General Psychology and Methods Lap 1

What is Psychology? Psychology: the scientific study of the mind and behavior Chapter 1, Section 1

What does Psychology want to accomplish?

Approaches to Psychology Many different approaches to study behavior each does it differently (the how) Developmental (Lap 5) Cognitive (Lap 5) Neuroscience/ Psychobiology– the brain Socio-cultural/ Social-- interactions Health/ Clinical/ Mental illness Chapter 1, Section 1

How does Psychology reach its goals? By studying behaviors… Observable Examples: eat food Unobservable Examples: hunger, boredom, coping mechanism… Objective XX is holding a pencil Facts- detached, balanced, unbiased Subjective Observations I like your headband Opinions- personal, emotional, biased

Goals of Psych Q: What does each indicate is important to psychologists? Why valuable? How misused? Which is most important? Q: What future behaviors could be predicted based on your own past behaviors?

Historical Approaches to Psychology The Beginning Wm.Wundt – founder of Psych as a science First experimental Psych research lab To scientifically study and collect data on the mind Structuralism –Study behavior to determine a structure to the thought process Methods: Systematic Introspection- describe your own experiences/ thoughts with self-observation Collect data on one’s own conscious experiences/ reactions Flaws- reporting own feelings is unreliable/ biased Chapter 1, section 2

Historical Approaches to Psychology William James- Father of Psych (in the US) Book: The Principles of Psychology Functionalism- Studied functions of mental processes Especially when in adapting to the environment What is the purpose of behavior and mental processes? To adapt and survive (Darwin Reaction to Structuralism Methods: improved research methods/ scientific method Flaws: can this be studied directly??

Historical Approaches to Psychology Sigmund Freud Book: The Interpretation of Dreams Psychoanalysis- Studied the unconscious mind To explain behavior, personality, and mental/ physical disorders Thoughts and desires influence our behavior Expressed in dreams and “slips of the tongue” CONTROVERSIAL Methods: Psychothreapy (with Jung) To collect data and interpret unconscious thoughts Dream analysis Free Association- say anything Flaws- reporting and analysis unreliable/ biased

Newer Approaches to Psychology Watson and Skinner Behaviorism- Behavior is a product of prior learning Behavior without thought… like a reaction/ impulse A response to Functionalism and Psychoanalysis Method: study observable behaviors More in Lap 3!

Wertheimer Gestalt psychology emphasized perception of “whole pattern” (‘Gestalt’) of behavior See behavior in its entirety, not in isolation Reaction to Structuralism, Behaviorists, and Freud Method: focus on the conscious mind to study how sensations affect perceptions… leads to Humanist and Cognitive Psychology Flaw:

Methods: invented modern personality tests Sir Francis Galton Nature vs. nurture Inheritable Traits- Study genius, ability, character, and personality to determine if they are hereditary Methods: invented modern personality tests

Newer Approaches to Psychology Carl Rogers, Abe Maslow Humanism- the importance of the individual Emphasizes the inner-self and the importance of feelings, not the unconscious or environment Behaviors are self-directed See the whole person A response to Psychoanalysis, Behaviorists, and Gestalt Methods: client centered therapy, emphasized subjective meaning Flaws: unobservable inner experiences– data???

Newer Approaches to Psychology Piaget, Ellis Cognitive Psych.- Studied mental processes Inner mental processes outward, measurable behavior How do our thoughts determine behavior? How do we process, store, retrieve, and use info? How do we perceive, learn, and remember info? A response to Functionalism, Gestalt, and Behaviorism Methods: study observable, measurable behavior Flaws: More in Lap 3!

The Scientific Method: See Activity #3 Chart Chapter 2, Sec 1

Scientific Method Example Question: Does Bayer Aspirin relieve headaches better than a placebo? Hypothesis: Control Group vs. Experimental Group Independent Variable vs. Dependent Variable Perform Experiment- systematically gather data Analyze data and draw conclusions

Scientific Method Independent Variable (IV) –manipulated by the researcher IF Ex: If you take aspirin in X dose, will your headache go away? Dependent Variable (DV) – the behavior or response that is measured THEN The headache- hopefully, is affected by the aspirin Chapter 2

Scientific Method Biased sample Placebo effect Double Blind Experiment Correlations Validity Reliability

Experiments Which type of experiment would you do? Case Study Survey Naturalistic Observation

Psychology as a Profession Psychologist Psychiatry- medical doctor Clinical psychologist- interprets tests Councilor – everyday life Developmental/ Educational Etc….