1. P SYCHOLOGY FOR M IDWIVES May 17, 2012

2. W HAT IS P SYCHOLOGY ? What is psychology? The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology focuses on critical thinking and is scientific.

3. P SYCHOLOGY ’ S F OUR G OALS 1.Description: tells “what” occurred 2.Explanation: tells “why” a behavior or mental process occurred 3.Prediction: identifies conditions under which a future behavior or mental process is likely to occur 4.Change: applies psychological knowledge to prevent unwanted behavior or to bring about desired goals

4. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY Basic Research: conducted to advance scientific knowledge Applied Research: designed to solve practical problems

5. The Scientific Method

6. Four key research methods: 1.Experimental 2.Descriptive 3.Correlational 4.Biological T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY : R ESEARCH M ETHODS

7. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY : F OUR K EY R ESEARCH M ETHODS

8. 1. Experimental Research: carefully controlled scientific procedure that manipulates variables to determine cause and effect

9. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — T HE E XPERIMENT Key features of an experiment: Independent variable (factor that is manipulated) versus dependent variable (factor that is measured) Experimental group (receives treatment) versus control group (receives no treatment)

10. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY —T HE E XPERIMENT Does a hostile birth environment lengthen of labor? Only an experiment can determine cause and effect.

11. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — D ESCRIPTIVE R ESEARCH 2.Descriptive Research: observes and records behavior without producing causal explanations

12. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY —D ESCRIPTIVE R ESEARCH Three types of descriptive research: Naturalistic Observation (observation and recording of behavior in natural state or habitat) Survey (assessment of a sample or population) Case Study (in-depth study of a single participant)

13. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — C ORRELATIONAL R ESEARCH 3.Correlational Research: scientific study in which the researcher observes or measures (without directly manipulating) two or more variables to find relationships between them

14. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — C ORRELATIONAL R ESEARCH Positive Correlation: two variables move (or vary) in the same direction—either up or down

15. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — C ORRELATIONAL R ESEARCH Negative Correlation: two variables move (or vary) in the opposite direction—either up or down

16. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — C ORRELATIONAL R ESEARCH Zero Correlation: no relationship between two variables (when one variable increases, the other can increase, decrease, or stay the same)

20. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — C ORRELATIONAL R ESEARCH Can you see why correlation can never show cause and effect?

21. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY — B IOLOGICAL R ESEARCH 4. Biological Research: scientific study of the brain and other parts of the nervous system

22. T HE S CIENCE OF P SYCHOLOGY  Potential problems:  Experimenter bias: researcher influences the research results in the expected direction  Ethnocentrism: believing one's culture is typical of all cultures  Sample bias: research participants are unrepresentative of the larger population  Participant bias: research participants are influenced by the researcher or experimental conditions

23. P SEUDOPSYCHOLOGIES Appear to be science but not Often because they cannot be tested according to the scientific method OR because its not real Examples: palmistry, psychometry, psychokinesis, astrology, psychics Psychic Medium

24. P SYCHOLOGY T HEORY AND M IDWIFERY A PPLICATIONS

25. I NTRODUCTION TO T HEORIES What is a theory? Definition – set of ideas that provides a framework for asking questions about a phenomenon, as well as gathering and interpreting information about that phenomenon Why Study Theories? Theory: helps ORGANIZE communications and other observations into systematic understanding of problems; puts research findings in a context serves as a GUIDE for interventions and a guide for meaningful research SOURCE of hypotheses to use in developing and testing interventions

26. B IOLOGICAL T HEORIES Structural Genetic Biochemical Imbalances in neurotransmitters or hormones or poor functioning of receptors for neurotransmitters Two systems neurotransmitter system & endocrine system

28. B IOLOGICAL T HEORIES - B IOCHEMICAL

29. P SYCHOLOGICAL T HEORIES

30. P SYCHODYNAMIC /P SYCHOANALYSIS What is psychoanalysis? 1. Theory of personality 2. Theory of abnormality 3. A method of investigating the mind 4. A form of treatment for psychopathology Developed by Sigmund Freud during late nineteenth century These theories have grown, evolved, changed, been challenged, been dismissed, been saved throughout time

31. P SYCHODYNAMIC /P SYCHOANALYSIS

32. B EHAVIORISM Behaviorists focus on the influences of reinforcements and punishments on producing behaviors Learning Types: Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Modeling & Observational Learning

34. B EHAVIORISM Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) emotional responses are classically conditioned to a previously neutral stimulus (NS) Stimulus Generalization: learned response to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimuli (CS) Stimulus Discrimination: learned response to a specific stimulus, but not to other, similar stimuli

35. Operant Conditioning Increases Response Rate Decreases Response Rate Stimulus is added Positive Reinforcement Positive Punishment Stimulus is removed Negative Reinforcement Negative Punishment

36. B EHAVIORISM Shaping: reinforcement by a series of successively improved steps leading to desired response

37. B EHAVIORISM Modeling & Observational Learning (Social Learning Theory) Modeling – learning new behaviors by imitating behaviors of important people in one’s life Observational Learning – learning new behaviors by observing rewards and punishments an important person in one’s life receives from performing/engaging in certain behaviors

38. C OGNITIVE Cognitions (thoughts and beliefs) shape our behaviors and the emotions we experience Problems caused by disordered thinking Causal attributions – why something happens? (temporary vs. persistent) Control beliefs – was what happened in our control or not? Dysfunctional assumptions – beliefs about how things work/are (positive vs. negative)

39. C OGNITIVE

40. H UMANIST AND E XISTENTIAL Focus on the ‘person’ Based on two assumptions: 1. Humans have innate capacity for goodness and for living a full life 2. Pressure from society to conform to certain norms, rather than to seek one’s most development self interferes with the fulfillment of this capacity

41. H UMANIST AND E XISTENTIAL Client-Centered Therapy – Rogers Focus on self-actualization, without constraints of other’s values Designed to help people realize their genuine selves, accept themselves entirely, and grow Individuals need a space to be listened to, accepted, and supported Unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy

43. H UMANIST AND E XISTENTIAL Existential anxiety – knowledge of impending death Fritz Perls – Gestalt Emphasis on the ‘here and now’ Learning to experience the presence without the baggage of the past Become more fully alive & increase optimal living Viktor Frankl – Logotherapy – Man’s Search for Meaning Nazi concentration camp survivor Influenced his ideas about human suffering being meaningful

44. I NTERPERSONAL T HEORIES Personality and distress are a result of long-standing patterns of negative relationships that have roots in early caregivers Focus on Roles in relationships Social skills Identity crisis Grief

45. F AMILY S YSTEMS Families create and maintain individual personalities and problems and distress in individual family members to maintain homeostasis. No such thing as an individual problem, instead dysfunctional family system Complex system Families work toward homeostasis

46. S OCIAL T HEORIES Look beyond the individual and beyond the family to understand the causes of distress Some people live in more chronically stressful circumstances than others, and these people appear to be at greater risk. Society influences the types of distress/psychopathology by having rules about what types of abnormal behavior are acceptable and in what circumstances. Neighborhood Characteristics Social Organization _________________ Psychological stress _________________ Subcultural influences Mental Health Outcomes

47. I NTEGRATION OF T HEORIES Feedback Loops Psychological Emphasis on psychological factors, such as early childhood experience and self-concept Biological Emphasis on biological processes (e.g., genetics) Social Emphasis on interpersonal relationships and social environment Feedback Loops

48. W HY DOES P SYCHOLOGY M ATTER FOR M IDWIVES ?

49. Give voice to those without one! Psychology can help describe, explain, predict, and change behaviors Learn to care for self and others (learn warning signs) Cultural considerations Connection between mind-body

50. 1.higher rate of diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in women 2.stresses of poverty 3.stresses of multiple roles 4.stresses of aging 5.violence against women 6.body image concerns W HY M IDWIVES ?

51. A SSIGNMENTS FOR N EXT W EEK Thoughts on Psychology: In this assignment you will reflect on your current knowledge of psychology and what you would like to learn about psychology over the semester. Approximately 2 pages double spaced, 12 point font, 1” margins, first person language Hand in at the beginning of next class! Popular Culture Mom: Find an image or story and bring it to class about moms in popular culture/celebrity land