What is Psychology?

1. What is Psychology? • Definition of psychology • Philosophical issues in psychology • What psychologists do • Historical figures in Psychology

2. Definition of Psychology • Psychology can be broadly defined as the systematic study of behavior and experience. • Researchers use scientific methods to study behavior • Psychologists study both humans and animals • Researchers main goal is to understand human behavior, and the factors that cause that behavior. • The definition from your book • The science of behavior and mental processes. • Keep in mind mental processes can only be inferred from behavior

3. Philosophical Issues in Psychology • Free Will vs Determinism • The Mind Brain Problem • Nature-Nurture Issue

4. Freewill vs Determinism • Determinism • the assumption that everything that happens has a cause, or determinant, in the observable world. • Freewill • belief that behavior is caused by a person’s independent decisions, not be external determinants.

5. The Mind-Brain Problem • The philosophical question of how experience is related to the brain. • Also known as the Mind-Body Problem • Dualism • The idea that there is a Mind that is separate from the Brain • Descartes

6. Mind-Brain problem • Most modern scientists are monists. • The mind and brain are one entity. • Most biological scientists would say that it is the function of the brain that produces the sensation of mind. • Many people probably still maintain a dualistic position.

7. The Nature-Nurture issue • What are the roles of heredity and environment in the development of various behaviors. • Do we act the way we do because- • we were born that way • we learned to act that way

8. What Psychologists Do • Psychologists in Teaching and Research • Clinical Psychologists and Other Psychotherapists • Nonclinical Applied Psychology

9. Psychologists in Teaching and Research • Biological Psychology • Tries to explain behavior in terms of biological factors • electrical and chemical activities in the nervous system • effects of drugs and hormones • genetics • evolutionary pressures • Brain damage • Right Parietal Lobe • Contralateral neglect

10. Learning and Behavior • How do we learn and remember things? • Studies how behavior depends on the outcomes of past behaviors and on current motivations. • How do the consequences of an action affect behavior? • reward? • punishment?

11. Cognitive Psychology • Cognitive Psychology is concerned with the internal mental processes that affect behavior. • Reaction against strict behaviorism. • Our internal mental representations can affect how we think and act as much as external variables. • How does a person think through a problem? • Do they use certain strategies? • The cube study

13. Developmental Psychology • Studies the behavioral capacities typical of different ages and how behavior changes with age. • Piaget - Conservation of volume study. • Preschooler may not do well • a seven year old should do well

14. Social Psychology • The study of how others influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the individual. • Milgram’s authority studies • The bystander effect

15. Clinical Psychologists and other Psychotherapists • Clinical psychologists • Psychiatrists • Psychoanalysts

16. Clinical Psychologists • A type of psychotherapist that specializes in helping people with psychological problems • Have an advanced degree in psychology (Ph.D.)

17. Psychiatry • A branch of medicine that deals with emotional disturbances. • First earn an M.D. • Then four years residency in psychiatry • Psychiatry and clinical psychology perform similar services - listen, and try to help. • Psychiatrist can prescribe drugs, psychologist cannot.

18. Psychoanalyst • Psychotherapists who rely heavily on the theories and methods of Sigmund Freud • mostly psychiatrists, but some clinical psychologists also adhere to Freudian theory.

19. Nonclinical applied psychology • Industrial/Organizational Psychology • Ergonomics • School Psychology

20. Industrial/Organizational Psychology • The study of people at work. • Who to hire, who to fire, who to promote • how to make work conditions better • how to increase productivity • how to decrease employee absence

21. Ergonomics • An ergonomist attempts to facilitate the operation of machinery so that the average user can use it as efficiently and as safely as possible. • Combines psychology and engineering • Cockpits of fighter planes • Operations of a stove • Doors

22. School Psychology • Specialists in the psychological condition of students, usually kindergarten through highschool. • Administer tests for psychological and scholastic aptitude • Implement programs to help students that are having trouble, and make school better for those that are gifted.

23. Psychology Then and Now • Early Psychology (1879-1920) • Behaviorism(1920-1960’s) • Current era (1960’s - on)

24. Early Psychology • Wundt • Titchener • William James • Darwin

25. Wilhelm Wundt • Set up first psychology laboratory in 1879 • considered the father of psychology • used introspection • presented subjects with stimuli (lights, tones, textures), and asked them to think about and explain how they felt when experiencing these things.

26. Edward B.Titchener and Structuralism • Titchener was Wundt’s student • wanted to know the nature of mental experiences • He called their approach structuralism • an attempt to describe the structures that compose the mind • Asked observers to look at an object and describe it’s separate features. • Redness of an apple.

27. William James and Functionalism • The founder of American Psychology • Wrote The Principles of Psychology (1890) • Focused on the actions that the mind performs, rather then the ideas the mind has. • He called his approach functionalism • how does the mind produce useful behaviors

28. Good psychological questions according to James • How many objects can a person attend to at once? • How can people increase good habits? • How do people recognize they have seen something before?

29. Charles Darwin • Darwin argued that all animals (including humans) had common ancestors. • It now became logical to study other animals behavior and compare that behavior to other animals and humans. • Things we learn from studying a rat, could now be used to infer things about humans.

30. Theory of Evolution • There is diversity in living things even within a species • We don't all look alike • We don't all behave alike • Those traits can be passed on from parent to offspring • Darwin didn't know how. • Mendel did = Genes • There is a struggle to survive • Many organism mass produce offspring and few make it. • There is high infant mortality for humans as well in some places

31. Theory of Evolution • Organisms that are best suited to their environment have a survival advantage • Doesn't necessarily mean the strongest • At times it might be good to be small and quiet (early mammals) • Survival of the fittest • Those with a survival advantage will produce more offspring and pass their traits on to those offspring, thus the population will begin to have those particular traits • Natural selection • Already known from "unnatural selection" breeding techniques • Large boar with large sow = large piglet.

32. Behaviorism • John B. Watson • founded behaviorism - a field of psychology that concentrates on observable, measurable behaviors, and not on mental processes. • B.F. Skinner • implemented behaviorism

33. Environmental determinism • Watson – give me an infant • S-R psychology • Mind is a black box • Radical behaviorism • Beyond freedom and dignity • Walden II • Mind is a locus of variables (poem) • Little Albert

34. Current Era • The rest of this class will discuss the current era of psychology

35. Scientific Methods in Psychology • Science in General • Scientific Methods in Psychology

36. Science in General • Can we prove things to be true by using scientific methods? • Steps for gathering and evaluating evidence • What makes a good Theory?

37. Can we prove something by using scientific methods? • The simple answer is no. • Proofs are left to philosophers and mathematicians. • Scientists are only probably certain about their findings. • However converging evidence moves us toward certainty • Scientists set up situations in such a way that it is very unlikely that their conclusion is wrong, however it is still possible the conclusion is wrong. • Something you haven’t thought of yet is affecting things • Discuss Flat Earth – Round Earth – Squashed Earth

38. Steps for Gathering and Evaluating Evidence • Hypothesis • An educated guess • Often comes from prior research • Must be testable • Method • results • Interpretation

39. Replicability • Another important concept for science is replication • Replication means repeatability • Anyone should be able to get the same result that you achieved, by following the same methodology (procedures) that you used. • Cold fusion (1989)- producing nuclear energy without using high temperatures, and without dangerous byproducts.

40. What is a good scientific theory? • Theories - are comprehensive explanations of observable events. • should predict new observations • should be falsifiable (discussed more below) • should be parsimonious (discussed more below)

41. Theories should be falsifiable • Freud says that one issue all males have to deal with is the fact that they were sexually attracted to their mother when they were young. • If I were to meet Freud I would tell him I don’t remember lusting for my mother. • What would Freud say?

42. Theories should be parsimonious • Principle of Parsimony • Scientists should prefer the theory that explains the results using the simplest assumptions. • Try to adhere as much as possible to what we already believe (conservative approach). • Shouldn’t we be open minded? • Yes, be willing to entertain other ideas, but this does not mean all ideas have an equal chance of being true.

43. Clever Hans - an example of parsimony and open-mindedness • Hans (a horse) could • count • add, subtract, multiply, and divide • add fractions, and convert decimals to fractions • knew the value of German coins

44. Oskar Pfungst • Is it parsimonious to believe that Hans was indeed this intelligent?

45. Scientific Methods in Psychology • Observational research designs • Naturalistic observations • Case Histories • Surveys • Correlational Studies • Experiments • Independent variables • Operational definitions • Dependent variables • Random Assignment • Demand Characteristics • Experimenter Bias • Ethical considerations

46. Observational Research Designs • Naturalistic Observation • A careful examination of what many people or nonhuman animals do under more or less natural conditions. • Jane Goodall • The homeless

47. Case Histories • A thorough description of a rare condition, or unusual person. It focuses on a single individual. • It is an observational technique. • Relies on the skills of the observer - as does naturalistic observation.

48. Surveys • A study of the prevalence of certain beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors, based on people’s responses to specific questions. • Sampling is very important here.

49. Samples of the population • Random Sample • every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected • Random samples are Representative Samples • closely resembles the entire population in its percentage of gender, race, age, or whatever other characteristics are likely to affect the results.

50. Samples continued • Convenience sample • A sample that is chosen simply because it was easy to get them to participate. • Why would you ever use random sampling if convenience sampling is so easy? • External Validity or Generalizability