Chapter 1 What Is Psychology?

LECTURE OUTLINE

I. Psychology as a Science/Defining Psychology.

1. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

2. Theories: formulations of apparent relationships among observed events. Allows for prediction.

3. Reflect and Relate: How would you have defined psychology before you began this course?

Notes:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

II. What Psychologists Do-Something For Everyone?

A. What Psychologists Do:

1. Pure research: no immediate application, research for its own sake.

2. Applied research: designed to find solutions to specific personal or social problems.

3. Practice psychology: applying psychological knowledge to help individuals change their behavior.

4. Teaching: share psychological knowledge in classrooms, seminars, and workshops.

B. Fields of Psychology: From the Clinic to the Courtroom.

1. Clinical psychologist: help people with psychological disorders adjust to the demands of life. Largest subgroup of psychologists.

2. Psychiatrists: medical doctors who specialize in the treatment of psychological disorders.

3. Counseling psychologists: similar to clinical psychologist but clients typically have adjustment problems and not serious psychological disorders. More than half of all doctoral students are in programs of clinical or counseling.

4. School psychologists: employed by school systems to assist students with problems that interfere with learning. One focus is that of placement of students in special classes.

5. Educational psychologists: like school psychologists, attempt to facilitate learning but focus on course planning, instructional methods. They focus on motivation, intelligence, testing, and student and teacher behavior.

6. Developmental psychologists: study the changes, physical, cognitive, social and personality, that occur throughout the life span.

7. Personality psychologists: focus on identifying and measuring human traits, determining influences on human thought processes, feelings, and behavior and explaining psychological disorders.

8. Social psychologists: primarily concerned with individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in social situations.

9. REFLECT AND RELATE: Think of a friend who either has experienced a problem or is experiencing one now. Would you advise him or her to see a psychologist? Why or why not?

10. Environmental psychologists: study the ways in which people and the environment influence one another.

11. Experimental psychologists: conduct experiments and specialize in basic processes such as the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning and memory, thought, motivation, and emotion.

12. Industrial psychologists focus on the relationship between people and work.

13. Organizational psychologists focus on the relationship between people and organizations such as business.

14. Human factors psychologists provide suggestions and create technical systems such as dashboards, computer keyboards, etc. to be more user friendly.

15. Consumer psychologists: study the behavior of shoppers in an effort to predict and influence their behavior.

16. Health psychologists: examine the ways in which behavior and mental processes are related to health.

17. Sport psychologists: help people improve their performance in various sports.

18. Forensic psychologists apply principles of psychology to the criminal justice system.

III. Where Psychology Comes From: A History.

A. Philosophical Contributions.

1. Aristotle: (384-322 BCE)

a. Wrote a book titled “About the Psyche” covering topics such as personality, sensation, perception, thought, intelligence, needs, motives, feelings, emotions and memory. All of these topics are covered in this text.

b. A proponent of empiricism: science could rationally treat only information gathered through the senses.

c. He outlined the laws of associationism or how experience leads to expectations and how thoughts lead to behaviors

2. Democritus (around 400 BCE)

a. Suggested that we could think of behavior in terms of a body and mind (interaction of biological and mental processes).

3. Plato (ca.427-347 BCE)

a. Recorded Socrates’ advice to “Know Thyself” which is a motto of psychology. Also advanced Socrates suggestion of relying on rational thought and introspection - careful examination of one’s own thoughts and emotions to achieve self-knowledge.

B. 19^th Century Contributions.

1. Gustav Theodore Fechner (1801-1887)

a. Published his landmark book titled “Elements of Psychophysics” in 1860, which showed how physical events (light and sounds) are related to psychological sensations and perceptions. Some consider this to be the beginning of psychology.

2. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

a. Gets the credit for being the founder of psychology when in 1879 he established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.

C. Structuralism: The Elements of Experience.

1. Structuralism: attempts to break conscious experience down into objective sensations such as sight, or taste, and the subjective feelings such as emotional responses. They believed that the mind functions by combining objective and subjective elements of experience.

a. Wundt was considered to be a Structuralist.

D. Functionalism: Making Psychology a Habit.

1. William James (1842-1919)

a. Often considered the first true American Psychologist. Made a career teaching at Harvard University. He described his views in textbook he wrote titled “The Principles of Psychology” a two-volume book published in 1890.

b. James was the founder of functionalism or the idea that in the study of individuals the focus should be on behavior as well as the mind and consciousness. Functionalist look at how experience helps us function more adaptively in our environments.

2. REFLECT AND RELATE: Psychologist William James visited Helen Keller as a child and brought her an ostrich feather. If you had been Helen Keller, would you have appreciated this gift? Explain.

E. Behaviorism: Practicing Psychology in Public.

1. REFLECT AND RELATE: Why do behaviorists object to schools of psychology that use introspection? Do you agree with the behaviorists view? Why or why not?

2. John Broadus Watson (1878-1958)

a. Considered to be the founder of American Behaviorism. Functionalism was the dominant view in psychology. Watson believed that if psychology wanted to be a science then it must limit itself to observable, measurable events- behavior- and nothing else.

3. B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

a. Believed that organisms learn to behave in certain ways because they have been reinforced for their actions. Behavior that has a positive outcome will tend to be repeated.

F. Gestalt Psychology: Making Psychology Whole.

1. Wertheimer (1880-1943), Koffka (1886-1941), and Kohler (1887-1967); the three founders of Gestalt psychology.

2. Gestalt translates to “pattern” or “organized whole”.

3. Demonstrated that learning is a accomplished by insight, not by mechanical repetition.

G. Psychoanalysis: Digging Beneath the Surface.

1. Founded by Sigmund Freud. Often called psychodynamic.

2. Focus on the unconscious - a seething cauldron of conflicting impulses, urges and wishes.

3. Theory often referred to as “psychodynamic”

IV. How Today’s Psychologists View Behavior and Mental Processes.

A. The Evolutionary and Biological Perspectives: It’s Only Natural.

1. Focus on the evolution of behavior and mental processes.

2. Genes can be transmitted from generation to generation.

a. instincts

3. Biological perspective seeks the links between the electrical and chemical activity of the brain. Use of PET and CAT scans.

B. The Cognitive Perspective: Keeping Psychology “In Mind”.

1. Venture into the realm of mental processes to understand human nature.

2. Cognitive psychologists study those things we refer to as the mind.

C. The Humanistic-Existential Perspective: The Search for Meaning.

1. Humanism stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment.

2. Existentialism views people as free to choose and be responsible for choosing ethical conduct.

3. Humanistic-Existential psychologists stress the importance of subjective experience.

4. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers; two prominent psychologists in this area.

D. The Psychodynamic Perspective: Still Digging.

1. Freud’s influence continues to be felt though contemporary psychodynamic theorists would likely call themselves neoanalysts.

2. Famous neoanalysts include Karen Horney (1885-1952) and Erik Erikson (1902-1994). Also the former APA president Dorothy Cantor.

E. Perspectives on Learning: From the Behavioral to the Cognitive.

1. Learning through repetition and reinforcement.

2. Social-cognitive theorists (formerly termed social learning theorists) suggest that people can modify or even create their environments.

3. Intentional learning by observing others.

F. The Sociocultural Perspective: How Do You Complete the Sentence “I Am …”?

1. Addresses the many ways in which people differ from one another.

2. Influences of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes are studied.

a. Ethnicity

i. Ethnic groups are united by their cultural heritage, race, language, and common history.

ii. Study cultural heritages and ethnic differences in vulnerability to problems.

b. Gender

i. Refers to the culturally defined concepts of masculinity and femininity.

ii. Involves a complex web of cultural expectations and social roles.

3. Women in Psychology

a. Today more than half of American college students are women. Nearly 3/4 of the undergraduate degrees in psychology and 2/3 of the doctoral degrees are earned by women.

c. Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930).

i. Studied at Harvard, completed her degree requirements, but Harvard wouldn’t give her the degree. They were not admitting women.

ii. Pioneer in research in memory: primacy and recency effect.

iii. Became first female president of APA in 1905.

d. Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847-1930).

i. Taught at Johns Hopkins and Columbia Universities.

ii. Formulated a theory of color vision.

e. Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939).

i. First woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology.

ii. Wrote The Animal Mind a work that would later become part of behaviorism.

f. Helen Bradford Thompson (1874-1947).

i. First psychologist to study psychological gender differences.

ii. Wrote a book in 1903 titled The Mental Traits of Sex.

g. Mary Salter Ainsworth (1913-1999)

i. Revolutionized our understanding of attachment between parents and children by means of cross cultural studies

h. Elizabeth Loftus

i. Memories are not snapshots of the past

i. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

i. Contributing to our understanding of the ways in which self destructive ruminating prevents us from making decisions and heightens feelings of depression

j. REFLECT AND RELATE: Consider your own sex and ethnic background. What would it have been like for you to try to study psychology in the United States a century ago?

V. How Psychologists Study Behavior and Mental Processes.

A. Critical Thinking: Sorting Out Truth from Fiction

1. Critical thinking

a. Taking nothing for granted

b. Not believing just because things are in print or were uttered by authority

c. It is not necessarily healthy to express all of your feelings just because a friend in therapy urges you to do so

2. Principles of Critical Thinking

a. Be skeptical.

b. Examine definitions of terms.

c. Examine the assumptions or premises of arguments.

d. Be cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence.

e. Consider alternative interpretations of research evidence.

f. Do not oversimplify.

g. Do not overgeneralize.

h. Apply critical thinking to all areas of life.

B. LIFE CONNECTIONS: Critical Thinking and Astrology

1. Barnum effect: “a little something for everyone” and “there’s a sucker born every minute”.

2. Newport and Strausberg (2001) A survey of 1,574 adults found that 28% of Americans believe in astrology.

3. National Science Foundation (2002) report that 43% of Americans still check their horoscopes from time to time though most (60%) reject astrology.

4. The “validity” of astrology is confirmed when the astrologer says something positive about the individual. If the message is bad there goes the validity.

5. Believers in astrology argue as follows:

a. Astrology has been practiced for centuries and is a cultural tradition.

b. Astrology seems to provide a path to meaning for people who are uneducated and a road to riches for a few fortunate.

c. People in high positions have followed the advice of astrologers (Nancy Reagan)

d. The moon is powerful enough to sway the tides, why shouldn’t the pulls of heavenly bodies affect people’s destinies.

e. Astrology is a special art and not a science.

f. Astrology works.

C. The Scientific Method: Putting Ideas to the Test.

1. Scientific method is an organized way of using experience and testing ideas in order to expand and refine knowledge.

2. Hypothesis: is a specific statement about behavior or mental processes that is tested through research.

3. Test the hypothesis through controlled methods such as the experiment.

4. Replication: repeating a study to see if the findings hold up over time with different subjects.

D. Samples and Populations: Hitting the Target Population.

1. Samples must be drawn so that they accurately represent the population. This allows for generalization or extending results from samples to populations.

2. Individuals who are studied are referred to as a sample. A sample is a segment of the population. The population is the group targeted for study.

a. Problems in generalizing from psychological research: many factors must be considered in interpreting the accuracy of results of scientific research.

b. Random and Stratified Sampling.

i. Random sample: each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected to participate.

ii. Stratified sample: selection is made so that identified subgroups in the population are represented proportionately in the sample.

c. Volunteer bias: people who volunteer as participants differ systematically from people who do not.

E. Methods of Observation: The Better to See You.

1. The Case Study.

a. Information collected about individuals and small groups.

b. Typically unscientific accounts of people’s behavior referred to as anecdotes.

c. Provide compelling portraits but may have factual inaccuracies.

i. People’s memories have gaps (Loftus, 2004)

2. The Survey.

a. Used to study individuals who cannot be observed in the natural setting or studied scientifically.

b. Employs questionnaires and interviews. Also uses the examination of public records.

c. Famous Kinsey survey results: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953).

3. Naturalistic Observation.

a. Observe people in their natural habitats.

b. Unobtrusive measures are used to avoid interfering with the behaviors that are being observed.

4. REFLECT AND RELATE: Why not try out the naturalistic observation method yourself? The next time you eat at a fast food restaurant, look around. Pick out slender people ad overweight people and note whether they eat differently. Which group eats more rapidly? Do they chew less frequently? Do they have less food on their plates? What conclusions can you draw?

F. Correlation: On How Things Go Together-Or Not.

1. Investigates whether one observed behavior or trait is related to (correlated) with another.

2. Mathematically expressed as a correlation coefficient; a number that varies between +1.00 and -1.00.

3. Positive correlation: the higher scores on one variable tend to correspond with higher scores on the second variable. Low with low. (e.g. Intelligence test scores and academic performance).

4. Negative correlation: Higher scores on one variable tend to correspond with lower scores on the second. (e.g. Amount of experience stress and functioning of the immune system).

5. Correlational studies may suggest but do not prove cause and effect.

G. The Experimental Method: Trying Things Out.

1. The preferred method for answering questions about cause and effect.

a. Independent and Dependent Variables.

i. Independent variable: manipulated by the experimenters so that the effects of various levels may be determined.

ii. Dependent variable: the measured outcome or result.

b. Experimental and Control Groups

i. Experimental groups obtain the treatment.

ii. Control groups do not receive the treatment.

c. Blind and Double Blind Experiments.

i. Placebo or “sugar pill”.

ii. Blind: control for the expectations of effects by creating conditions where the subjects are unaware of the treatment.

iii. Double blind: neither the subjects nor the experimenters know who has obtained the treatment.

H. Ethics of Research with Humans

1. Basic standards.

a. Intended to promote individual dignity, human welfare and scientific integrity.

b. Do not undertake research methods that are harmful.

2. Research with Humans.

a. Ethics review committees are found in colleges, hospitals, etc. to help researchers consider the potential harm of their methods. Review research according to ethical guidelines.

b. Informed consent: individuals give consent before they can participate in research.

c. Confidentiality is kept.

d. Subjects are debriefed.

3. REFLECT AND RELATE: Lang et al., 1975) study on alcohol and aggression. Subjects were misinformed about the beverage they were drinking and misled into believing they were giving other subjects electric shocks. What do you think? Was it ethical to deceive participants in the Lang study as to what they were drinking? Why or why not?

I. Ethics of Research with Animals

1. Psychologists use animals to conduct research that cannot be carried out with humans (effects of early separation from mother)

2. Psychologists generalize to humans the results of research conducted with animals.

3. Animals may be harmed only when there is no alternative and researchers believe that the benefits of the research justify the harm.

Back to Main Page