Download Session 1: Introduction to Psychology

Session 1: Introduction to Psychology
The Discipline of Psychology
Lesson Objectives
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Define Psychology
Explain how Psychologists use Scientific Method
Relate Psychology to other sciences
Explain the goals of Psychology
Compare Basic and Applied Research
Define Behavioral Data and stimuli
Identify an inference from an observation
Define intervening variables
Explain how people and psychologists use prediction
and base rate.
• Identify independent and dependent variables
• Discuss the different fields of psychology
Opening Activity
• We will read the handout about Kathy O. to
begin class.
• While we read, think about the questions that
are asked…
– What happened to Kathy?
– Why did she quit the race?
– What could be behind Kathy’s actions?
– How could we figure that out?
The Purpose of Psychology
• Psychology seeks a general
understanding of how human
beings function, the inner workings
of the mind and how that effects
behavior.
• Psychology (study of the human
mind or spirit) is the scientific study
of the behavior of individuals and
their mental processes.
• Since it is a science, scientific
method is used in psychology in
order to gather empirical evidence
in order to identify and solve the
problem.
Using the Scientific Method
• Using the case of Kathy O. from the text
book, how would you go about diagnosing
the reason for her behavior…is the
observable action an organism uses to
adjust to their environment
– #1. Define the problem
– #2. make an educated prediction or
hypothesis
– #3. develop a controlled experiment
– #4. make unbiased observations
– #5. draw conclusions from the data
gathered.
• Certain behaviors can be observed, while
others are purely mental and require
more innovative techniques in order to
study them.
Ties to other Sciences
• Social Sciences…draws on the same observations as
economics, political science, sociology and anthropology.
• Behavioral Sciences…such as education and environmental
design use psychology to train or shape surroundings.
• Biological Sciences…researchers team with psychologists in
researching brain processes and bio-chemical bases of
behavior
• Cognitive Sciences…questions concerning the human mind
made by psychologists assist those in the computer science
and mathematics field
• Health Sciences…psychology seeks to improve the quality of
life of individuals.
Activity
• With a partner, think about and develop specific
instances where psychology is used with other
fields.
The Goals of Psychology
• The goals of psychology are the following:
– Describe, explain, predict and control
behavior
• The research conducted to accomplish
these goals and broken into 2 categories:
– Basic research: research is driven by a
scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific
question. The main motivation is to expand
man's knowledge… “is violence instinctive?”
– Applied research: Applied research is
designed to solve practical problems of the
modern world, rather than to acquire
knowledge for knowledge's sake. One might
say that the goal of the applied scientist is to
improve the human condition … “how can
social violence be reduced”
Activity
• Create 5 topics for basic research and 5 topics for
applied research
Goals of Psychology: Describing What Happens
• Describe observations objectively and
without bias…why is this difficult?
• Psychologists gather Behavioral Data (reports
of observations about behavior and the
conditions under which behavior occurs or
changes)
• The specific behavior being observed is
triggered by an environmental condition
called a stimulus.
– Your alarm clock startles you from being asleep.
• Psychologists look for reliable relationships
between stimuli and response as well as
relationships between responses
Activity
• A man living in his apartment never picks up
the common phone when it is ringing. He also
has great difficulty looking members of the
opposite sex directly in the eye.
• Based on the behavioral data, what can be
gathered about this man?
• What other observations could be made?
Goals of Psychology: Explaining What Happens
• Goes beyond descriptions and focuses on
the “why” a certain behavior is being
done, and also how behavior works. Think
of it like solving a mystery.
• Behavior is understood by finding out
how certain stimuli cause responses and
the relationship between those
responses.
• It can also be found by informed
imagination or an inference…a logical
judgment not based on observation
– You observe your dog circling his food
bowl…you can infer that is hungry
What inferences can be made?
Intervening Variables
• Inner states that psychologists make inferences about
are called intervening variables.
• They are unseen conditions that are assumed to
function as links between what is observed stimulus
and individual response.
• Based on the reading at the beginning of class, what
are the intervening variables of Kathy O’s actions.
• All inferences must be checked against collected
data…inferences can be wrong.
Goals of Psychology: Predicting What Happens
• Predictions in psychology are statements
about the likelihood that a certain behavior
will occur, or that a given relationship will be
found.
– You predict that if you hire a plumber to fix a
leaky faucet, that he/she knows what they are
doing.
• In psychology, predictions must be worded
correctly, communicated to others, tested
and confirmed.
• One major form of prediction is that which is
based on historic track record being an
indicator for future behavior. This is called a
base rate, or statistic that identifies normal
frequency, or probability…example insurance
companies and teenage drivers.
How to Make a Prediction
• Realize that behavior is influenced by a
number of factors.
• Specify that a certain stimuli will elicit a
certain response.
• Ask the question in terms of variables (any
condition, process or event that changes,
i.e. your mood, or the weather)
• Define your independent (the stimulus
condition that is systematically varied by the
investigator in order to predict a given effect
on a subjects’ behavior) and the dependent
variable (any behavioral variable whose
values result from or depend on changes in
the independent variable.)
What this looks like
• PREDICTION: A certain drug will
reduce the disruptive reactions of
school children.
• PROCEDURE: Drugs will be
administered to students who are
effected and those who are not.
Observations are taken and records
of all children’s behavior will be
taken. Those with disruptive
behavior will be monitored to see if
there is a change.
• Independent variable: the drug
treatment
• Dependent variable: the behavior
Goals of Psychology: Controlling What Happens
• Defined as making it happen or not
happen, starting it or stopping it, and
influencing its quality and strength.
• Helps psychologists improve people’s
lives, and is the core of psychological
treatment or therapy.
• Some ethical problems arise, as does
the theory that people need to
control their lives, as opposed to
understanding it.
Fields of Psychology
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Clinical Psychologists
Community Psychologists
Biological Psychologists
Experimental Psychologists
Cognitive Psychologists
Developmental Psychologists
Personality Psychologists
Industrial Psychologists and Human Factors psychologists
Educational and School Psychologists
Environmental Psychologists
Health Psychologists
Forensic Psychologists
Sports Psychologists