1. Research Methods in Psychology How do psychologists learn about people?

2. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) Used laboratory science methods to study consciousness. –Began psychology’s transformation from a philosophy to a science Used introspection to study conscious experience

3. Main Goals in Research Describe a phenomenon. Make predictions about the phenomenon. Control the phenomenon to ask specific questions about it. Explain the phenomenon.

4. Naturalistic Observation: Watching Behavior Features: –Observe behavior in the environment in which it typically occurs Strengths: –Provides uncontaminated descriptive data about behavior Pitfalls: –Observer bias –Participant self-consciousness

5. A Stimulus for Introspection Looking inward Ignoring what this object is, try to describe only your conscious experience of it.

6. Structuralism Early Advocate: Edward Titchener, trained by Wundt Goals: To study consciousness Methods: Experiments; introspection Application: “Pure scientific research” –Spurred development of psychological laboratories.

7. Gestalt Psychology Early Advocate: Max Wertheimer Goals: To describe organization of mental processes (COGNITION). –“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Methods: Observation of sensory/perceptual phenomena. Applications: –Understanding of visual illusions –Laid some groundwork for humanistic and cognitive psychology.

8. Cognitive Psychology Study of mental processes (sensation, perception, learning, thinking, memory, consciousness, intelligence and creativity) by which information from the environment is modified, made meaningful, stored, retrieved, and used to communicate Albert Bandura (BoBo the doll) Elizabeth Loftus (False memories) Daniel Schacter (Alzheimer's) Paul Ekman (Deception)

9. Gestalt Images Reversible Images

15. Example of Closure

16. Sigmund Freud Free Association - the mental process by which one word or image may spontaneously suggest another without any necessary logical connection. –Id –Ego –Superego