1. General Psychology (PY110)
Chapter 1
The Science of Psychology

2. Psychology The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Psychologists attempt to understand
1. Observable Behavior (Overt): Actions or reactions such as speech and physical movement
2. Mental Processes (Covert): Actions or reactions such as remembering and thinking, which cannot be directly observed

3. Covert Overt Four Perspectives Biological Behavioral Cognitive
Socio- cultural
The four perspectives fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw
No one perspective is “better” than another
Each provides information on behavior and mental processes

4. Perspectives Emphasizing Internal (Covert) Factors
Biological perspective
Concerned with our physiological hardware
The brain, nervous system, and glands
Cognitive perspective
Emphasizes our mental processes
Perception, memory, and problem solving

5. Perspectives Emphasizing External (Overt) Factors
Behavioral perspective
Explains that we behave as we do because of our past history of conditioning
Sociocultural perspective
Focuses on the impact of other people and cultures

6. Behavioral Perspective
Two types of conditioning:
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
How we learn fear and emotional responses, taste aversions, and certain other behaviors
Involves the relationship between our behavior and its environmental consequences

7. Four Goals of Psychology1
What
Describe
Explain
Predict
Control
Why 2
Anticipate 3
Change or Modify 4

8. Major Research Perspectives in Psychology

9. Research Methods Observation Naturalistic Observation
Participant Observation
Case Study
Survey
Experimental

10. Descriptive Methods: Observational Techniques
The researcher directly observes the behavior of interest
Naturalistic observation: The observation occurs in its natural setting, without the researcher intervening.
Participant observation: The observer becomes part of the group being observed.

11. Descriptive Methods: Case Studies
The researcher studies an individual in depth over an extended period of time to attempt to learn as much as possible about the individual being studied
Scope is Low, but Detail is High
Often used in clinical settings to gather information that will help in the treatment of the patient
Results of case studies cannot be generalized to other people

12. Descriptive Methods: Survey Research
Uses questionnaires and interviews to collect information about the behavior, beliefs, and attitudes of particular groups of people
Scope is High, but Detail is Low
It is critical to note that the wording, order, and structure of the survey questions may lead the participants to biased answers
For instance, some questions might evoke socially-desirable responses in an effort to make certain impressions on the researchers
A representative (sample) of the total population must be selected at random to avoid biased results and allow results to be generalized across whole population

13. Experimental Research
Experimental Research is observations under controlled conditions
This control allows the researcher to isolate cause-and-effect relationships from the experimental results

14. Experimental Research
Experimental research seeks to establish cause and effect relationships between two variables.
Cause
Effect
Independent
Variable (IV)
Dependent
Variable (DV)

15. Designing an Experiment (Change)
When a researcher designs an experiment, the researcher begins with a hypothesis about the cause- and-effect relationship between two variables
One of the variables is assumed to be the cause, and the other variable is the one to be affected
The independent variable is the hypothesized cause, and the experimenter manipulates it
The dependent variable is the variable that is hypothesized to be affect by the independent variable and thus is measured by the experimenter

16. Designing an Experiment1
Problem
State Problem 2
Hypothesis
Suggest Cause & Effect Relationship
Experimental
Design
Select Random Sample
Divide Sample in two groups 3
Experimental Group
Control Group
Manipulate with IV
Give Placebo or do nothing
Collect, Analyze,
& Interpret
Data
Record Data
Record Data 4
Analyze Statistically
Results 5
Was Hypothesis Correct?

17. The Placebo
A placebo is a harmless pill that has no active ingredients
They are used to make the control group believe they are receiving the same ‘treatment’ as the experimental group
The placebo effect is improvement due to the expectation of improving because of receiving treatment

18. The Double-Blind Procedure
A control measure in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants actually got the treatment (experimental group) and or got the placebo (control group)
If the experimenter OR the participant does not know which group they are in, the experiment is called single-blind

19. Summary of Research Methods

20. Data Analysis - Averages
Designed to summarize a set of data with a single number
Three measures of central tendency
1. The mean is the numerical average for a distribution of score
2. The median is the score that is positioned in the middle of the distribution of scores when scores are listed from lowest to highest
If there is an odd number of scores, the median is the middle score
If there is an even number of scores, the median is the average of the two center scores
3. The mode is the most frequently-occurring score in a distribution of scores
If two scores occur with equal frequency, both can be the mode

21. Data Analysis - Variation
Provides an idea of how scattered a set of results are
Two measures of variability
1. The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution of scores
Like the mean, the range can be greatly distorted by extremely high or extremely low scores
2. The standard deviation is the average extent to which the scores vary from the mean of the distribution
A small standard deviation means that scores do not vary very much from the mean
A larger standard deviation means that scores tend to vary greatly from the mean

22. Summary of Descriptive Statistics

23. The Normal Distribution