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Chapter 1
Thinking
Critically with
Psychological
Science
Chapter Overview
 The history and
trends in
psychology
 The big question:
Nature vs. Nurture
 Bio-psycho-social
levels of analysis
 Psychology’s
subfields
 The Scientific Attitude:
Curiosity, Skepticism,
Humility
 Description, Correlation,
and Experimentation
Pre-contemporary Psychology
Prescientific Psychology………..everything<1879
 Is the mind connected to the body or distinct?
 Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by
experience?
 Do we have a soul?
 When did we first begin
asking these questions?
 How long have we been here?
 Psychology has roots in
Biology and Philosophy
From speculation to science:
The Birth of Modern Psychology
________________ (4th century BCE)
had ideas about how the body and
mind work.
His method: making guesses.
_____________________(1832-1920)
added two key elements to help make
psychology a science:
1. carefully measured observations
2. experiments
Wilhelm Wundt’s ______ experiment
measured the time it took for people to:
Push a button when a ball
dropped (based on when they
heard the ball hit a platform):
1/10th of a second.
Push a button when
consciously aware of hearing
the ball hit the platform:
2/10ths of a second.
Why were the
times different?
William James:
Emphasized the school of thought
that Psychological processes have a function:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
William
James
 The developer of
functionalism, William
James (1842-1910),
asked: How did the
human style of thinking
and behavior enable our
ancestors to live long
enough to reproduce?
 James mentored another
pioneer
Psychology Pioneers
 _____________________
(1863-1930) became a
memory researcher and
the first female president
of the APA.
 She studied with William
James but was denied a
Harvard PhD. Why?
___________________.
Shifting definitions of “psychology”
Wilhelm
Wundt and
Edward
Titchener,
around 1900:
“The science
of mental life.”
Johnwe
B.
Now
Watsonthese
and
combine
B.F. Skinner,
behaviorists,
definitions:
1920’s: “The
“Thescientific
scientific
study
of
studyobservable
of human
behavior
and
behavior.”
mental
processes.”
Cognitive
psychologists,
1960’s,
studied
internal mental
processes,
helped by
neuroscience.
Trends in Psychology:
Freudian/Psychoanalytic Psychology
Sigmund Freud, founder of
_________________________:
 He studied and helped people with a
variety of mental disorders.
 More about Freud when we study
personality and therapy
Sigmund Freud
Trends in Psychological Science:
Behaviorism
Behaviorists study and
experiment with
observable behavior.
Watson experimented
with conditioned
responses.
John B. Watson
Skinner studied the way
consequences shape
behavior.
Like other behaviorists,
he saw little value in
introspection.
B. F. Skinner
Trends in Psychology:
Humanism
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers
Humanists: Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers (1960s):
 studied people who were thriving rather
than those who had psychological
problems.
 developed theories and treatments to
help people to feel accepted and to reach
________________________.
Trends in Psychology:
Evolutionary/Biological
• Evolutionary Psychology
• is an approach in the social and natural
sciences that examines
psychological traits such as social behavior,
memory, perception, and language from
a modern evolutionary perspective.
• It seeks to identify which human
psychological traits are
evolved adaptations – that is, the functional
products of natural selection or sexual
selection.
Trends in Psychology:
Nueroscience
• Biological Psychology
• Concerned primarily with the relationship
between psychological processes and the
underlying physiological events.
• Its focus is the function of the brain and
the rest of the nervous system in activites
(e.g. thinking, learning, feeling, sensing)
recognized as characteristic of human and
other animals.
Trends in Psychology:





Pre Contemporary Psychology (Greeks, Arabs, Asians and others)
Structuralism & Functionalism(Wundt & James)
Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer)
Psychoanalysis(Freud)
Behaviorism(Watson, Pavlov & Skinner)
 Humanism (Rogers & Maslow)
 Cognitive Psychology (Beck & Ellis)
 Biological/Evolutionary Psychology (Focus on brain
functioning and evolutionary forces)
Structuralism
Wundt
Hall Titchner
Behaviorism
Psychoanalysis
Freud
Jung
Horney Erikson
Humanism
Watson Skinner Pavlov Bandura
Rogers
Functionalism
Cognitive
James
Dewey
Piaget
Beck
Ellis
Maslow
Gestalt
Wertheimer
There are many
perspectives for
describing
psychological
phenomena:
Cognitive
perspective
Social-cultural
Behavioral
genetics
Neuroscience
Psychodynamic
Behaviorist
Evolutionary
From different angles, you ask different questions:
How reliable is memory? How can we improve our
thinking?
Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be
“downloads” from our culture?
Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be
genetically programmed instincts?
What role do our bodies and brains play in
emotions? How is pain inhibited? Can we trust our
senses?
Do inner childhood conflicts still plague me and
affect my behavior?
How are our problematic behaviors reinforced?
How do our fears become conditioned? What can
we do to change these fears and behaviors?
Why are humans prone to panic, anger, and
making irrational judgments?
The Big Issue in Psychology: N-N
The NatureNurture
Question:
To what extent are
our traits already set
in place at birth (our
“Nature”)?
And to what extent
do our traits
develop in
response to our
environment/
experience (our
“Nurture”)?
Descartes:
Some ideas
are innate.
Plato:
Ideas such
as “the
good” and
“beauty”
are inborn.
Nature
____________________
: Some traits become
part of our nature
through natural
selection: they help us
survive long enough to
pass the traits to the
next generation.
Aristotle:
All knowledge
comes through
the senses.
vs.
Nurture
______________:
The mind is a
blank slate (blank
chalkboard or
screen) “written
on” by experience.
We share a
common
origin that
Nature
gives us
an
inborn human
nature in
common.
+
We have
differences
Nurture
that are
shaped by our
environment.
Biology Plus Environment..
are part of psychology’s
three
“______________”
levels of analysis.
The deep level,
The outer level,
Biology:
Environment:
genes, brain,
social Influences,
neuroculture,
transmitters,
education,
In the middle,
survival,
relationships
Psychology:
reflexes,
thoughts,
sensation
emotions,
moods, choices,
behaviors, traits,
motivations,
knowledge,
perceptions
The three levels as influences on
some psychological phenomenon
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Enjoying
Depression
Intelligence
Shyness
Soccer
Psychology’s Subfields
Basic research
Applied
Biological
Clinical Psychology
Developmental
Counseling Psychology
Cognitive
Educational Psychology
Personality
Industrial-Organizational
Social
Community Psychology
Positive Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Scientific Attitude Part 1: Curiosity
Definition:
always asking new
questions
“That behavior I’m noticing in that guy… is that
common to all people? Or is it more common when
under stress? Or only common for males?”
Hypothesis:
Curiosity, if not
guided by caution,
can lead to the
death of felines
and perhaps
humans.
Scientific Attitude Part 2: ____________
Definition:
not accepting a ‘fact’ as true without
challenging it; seeing if ‘facts’ can
withstand attempts to disprove them
Skepticism, like curiosity, generates
questions: “Is there another
explanation for the behavior I am
seeing? Is there a problem with how I
measured it, or how I set up my
experiment? Do I need to change my
theory to fit the evidence?”
Scientific Attitude Part 3: Humility
Humility refers to
seeking the truth
rather than trying to
be right; a scientist
needs to be able to
accept being
wrong.
“What matters is
not my opinion or
yours, but the
truth nature
reveals in
response to our
questioning.”
David Myers
Consider if
there are
other
possible
explanations
for the facts
or results.
See if there
was a flaw in
how the
information
was
collected.
Look for
hidden
assumptions
and decide if
you agree.
________________
____________:
analyzing
information,
arguments, and
conclusions, to
decide if they make
sense, rather than
simply accepting it.
Look for
hidden bias,
politics,
values, or
personal
connections.
Put aside
your own
assumptions
and biases,
and look at
the
evidence.
Scientific Method:
Tools and Goals
The basics:
 Theory
 Hypothesis
 Operational Definitions
 Replication
Research goals/types:
 Description
 Correlation
 Prediction
 Causation
 Experiments
You will need to be familiar with
these terms and concepts
Take extra time to understand
these terms
Research goal and strategy:
Description
Descriptive
research is a
systematic,
objective
observation of
people.
The goal is to
provide a
clear, accurate
picture of
people’s
behaviors,
thoughts, and
attributes.
Strategies for gathering this
information:
 Case Study: observing
and gathering information
to compile an in-depth
study of one individual
 Naturalistic Observation:
gathering data about
behavior; watching but
not intervening
 Surveys and Interviews:
having other people
report on their own
attitudes and behavior
__________________
Examining one individual in
depth
 Benefit: can be a source
of ideas about human
nature in general
 Example: cases of brain
damage have suggested
the function of different
parts of the brain (e.g.
Phineas Gage seen here)
 Danger:
overgeneralization from
one example; “Joe got
better after tapping his
foot, so tapping must be
the key to health!”
Naturalistic Observation
 Observing “natural”
behavior means just
watching (and taking
notes), and not trying
to change anything.
 This method can be
used to study more
than one individual,
and to find truths
that apply to a
broader population.
The Survey
 Definition: A method of
gathering information
about many people’s
thoughts or behaviors
through self-report rather
than observation.
 Keys to getting useful
information:
 Be careful about the
wording of questions
 Only question randomly
sampled people
Wording effects
the results you get
from a survey can be
changed by your
word selection.
Example:
Q: Do you have
motivation to study
hard for this course?
Q: Do you feel a
desire to study hard
for this course?
Random Sampling
• If you want to find out
something about men, you
can’t interview every single
man on earth.
• Sampling saves time. You
can find the ratio of colors in
this jar by making sure they
are well mixed (randomized)
and then taking a sample.
__________________is a
technique for making
sure that every individual
in a population has an
equal chance of being in
your sample.
population
sample
“Random” means
that your
selection of
participants is
driven only by
chance, not by
any characteristic.
A possible result of
many descriptive
studies:
discovering a __________
Correlation
General Definition: an
observation that two
traits or attributes are
related to each other
(thus, they are “co”related)
Scientific definition: a
measure of how closely
two factors vary
together, or how well
you can predict a change
in one from observing a
change in the other
In a case study: The
fewer hours the boy
was allowed to sleep,
the more episodes of
aggression he
displayed.
In a naturalistic
observation:
Children in a
classroom who were
dressed in heavier
clothes were more
likely to fall asleep
than those wearing
lighter clothes.
In a survey: The
greater the number
of Facebook friends,
the less time was
spent studying.
Correlation Coefficient
• The correlation coefficient is a number representing how closely
and in what way two variables correlate (change together).
• The direction of the correlation can be positive (direct relationship;
both variables increase together) or negative (inverse relationship:
as one increases, the other decreases).
• The strength of the relationship, how tightly, predictably they vary
together, is measured in a number that varies from 0.00 to +/- 1.00.
Guess the Correlation Coefficients
Height vs. shoe
size
Years in school
vs. years in jail
Height vs.
intelligence
Close to
+1.0
Close to
-1.0
Close to
0.0
(strong positive
correlation)
(strong negative
correlation)
(no relationship,
no correlation)
If we find a correlation,
what conclusions can we
draw from it?
Let’s say we find the following
result:
there is a positive correlation
between two variables,
 ice cream sales, and
 _______________________
How do we explain this?
Correlation is not Causation!
“People who floss
more regularly have
less risk of heart
disease.”
If this data is from a
survey, can we
conclude that
flossing might
prevent heart
disease? Or that
people with hearthealthy habits also
floss regularly?
“People with bigger
feet tend to be taller.”
Does that mean
having bigger feet
causes height?
Summary of the types of Research
Comparing Research Methods
Research
Basic Purpose
Method
Descriptive
To observe and
record behavior
Correlational
To detect naturally
occurring
relationships; to
assess how well
one variable
predicts another
Experimental To explore causeeffect
How
What is
Conducted
Manipulated
Perform case Nothing
studies,
surveys, or
naturalistic
observations
Compute
Nothing
statistical
association,
sometimes
among survey
responses
Manipulate
one or more
factors;
randomly
assign some
to control
group
Weaknesses
No control of
variables; single
cases may be
misleading
Does not specify
cause-effect; one
variable predicts
another but this
does not mean
one causes the
other
The
Sometimes not
independent possible for
variable(s)
practical or ethical
reasons; results
may not
generalize to
other contexts