1. The Story of Psychology
Prologue:
The Story of Psychology

2. What is Psychology?
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Scientific?
Not just common sense or guesses
Psychology uses the scientific method
Scientific Method is careful observations and the experimental testing of hypothesis
Behavior – what people do on the outside
Mental Processes – What is going on inside someone's head. We call this cognition.
Psychology includes the study of both humans and animals

3. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
Is the mind connected to the body or distinct?
Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?

4. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots

5. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Psychological Science Is Born
Empiricism
Knowledge comes from experience via the senses
Science flourishes through observation and experiment

6. Waves of Psychology
The science of psychology has gone through about 5 different waves since it started.
Waves are different ways of thinking over time.

7. Wave One: Structuralism
Started with William Wundt’s first psychological laboratory and his concept of structuralism.
Basic structure of thought and the brain.
Edward Titchner: Use Introspection, self reflection to learn about yourself.
What are your thoughts and experiences as you look at a rose?

8. Wave One (cont.): Functionalism
Focused on the function or purpose of the conscious mind as well as behaviors.
William James: Smelling is what the nose does, thinking is what the brain does; why?
These things develop because they have adapted to help our survival and the survival of our ancestors.
Based heavily on Darwinist thinking.

9. Wave Two: Gestalt Psychology
Led by Max Wertheimer, these guys focused not on how we feel, but on how we experience the world.
The whole of an experience can be more than the sum of its parts.
Think for a moment of all the reasons that you love your mom.
If you add all those reasons up, do they equal your love for your mom?
Hopefully not!!!
This may seem like one picture, but it can be perceived as 3 different faces. Can you find them?

10. Wave Three: Psychoanalysis
This wave of thinking started with Sigmund Freud (in the early 1900’s).
In a nutshell, during this time period people believed that most of your feelings come from a hidden place in your mind called the unconscious.
We protect ourselves from our real feeling by using defense mechanisms.

11. Wave Four: Behaviorism
During this time period (early to mid 1900s), people started to ignore how you feel inside.
All that mattered was how you acted.
B.F. Skinner was forerunner of Behaviorism.
If you could change your behavior, who cares how you feel.
Very popular during the conservative 1950’s when social appearance mattered more than self expression.

12. Wave Five: Eclectic We are now in wave five….which is about variety.
Psychologists pick and choose what theories to use depending on the situation and the client.

13. Wave Five is made up of about 7 different perspectives.
In other words, psychologists today, pick and choose from about 7 schools of thought to help you with your problems. Thus we have: THE SEVEN SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY

14. Biopsychology (Neuroscience) Perspective
All of your feelings and behaviors have an organic root.
In other words, they come from your brain, body chemistry, neurotransmitters, etc…
Let us imagine for a second that your dog died. You become depressed. You stop eating and sleeping. What would a psychologist from this school say is going on and how might they help you?

15. Behavioral Perspective
Focuses on observable behaviors while putting feelings to the side.
We behave in ways because we have been conditioned to do so.
To change behaviors, we have to recondition the client.
B.F. Skinner
Pretend that you fail psychology class. You become depressed. In turn, you begin to binge and gain weight.
What do you think a behaviorist may do?
They would probably ignore the fact that you are depressed and just focus on your overeating.
Maybe make you run a mile every time you eat over 2000 calories.

16. Cognitive Perspective
Focuses on how we think (or encode information)
How do we see the world?
How did we learn to act to sad or happy events?
Cognitive Therapist attempt to change the way you think.
She rejects you…don’t even get a phone number.
You meet a girl…
Hopes are high!!!
How do you react to the rejection?
Some learned get back on the horse
And try again.
Some learned to give up and live a lonely life of solitude.

17. Humanist Perspective
Peaked in the late 1960’s and 70’s….so it focused on spirituality and free will.
We have to strive to be the best we can be “self-actualization”.
Happiness is defined by the distance between our “self-concept” and “ideal self”.

18. Psychoanalytic Perspective
If a man has intimacy issues and cannot form relationships with others. What do you think someone from this school may think?
Focuses on the unconscious mind.
We repress many of our true feelings and are not aware of them.
In order to get better, we must bring forward the true feelings we have in our unconscious.
Perhaps they may delve into the man’s unconscious and discover that he was bullied when he were younger. The bullying may have caused fear in getting close to others.

19. Social-Cultural Perspective
Says that much of your behavior and your feelings are dictated by the culture you live in.
Some cultures kiss each other when greeting, some just bow.
Does your culture place value on individual or the group?

20. Evolutionary Perspective
Focuses on Darwinism.
We behave the way we do because we inherited those behaviors.
Thus, those behaviors must have helped ensure our ancestors survival.

21. Prologue: Contemporary Psychology
Psychology’s Perspectives

22. Prologue: Contemporary Psychology
Psychology’s Perspectives
A lot depends on your viewpoint

23. Experimentation and Research Methods
It is actually way more exciting than it sounds!!!!

24. Why do we have to learn this stuff?
Psychology is first and foremost a science. Thus it is based on experiments and research.

25. Applied V. Basic Research
Applied Research has clear, practical applications.
YOU CAN USE IT!!!
Looking for a cure for cancer
Basic Research explores questions that you may be curious about, but not intended to be immediately used.
Studying how kissing changes when you get older is interesting…but that’s about it.
Research on therapies for drug addicts has a clear purpose.

26. The Need for Psychological Science
Critical Thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions
examines assumptions
discerns hidden values
evaluates evidence
The Amazing Randi--Skeptic

27. The Need for Psychological Science
Theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations
Hypothesis
a testable prediction
often implied by a theory

28. The Need for Psychological Science

29. Experimentation Experiment
an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable)
by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

30. The Need for Psychological Science
Replication
repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances
usually with different participants in different situations

31. The Need for Psychological Science
Operational Definition
a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables
Example-
intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

32. Experimentation Independent Variable Dependent Variable
the experimental factor that is manipulated
the variable whose effect is being studied
Dependent Variable
the experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable
in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process

33. Independent Variable Whatever is being manipulated in the experiment.
Hopefully the independent variable brings about change.
If there is a drug in an experiment, the drug is almost always the independent variable.

34. Dependent Variable Whatever is being measured in the experiment.
It is dependent on the independent variable.
The dependent variable would be the effect of the drug.

35. Psychologists describe behavior using case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation

36. Description Case Study
Psychologists study one or more individuals in great depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all
Is language uniquely human?

37. Description
Survey
technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people
usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people

38. Description Naturalistic Observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

39. Experimentation Experimental Condition Control Condition
the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
Control Condition
the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental treatment
serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

40. Description Population Random Sample
all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study
The entire target you want to learn about
Random Sample
Those from the population that you select for the study
Everyone from the population has an equal chance of being chosen

41. Experimentation Random Assignment
Once chosen, those in the sample of an equal chance of being placed in either the experimental of control group
minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups

42. Single-Blind vs. Double-Blind
Single-Blind study: participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control group
Double-Blind study: both subjects AND experimenters are kept uniformed
Why conduct a blind studies? To reduce experimenter bias

43. Beware of Confounding Variables
The object of an experiment is to prove that A causes B.
Factors which can influence or compromise the results of the experiment
If I wanted to prove that smoking causes heart issues, what are some confounding variables?
Lifestyle and family history may also effect the heart.

44. Confounding Variables
Placebo effect: Just thinking you are getting the drug can causes changes in a patient
Experimenter Bias: error in research study due to the predisposed beliefs of the researcher
Not a conscience act
Order Effects: effects of the order of presenting treatment has on dependent variable

45. The Need for Psychological Science
Hindsight Bias
we tend to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it
the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon
Overconfidence
we tend to think we know more than we do
False Consensus Effect
tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

46. Hawthorne Effect But even the control group may experience changes.
Just the fact that you know you are in an experiment can cause change.
Whether the lights were brighter or dimmer, production went up in the Hawthorne electric plant.

47. Correlational Method
Correlation expresses a relationship between two variable.
Does not show causation.
As more ice cream is eaten, more people are murdered.
Does ice cream cause murder, or murder cause people to eat ice cream?

48. Correlation Three Possible Cause-Effect Relationships or or
could cause
(1)
Low self-esteem
Depression or
(2)
Depression
could cause
Low self-esteem or
Low self-esteem
(3)
Distressing events
or biological
predisposition
could cause
and
Depression

49. Types of Correlation Negative Correlation Positive Correlation
The variables go in opposite directions.
Positive Correlation
The variables go in the SAME direction.
Studying and grades hopefully has a positive correlation.
Heroin use and grades probably has a negative correlation.

50. (positive or negative)
Correlation
Correlation Coefficient
a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other
Indicates direction
of relationship
(positive or negative)
Correlation
coefficient
r = +.37
Indicates strength
of relationship
(0.00 to 1.00)

51. Correlation Scatterplot
a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables
the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship
the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation
little scatter indicates high correlation
also called a scattergram or scatter diagram

52. Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlations
Perfect positive
correlation (+1.00)
No relationship (0.00)
Perfect negative
correlation (-1.00)
Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlations

53. Height and Temperament of 20 Men
Correlation
Height and Temperament of 20 Men 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 80 63 61 79 74 69 62 75 77 60 64 76 71 66 73 70 68 90 42 81 39 48 72 57 30 84
Subject
Height in
Inches
Temperament

54. Scatterplot of Height and Temperament
Correlation 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25
Temperament
scores
Height in inches
Scatterplot of Height and Temperament

55. Statistical Reasoning
Mode
the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
Mean
the arithmetic average of a distribution
obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores
Median
the middle score in a distribution
half the scores are above it and half are below it

56. Distributions Outliers skew distributions.
If group has one high score, the curve has a positive skew (contains more low scores)
If a group has a low outlier, the curve has a negative skew (contains more high scores)

57. Statistical Reasoning
A Skewed Distribution 90
475
710 70
Mode Median Mean
One Family
Income per family in thousands of dollars

58. Statistical Reasoning
Range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
Standard Deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean

59. Central Tendency Mean, Median and Mode.
Watch out for extreme scores or outliers.
Let’s look at the salaries of the employees at Dunder Mifflen Paper in Scranton:
$25,000-Pam
$25,000- Kevin
$25,000- Angela
$100,000- Andy
$100,000- Dwight
$200,000- Jim
$300,000- Michael
The median salary looks good at $100,000.
The mean salary also looks good at about $110,000.
But the mode salary is only $25,000.
Maybe not the best place to work.
Then again living in Scranton is kind of cheap.

60. Statistical Significance
You create an experiment to measure the effect of protein shakes on max bench press.
Workout group – 155 pounds
Non-workout group – 150 pounds
Can we now say that drinking protein shakes makes you stronger? NO
Statistical Significance: results must differ by a certain amount, otherwise they could be due to random chance alone