The Science of Psychology Unit 1 The Science of Psychology

Outline What is Psychology? The Growth of Psychology Human Diversity Psychology as a Science Research Methods in Psychology Ethics in Psychology Chapter 1 Learning Objectives Define psychology and describe the most important issues and topics that present-day psychologists study. Describe the origins of psychology and identify the major historical views that have guided its development as a discipline up to the present time. Suggest why the study of human diversity is essential to the field of psychology. Describe the basic premises on which a scientific field is based and suggest how the scientific method accomplishes the purposes of science. Identify the strengths and limitations of each of the major scientific methods of research employed by psychologists: naturalistic observation, case studies, surveys, correlational research, experimental research, and multimethod research. Summarize the major principles that govern the ethical standards adopted by psychologists and describe their importance in guiding research in the field.

What Is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Psychologists are interested in every aspect of human thought, feeling and behavior. Stress: Psychology is more than the study of abnormal behavior Highlight: Case Study on Toyota’s investment in their employees

Fields of Psychology Seven of the largest subfields of Psychology include: Developmental Physiological Experimental Personality Clinical and Counseling Social Industrial and Organizational

Developmental Psychology Studies human physical, mental, social and emotional growth from conception to death Child psychologists Adolescent psychologists Life-span psychologists Most Developmental Psychologist’s focus on a particular stage of human development Child psychologists Study examples: Are babies born with certain temperaments? How infants become attached to caregivers Adolescent psychologists How puberty affects development Relationships with peers and parents Life-span psychologists Marriage and children Facing the transitions related to aging

Physiological Psychology Investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions Neuropsychologists Psychobiologists Behavioral geneticists Neuropsychologists are interested in the inner workings of the brain and nervous system and how behaviors, thoughts and emotions are controlled Psychobiologists study the body’s biochemistry and the ways that hormones, psychoactive medications and “social drugs” affects us Behavioral geneticists explore the impact of heredity on both normal and abnormal behavior Neuropsychologists Study examples: How does the brain enable us to perceive the world through our senses? How does the brain allow us to think, speak, sleep, move, etc. Psychobiologists How hormones and puberty are related to mood swings How alcohol consumption during pregnancy impairs development Behavioral geneticists What degree of intelligence is hereditary? Do illnesses such as alcoholism and depression have a genetic component?

Experimental Psychology Researches basic psychological processes including: Learning Memory Sensation Perception Thinking Motivation Emotion Study examples: How do people remember information and what makes them forget? Do men and women solve complex problems in different ways?

Personality Psychology Studies differences among individuals in traits such as: Emotional stability Self-esteem Aggressive inclinations Openness to new experiences Study examples: Why are some people optimists and others pessimists? Are there consistent differences in personality characteristics between males and females?

Clinical and Counseling Psychology Seeks to help people deal more successfully with their lives Clinical psychologists Interested primarily in the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of psychological disorders Counseling psychologists Concerned primarily with “normal” everyday problems of adjustments in life Clinical psychologists Interested primarily in the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of psychological disorders Study examples: Dealing with depression or anxiety Counseling psychologists Concerned primarily with “normal” everyday problems of adjustments in life Making difficult career choices Coping with a troubled marriage

Social Psychology Studies how people influence one another Study examples: Persuasive communications Obedience to authority Conformity to group norms Interaction of work team members Social psychologists look beyond a person’s personality characteristics to determine their thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology Applied to the workplace Selecting and training personnel Improving productivity and working conditions Impact of computerization and automation on workers

Three Perspectives Behavioristic view Behavior is shaped and controlled by one’s environment. Emphasizes Study of observable behavior Effects of learning Reward and punishment

Three Perspectives Cognitive view Behavior understood in terms of mental processing of information Explains behavior in terms of information processing Self-talk Beliefs

Three Perspectives Psychodynamic View Behavior result of hidden or unconscious forces Clashing forces within personality We’ll explore core-beliefs or core-issues later

Enduring Issues in Psychology All psychologists share a common interest in five enduring human issues: Person (personality)/Situation (environment) Nature/Nurture Stability/Change Diversity/Universality Mind/Body Person/Situation Is behavior caused by internal factors (thoughts, emotions, etc.) or by external factors (incentives, presence of others, etc.)? Nature/Nurture Is the person we become because of innate, inborn tendencies, or a reflection on experiences and upbringing? Stability/Change Are our characteristics permanent and fixed, or do we change over the course of our lives? Diversity/Universality To what extent are we similar to each other? Mind/Body How are our minds and bodies connected (i.e. how thoughts and feelings are linked to activity in our nervous system)?

Human Diversity Little attention was paid to human diversity throughout most of the 20th century Today, understanding human diversity is viewed as being essential. Psychologists have begun to examine how culture, gender, race, and ethnicity can affect human behavior

The Value of Studying Diversity Understanding cultural, racial, ethnic and gender differences in thinking and behavior: Reduces interpersonal tensions Separates fact from fiction Helps us understand how and why groups differ in their values, behaviors, approaches to the world, thought processes and responses to situations Increases appreciation of the many universal features of human behavior

Race and Ethnicity Race shapes people’s social identities, senses of self, experiences and even health Psychologists study why race is important and how individuals select or create an ethnic identity and respond to stereotypes Most ethnic minorities are still underrepresented among the ranks of psychologists

Science and the Scientific Method All scientific fields are based on empirical observation Phenomena of interest can be observed and measured All scientific fields rely on the scientific method as the basis of study A systematic method of generating hypotheses (educated guesses), collecting data, and explaining the data Data is explained using theories to organize known facts and predict relationships Allow scientists to formulate new hypothesis to expand on the scope of the theories

Research Methods To collect data systematically and objectively, psychologists use a variety of research methods including: Naturalistic Observation Case Studies Surveys Correlational Research Experimental Research

Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording the behavior of humans or animals in their natural environment Advantages Observed behavior is likely to be more accurate, spontaneous and varied than in a laboratory Disadvantages Observer bias May not be able to generalize to other settings or people Observer bias Presence of an observer may alter the participants’ behavior Expectations, or biases, of the observer might influence the interpretation of what was actually observed

Case Studies Intensive description and analysis of a single individual or a few individuals Advantages Can yield a great deal of detailed, descriptive information Disadvantages The individual or group is unique – difficult to draw conclusions from a single case Can be time consuming and expensive Observer bias

Surveys A research technique in which questionnaires or interviews are administered to a selected group of people Advantages Large quantity of information quickly Relatively inexpensive Disadvantages Must pay close attention to the survey questions Respondents may not be representative Response bias (answering the way one ‘should’) Truthfulness of responses

Experimental Method A research technique in which an investigator deliberately manipulates selected events or circumstances (variables), then measures the effects on one’s behavior See Psych!Live video

Experimental Research Independent variable The variable that is manipulated by the experimenter to test its effects Dependent variable The variable that is measured to see how it is changed by the independent variable

The Psychology Experiment What are variables? Variable Any condition that can change Anything that might affect an experiment’s outcome

Three types of variables Independent - cause Dependent - effect Extraneous – interfere with results

Experimental Research Experimental group The group subjected to a change in the independent variable Control group The group not subjected to a change in the independent variable

Experimental Research Advantages Can draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships Disadvantages Lab setting may influence subjects’ behavior Unexpected and uncontrolled variables may confound results All variables cannot be controlled and manipulated

Importance of Sampling A drawback to every form of research is that it is impossible to measure every variable Study a small sample and then generalize the information to the larger population Sample Selection of cases from a larger population Random sample Each potential participant has an equal chance of being selected Representative sample The characteristics of the participants corresponds closely to the characteristics of the larger population

Stanley Milgram’s Studies on obedience Read “RESEARCH ON HUMANS: THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENTS” on pp. 28 to 29 of your text Video

Was Stanley Milgram’s Study of Obedience Unethical? Milgram demonstrated convincingly that situational influences can lead most people to obey the commands of an authority. Although Milgram followed standard experimental protocols, should these experiments have been conducted at all, or the research participants placed in that position? Discussion: What are the pros and cons of Milgram’s studies?

APA Code of Ethics Participants must be informed of the nature of the research in understandable language Informed consent must be documented Risks, possible adverse side effects and limitations on confidentiality must be given in advance If participation is for course credit, equitable alternative activities must be offered Cannot deceive about aspects of the research that would affect participants’ willingness to participate Deception about the goals of the research can be used only when absolutely necessary to the integrity to the research

Research on Animals Animals are used in experiments in which it would be clearly unethical to use human participants APA’s ethical guidelines Researchers must ensure “appropriate consideration of [the animal’s] comfort, health, and humane treatment.”

Animals have helped us understand: Stress Learning Obesity Aging Sleep Many other things