Objections to Psychoanalysis

1. Unconscious mind cannot be observed or tests

2. Therapeutic method (the talking cure) relies on theory of unconscious mind

3. Dream interpretation cannot be confirmed

4. Interpretation of symptoms cannot be confirmed

Drive towards a SCIENTIFIC Psychology

• Empiricism: the belief that accurate knowledge of the world requires observation of it

• Method: a set of rules and techniques for observation that allow observers to avoid the illusions, mistakes, and erroneous conclusions that simple observation can produce

The Scientific Method

• Purpose: State the problem• Research: Find out about the topic• Hypothesis: predict the outcome of the

problem• Experiment: used to test the hypothesis• Analysis: analyze the data from your

experiment• Draw conclusion

Question!

• I want to measure someone’s happiness level over the course of a two-hour movie. How might I do this?

• Operational Definition: a description of a property in measurable terms

• We can never measure an abstract concept such as “happiness” but we can measure “happiness” as defined as _____________.

Question!

• I’ve met one French person. He was mean to me. Is it reasonable for me to I conclude that some French people are mean? Is it reasonable for me to conclude that all French people are mean?

Strength In Numbers

• Case Method: method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual

• Population: the complete colelction of objects or events that might be measured– Sample: the partial collection of objects or events that is

measrued– Law of large numbers: as sample size increases, the

attributes of the sample more closely rflect the attributes of the popoulation from which the sample was drawn

Fun with Frequency Distributions!

• Normal Distribution (aka the Bell Curve): a frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the mean and fall off toward the tails

Question!

• I want to find out whether more men or women buy chocolate at the grocery store. How should I make my observations?

How to Observe?

• Naturalistic Observation: unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments– Some things don’t occur in natural (e.g., Are drunk

people better or worse than sober people at piloting helicopters?)

– Some studies require participants to be observed in a controlled environment

Help Me, I’ve Gone BLIND!

• Single Blind: participants don’t know the purpose of the experiment

• Double Blind: participants AND examiner don’t know the purpose of experiment

• Question: WHY make an experiment single/double blind?

Correlation vs. Causation!

• Correlation: the changes in two variables are synchronized

• Causation: one variable makes another change

Question!

• I’ve noticed that, in general, men seem to sweat more than women.

• From this observation, can I conclude that there is a correlation between being a man and being sweaty/being a woman and being less sweaty?

• Can I conclude that there is causation between sex and sweating?

Ice Cream Crime?

?

Correlation DOES NOT IMPLY Causation!

• Hidden Third Variable: there may be an invisible, unknown, MYSTERIOUS third variable causing a correlation.

• Question: There is a correlation between children watching violent TV shows and children who commit violent actions. What can we conclude from this correlation?

How to Get Rid of the Third Variable Problem?

Question: Your TV is turning on and off. You notice that your TV turns off when your friend sends a text from his phone. What do you do to determine whether the phone is (somehow) turning off the TV?

Design an Experiment!

• Independent Variable: the variable that is manipulated by the psychologist!

• Dependent Variable: the variable that is measured; variable whose changes may be caused by the independent variable

• Question: In the TV example, what is the independent variable? What is the dependent?

Question!

A researcher seeks to determine the effect of a new drug on people sick with the flu. The researcher administers the drug to a large population of sick people and many get better. However, how can we be sure a third variable hasn’t caused the improvement?

Use Two Groups!• Experimental Group: the group of people who

are treated in a particular way

• Control Group: the group of people who are not treated in this particular way

Placebo Effect

Unnatural Selection?

• I want to determine whether the average adult human has at least one violent thought every day. To answer this question, I go out on the street and ask every man I see whether he thinks he has at least one violent thought every day. What are some of the problems with this method?

Randomize!

• Randomization: using random events to ensure that the population being tested is representative of the population about whom conclusions are to be determined– Also used to ensure a participant’s assignment to

the experimental group or control group is not determined by any third variable.

Ethics

• Ethics: rules and norms used to ensure that experimenters treat their participants with respect

• Informed consent: a written agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who as been informed of all the risks that partcipation may entail– Basically means the participant has to know if

he/she’s going to be hurt, embarassed, etc. by the study

Debrief!

• Debriefing: a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of the study

Baby Albert Experiment