AP Psychology Intro To Psychology

What is psychology all about?  Memory  Stress  Therapy  Love  Persuasion  Hypnosis  Perception  Death  Conformity  Creativity  Learning  Personality  Aging  Intelligence  Sexuality  Emotion happiness  …menal illness  Sensation  Biological elements  Treatment of disorders

Psychology  Psych is a science and a profession- Uses Scientific collection/observation of data Uses Scientific collection/observation of data In order to answer questions about behavior. In order to answer questions about behavior.  “Scientific Study of behavior and mental processes.”  To answer questions about the mind and behavior.  Psychologists try to solve problems.

Psychologists Describe (observe) Describe (observe) Understand (explain) Understand (explain) (Causes)(Causes) Predict Predict (Forecast)(Forecast) Control (change) Control (change) Behavior

Behavior…  Is anything you do, eating, sleeping, talking (Psychology endeavors to explain behavior, causes, motivations)  Overt behavior- Observable actions & responses Observable actions & responses  Covert behavior- Private internal activities (thinking remembering) Private internal activities (thinking remembering)

Psychologists/Researchers  Use Scientific Method- Observation Observation Hypotheses Hypotheses Gather evidence Gather evidence Test hypotheses Test hypotheses Publish Results Publish Results  Look for cause and effect relationships in for behavior

Approaches to Psychology (AP Outline)  Biological  Behavioral  Cognitive  Humanistic  Psychodynamic  Socio-cultural  Evolutionary

History of Psych: Family Album  Wilhelm Wundt- “Father of Psychology”  Identified Introspection (looking inward) as a way to understand sensation, feelings, images, personal experiences  Used experimental self-observation- made psychology a science

History of Psych: Family Album  1880’s Edward Titchener  Followed up Wundt’s ideas and found Structuralism- “of the mind”  A structure of mental life, “building blocks”  Identified parts of the mind.  Will later be discredited

History of Psych: Family Album  William James- founded Functionalism- “of the mind”  Questioned, how the mind helped us survive, adapt- habits, perceptions, emotions, related to survival?  Adapt, consciousness

Behaviorism  The study of observable behavior  John B. Watson- Rejected introspection Believed in observing behavior Believed in observing behavior Stimuli: i.e., environmental aspects Stimuli: i.e., environmental aspects Responses: muscles, glands Responses: muscles, glands  Believed in Pavlov’s experiments with dogs- concept of Classical Conditioning to explain behavior (1849

Behaviorism  B. F. Skinner- 1950’s  Ignored the role of thinking and mental processes  Found environmental factors  Reward = positive reinforcers  Related to learning  Found laws of behavior apply to animals and humans

“Skinner Box”  Used experiments to study behavior of rats  Operant Conditioning- “A behavioral response has an environmental outcome”  Push a button  get some food.

Cognitive Behaviorism Includes thinking + conditioning + conditioning Expectationspleasure

Behavior Modification  Uses conditioning principles  Concept says, problems are the product of learned habits  Learned habits can be un-learned by behavioral methods. Stimulus and response Stimulus and response

Gestalt Psychology= Max Wertheimer  Said it was a “mistake to analyze psychological events into pieces.”  “the whole pattern or form” – German  Approach to psychology where the whole of psychology is used to understand behavior.  Uses thinking, learning, problem solving, social behavior, and perception to understand behavior  “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Neo-Freudians  Psychoanalytical- exploring the unconscious causes of behavior  Adler  Horney  Jung  Rank  Erikson

Humanistic Psychology  Tries to understand subjective human experience Problems, ideals and potentials Problems, ideals and potentials  Carl Roger and Abraham Maslow  Stress free will= choice Not deterministic Not deterministic Environment does impact behavior but people can improve Environment does impact behavior but people can improve  Attainment of needs are the basis of healthy psych

Humanistic  Each of us is motivated by needs.  Needs for- love, self esteem, belonging,

Eclectic Psychology  Psychodynamic  Behavioristic  Humanistic  Cognitive  Bio-psychological

Cultural Issues in Psychology  Psychology is dependent on culture  Cultural Relativity: Behavior that is acceptable in one culture may be abnormal in another.  Social Norms- impact the view of behavior. Rules that define acceptable behavior Rules that define acceptable behavior

Cognitive Psychology  Study- Problems Solving  Thinking processes  Know and why  Consciousness  Mental Processes  Perceptions  Memory

Scientific Method  Making observations  Defining a problem  Proposing a hypothesis  Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis Naturalistic Observation, Survey, Experiments Naturalistic Observation, Survey, Experiments  Publishing results  Theory building

Research Methods in Psychology (AP Outline)  Experiential  Correlational  Experimental  Statistics  Ethics in Research

Observer Effect  Observer Effect: Problem when subjects are aware of the observation, behavior may be influenced.  Example: People being observed for study habits when they know they are being observed will tend to do more (thus changing their behavior, which will skew the study)

Observation Bias  Problem when researchers consciously or inadvertently influence the collection of data or observations.  Example: Researcher is trying to proove their theory by shaping the collection of data.

Anthropomorphic Error or fallacy  Error in identifying human attributes to animals  Example: identifying thoughts, feelings to behavior of animals

Correlational Studies  Studies that try to isolate behavior causation and the relationship between variables  Finds the degree of relationship between two variables or traits.  Results of data are expressed or reported in a Coefficient of Correlation

Coefficient of Correlation  Data that determines association of at least two variables  Expressed: If 0 = then association is nonexistent or weak If = Perfect Positive Correlation= Increase in one trait correlates to increase in other. If = Perfect Negative = increase in trait and decrease in the other trait

Experimental Psychology  Used to answer the why questions in psych  Experiments are formal trials to confirm or disconfirm hypothesis

Typical Experiment  2 groups of subjects Experimental Group- exposed to the independent variable* that is being analyazed. AKA the cause of the behavior. Experimental Group- exposed to the independent variable* that is being analyazed. AKA the cause of the behavior. Control Group: exposed to all the conditions except the independent variable. Control Group: exposed to all the conditions except the independent variable. Provides a reference for comparison, isolates the impact of independent variable (the item being investigated)Provides a reference for comparison, isolates the impact of independent variable (the item being investigated) *Variable= is any condition that can change and might effect the outcome of the experiment.

3 Types of Experiment Variables  Independent Variables Suspected cause of behavior Suspected cause of behavior Conditions altered by experimenter Conditions altered by experimenter  Dependent Variables Measures the results of experiment Measures the results of experiment Reveals the effects of Independent variable on behavior Reveals the effects of Independent variable on behavior  Extraneous Variable Outside variable – the researcher try to exclude from consideration Outside variable – the researcher try to exclude from consideration

How can results of a study be evaluated?  Experiments that are labeled “Statistically significant” are studies that are reliable, because the independent variable will rarely occur by chance.  Replicating Results indicate reliability of studies.

Meta-Analysis  Multiple studies are combined to determine overall trends

Placebo Effect  Drug studies may be influenced by suggestion  The act of taking a pill or injection may influence behavior= psychosomatic reaction.  Expectation may be a factor  To control the Placebo effect- single blind and double blind experiments could be used.

Single Blind and Double Blind  Single Blind- participants do not know if they are receiving a placebo or the drug  Double Blind- Neither the subject or the patient know who has the drug or placebo

Clinical Studies  Single Subject – person  In-depth study of all aspects of a single subject (not an experiment)  Example of Phineas Gage- ?p=231 ?p=231 ?p=231

 When Dr. John Martyn Harlow arrived, Phineas was conscious and had a regular heartbeat, and both of his pupils reacted to light normally. He was reported to be "in full possession of his reason, and free from pain." He was under the care of Dr. Harlow for ten weeks, at which point he was sent home to Lebanon, New Hampshire. But while he was recovering, the doctor noted some changes in the man's demeanor and personality. People who had known him before the accident described him as hard-working, responsible, and popular with his workers, but after the traumatic injury, Phineas Gage was not the same man.  In regards to his patient, Dr. Harlow wrote:  Gage was fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity (which was not previously his custom), manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires, at times pertinaciously obstinate, yet capricious and vacillating, devising many plans of future operations, which are no sooner arranged than they are abandoned in turn for others appearing more feasible. A child in his intellectual capacity and manifestations, he has the animal passions of a strong man. Previous to his injury, although untrained in the schools, he possessed a well- balanced mind, and was looked upon by those who knew him as a shrewd, smart businessman, very energetic and persistent in executing all his plans of operation. In this regard his mind was radically changed, so decidedly that his friends and acquaintances said he was 'no longer Gage'.

Survey Methods  Polling psychological questions  Problem of wording- questions mus be clear and appropriate  Pre-testing- questions may help insure good questions  Sampling- representative sample- a small group represents the larger population  Courtesy bias or Social desirability- people don’t respond truthfully when talking about some sensitive questions.  Race and Gender bias- can skew results

Ethics in Psychology  Do not harm  Describe risks to subjects  Voluntary participation  Minimize discomfort  Maintain confidentiality  No invasion of privacy  Use deception only when necessary  Debrief on events  Provide results and interpretations  Treat participants with dignity and respect