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Psychology can provide insight into behavior and give one
the chance to acquire practical information
Psychology – the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes that are tested through scientific research
• Psychologists differ in how much importance they
place on specific types of behavior. They do agree that
the study of behavior must be systematic.
Physiological:
• Organism’s physical processes
Cognitive:
• Organism’s thinking and understanding

4 Goals of Psychology:

Description

Explanation

Prediction

Influence
Description – 1st goal is to describe or gather information
about the behavior begin studied and to present what is
known
2. Explanation – they seek to explain why. Hypothesis – an
educated guess about some phenomenon. Theory – a
complex explanation based on findings from a large number
of experimental studies. Theories change as more
information is gathered.
3. Prediction – 3rd goal is to predict, form the knowledge
gathered, what things will do, think or feel in various
situations. By studying past behaviors, future behavior can
be predicted.
4. Influence – Basic Science – research as compared to Applied
Science – discovering ways to use scientific findings to
accomplish practical goals.
1.
The Scientific Basis of Psychology
1. Psychologists rely on the Scientific Method – a general approach
to gathering information and answering questions so that errors
and biases are minimized
a) Identify a problem or question
b) Formulate a hypothesis
c) Collect data though observation and experimentation
d) Analyze the data

Basic Science:


Pursuit of knowledge for its own sake
Applied Science:

Discovering ways to use scientific findings to
accomplish practical goals
Origins of Psychology
1. 5th and 6th century BC – the Greeks
a) began to study human behavior and decided
that people’s lives were influenced more by their
minds than by gods
2. Mid-1500’s – Nicolaus Copernicus
a) Earth was not the center of the universe, during
the Renaissance period, experimentation
through observation
3. 17th Century – Rene Descartes
a) Others popularized dualism – the mind and
body are separate and distinct
b) Descartes said there was a link, he assumed that
the mind and body influence one another to
create a person’s experiences
Historical Approaches
1. Structuralism
a) Established modern psychology as a separate formal
field of study
b) Wilhelm Wundt started this
c) Structuralism – the study of the basic elements of
human experience
d) Introspection – a method of self-observation in
which participants report their thoughts and feelings
2. Functionalism
a) William James – the fathers of psychology in
America
b) Functionalism – the study of how animals and
people adapt to their environments

Historical Approaches continued…
3. Inheritable Traits
a) Sir Francis Galton
b) Study of seeing if genetics/hereditary factors played a
role in abilities, character and behavior
c) Debate is still ongoing regarding genetics versus
environment
4. Gestalt Psychology
a) A group of German psychologists disagreed with the
principles of structuralism and behaviorism
b) Believed that the whole pattern or Gestalt, was
important
Contemporary Approaches
Psychoanalytic Psychology
1. Sigmund Freud
2. Interested in the unconscious mind, beneath the surface are
primitive biological urges that are in conflict with the requirements
of society and morality
3. Believed that unconscious motivations and conflicts were
responsible for most human behavior
4. Had a method for indirectly studying unconscious processes
a) Free Association – a patient says everything that comes to
mind, no matter how absurd or irrelevant it may seem, without
attempting to produce logical or meaningful statements
b) No editing or censoring their thoughts
5. Psychoanalysis – the study of how unconscious motives and
conflicts determine human behavior
Behavioral Psychology
1. Ivan Pavlov
a) Dog experiment with salivation/Classical Conditioning
2. John B. Watson
a) Believed that psychologists should only deal with observable facts of
behavior; all behavior is a result of conditioning and occurs because a
stimuli is present
3. B.F. Skinner
a) Introduced the concept of reinforcement/Operant Conditioning
i. Reinforcement – a response to a behavior that increase the likelihood
the behavior will be repeated
Humanistic Psychology
a) Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May
a) Human nature is evolving and self-directed
b) Environment and outside forces are just the background to our own
growth, they don’t influence us
c) Each person is unique and has a self-concept and potential to develop fully
Cognitive Psychology
1. Jean Piaget
a) Focuses on how we process, store and use information and how this
information influences our thinking, language, problem solving, and
creativity
b) Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes like perception,
memories and expectations
Biological Psychology
1. Emphasizes the impact of biology on our behavior
a) Study how the brain, CNS, hormones and genetics influence our behavior
b) Use PET and CAT scans as tools
Sociocultural Psychology
1. The study of the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on
behavior and social functioning
2. Our knowledge, ways of thinking, feeling and behaving are dependent on the
culture we belong to

Inheritable Traits:
 Influence of heredity on human thought and behavior
 Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911)

Gestalt Psychology:
 Human sensation and perception
 Gestalt: “whole pattern”(e.g. chair vs. seat, legs, back,
etc.)
 Max Wertheimer (1880-1943)
What is a Psychologist
1. Psychologist – people who have been trained to observe, analyze
and evaluate behavior
• Usually have a doctorate in Pyschology
2. Psychiatrist - a physician who studies the mind and behavior of
humans; is a medical doctor (MD) and can prescribe medicine
and/or operate on patients
Psychiatrist differs in that it is a specialty of medicine. They are
medical students who do their residency in a psych ward or psych
hospital
1.
2.
Clinical Psychologist – help people deal with their personal
problems
a) Work in mental hospitals, private offices, prisons and clinics
b) ½ of psychologists specialize in clinical psychology
Counseling Psychologist – usually work in schools or
industrial firms
a) Help people adjust to the challenges of life
b) Most states require a doctorate to be a clinical and
counseling psychologist
Other types of Psychologists
1. School psychologists – help students with emotional and
learning problems
2. Social Psychologists – study groups and how they influence
behavior
3. Developmental Psychologists – study physical, emotional,
cognitive and social changes that occur throughout life
a) They study children, the elderly and the process of dying
for example
4. Educational Psychologists – deal with topics related to
teaching children and young adults, such as memory,
intelligence, teaching methods, and develop new instructional
devices.
5. Experimental Psychologists – perform research to
understand how humans (and animals) operate physically
and psychologically

The Scientific Method:

Question

Hypothesis

Experiment

Results

Conclusions

Theory
SECTION 1

Sample:

Small group of participants, out of a total
population, that a researcher studies

Representative vs. Non-representative

Naturalistic Observation:


Case Studies:


Observation of subject(s) in a natural setting without
interfering (e.g. watching teenagers in a mall)
Intensive investigation of participant(s) (e.g. longterm interviews, journals, video blogs)
Surveys:

Information is obtained by asking many individuals
a fixed set of questions (e.g. questionnaire)

Longitudinal Studies:


Cross-Sectional Studies:


Studying a group of participants over a number of
years (e.g. following a group of high school
freshmen throughout their high school career)
Studying groups of participants of different ages and
comparing them to draw conclusions about age (e.g.
studying a group of freshmen and seniors)
Experiments:

Studying participants in a controlled laboratory
setting

Experiments begin with a hypothesis

(e.g. “Caffeine improves test performance”)

Experimenters must employ variables:

Independent Variable:
 Manipulated/changed by experimenter to observe its
effects (e.g. Coffee/Redbull)

Dependent Variable:
 The effects/changes that occur in relation to the
independent variable (e.g. improved test performance)

Experimenters divide participants into two
groups:

Experimental Group:
 Independent variable is applied (e.g. Coffee is given to
participants)

Control Group:
 Treated the same way as experimental group, but
independent variable is not applied (e.g. No coffee is
given to participants)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:

Researcher’s expectations influence his/her own
behavior, and thereby influence the participant’s
behavior (e.g. thinking a subject will respond in a
certain way, and unassumingly acting in a manner
that will cause the subject to then do so)

Single-Blind Experiment:


Participants are unaware of which participants
received the treatment (e.g. participants do not know
which participants received “Red Bull”)
Double-Blind Experiment:

Participants and experimenter(s) are unaware of
which participants received the treatment (e.g.
participants and experimenter(s) do not know which
participants received “Red Bull”)

Placebo Effect:

A change in a participant’s
behavior that results from a
belief that the treatment will
have an effect, rather than
the actual treatment (e.g.
participant thinks he is
receiving “Red Bull,” but
instead receives noncaffeinated soda, and still
“feels energized”)


The methods of conduct/standards for proper and
responsible behavior among psychological
researchers
In 1992, the American Psychological Association
(A.P.A.) published a series of ethical principles
regarding the collection, storage, and use of
psychological data



All ethical problems must be resolved before
research has begun
Research must minimize the possibilities of
misleading results
The dignity, welfare, and confidentiality of all
participants are to be protected



Psychologists are responsible for all research they
perform, or is performed by others under their
supervision
Psychologists must obey all state and federal laws
and regulations, in addition to professional
standards governing research
With the exception of anonymous surveys,
naturalistic observations, and similar research,
psychologists must reach an agreement regarding
the rights and responsibilities of both participants
and researcher(s) before research has begun
When consent is required, psychologists must obtain
a signed, informed consent before starting any
research with a participant
 Deception is used only if no better alternative is
available; under no circumstance is there deception
about (negative) aspects that might influence a
participant’s willingness to participate
 Other subjective issues (depending on individual
research):
 Sharing/Utilizing data
 Offering incentives
 Minimizing evasiveness (“tricking” participants)
 Providing participants with information about the
study


*During the late 20th century the use of animals in
research has caused much concern and debate; Use
of animals in research is subjective, and at the
discretion of the A.P.A.