1 The Science of Psychology

Module 1 Psychology's Domains

Learning Objectives LO 1.1 What is psychology? What are its goals? LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? LO 1.4 How is the field of psychology continuing to grow and change? LO 1.5 Why do psychologists perform research? LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? LO 1.7 How does psychology benefit society?

LO 1.1 What is psychology? What are its goals? Psychology - scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior - outward or overt actions and reactions. Mental processes - internal, covert activity of our minds.

LO 1.1 What is psychology? What are its goals? Psychology is a science. Prevent possible biases from leading to faulty observations. Precise and careful measurement.

Psychology's Four Goals LO 1.1 What is psychology? What are its goals? Description What is happening? Explanation Why is it happening? Theory - general explanation of a set of observations or facts.

Psychology's Four Goals LO 1.1 What is psychology? What are its goals? Prediction Will it happen again? Control How can it be changed?

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Structuralism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Structuralism Focused on structure or basic elements of the mind.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Structuralism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Wilhelm Wundt's psychology laboratory Germany in 1879 Developed the technique of objective introspection – process of objectively examining and measuring one's thoughts and mental activities.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Structuralism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Edward Titchener Wundt's student; brought structuralism to America.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Structuralism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? G. Stanley Hall Titchener's student; American; founded first psychology lab in the U.S.; first person to earn a Ph.D. in psychology in U.S. Founded the American Psychological Association (APA) and became its first president.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Functionalism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Functionalism How the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play. Proposed by William James. Influenced the modern fields of: Educational psychology Evolutionary psychology Industrial/organizational psychology

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Functionalism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Mary Whiton Calkins James' student; denied Ph.D. because she was female. First female president of the APA. Francis Cecil Sumner First African-American to earn Ph.D.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Psychoanalysis LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Psychoanalysis - the theory and therapy based on the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud's patients suffered from nervous disorders with no found physical cause. Freud proposed that there is an unconscious (unaware) mind into which we push, or repress, all of our threatening urges and desires.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Psychoanalysis LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Freud's patients suffered from nervous disorders with no found physical cause. He believed that these repressed urges, in trying to surface, created nervous disorders. Freud stressed the importance of early childhood experiences.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Behaviorism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Behaviorism The science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only. Must be directly seen and measured.

LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Behaviorism LO 1.2 What is the history of psychology as a scientific discipline? Proposed by John B. Watson. Based much from work of Ivan Pavlov who demonstrated that a reflex could be conditioned (learned). Watson believed that phobias were learned. Case of “Little Albert” – taught to fear a white rat.

LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Modern Perspectives LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Psychodynamic perspective - modern version of psychoanalysis. More focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of other motivations behind a person's behavior than repressed desires.

LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Modern Perspectives LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Behavioral perspective B. F. Skinner studied operant conditioning of voluntary behavior. Behaviorism became a major force in the twentieth century. Skinner introduced the concept of reinforcement to behaviorism.

LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Modern Perspectives LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Humanistic perspective Owes far more to the early roots of psychology in the field of philosophy than it does to the more scientific fields of medicine and physiology. Early founders: Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers

LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Modern Perspectives LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Humanistic perspective (continued) Emphasized the human potential, the ability of each person to become the best person he or she could be. Self-actualization - achieving one's full potential or actual self.

LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Modern Perspectives LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Cognitive perspective Focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning. Cognitive neuroscience – the study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system. Sociocultural perspective Focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture.

LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Modern Perspectives LO 1.3 What are the major modern psychological perspectives? Biopsychological perspective Attributes human and animal behavior to biological events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of the nervous system.

LO 1.4 How is the field of psychology continuing to grow and change? Psychology Growth LO 1.4 How is the field of psychology continuing to grow and change? Two relatively new areas of research: Evolutionary psychology Focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share. Looks at the way the mind works and why it works as it does. Behavior is seen as having an adaptive or survival value.

LO 1.4 How is the field of psychology continuing to grow and change? Psychology Growth LO 1.4 How is the field of psychology continuing to grow and change? Two relatively new areas of research (continued): Positive psychology - recommends shifting the focus of psychology away from negative aspects to more positive focus on strengths, well-being, and the pursuit of happiness.

LO 1.5 Why do psychologists perform research? Reasons for Research LO 1.5 Why do psychologists perform research? Research allows psychologists to collect facts and data to support theories. May lead to new theories. Results can be applied to everyday problems.

Major Subfields of Psychology LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? Clinical psychology - area of psychology in which psychologists diagnose and treat people with mild to severe psychological disorders. Counseling psychology - area of psychology in which psychologists treat people with less severe problems, such as adjustment to stress, marriage, family life, work, etc.

Major Subfields of Psychology LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? Developmental psychology - area of psychology in which psychologists study the changes in people. the way people think how people relate to others the way people feel as they age

Major Subfields of Psychology LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? Experimental psychology - area of psychology in which the psychologists primarily do research and experiments in the areas of learning, memory, thinking, perception, motivation, and language.

Major Subfields of Psychology LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? Social psychology - area of psychology in which the psychologists focus on how human behavior is affected by the presence of other people. Personality psychology - area of psychology in which the psychologists study the differences in personality among people.

Major Subfields of Psychology LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? Physiological psychology - area of psychology in which the psychologists study the biological bases of behavior. Comparative psychology - area of psychology in which the psychologists study animals and their behavior for the purpose of comparing and contrasting it to human behavior.

Major Subfields of Psychology LO 1.6 What are the major subfields of psychology? Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology - area of psychology concerned with the relationships between people and their work environment.

Figure 1.2 Work Settings and Subfields of Psychology (a) There are many different work settings for psychologists. Although not obvious from the chart,many psychologists work in more than one setting. For example, a clinical psychologist may work in a hospital setting and teach at a university or college (Tsapogas et al., 2006). (b) This pie chart shows the specialty areas of psychologists who recently received their doctorates (Hoffer et al., 2007). Note: Due to rounding, percentages may not total to 100 percent.

LO 1.7 How does psychology benefit society? Benefits for Society LO 1.7 How does psychology benefit society? Research, counseling, treatment, and teaching are used to understand the mind and improve lives. Researchers conduct experiments. Can improve human lives. Can improve animals' lives.

Module 2 Research Methods and Ethics

Learning Objectives LO 2.1 What is the scientific method? LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? LO 2.3 How do researchers ensure their findings are valid? LO 2.4 Why do some researchers study animals instead of people? LO 2.5 What ethical guidelines do psychologists follow when they research humans? LO 2.6 Are there different ethical guidelines for research with animals?

Psychology and the Scientific Method LO 2.1 What is the scientific method? Scientific method System of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement are reduced.

Psychology and the Scientific Method LO 2.1 What is the scientific method? Steps in the Scientific Method: Formulate the question. Develop a hypothesis – tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations. Test the hypothesis.

Psychology and the Scientific Method LO 2.1 What is the scientific method? Steps in the Scientific Method (continued): Draw conclusions. Report your results so that others can try to replicate - repeat the study or experiment to see if the same results will be obtained in an effort to demonstrate reliability of results.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Descriptive Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Naturalistic observation Watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment. Advantage: Realistic picture of behavior.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Descriptive Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Disadvantages: Observer effect - tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed. Observer bias - tendency of observers to see what they expect to see. Each naturalistic setting is unique and observations may not hold.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Descriptive Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Laboratory observation Watching animals or humans behave in a laboratory setting. Advantage: Control over environment. Disadvantage: Artificial situation that may result in artificial behavior.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Descriptive Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Case study - study of one individual or individual group in great detail. Advantage: Realistic picture of behavior. Disadvantages: Cannot apply to others. Vulnerable to bias. Famous case study: Phineas Gage.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Descriptive Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Surveys Researchers will ask a series of questions about the topic under study. Given to a representative sample - randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects. Population The entire group of people or animals in which the researcher is interested.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Descriptive Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Advantages: Data from large numbers of people. Study covert behaviors. Disadvantages: Have to ensure representative sample (or results not meaningful). People are not always accurate (courtesy bias).

Correlational Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Correlation A measure of the relationship between two variables. Variable Anything that can change or vary.

Correlational Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Correlation (continued) Measures of two variables go into a mathematical formula and produce a correlation coefficient (r), which represents two things: direction of the relationship. strength of the relationship. Knowing the value of one variable allows researchers to predict the value of the other variable.

Correlational Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Correlation does not prove causation.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experimental Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experimental group - subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable. Control group - subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment (controls for confounding variables).

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experimental Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Random assignment - process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group. Controls for confounding (extraneous, interfering) variables.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experimental Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experiment A deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships. Operational definition Definition of a variable of interest that allows it to be directly measured.

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experimental Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Parents or guardians of minors must give informed consent (permission to participate in experiment after the risks and purpose of the experiment have been explained).

LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Experimental Methods LO 2.2 What methods do researchers use to study behavior? Independent variable (IV) - variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter. Dependent variable (DV) - variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment.

LO 2.3 How do researchers ensure their findings are valid? Experimental Methods LO 2.3 How do researchers ensure their findings are valid? Placebo effect The phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior. Single-blind study Subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group (reduces placebo effect).

LO 2.3 How do researchers ensure their findings are valid? Experimental Methods LO 2.3 How do researchers ensure their findings are valid? Experimenter effect Tendency of the experimenter's expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study. Double-blind study Neither the experimenter nor the subjects knows if the subjects are in the experimental or control group (reduces placebo effect and experimenter effect). Everything gets coded or tracked by a confederate (assistant to experimenter).

Psychology and Animal Research LO 2.4 Why do some researchers study animals instead of people? Answers questions we could never do with human research. Benefits to humans outweigh hazards to which research animals are exposed. tobacco/cancer correlation vaccines for deadly diseases insulin treatments for diabetes transplants

Psychology and Animal Research LO 2.4 Why do some researchers study animals instead of people? Researchers must act responsibly and ethically.

Ethics in Psychological Research LO 2.5 What ethical guidelines do psychologists follow when they research humans? Institutional review boards (IRBs) - scrutinize research proposals to make sure ethical standards are maintained. Common ethical guidelines: Humanitarian - Rights and well-being of participants must be weighed against the study's value to science.

Ethics in Psychological Research LO 2.5 What ethical guidelines do psychologists follow when they research humans? Common ethical guidelines: Informed consent - Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about participation. Justification - Deception must be justified. Right to withdraw - Participants may withdraw from the study at any time.

Ethics in Psychological Research LO 2.5 What ethical guidelines do psychologists follow when they research humans? Common ethical guidelines (continued): Risks and benefits - Participants must be protected from risks or told explicitly of risks. Debriefing - Investigator must debrief participants, telling the true nature of the study and expectations of results. Confidentiality - Data must remain confidential.

Ethics in Psychological Research LO 2.6 Are there different ethical guidelines for research with animals? Focus is on avoiding exposing animals to unnecessary pain or suffering. Animals are used in approximately 7% of psychological studies.

Module 3 Statistics

Learning Objectives LO 3.1 What are descriptive statistics? LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? LO 3.3 What are correlation coefficients? What do they tell researchers about relationships? LO 3.4 What are inferential statistics? LO 3.5 How do the concepts of validity and reliability relate to statistics?

Psychology and Data Analysis LO 3.1 What are descriptive statistics? Statistical analysis - way of trying to account for the error that exists in almost any body of data. Statistics - branch of mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of numerical data.

Descriptive Statistics LO 3.1 What are descriptive statistics? Descriptive statistics way of organizing numbers and summarizing them so that patterns can be determined.

Descriptive Statistics LO 3.1 What are descriptive statistics? Measures of Central Tendency - used to summarize data and give you one score that seems typical of your sample. Mean - average score within a group of scores, calculated by adding all of the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

Descriptive Statistics LO 3.1 What are descriptive statistics? Measures of Central Tendency (continued) Median - middle score in an ordered distribution of scores, or the mean of the two middle numbers; the 50th percentile. Mode - most frequent score in a distribution of scores.

Descriptive Statistics LO 3.1 What are descriptive statistics? Measures of Variability - used to indicate the range of data. Range - difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution. Standard Deviation - statistical measure of the average variation from the mean score.

Table 3.1 Intelligence Test Scores for 10 People

Table 3.2 How to Find the Standard Deviation

LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Researchers choose the graphs or charts that most accurately represents the data they have found.

LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Frequency distribution - table or graph that shows how often different numbers or scores appear in a particular set of scores. Histogram – graph that shows a frequency distribution. Polygon - line graph that shows a frequency distribution.

LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Normal curve - special frequency polygon in which the scores are symmetrically distributed around the mean, and the mean, median, and mode are all located on the same point on the curve with scores decreasing as the curve extends from the mean. Bell curve - alternate name for the normal curve, which is said to be shaped like a bell.

LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Distributions LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Skewed distributions - not equal on both sides of a central score with the highest frequency. Instead, the scores are concentrated toward one side of the distribution.

LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Distributions LO 3.2 What types of tables and graphs represent patterns in data? Negatively skewed - concentration of scores in the high end of the distribution. Positively skewed - concentration of scores in the low end of the distribution.

Table 3.3 A Frequency Distribution

Figure 3.1 A Histogram Histograms provide a visual way to look at data from frequency distributions. In this graph, for example, the height of the bars indicates that most people drink four to eight glasses of water (represented by the five highest bars in the middle of the graph).

Figure 3.2 A Polygon A polygon is a line graph that can represent the data in a frequency distribution in much the same way as a bar graph but allows the shape of the data to be easily viewed.

Figure 3.3 A Normal Curve The normal curve, also known as the bell curve because of its unique shape, is often the way in which certain characteristics such as intelligence or weight are represented in the population. The highest point on the curve typically represents the average score in any distribution. Scores on intelligence tests are typically represented by the normal curve.

Figure 3.4 A Frequency Polygon Skewed distributions are those in which the most frequent scores occur at one end or the other of the distribution, as represented by this frequency polygon in which most people are seen to drink seven to eight glasses of water each day.

Finding Relationships LO 3.3 What are correlation coefficients? What do they tell researchers about relationships? Correlation - a measure of the relationship between two variables. Use formula to determine correlation coefficient (strength and direction of relationship between variables).

Finding Relationships LO 3.3 What are correlation coefficients? What do they tell researchers about relationships? Positive correlation coefficient - variables are related in the same direction. As one increases, the other increases; as one decreases, the other decreases. Negative correlation coefficient - variables are related in opposite direction. As one increases, the other decreases.

Finding Relationships LO 3.3 What are correlation coefficients? What do they tell researchers about relationships? Correlation coefficient ranges from –1.00 to +1.00. Closer to 1.00 or -1.00, the stronger the relationship between the variables. No correlation = .0 (weak). Perfect positive correlation = +1.00. Perfect negative correlation = -1.00 Perfect correlations rarely occur in the real world.

Figure 3.5 Examples of Correlations Five scatter plots showing direction and strength of correlation. It should be noted that perfect correlations, whether positive or negative, rarely occur in the real world.

Inferential Statistics LO 3.4 What are inferential statistics? Inferential statistics - statistical analysis of two or more sets of numerical data to reduce the possibility of error in measurement and to determine if the differences between the data sets are greater than chance variation would predict.

Inferential Statistics LO 3.4 What are inferential statistics? All inferential statistics look for differences in group measurements that are statistically significant. Statistical significance - way to test differences to see how likely those differences are to be real and not just caused by the random variations in behavior that exist in everything animals and people do.

Inferential Statistics LO 3.4 What are inferential statistics? Tests of significance give researchers the probability that the results of their experiment were caused by chance and not by their experimental manipulation. Researchers are satisfied when tests indicate there is a 95 percent likelihood that their experimental results did not occur by chance.

Statistical Concepts LO 3.5 How do the concepts of validity and reliability relate to statistics? Reliability - tendency of a test to produce the same scores again and again each time it is given to the same people. Validity - degree to which a test actually measures what it is supposed to measure.