1. Introduction to Psychology and Research Methods
Chapter 1
Introduction to Psychology and Research Methods

2. What Is Psychology? Psychology
Psyche: mind
Logos: knowledge or study
Both a science and a profession
Definition: the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Behavior: overt (i.e., can be directly observed, as with crying)
Mental processes: covert (i.e., cannot be directly observed, as with remembering)

3. Empiricism: The Goals
To improve on “commonsense” knowledge using scientific observation rather than casual observation
Scientific observation: yields empirical evidence through direct observation and measurement that is
systematic (carefully planned)
intersubjective (confirmable by more than one observer)

4. Research Method
A systematic procedure for answering scientific questions

5. What Are the Goals of Psychology?
Description: being able to name and classify various observable, measurable behaviors
Understanding: being able to state the causes of a behavior
Prediction: being able to forecast behavior accurately
Control: being able to alter the conditions that influence behaviors

6. Critical Thinking
Type of reflection involving asking if a belief is supported by scientific theory and systematic observation
Critical thinkers are willing to challenge conventional wisdom
Often used in research

7. Critical Thinking: Basic Principles
Few “truths” transcend the need for logical analysis and empirical testing
Critical thinkers often wonder what it would take to show that a “truth” is false
Authority or claimed expertise does not automatically make an idea true or false
Judging the quality of evidence is crucial
Critical thinking requires an open mind

8. Pseudopsychologies Pseudo means “false”
Any unfounded “system” that resembles psychology and is NOT based on scientific testing
Pseudopsychologies are types of superstitions

9. Pseudopsychology Examples
Phrenology: personality traits revealed by shape of skull
Palmistry: lines on your hands (palms) predict future and reveal personality
Graphology: personality traits are revealed by your handwriting
Astrology: the positions of the stars and planets at birth determine personality traits and affect your behavior

10. Why Does Astrology Survive?
Uncritical acceptance: tendency to believe positive or flattering descriptions of yourself
Confirmation bias: tendency to notice and remember information that confirms our expectations (and ignore the discrepancies)
Barnum effect: tendency to consider personal descriptions accurate if stated in general terms
Always have a little something for everyone. Make sure all palm readings, horoscopes, etc. are so general that something in them will always apply to any one person!

11. The Scientific Method
Form of critical thinking based on careful collection of evidence, accurate description and measurement, precise definition, controlled observation, and repeatable results

12. The Scientific Method (cont’d)
Six basic elements
Making observations
Defining a problem
Proposing a hypothesis
Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis
Theory building
Publishing results

13. Testing Hypotheses
Hypothesis: scientifically testable predicted outcome of an experiment or educated guess about the relationship between variables
Operational definition: defines a scientific concept by stating specific actions or procedures used to measure it

14. Theory Building
Theory: a system of ideas that interrelates facts and concepts, summarizes existing data, and predicts future observations
A good theory is potentially falsifiable (i.e., operationally defined) so that it is open to disconfirmation

15. History of Psychology: Beginnings
Wilhelm Wundt: “father” of psychology
1879: set up first lab to study conscious experience
Introspection: looking inward (i.e., examining and reporting your thoughts, feelings, etc.)

16. History of Psychology: Structuralism
Wundt’s ideas brought to the US by Edward Titchener and renamed structuralism; dealt with structure of mental life
Structuralists often disagreed; there was no way to use introspection to determine who was correct

17. History of Psychology: Functionalism
William James and functionalism
Mental structure is less important than mental function
Functionalists admired Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection: animals keep physical features through evolution that help them adapt to environments.
How the mind functions may also help us adapt and survive

18. Educational Psychology
Promoted by functionalists as the discipline that studies mental adaptation
Study of learning, teaching, classroom dynamics, and related topics

19. History of Psychology: Behaviorism
John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner
Psychology must study observable behavior objectively
Studied relationship between
stimuli: environmental events
responses: any identifiable behavior(s)
Watson studied classical conditioning, which was discovered by Pavlov
Skinner studied operant conditioning; although Skinner studied animals, he believed humans learn the same way

20. History of Psychology: Cognitive Behaviorism
Radical behaviorism: mental events, such as thinking, are not necessary to explain behavior
Cognitive behaviorism: together, cognition (thinking) and conditioning better explain behavior
Our thoughts influence our behaviors; used often in treatment of depression

21. History of Psychology: Gestalt
Gestalt psychology: “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
Max Wertheimer studied thinking, learning, and perception in whole units, not by analyzing experiences into parts

22. History of Psychology: Freud
Psychoanalytic perspective
Sigmund Freud believed that behavior is largely influenced by unconscious wishes, thoughts, and desires, especially sex and aggression
Repression occurs when threatening thoughts are unconsciously held out of awareness
Freud created psychoanalysis, the first psychotherapy, to explore unconscious conflicts and emotional problems

23. History of Psychology: Neo-Freudians
Some of Freud’s students eventually broke away to promote their own neo (new)- Freudian theories
Key names: Alfred Adler, Anna Freud, Karen Horney, Carl Jung, Otto Rank, Erik Erikson

24. History of Psychology: Humanism
Goal of psychology is to study unique aspects of the person
Focuses on human experience, potentials, ideals, and problems
Each person has innate goodness and is able to use free will (in contrast with the determinism of Skinner and Freud)
Key names: Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

25. Humanism: Some Key Concepts
Self-image: your perception of your own body, personality, and capabilities
Self-evaluation: positive and negative feelings you have about yourself
Frame of reference: mental perspective used for interpreting events
Self-actualization (Maslow): fully developing one’s potential and becoming the best person possible

26. Diversity in Early Psychology
Most early psychologists were Caucasian men, but there were women and ethnic minority pioneers
Margaret Washburn: first woman awarded a Ph.D. in psychology (1894)
Francis Cecil Sumner: first African-American man awarded a Ph.D. in psychology (1920)
Inez Beverly Prosser: first African-American woman awarded a Ph.D. in psychology (1933)

27. Psychology Today
Three broad views, biopsychological, psychological, and sociocultural, offer complementary perspectives on behavior
Most psychologists are eclectic, drawing insights from a variety of perspectives since a single perspective is unlikely to explain all human behavior

28. Psychology Today: The Biological Perspective
Biopsychological view: behavior is shaped by internal physical, chemical, and biological processes
Neuroscience: interdisciplinary field formed by biopsychologists, biologists and other scientists who share the perspective of biopsychology
Evolutionary view: behavior is shaped by the process of evolution

29. Psychology Today: The Psychological Perspective
Behavioral view: behavior is shaped by one’s environment
Cognitive view: behavior is shaped by mental processing of information
Psychodynamic view: behavior is shaped by unconscious processes
Humanistic view: behavior is shaped by self- image, subjective perception, and needs for personal growth

30. Psychology Today: The Sociocultural Perspective
Sociocultural view: behavior is shaped by one’s social and cultural context
Because of cultural relativity, behavior must be judged relative to the values and social norms of the culture in which it occurs
Social norms: rules that define acceptable and expected behavior for members of various groups
Psychologists need to be aware of the impact cultural diversity may have on our behaviors

31. Many Flavors of Psychologists
Psychologists: usually have master’s or doctorate degree; trained in methods, knowledge, and theories of psychology
Clinical psychologists: treat more severe psychological problems or do research on mental disorders
Counseling psychologists: treat milder problems, such as school or work troubles
Not all psychologists perform therapy

32. What Might a Psychologist Research?
Development: course of human growth and development
Learning: how and why it occurs in humans and animals
Personality: traits, motivations, and individual differences
Sensation and perception: how we come to know the world through our five senses

33. What Might a Psychologist Research? (cont’d)
Comparative: study and compare behavior of different species, especially animals
Cognitive: primarily interested in thinking
Biopsychology: how behavior is related to biological processes, especially activities in the nervous system
Gender: study differences between males and females and how they develop
Social: human and social behavior

34. What Might a Psychologist Research? (cont’d)
Cultural: how culture affects behavior
Evolutionary: how our behavior is guided by patterns that evolved during our history

35. Animals and Psychology
Psychologists study the behavior of all organisms
Animal model: when an animal’s behavior is used to derive principles that may apply to human behavior
Animal research can also benefit animals directly (e.g. when it benefits conservation efforts)

36. Other Mental Health Professionals
Psychiatrist: M.D. who treats mental disorders with psychotherapy and/or medications
Psychoanalyst: receives additional training in psychoanalysis post-Ph.D. or M.D.
Counselor: person with master’s (MA) degree who helps solve problems with marriage, school, and so on
Psychiatric social worker: person with Masters of Social Work (MSW) who applies social science principles to help people in clinics and hospitals

37. Experiments
To identify cause-and-effect relationships, we conduct experiments
Directly vary a condition you might think affects behavior
Create two or more groups of subjects, alike in all ways except the condition you are varying
Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior

38. Subjects and Variables
Subjects: animals or people (also called participants) whose behavior is investigated
Variables: any conditions that can change and might affect an experiment’s outcome

39. Three Types of Variables
Independent variables: condition altered by the experimenter; experimenter sets their size, amount, or value; these are suspected causes for behavioral differences
Dependent variables: demonstrate effects that independent variables have on behavior
Extraneous variable: condition that a researcher wants to prevent from affecting the outcomes of the experiment

40. Experimental and Control Group
Experimental group: the group of participants exposed to the independent variable
Control group: the group of participants exposed to all variables that the experimental group is exposed to EXCEPT the independent variable

41. Experimental Control
Random assignment: participant has an equal chance of being in either the experimental or control group, evenly balancing extraneous personal variables
Other extraneous variables are made exactly alike between the two groups
Resulting dependent variable differences between the experimental and control groups MUST be due to independent variable

42. Evaluating Experiments’ Results
Statistically significant: results gained would occur very rarely by chance alone
The difference must be large enough so that it would occur by chance in less than 5 experiments out of 100
Meta-analysis: study of results of other studies

43. Research Participant Bias
Research participant bias: changes in participants’ behavior caused by the influence of their expectations
Placebo: fake pill (sugar) or injection (saline)
Placebo effect: changes in participants’ behavior caused by belief that they have taken a drug or received some other treatment
If placebo has any effect, might be based on suggestion, not chemistry
Single-blind experiment: participants have no idea whether they get real treatment or placebo

44. Researcher Bias
Researcher bias: changes in behavior caused by the unintended influence of the researcher
Self-fulfilling prophecy: a prediction that leads people to act in ways to make the prediction come true
Double-blind experiment: the participants AND the researchers have no idea whether the subjects get real treatment or placebo

45. Naturalistic Observation
Observing behavior in a natural setting (typical environment in which the observed person or animal lives)

46. Limitations of Natural Observation
Observer effect: changes in subject’s behavior caused by an awareness of being observed
Observer bias: occurs when observers see what they expect to see or record only selected details
Anthropomorphic fallacy: attributing human thoughts, feelings, or motives to animals, especially as a way of explaining their behavior (e.g., “Anya, my cat, is acting lethargic because she’s feeling depressed today.”)

47. Correlational Studies
Studies designed to measure the degree of a relationship (if any) between two or more events, measures, or variables

48. Coefficient of Correlation
Statistic ranging from –1.00 to +1.00; the sign indicates the direction of the relationship
The closer the statistic is to –1.00 or to +1.00, the stronger the relationship
Correlation of 0.00 demonstrates no relationship between the variables

49. Correlations (cont’d)
Positive correlation: increases in one variable are matched by increases in the other variable
Negative correlation: increases in one variable are matched by decreases in the other variable
Correlation does not demonstrate causation: just because two variables are related does NOT mean that one variable causes the other to occur

50. The Clinical Method
Case study: in-depth focus on all aspects of a single person
Natural clinical tests: natural events, such as accidents, that provide psychological data

51. The Survey Method
Survey: public polling technique applied to answer psychological questions

52. Sampling
Representative sample: small group that accurately reflects a larger population
Population: entire group of animals or people belonging to a particular category (e.g., all married women)
Internet surveys: Web-based research; low cost and can reach many people

53. Social Desirability in Survey Research
Courtesy bias: in research; a tendency to give “polite” or socially desirable answers

54. Psychology in the Media: Separating Fact from Fiction
Be skeptical
Consider the source of information
Beware of oversimplifications, especially those motivated by monetary gain
Remember, “for example,” is not proof!
Ask yourself, “Was there a control group?”
Look for errors in distinguishing between correlation and causation
Be sure to distinguish between observation and inference