Transcript Chapter 2
History of Psychology
Approaches & Main Topic Areas
Research In Psychology
Human Diversity & Sociocultural Factors
Journal Entry 1:
A psychologist is a person who….
DEFINITION: PSYCHOLOGY
science that seeks to understand
behavior
Measurable internal or external activity
mental processes
Cognitive
apply that understanding to human welfare
2 Greek words
Psyche = ‘life’ or ‘self’
Logos = reasoning & logic
GOALS OF PSYCH
Describe
state the facts
Gather info
Explain
why ppl behave,
think, feel as
they do
Predict
what ppl will do, think, or feel in diff’t
situations.
Studying accumulated knowledge = predict
future behaviors
Influence / Modify
influence in helpful ways
help ppl gain control, change patterns, achieve
their goals
PHRENOLOGY
BRIEF
HISTORY
OF
PSYCHOLOGY
Ancient Cultures
trying to understand ppl… it’s
part of the human condition!!
Egyptians
drilled holes in the skull to let
out evil spirits
Greeks – Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle
lobotomies & bloodletting
Chinese
ability tests, acupuncture
Medieval
Abnormal behavior possession from the devil
or witches.
*Remove from society
burned, drowned, tortured, & insane asylums
Renaissance
Scientific Rev & Human
Rights
Study body in scientific
way
body, soul, & mind can
be balanced or
imbalanced.
4 humors (bodily fluids)
can result in ailments.
* Hospitalization
4 Humors
Blood = sanguine
(cheerful)
Phlegm =
phlegmatic (cold,
apathetic)
Black Bile =
melancholic
(depressive)
Yellow Bile =
choleric (easily
angered)
1800’s mid 1900’s
Mid 1800’s – science still in its ‘infancy’
1859 – Theory of Evolution
insane asylums ‘lunatics’
Dorothea Dix
* ‘Moral’ Management
Suppress symptoms, not
treat causes
* Society Cooperation &
Interaction
Treatments
Lobotomies
Electricoconvulsive
(shock) therapy
Ice baths
Difft psychologists have different perspectives &
ideas.
Early psychologists established different
‘schools of thought’ – most important aspect
of psychology
STRUCTURALISM
WILHELM WUNDT: Father of Psych
1879 - 1st lab; Univ of Leipzig, GER
Edward Titchner – student
structures & elements of the
consciousness… break down the
human mind into parts
Introspection
ppl describe their sensations &
emotions
(‘building blocks’)
FUNCTIONALISM
WILLIAM JAMES
Concerned w/ how & why
the mind functions to
help ppl function & adapt
in everyday environments
thinking = ‘stream of
consciousness’, cont. flow
not a series of separate
thoughts (can’t isolate)
Whole process, not bits!
PSYCHODYNAMIC
SIGMUND FREUD
Late 1800s & early 1900s
personality dev, what can go
wrong, & how to fix it
Early childhood experiences
influence of subconscious mind
Impulses, sex, aggression,
conflict
PSYCHOANALYSIS – free assoc,
symbolism, uncon.
BEHAVIORISM
Watson
Pavlov
Skinner
JOHN WATSON, B.F.
SKINNER, IVAN
PAVLOV
1920s +
Impact of learning
Believed psych. should
ignore mental events
and focus on only what
they can actually
observe
behavior & response
to stimuli
APPROACHES & MAIN
TOPIC AREAS
WHAT’S AN ‘APPROACH’?
evolved from ‘schools of thought’
WAY OF EXPLAINING (perspective)
set of assumptions, Qs, & methods that’s most
helpful for understanding what’s being
explored
Ppl think, feel, & act as they do b/c __________
Emphasizes diff’t aspects
Eclectic - combo aspects of diff’t approaches
Can’t explain everything the same way!!
BIOPSYCHOLOGICAL
physical factors
Hormones, genes,
nervous system,
brain structure &
function, neurons,
chemicals, rxns
BEHAVIORAL
role of learning
We are the result
of all the diff’t
experiences,
types of
responses,
consequences,
social learning
throughout life
PSYCHOANALYTIC
subconscious conflict
impulses vs society’s
rules
inner forces are hidden
in our mind & control
our everyday behavior in
a way we’re not aware of
below our level of
awareness & control
EVOLUTIONARY
result partly through natural
selection
useful behaviors & cog.
chances of survival
Adaptations, mutations,
genes
reason, prob solve, form
sexual attraction, etc.
understand why we have the
kind of mind we have
COGNITIVE
cognitive processes
Thoughts behavior!
thinking, perception,
intelligences, prob
solving, language,
process info, reasoning,
memory, creativity, etc.
take in info. from
environ, analyze it, &
come up w/ a solution
HUMANISTIC
Free will, freedom,
choice
Ppl are basically good
Ppl naturally want to
grow towards
fulfilling their unique
potentials (if all goes
right)
‘self-actualization’
SOCIOCULTURAL
influenced of social groups
in which we live
Cultural context of
emotions, behavior, &
thoughts
expectations, religion,
ethnicity, opportunities,
activities, values, beliefs,
goals, rules, gender,
motivation, delinquency,
family, education
MAIN TOPIC AREAS
Psychology is divided into topic areas … too big to
study everything the same way w/ the same set of
ideas & methods… must specialize!
Bio-Psych
Social Psych.
Comparative Psych.
Cognitive Psych.
Evolutionary Psych.
Developmental
Psych.
Abnormal Psych.
Learning & Memory
Personality &
Individual
Human Sexuality
Differences
Sports Psych
Thinking Critically About Psych
Critical Thinking: process of assessing claims and
making judgments on the basis of well-supported
evidence
Don’t just be a sponge!
Don’t believe claims without careful thought!
Do not believe everything you hear!
Analyze a specific question
No broad assertions
Research = Cornerstone of Psych!
Psych is a social science that systematically studies
behavior & mental processes
Psychologists rely on empirical research to collect
and analyze information
Prove or verify by experience or experiment
Perform scientific research procedures to gather
& analyze information
Use scientific methods to test the validity of their
conclusions/theories
* This is what makes psych a credible social science *
LESSON 1: CONSIDER THE SOURCE
Only take into consideration credible sources; that is,
credible research done by credible scientists
Psychologist – earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D.). Can’t
prescribe meds w/o additional certification
Psychiatrist - earned a medical degree (M.D.). Can
prescribe meds
Usually handles more severe probs than a psychologist
valid (tests what they saying they’re testing in a correct
way) & reliable (test results can be duplicated over & over
again)
Beware of the ‘sleeper effect’ –over time, we will forget
who the source of the info was & only remember the info
Know the difference!
“pop” psychologists
psychological scientists
Oversimplify issues
Cautious!
Cite unreliable or invalid
evidence… or don’t
consider reliability/validity
at all
Suspend final judgments
about complex issues until
they have better/more
thorough data
Ignore good evidence if it
contradicts their claims
pseudoscientific
LESSON 2: STATS CAN MISLEAD!
Statistical analyses are used in every area of psych
Guidelines/procedures for most statistical
analyses are clear cut
BUT! results can be presented in difft ways to
support any argument!
2 MAJOR WAYS STATS CAN BE SHADY
1) catchy graphs or charts – change the units of
measurement to favor claim
2) altering the definition of what you’re
reporting to fit claim(ex. safety on a college
campus)
LESSON 3:
CORRELATION = CAUSATION
News reports & ‘pop’ psych inaccurately report stats of
the original study
i.e. “Young Marriage Leads to Divorce” or “Yogurt:
The Secret to Long Life”
Correlation: stat that tells the researcher if 2 things are
associated or related: 2 things can be related but that
doesn’t mean that one variable is causing the other!
If one variable changes, the other changes also
Ex. owning a toaster oven & using birth control
Causation: one thing is directly causing the other to
happen
LESSON 4: ESTIMATE YOUR CHANCES
BASED ON EVIDENCE NOT
AVAILABILITY
Look at credible evidence
instead of readily
available info/images
Many of us overestimate
our chances of certain
events happening or
being true because of
memorable images
ex. Jaws movie
SO, ASK YOURSELF…
1) What am I being asked to believe?
2) What evidence is available to support the
assertion?
3) Are there alternatives ways of interpreting
the evidence?
4) What additional evidence would help to
evaluate the alternatives?
5) What conclusions are most reasonable?
CONDUCTING RESEARCH
Most good researchers follow the same procedure:
Form a hypothesis
Assumption or prediction about behavior that is
being tested
Employ operational definitions
Define, manipulate, & control the variables
Independent, dependant, random
Collect and analyze the data/data set:
Test the reliability and validity:
Theories
What’s A Theory & Why Are They Important?
favored way to org. explanations
Integrated set of statements
Designed to explain complex psychological
phenomena
based on findings from a large # of studies
TENTATIVE; Subjected to scientific evaluation
Research & theories almost always raises more
questions than it answers!
RESEARCH METHODS
Diff’t methods are useful for gathering the evidence
needed to attain goals
4 goals in psych. research:
Describe a phenomenon
Make predictions about it
Have enough control over the variables
Explain the phenomenon with confidence
*** 4 MAIN METHODS ***
Naturalistic Observation
Watching something in environ w/o interfering
LIMITATIONS!
Ppl act difft if know they’re being watched
SOLUTIONS!
Observe long enough for
participants to get used
to it, and eventually
behave more naturally
Case Studies
Specific to an individual, group,
or situation
Close-up view
phenomenon is new, complex,
rare, or unethical to reproduce
LIMITATIONS!
represent ppl in general (?)
Contain evidence that only a
handful of researchers finds
important
Experiments
Est. cause & effect relationship
Changeable, manipulate
control over situation & manipulate variables
Variables = something that’s subject to
change
unwanted influences
1) Independent variable = experimenters
change/alter so they can observe its effects
(what is being manipulated?)
Ex. treatment or no treatment?
2) Dependent variable = one that changes
b/c of independent variable; affected by
(depends) on the independent variable
ex. hrs spent studying (i) affects your
grade on test (d)
3)Random variable – uncontrolled or
uncontrollable factors
ex. personality, background, intelligence
Experimental group – exposed to
independent variable
Receives treatment
Control group - Participants that are treated
the same way, but w/ no treatment
(untouched) or a placebo.
Compare to experimental group to see what
they’re reacting to.
Surveys & Interviews
Gives broad portraits of large groups; descriptive
data
wide range of topics, large amounts of data
Interviews, questionnaires, polls
ask ppl about their behaviors, attitudes, beliefs,
opinions, characteristics, or intentions
Validity depends on:
wording of Q & representativeness of participants
LIMITATIONS!! (self-reporting)
Won’t admit embarrassing/undesirable things
Say what they think the researchers want to hear
PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS IN RESEARCH
BIAS – certain expectations or
beliefs about people or
conditions that distorts
research/data
Experimenter – lead to
errors in participant
selection, interpretations, or
conclusions; expect people to
act in certain ways
Participant – act diff’t b/c
they’re part of an experiment
Participant’s expectations – ex. if they
expect a treatment to help, they will try
harder to get better
Placebo effect – change in patient’s illness
or psych. State that results from the
patient’s knowledge /perception of
treatment
Self-fulfilling prophecy – person is aware of
experimenter’s expectations/feelings toward
them & they act accordingly
SOLUTIONS
Single-blind study
experiment in which the
participants are unaware
of if they received
treatment or not
Double-blind study
neither the experimenter
or participants know who
received the treatment
until after
ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Purpose
protect & promote the welfare of society & those with
whom psych. work with
Analyze & report research fairly and accurately
Preserve the welfare & dignity of their participants
Conduct welfare in most humane fashion possible
Perform services that they are trained for
Don’t reveal info about clients/students
Ethical Principles of Psychologist and Code of Conduct
(APA [American Psychological Association], 1992)
HUMAN
DIVERSITY
SCOPE OF BEHAVIOR & MENTAL
PROCESSES
Humans are unique &
diverse!
We are capable of
experiencing the world around
us & shape/change our
environment. We can think
about and remember it, solve
problems, make decisions,
have feelings & goals, form
relationships, & suffer distress
and disorder.
WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE?
Individuality comes from:
1) Hereditary
- physical characteristics & behavioral tendencies
inherited from parents (ex. height, alcoholism)
2) Environment & Experiences
- especially when growing up
- family, school, religious institute
3) Social World
- how and where you fit into the world (ex. gender,
labels, roles)
- how you think about and relate to other people