Download File - Mr. Bouwkamp`s World of Psychology

INTRODUCTION
TO PSYCHOLOGY
Mr. Bouwkamp
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
 Brainstorm
(for about 1 minute)
 What
do you know about
Psychology?
 What
do you want to know about
Psychology?
QUICK ANSWER
 Psychology
connects the natural
sciences to the social sciences.
 Human Behavior
 Mental processes
 Real-life application of principles
learned
 Uses
science to figure out why
individuals do the things they do.
FORMAL DEFINITION OF
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
is the
scientific study of
behavior and mental
processes
What does this mean
to you?
Behavior
observable
actions of a
person or animal
Mind
thoughts,
feelings,
sensations, perceptions,
memories, dreams,
motives and other
subjective experiences
Science
an
objective way to
answer questions based on
observable facts/data and
well-described methods
 Scientific
Method??
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
State
the Problem
Formulate a hypothesis
Select a strategy
Collect relevant data
Analyze data
Evaluate hypothesis to generate
conclusion
Philosophical Developments

A
Question:
 How
are mind and body
related?
René
Descartes (1596–
1650)—Interactive dualism
 The
mind and body interact to
produce conscious experience
Philosophical Developments

Another
 Nature
Question:
vs. Nurture
Other Questions
Are
abilities determined by
our genes or our experiences?
What are the interactions
between genetics and
environment?
What effect does it have on
behavior?
WHO WE WILL STUDY

We have to study the
people






Wundt
Freud
Watson
Pavlov
Skinner
Etc.
Foundations of
Modern Psychology
Separated
from philosophy
in 19th century
 influences from physiology
remain
Charles Darwin
Not
a Psychologist
Was most responsible for
idea that human behavior
and thinking might be a
subject for scientific inquiry
Showed humans weren’t
above laws of nature
PEOPLE YOU
SHOULD KNOW
WILHELM WUNDT
Late
1800’s Leipzig, Germany
Published first psychology
textbook Principles of
Physiological Psychology
Opened first psychology research
lab
Wundt cont.
applied
laboratory
techniques to study of the
mind
Structuralism
Stresses
basic units of
experience and
combination in which they
occur
Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920)
EDWARD TITCHENER
Student
of Wundt’s
Developed structuralism
Broke behaviors down to
basic parts, or structures
Used introspection
Example-
Titchener showed
an apple
People would then tell him
what they thought
immediately after viewing
the apple
Used this to study people’s
personalities
WILLIAM JAMES
First
well-known American
psychologist
Responsible for developing
American psychology
Also developed functionalism
Emphasized the purpose of
behaviors
Functionalism
Goes
beyond mere sensation
and perception to explore
how an organism learns to
function in its environment
G. STANLEY HALL
Founded
the APA
Founded the first US
psychology journal
American Journal of
Psychology
Founded first psychology
lab in US
SIGMUND FREUD
Austrian
physician,
probably most well-known
psychologist
Developed psychoanalysis
Focused on the
importance of unconscious
mental processes
SIGMUND FREUD
CARL JUNG
Student
of
Freud
Best known for
developing
concepts of
introverts and
extroverts
IVAN PAVLOV
Russian
physiologist who did
research on the digestive
system
Developed the concept of
classical conditioning
Like how your mouth waters
when you smell good food
JOHN WATSON
Developed
what came to
be known as behaviorism
Focused on the role of
rewards and punishments,
How each affect behaviors
B.F. SKINNER
Expanded
Watson’s ideas
His ideas shape
Americans’
everyday lives
Had a big head
CARL ROGERS
Developed
humanistic
psychology
Used in therapy
Is a very
positive theory
ABRAHAM MASLOW
Developed
a
theory of
motivation
Hierarchy of
needs is used in
many fields
STANLEY MILGRAM
Social
psychologist
Studied how
people are
persuaded to do
things
Influenced by Nazi
Germany
PHILLIP ZIMBARDO
One
of the most
important
psychologists in the
field today
Also a social
psychologist
Narrates many of
the videos we watch
PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY
This
is the point of
view a psychologist
would take when
studying behaviors,
topics, or issues
TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
 Biological
 Cognitive
 Psychodynamic
 Behavioral
 Humanistic
 Sociocultural
 Evolutionary
BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Based
on
study of
nervous
system,
immune
system, and
genetics
BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE CONT.
Biological
perspective
typically studies effects of
drugs, use brain imaging
techniques
We’ll explore this perspective
in chapters two and three
COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE
Focuses
on how people
process information, develop
language and think
Advent of computers
popularized this perspective
PSYCHODYNAMIC
PERSPECTIVE
Based
on the theories of
Sigmund Freud
Focus on importance of
unconscious influences,
childhood, and relationships
Also
work
with dream
interpretation
BEHAVIORAL
PERSPECTIVE
Focuses
on the role of the
environment to acquire
and modify behaviors
Basis of rewards and
punishments
HUMANISTIC
PERSPECTIVE
Focuses
on the ability of
people to make choices to
grow and improve their lives
A very “nice” perspective
SOCIOCULTURAL
PERSPECTIVE
Focuses
on role of groups to
influence behavior
Also do some cross-cultural
research
EVOLUTIONARY
PERSPECTIVE
Focuses
on evolution to
explain behaviors
We’ll discuss this
perspective with phobias
SUB-FIELDS OF
PSYCHOLOGY
These
are the specific areas
psychologists may study
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Studies
the causes,
treatment, and prevention
of psychological disorders
Most popular sub-field
(37% of all psychologists)
Includes counselors
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Social
psychologists study
the effects of groups and
society on individuals
EXPERIMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Conduct
scientific research
in many areas of psychology
(6% of all psychologists)
Usually professors at
universities
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
Psychologists
employed by
schools to care for student
population
Do a lot of testing and
evaluation of students
3% of all psychologists
DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Study
how humans develop
and change from birth to
death
Usually focus on children
6% of all psychologists
A FEW SELECTED
SPECIALTY
AREAS…
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
Work
within criminal
justice system
People who determine
psychological state of
criminals
INDUSTRIAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Work
in the business world
Usually involved in human
resources
Good for those that want to
make lots of money without lots
of school
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
Use
psychological
principles to improve
athletic performance
RESEARCH METHODS
USED BY
PSYCHOLOGISTS
Descriptive methods
Correlational methods
Experimental research
RESEARCH METHODS
Correlational
Descriptive
Experimental
DESCRIPTIVE METHODS
 Include
 Observational
techniques
 Case studies
 Survey research
 Seek to provide
objective and detailed
descriptions of behavior
and mental processes
DESCRIPTIVE METHODS:
OBSERVATIONAL TECHNIQUES
The
researcher directly
observes the behavior of
interest
 Naturalistic
observation:
The behavior being observed
occurs in its natural setting,
without the researcher
intervening in
the behavior being observed.
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
Researchers
use naturalistic
observation when they are
interested in how humans
or other animals behave in
their natural environments
 For
instance, two well-known
observational studies were
done by Dian Fossey in a
study of mountain gorillas in Africa,
and Jane Goodall’s study of
chimpanzees in Africa
 This technique is also used in
settings such as schools & the
workplace
Participant
observation: The
observer becomes part of the
group being observed. This type
of research is similar to
undercover
police work.
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
In
most observational studies,
the observer begins the study as a
participant, whether in a
laboratory or a natural setting

One famous example of participant observation
was conducted by Rosenhan (1973). In this
study, psychologists posing as patients
with symptoms of a major mental
disorder were admitted to psychiatric
hospitals because the doctors could
not tell the psychologists from the
real disordered patients. Once
admitted, these “pseudopatients”
acted normally and asked to be
released. However, they were not
released until many days later!
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
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
DESCRIPTIVE METHODS:
CASE STUDIES
Case
studies do allow
the researcher to
develop hypotheses
that can be tested
using experimental
research

For instance, the case of H. M., who had his
hippocampus removed for medical reasons at a
young age, was a case study. H. M. seemed to
have normal memory for information learned
before the surgery, but didn’t seem to be able to
form any new memories. Such a finding led to the
hypothesis that the hippocampus plays an
important role in the formation of new memories,
which was supported by subsequent
experimental research
DESCRIPTIVE METHODS:
SURVEY RESEARCH
Uses
questionnaires
and interviews to
collect information
about the behavior,
beliefs, and attitudes
of particular groups of
people
 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
DESCRIPTIVE METHODS:
SURVEY RESEARCH
 Another
concern for
survey researchers is
defining the population,
or the entire group of
people to be studied
 From
that population, a
representative sample, or subset of
the people in the population, is
surveyed
 The sample must be representative
of the larger relevant population so
you can generalize results of the
survey from the smaller sample to
the larger population
A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE?
 In
a study of women and
love, a sample was drawn
mainly from women’s
organizations and political
groups, plus some women
who requested and
completed a survey following
the researcher’s talk show
appearances
Thus,
the results (which said
that women having affairs
and being disenchanted in
their relationships with men
was typical) were not
representative of the
population of American
women
RANDOM SAMPLING
 Each
individual in the
population has an equal
opportunity of being in the
sample
 It is much like drawing
names from a hat
 Random sampling allows
the researcher to
generalize his or her
findings from the sample
to the larger population
CORRELATIONAL METHODS
 Two
variables are measured to
determine if they are related
 A variable is any factor that can
take on more than one value (e.g.,
height, age, GPA, extraversion
level)
THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
A
statistic that tells us the
type and the strength of
the relationship between
two variables
 Range in value from -1.0
to +1.0
 The sign of the
coefficient (- or +)
tells us the type
of relationship,
positive or negative
POSITIVE CORRELATION
A
positive correlation indicates a
direct relationship between two
variables, with low scores on one
variable tending to be paired with
low scores on the other variable, and
high scores on one variable tending
to be paired with high scores on the
other variable
 For
instance, SAT scores
and first-year college GPA
tend to be positively correlated
 A person’s height and weight
also tend to be positively
correlated
NEGATIVE CORRELATION
A
negative correlation
is an inverse
relationship between
two variables, with low
scores on one variable
tending to be paired
with high scores on the
other variable
 For
instance, there is a
negative correlation
between how much time a
student watches TV and his
or her grades in school
 Mountain elevation level
and temperature are also
negatively correlated
STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP
The
second part of
the correlation
coefficient is its
absolute value, which
ranges from 0 to 1
 Zero
and absolute values
near zero indicate no
relationship
 As the absolute value
increases toward 1.0, the
strength of the relationship
increases
It
is critical to note that
the sign of the
coefficient tells us
nothing about the
strength of the
relationship
SCATTERPLOTS
A
scatterplot is a
visual depiction of
correlational data
 On
the X axis are scores on one
variable; on the Y axis are
scores on the second
variable
 Each data point in
the scatterplot is a person’s
scores on each of the two
variables
THE THIRD-VARIABLE PROBLEM
Strong
correlations give us
excellent predictability, but
they do not allow us to draw
cause-and-effect conclusions
about the relationships
between the two variables
The
third-variable problem
occurs when a third,
unmeasured variable is
responsible for the relationship
observed between the two
measured variables
For
example,the length of time a
man is married is negatively
correlated with the amount of
hair on his head
Does this mean that being
married longer causes a man’s
hair to fall out?
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
The
key aspect of experimental
research is that the researcher
controls the experimental
setting
It
is this control that allows the
researcher to make cause-andeffect statements about the
experimental
results
EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL
First,
the experimenter controls
for the influence of possible
third-variables by making sure
that they are held constant
across all of the experimental
groups/conditions
 Second,
the experimenter controls
for any possible influence due to the
individual characteristics of the
participants, such as intelligence, by
using random assignment, which
is randomly assigning the
participants to groups in an
experiment to equalize participant
characteristics across the various
groups in the experiment
DESIGNING AN EXPERIMENT
 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
DESIGNING THE EXPERIMENT
The
simplest of experiments is one
with two groups, in which
participants are randomly assigned
to one of the groups
 One
of the groups will be exposed to the
independent variable, and the other group
will not be
 The group exposed
to the independent
variable is called the
experimental
group
 The group not
exposed to the
independent
variable is called the
control group
FOR EXAMPLE…
 If
the hypothesis is that aerobic exercise
reduces anxiety, then the independent variable
to be manipulated is aerobic exercise, and the
dependent variable will be anxiety level
 The experimental group will participate in
some aerobic exercise program, and the control
group will not
The experiment must measure the anxiety levels
for the groups at the beginning of the study
before
the independent variable is manipulated
and then again after the manipulation
 If the two groups are truly equivalent, the
average anxiety level for each group at
the start of the study should be the same
 If aerobic exercise does reduce anxiety,
then we should see this difference in the
second measurement at the end of the
experiment

THE PLACEBO GROUP
In
addition to the experimental
and control groups, we need to
add a placebo group to improve
the experiment
A placebo group is a group of
participants that believes they
are receiving treatment but are
not
They receive a
placebo, a
harmless pill
that has no active
ingredients
 For example, this
group would be
told they are
getting an antianxiety drug, but
they would only
get a placebo

THE PLACEBO GROUP
 The
placebo effect is
improvement due to the
expectation of improving
because of receiving
treatment
 The reduction of anxiety
in the experimental group
participants may, in fact,
be partially or completely
due to a placebo effect
To
conclude that the reduction of
anxiety in the experimental
group was not due to a placebo
effect, it would have to be
significantly greater than that
observed for the placebo group

Done, skip to slide 125
INFERENTIAL STATISTICAL ANALYSES

Indicate the probability that the results of a study are
due to random variation (chance)

Of course, the researchers would
want this probability to be low
INFERENTIAL STATISTICAL ANALYSES CONT.
 In
statistics, a
“significant” finding
is one that has a
probability less than
0.05 (1/20) that it is
due to chance
 Thus, a significant
finding is one that is
not likely due to
chance
THE DOUBLE-BLIND PROCEDURE
A
control measure in which neither
the experimenter nor the participants
know which participants actually got
the treatment and or got the placebo
 Controls for experimenter
expectations
 If the experimenter knew which
condition the participants were in,
then s/he might unintentionally
treat them differently and thereby
impact their behavior
RESEARCH METHODS
Method
Goal
Data Collection
Naturalistic
observation
Description
Unobtrusively observe behavior of a group in its
natural setting
Participant
observation
Description
Observer becomes part of group whose behavior
is being observed
Case study
Description
Study an individual in depth over an extended
period of time
Survey
Description
Representative sample of a group completes
questionnaires or interviews to determine
behavior, beliefs, and attitudes of the group
Correlational Description
study
Measure two variables to determine whether they
are related
Experiment
Manipulate one or more independent variables in
a controlled setting to determine their impact on
one or more measured dependent variables
Explanation
HOW TO UNDERSTAND
RESEARCH RESULTS
Descriptive statistics
Frequency distributions
TYPES OF STATISTICS
Descriptive
Statistics
Inferential
Statistics
Used to describe the
data of a research
study in a concise
fashion
Indicate the probability
that the results of the
study are due to
random variation
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
 Two
types of descriptive statistics
 Measures of central tendency
 Measures of variability
 A researcher will also often examine
a frequency distribution, which
depicts in a table or graph,
the number of participants
receiving each score for
a variable
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
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
ABOUT THE MEAN…
 The
mean is the most
commonly used measure of
central tendency because it is
used to analyze data in many
inferential statistical tests
 However, the mean,
because it uses all
scores in its computation,
can be distorted by
extremely high or
extremely low scores
MEASURES OF VARIABILITY
 Designed
to provide an idea of
how scattered a set of scores
tends to be
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
SUMMARY OF
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS
Organizes the data in a score distribution so that
we know the frequency of each score
 Types of distributions

Normal
Distributions
Skewed
Distributions
NORMAL DISTRIBUTIONS
The
mean, the median, and the
mode are all equal because the
normal distribution is symmetric
about its center
The
percentage of scores
falling within a certain
number of standard
deviations of the mean is set
 About
68% of the scores fall within
1 standard
deviation of the mean
 About 95% fall within 2 standard
deviations of the mean
 More than 99% fall within 3
standard deviations of the mean
 It is these percentages that give
the normal distribution its bell
shape
NORMAL DISTRIBUTIONS
NORMAL DISTRIBUTIONS WITH DIFFERENT
STANDARD DEVIATIONS
PERCENTILE RANK

The percentage of
scores below a
specific score in a
distribution of scores


For instance, the percentile rank of a score that is 1 standard
deviation above the mean is roughly 84%
Note that you can never have a percentile rank of 100%
because it is impossible to outscore yourself

You can, however, have a percentile rank of 0% if you have
the lowest score in the distribution
SKEWED DISTRIBUTIONS
 Are


asymmetrical in shape
A right-skewed (also called positively skewed)
distribution is a frequency distribution in which
there are some unusually high scores, but most
scores tend to be low
A left-skewed (also called negatively skewed)
distribution is a frequency distribution in which
there are some unusually low score, but most
scores tend to be high
SAMPLE SKEWED DISTRIBUTIONS
SKEWED DISTRIBUTIONS
 Because
unusually high or low
scores distort a mean, such
distortion occurs for the means
of skewed distributions
 The mean for a right-skewed distribution is
distorted toward the tail created by the few
high scores and so is greater than the
median
 The mean for a left-skewed distribution is
distorted toward the tail created by the few
low scores and so is less than the median
Consequently,
when you have a
skewed distribution, you should
use the median because
atypical scores in the
distribution do not distort the
median
WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A
PSYCHOLOGIST
AND A
PSYCHIATRIST?
Psychiatrists
are medical
doctors, go to medical school
As such, they can prescribe
drugs, and often do
Psychologists rely on nondrug therapies to solve
problems
Which
to go to?
Depends on problem, but
generally safer to go to
psychologist first
PSYCHOLOGY IN
COLLEGE
THE GOOD…
Will
gain tremendous
knowledge and insight to
human behavior
Great compliment to any
career that involves social
interactions
Can learn to be very
manipulative
THE BAD
Can’t
do much with B.A.
(except teach high school)
Need Master’s degree to
practice in MI
VERY competitive, most
graduate programs require
3.75 GPA or better
THE END
Test will be…