1.the Science of Psychology

8/4/2019 1.the Science of Psychology

1/34

The Science of

PsychologyCHAPTER 1


2/34

Overview

What is psychology?

History of psychology

Modern psychologyAreas in the psychology profession

Scientific methods

Ethics Critical thinking


3/34

What is psychology?

Definition: The scientific study of behavior andmental processes Behavior all our actions and reactions Mental processes the way we think, analyze,

remember Scientific precise measurement

Goals: Main analyze behavior

Description (what) Explanation (why) theory

Prediction (when) Control (how)


4/34

History

Historical origin Roots of psychology- ancient Greece

Famous namesAristotle, Plato, Descrates, Fechner,Helmholtz

Nature and nurture debate Nature-humans are born with certain amount of

knowledge and understanding of reality.

Nurture-knowledge is acquired through experiences

and interactions with the world. John Locke- tabula rasa -a blank slate on which

experience writes knowledge and understanding aswe mature.


5/34


6/34


7/34

Wilhelm Wundt Father of Psychology The Beginning of Scientific Psychology

Late 19th century studied the structure of

the human mind Introduced objective introspection-observing

and recording the nature of ones ownperceptions, thoughts and feelings.

Established the 1st psychology laboratory andattempted to introduce measurement inpsychological studies


8/34


9/34

Structuralism (Titchener) Student of Wundt from Cornell

Expanded ideas and focused on the structure

of the mind Every experience can be broken down into its

basic elements

Wundt focused on physical sensation,

Titchener focused on thoughts School of thought died out due to

disagreement among members


10/34


11/34

Functionalism (James) As structuralism died down, functionalism

gained popularity

Lecturer at Harvard University and wasinfluenced by Darwin (natural selection)

Contrary to Wundt and Titchener, Jamesfocused on how the mind worked in real world

settings Contributed in the development of educational

and industrial and organizational psychology


12/34


13/34

Gestalt Psychology Founded in Germany Originated by Wertheimer, Koffka & Kohler Similar to James ( functionalism), they disagreed with

the structuralism point of view but their reasoningwas different They felt if sensation and perception were broken

down to its elements, it cannot be understood anylonger

Famous line the whole is greater than the sum ofits parts Influenced the development of cognitive psychology


14/34


15/34

Example: Gestalt Psychology

A Gestalt Image


16/34

Psychoanalysis (Freud) Austrian doctor In a time when sex was taboo, he used it to explain

all psychological problems

Unconscious- the thoughts, attitudes, motivations andemotions that we are unaware . Childhood experiences given importance Theory of personality and a method of

psychotherapy.

Free association-say whatever comes to mind as away of bringing unconscious wishes into awareness

Jung, Adler, Anna Freud


17/34


18/34


19/34

Behaviorism (Watson)

Disagreed with structuralism, functionalism,psychoanalysis

Argued that behavior is a result of conditioning andthe environment shapes behavior by reinforcingspecific habits

Focused on the scientific aspect observable

behaviors Pavlovs dogs and Little Albert

Influenced the development of cognitive psychology


20/34


21/34

Pavlovs Experiments


22/34

Modern Psychology

Seven different perspectives:

Psychodynamic

Behavioral

Humanistic

Biopsychological

Cognitive

Sociocultural

Evolutionary


23/34

Psychodynamic perspective

Freuds theory has been modified and usednowadays

The focus is still the unconscious and how itinfluences the conscious and childhoodbehavior

Disadvantage: lack of research results asevidence


24/34

Behavioral perspective

Skinner took over from Watson

Introduced the concepts of operant

conditioning

Reinforcement and punishment

Humanistic perspective

Emphasized on free will and human potential Self actualization


25/34

Biopsychological perspective Human and animal behavior is seen as a direct result of events

in the body

Hormones, brain chemicals and tumor

Cognitive perspective Focus on the mind working remembering, analyzing andstoring

Problem solving, language, perception etc

Socio-cultural perspective

Social psychology study of groups Cultural psychology study of cultural norms

How we behave when we are alone or in groups Diffusion of responsibility


26/34

Evolutionary perspective

General mental strategies and traits

Why we lie, mate selection, snakes are universal

Natural selection Darwin and survival of thefittest


27/34

Types of PsychologicalProfessionals

Psychiatrist Medical doctor; prescribe medication

Psychoanalyst Psychiatrist or a psychologist

Psychiatric social worker Work with the society issues such as drug abuse,

poverty etc

Psychologist

Doctorate Intense academic training Must be licensed


28/34

Scientific Method

Why use scientific methods?

Perceiving the question

Forming a hypotheses

Testing the hypothesis

Drawing a conclusion

Report your results


29/34

Descriptive methods Naturalistic observation

Realistic settings of the subject being observed Observer effect conscious of people watching Participant observation become part of the natural setting Disadvantage observer bias and unique and unlike others

Laboratory observation Not natural setting

Case studies Individual basis Detailed information Disadvantage cannot replicate

Surveys Questions Representative samples population

May not be accurate


30/34

Observation

Baboons Observed in Their Natural Habitat


31/34

Finding relationship

Two methods: correlational and experiments

Correlations

Measure of relationship between two or morevariables

Variable anything that varies

Correlation coefficient: direction and strength

Strength ranges between -1.00 to +1.00

Correlation does not mean causation


32/34

Experiment Researcher manipulate the variables

The variables: Operational definition steps and procedures

Independent variables: manipulated by researchers

Dependent variables: dependent on the independentvariable

The groups: Confounding variables

Best way to overcome this:

-Experimental groups

-Control groups


33/34

The importance of randomization

Assigning subjects to experimental and control groupsrandomly, so each subject has an equal chance of beingin either groups

Avoid extraneous variables Experimental Hazard:

Placebo effect and the experimenter effect

Single-blind and double-blind studies

Other experimental designs Quasi experimental design


34/34

Ethics of psychological research Rights and well-being of participants must be

weighed against the value of science

Participants must be allowed to make an informed

decision about participating Deception must be justified

Participants may withdraw form the study at any time

Participants must be protected from risks or told

explicitly of risks Investigators must debrief participants

Data must remain confidential

Documents

1.the Science of Psychology