Psychology as a Profession Psychologist Observe, analyze, evaluate behavior Doctorate degree Psychiatrist Medical degree + training in psychiatric medicine Can prescribe medication May work with a psychologists when seeing a patient Phrenology encouraged psychologists to study the role of the brain, rather than the heart, in human behavior.
Clinical Psychologist diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances psychotherapists, dealing with personal problems (mental hospitals, private offices, prisons etc.) Counseling Psychologist help people deal with problems of everyday life Developmental Psychologist Study changes that occur throughout life Study physical, emotional, cognitive and social changes throughout life
Experimental Psychologist performs experiments and does research to understand behaviors Community Psychologist Mental health or social welfare agency; design, run, evaluate mental health clinics Sports Psychologist Mix of biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology Studies how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sports affect psychological factors
Educational Psychologist helps students learn Industrial or Organizational Psychologist employed by businesses to boost production, improve working conditions, make the workplace a more satisfying environment
Research v. Applied Psychology Research Psychologists – study origins, causes, results of behavior Applied Psychologists – make direct use of the findings of research psychologist; deal directly with clients
Methods of Research Naturalistic Observation Case Study Observe subjects in a natural setting without interfering Natural behavior Phrenology encouraged psychologists to study the role of the brain, rather than the heart, in human behavior. Case Study Intensive investigation of one or more participants long-term observations, diaries, tests, interviews
Cross-sectional Study Survey Interviews, questionnaires, or both asking many individuals a fixed set of questions Longitudinal Study Data is collected over a number of years Development time-consuming Cross-sectional Study Different age groups – same time – compare
Longitudinal vs. Cross-Sectional
Psychological Experiments Phrenology encouraged psychologists to study the role of the brain, rather than the heart, in human behavior.
Double-Blind Experiment Neither participants nor experiment knows which received medication keeps researcher unbiased Placebo effect change in illness/physical state from knowledge and perception of treatment believing it will have an effect fake medication