparing, analyzing,and synthesizing information

More independent thinker

Better decision makerMore effective problem

solver


What are the advantages?

Pseudopsychologies


The AMAZING Randi


The FOUR Goals of Psychology

DescribeWhat is the nature of the behavior or mental process?“Boys are more aggressive than girls.”Explain Why does this behavior or mental process occur?“Research indicates that there are numerous interacting causes or explanations for aggression, including culture, learning, genes, brain damage, and high levels of testosterone.”PredictWhen will this behavior or mental process occur?“Knowing that alcohol leads to increased aggression, we can predict that more fights will erupt in places where alcohol is consumed than in those where alcohol isn’t consumed.”ChangeHow can we CHANGE this behavior or mental process?Psychologists help people improve their work environment, stop addictive behaviors, become less depressed, improve their family relationships

Which Goal of Psychology is Represented by Each Example?• Researchers have recently identified a gene that predisposes

certain individuals to become obese because their satiety mechanism doesn‘t “turn on.”

• Some developmental psychologists believe that many more playground accidents will occur this year among young children who watch violent cartoons.

• Comprehensive sex education should be required in all high schools because studies demonstrate that such education has reduced the teenage pregnancy rate.

• Surveys show that women who graduate from college earn as much money per year as men who graduate from high school.


Psychology at Work:Sample Careers and Specialties in Psychology








What Can I Do with My Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology?

Ten most popular jobs for psychology majors


Psychology’s Past

STRUCTURALISM

Sought to identify the structure of mental life by identifying “elements” of conscious experience combined to form the “compounds” of the mind, via introspection.

FUNCTIONALISM

Sought to identify the functions of experience , i.e., why do we experience anger and what value does it have?


A Brief History

PSYCHOANALYSIS

Focused on unconscious processes and unresolved conflicts that influencecurrent behavior.

Modern Psychology’s Seven Perspectives


Biopsychosocial Model

This unifying and integrative model views biological processespsychological factors and social forces as interrelated influences that interact with the seven major perspectives


SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY


Types of Research

Basic Research• Research conducted to

advance scientific knowledge

• Meets the goals of describe, explain and predict

Applied Research• Research designed to solve

practical problems

• Meets the goal of change


Six Steps of the Scientific Method Cycle


Important Terms!

HypothesisSpecific, testable prediction about how one factor, or variable, is related to another Operational DefinitionPrecise description of how the variables in a study will be observed and measured (for example, drug abuse might be operationally defined as “the number of missed work days due to excessive use of an addictive substance”)Statistical Significance Statistical statement of how likely it is that a study’s result occurred merely by chance


Three Areas of Ethical Concern

Informed consentVoluntary participationRestricted use of deception

and debriefingConfidentialityAlternative activities



In all institutions where nonhuman animal research is conducted, animal care committees are established to ensure proper treatment of research animals, to review projects, and to set guidelines that are in accordance with the APA standards.



Personal information and therapy records must be kept confidential, with records being available only with the client’s permission.

The public’s right to safety ethically outweighs the client’s right to privacy.

Therapists are legally required to break confidentiality if a client threatens violence to him or herself or to others.

Breaking of confidentiality also applies if a client is suspected of abusing a child or an elderly person.


Experimental Research: A Search for Cause and Effect


RESEARCH METHODS: EXPERIMENTALExperimental research: carefully controlled scientific procedure that manipulates variables to determine cause and effect


Research Methods: Experimental

Key features of an experiment:

Independent variable versus dependent variable

Experimental group versus control group

Random assignment Controlling

confounding variables


Labeling Variables and GroupsLabel the IV, DV, Control Group and Experimental Group for

each scenario

A researcher is interested in how the activity level of four-year-olds is affected by viewing a 30-minute video of Calliou or a 30-minute video of X-Men .

A therapist wants to test a new drug designed to increase the ability of teenagers with ADHD to take accurate notes in class.

A biopsychologist wants to know if exposure to testosterone in adult female rats increases their aggressive behavior.

A social psychologist is interested in whether or not there is a gender difference in how much money men and women will say they should be paid for the same task.

An industrial psychologist believes that cooling the room temperature may have an impact on productivity levels in the assembly line.


Experimental Methods: Potential Researcher Problems

Experimenter BiasWhen the researcher influences theresults in the expected directionSingle-Blind Study Only the researcher, and not the participants, knows who is in either the experimental or control groupDouble-Blind Study Both the researcher and the participants are unaware (blind) of whois in experimental or control groupEthnocentrismBelieving one’s culture is typical of allcultures, is central and “correct,” and judging others by this standard.


Experimental Methods: Potential Participant Problems

PlaceboInactive substance used as a controlSample BiasOccurs when research participants arenot representative of the largerpopulationRandom AssignmentUsing chance methods to assignparticipants to experimental or controlconditionsParticipant BiasOccurs when experimental conditionsinfluence the participant’s behavior


Design a Scientific ExperimentA motivational speaker claimed that wearing red on the day of an exam "energizes" the brain and improves performance. Your psychology professor doubts this is true. Design an experiment that would see if the speaker was correct. An English professor believes that students who have the opportunity to write their in- class essays on computers will produce better essays than those who write their essays by hand. Design a study that tests the professor’s belief.An exercise physiologist counsels his clients to exercise in the morning rather than at night to facilitate weight loss. Your task is to design an experiment to see if this is the correct advice.Many parents assert that children "amp out" or go "off the wall" after they eat sugar. Design a study to determine whether or not this assertion is true.

Questions to AnswerDo you need to define any terms for your experiment? Do so.

What is your independent variable?

What is your dependent variable?

How will you select and assign your subjects to a group?

What treatment will the experimental group be given?

What treatment will the control group be given?

What controls will you use in your experiment? Be sure to avoid experimenter and participant biases.

Is there anything you think you should control but aren't sure how?


DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH: NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION, SURVEYS AND CASE STUDIESDescriptive research: research methods that observe and record behavior and mental processes without producing causal explanations


Descriptive Research

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION

Observation and recording behavior and mental processes in the participant’s natural state or habitat.

SURVEY

Research technique that questions a large sample of people to assess their behaviors and attitudes.


CASE STUDY

In-depth study of a single research participant.

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

Research method in which variables are observed or measured (but not directly manipulated) to identify relationships between them.


Understanding Correlations

Strength of Relationship Correlation coefficients are calculated by a formula that produces a number ranging from 1.00 to 1.00. Both +1.00 and -1.00 are the strongest possible relationship. As the number decreases and gets closer to 0.00, the relationship weakens.

Direction of RelationshipPositive Correlationis one in which the two variables move (or vary) in the same direction—the two factors increase or decrease together.

Negative Correlationis one in which two factors vary in opposite directions


Distinguishing Between Experimental & Correlational Research

For each of the following five reports: 1) Decide whether the study is CORRELATIONAL or EXPERIMENTAL. 2) If the study is correlational, briefly describe how the variables are related and whether the correlation is positive or negative. List possible third variables or confound causes that might also be influencing the results. 3) If the study is experimental, briefly describe how Variable A is causing Variable B.Study I A Dartmouth study found that overweight young women (23 years old) earned 6.4% less than non-overweight peers. Additionally, it found that the earnings of young men rose 2% for each 4-inch increase in height.Study II An Australian study reported that MSG does not cause people to be sick, as was previously reported. The researcher told subjects that he was studying ingredients in a new soft drink, and fed them either MSG or a placebo in the drink. The same number and type of symptoms were reported in both the MSG and the placebo groups.

Study III USA Today reported that the stock market ends the year with a gain if the Super Bowl is won by one of the original NFL members U–all the NFC and three AFC teams (the Indianapolis Colt, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns).

Study IV A psychiatrist from England found that wealthy women aged 35 to 59 had more frequent sex, more orgasms and reported enjoying sex more than women from poorer households.

Study VDespite popular belief, men are just as likely to "help" as women. In fact, one study indicated they were more likely to engage in helping behavior as women. When confederate men and women were staged in a parking lot apparently having locked their keys in their car, 80% of the individuals who came over to see if they needed help were men! The staging was done such that equal numbers of men and women would pass by.


Biological Research Methods








Research Challenge: Does Multitasking Work?

Watch this video!Media Multitaskers Pay Mental Price

Read the description of the study on page 35!

Answer these questions!1. Hypothesis?2. Research method (experimental, descriptive, correlational, or biological)?3. If you chose the: Experimental method—label the IV, DV, experimental group, and control group.Descriptive method—is this a naturalistic observation, survey, or case study?Correlational method—is this a positive, negative, or zero correlation?Biological method—identify the specific research tool (e.g., brain dissection, CT scan, etc.).


Are There Cultural Universals?

Emotions and facial recognition of emotion provide the clearest examples of possible cultural universals


Tools for Student Success


Multimedia

Web VideoTED Talks: Derek Sivers: How to Start a Movement (3:10)With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. (Hint: it takes two.)

TED Talks: Derek Sivers: Weird or Just Different (2.42)"There's a flip side to everything," the saying goes, and in two minutes, Derek Sivers shows this is true in a few ways you might not expect.

TED Talks: Joachim de Posada: Don’t Eat the Marshmallow Yet (6.02)In this short talk from TED U, Joachim de Posada shares a landmark experiment on delayed gratification— and how it can predict future success. With priceless video of kids trying their hardest not to eat the marshmallow.

The Big Think: Laurie Santos (31:07)In this interview with Dr. Santos, a dynamic cognitive psychologist at Yale, she discusses how her current research with Capuchin monkeys may provide a model for understanding early human cognition.


Documents

INTRODUCING PSYCHOLOGY © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved