Transcript Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology
AP PSYCHOLOGY
MYERS, PROLOGUE
“I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not
to scorn human actions, but to understand them.”
Benedict Spinoza
A Political Treatise (1677)
On a scrap sheet of paper…
 Write down 5 adjectives for each:
Scientist
Psychologist
 On the back, write the names of as many past or
current psychologists as you can.
What is Psychology?
 The scientific study of
behavior and mental
processes
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Scientific – set of questions,
observations, hypotheses,
studies, findings, and analyses
Behavior – external actions
that are observable
Mental processes – internal
processes (dreams, emotions,
thoughts, beliefs, etc)
Psychologists are interested in…
What is
intelligence?
The Birth of Psychology
“MAN CAN ALTER HIS LIFE BY ALTERING HIS
THINKING.”
WILLIAM JAMES
FOUNDER OF FUNCTIONALISM
Structuralism
 Wilhelm Wundt –
Father of Psychology
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1879, Germany
First psychological
experiment - measured the
lag between hearing a
sound, consciously
registering the sound, and
pushing a key  measuring
“atoms of the mind”
Founded
STRUCTURALISM with
Titchener (grad student)
Structuralism
 Early school of psychology
that used introspection to
explore the elemental
structure of the human
mind
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“atoms of the mind” study
 Introspection – “looking
inward,” based on selfreflection and selfreporting
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“How do you experience
smelling a rose?”
“How do you feel when hearing
a metronome?”
Downfall of Structuralism
 Studying the mind’s structure…
 Required smart, verbal people
 Unreliable - answers vary from person to person and people
may not know why they feel what they feel.
 Not credible - self-reporting is subjective
Functionalism
 William James – Father of
American Psychology
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Turn of 20th century
Wrote Principles of Psychology
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“Psychology is the science of mental
life.”
Founded FUNCTIONALISM
Functionalism
 a school of psychology that focused on how mental and
behavioral processes function and enable the organism
to adapt, survive, and flourish
 Studied evolved functions of the brain and body
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“How does the nose smell?”
“How does the brain think?”
 Claimed that all behaviors and mental processes have
evolved due to adaptation so that they all serve a
FUNCTION
 Structuralism vs. Functionalism
Contemporary Psychology
“TO KNOW PSYCHOLOGY IS NO GUARANTEE THAT WE
SHALL MANAGE OUR MINDS RIGHTLY.”
WILLIAM GLOVER
KNOW YOUR OWN MIND
Biopsychosocial Approach
 integrated view of the mind and behaviors that
incorporates various levels of analysis and
perspectives, and offers a more complete picture,
includes biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences
 Any human phenomenon can be assessed using the
biopsychosocial approach.
Biopsychosocial Approach
PSYCHOLOGIAL INFLUENCES
- learned fears and other learned expectations
- emotional responses
-cognitive processing and perpetual
interpretations
BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
- genetic predispositions
- genetic mutations
- natural selection of adaptive physiology and
behaviors
- genes responding to the environment
SOCIO-CULTURAL INFLUENCES
- presence of others
- cultural, societal, and family expectations
- peer and other group influences
- compelling models (eg: media)
Behavior
or Mental
Processes
Contemporary Psychological Perspectives
Different perspectives can complement each other, individually each one has limits.
Perspective
Focus
Neuroscience How the body and brain
/Biological
enable emotions,
memories, and sensory
Bio
experiences.
Sample Questions
How are messages
transmitted through the body?
How is blood chemistry
linked with moods and
motives?
Evolutionary How the natural selection
of traits promotes the
Bio
perpetuation of one’s
genes.
How does evolution influence
behavior tendencies?
Behavior
genetics
Bio
How much our genes and Nature vs. Nurture
our environment influence
our individual differences.
Current Psychological Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Psychodynamic How behavior springs
How can someone’s personality
from unconscious drives traits and disorders stem from
Psycho
and conflicts.
the unconscious?
Behavioral
How we learn
observable responses.
How do we learn to fear
particular objects or situations?
What is the most effective way
to alter our behavior?
How we encode,
process, store, and
retrieve information.
How do we use information in
remembering? Reasoning?
Solving problems?
Psycho
Socio
Cognitive
Psycho
Social-cultural How behavior and
thinking vary across
Socio
situations and cultures.
How are we alike as members
of one human family? As
products of different
environmental contexts? How
do we differ?
You Be the Psychologist
 In small groups, pick a famous person… AND a
specific behavior(s) they exhibit.
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Actor
Politician
Athlete
Etc
 Analyze their behavior using the 7 perspectives.
 Perspective table is on page 11.
Psychological Research
Applied Research
Basic Research
 pure science that aims to increase
the scientific knowledge base
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Biological psychologists – explores
links between mind and brain
Developmental psychologists – studies
changing abilities from birth to death
Cognitive psychologists – experiments
with how we perceive, think, and solve
problems
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Personality psychologists –
investigates our persistent traits
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Social psychologists – explores how we
view and affect one another
 scientific study that aims to solve
problems
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Research on the brain to help treat
Alzheimer’s disease
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Research on how to best solve
problems with cognitive strategies
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Clinical drug tests
Psychologists vs. Psychiatrists
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
 PsyD or PhD in
 MD in Medicine
Psychology
 5-7 yrs
 2 yr internship
 7+ yrs – medical school
 May “counsel” patients
 May “counsel” patients
 CANNOT prescribe
 CAN prescribe
medication
and residency, plus
additional training
medication
DSM-5
 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders
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Published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
Provides the common language and standard criteria
for the classification of mental disorders
Used by clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, researchers,
insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, the legal
system, and policy makers
5 Axes – analyze the entire health of an individual (physical
and mental)
Most current version – DSM-5 (May 18, 2013)  very
controversial
“Insane”
 The term “insane” is NOT a psychological term, but a
legal term.
 Calling a sufferer of a mental disorder “crazy” or
“insane” is offensive. We often use these terms when
we feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar with a person’s
behaviors or thoughts.
Ethics - Animals
 Why do we experiment with animals?
 Can be similar to humans
 Can perform actions that cannot be performed on humans
 Problems
 Results from animal testing cannot be FULLY generalized to
humans because we are not exactly alike
 At what point is an action unethical?
Starvation?
 Social/emotion deprivation?
 Termination?
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Ethics - Humans
 American Psychological Association (APA) provides
a set of guidelines for ethical psychological studies.
 The American Psychological Association commits to
its vision through a mission based upon the
following values:
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Continual pursuit of excellence
Knowledge and its application based upon methods of science
Outstanding service to its members and to society
Social justice, diversity, and inclusion
Ethical action in all that we do
APA Ethics Code
 5 General Principles that guide research –
aspirations
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Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
Fidelity and Responsibility
Integrity
Justice
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First 4 guide behaviors with other psychologists and warn against
personal biases and values
Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity
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Concerns individuals’ rights to privacy, confidentiality, selfdetermination
To Sum Up
 Informed Consent
 No informed consent is needed in public places.
 Informed consent is needed where there is an expectation of privacy.
 Informed consent must describe the nature of the experiment, their right
to withdraw, and how they can obtain their results.
 Deception
 Researcher considers a cost-benefit analysis – if the scientific outcomes
outweigh the costs then deception can be considered.
 Deception cannot be considered if it is expected to cause severe
emotional or physical distress.
 In all cases, minimize harm.
 Debriefing
 Psychologists must always debrief their research participants as soon as
possible after the study.
 Video One and Two