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Psychology
in Action
Chapter 1: Introduction to
Psychology & Its Research Methods
Introducing Psychology
What is Psychology?
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The scientific study of behavior & mental
processes.
Psychology focuses on critical thinking
& is scientific.
Pseudopsychologies (e.g., psychics,
mediums) are nonscientific.
Introducing Psychology:
Psychology’s Four Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
Description: tells “what” occurred
Explanation: tells “why” a behavior or
mental process occurred
Prediction: identifies conditions under
which a future behavior or mental
process is likely to occur
Change: applies psychological
knowledge to prevent unwanted behavior
or to bring about desired goals
Applying Psychology To Work:
Examples
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Biopsychology/
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Neuroscience
Clinical & Counseling 
Psychology
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Cognitive Psychology
Developmental
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Psychology
Educational & School
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Psychology
Experimental
Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Gender/Cultural
Psychology
Industrial/Organizational
Psychology
Social Psychology
Careers in Psychology: Percentage of
Psychology Degrees by Specialty
Origins of Psychology
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Wilhelm Wundt: Considered to be the
“father of psychology”
Developed the first psychological
laboratory in Germany in 1879
Trained the first scientific psychologists
His ideas would lead to multiple different
psychological perspectives:
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Structuralism
Functionalism
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
Behavioral
Humanistic
Cognitive
Neuroscience/Biopsychology
Evolutionary
Sociocultural
Your Job…
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Create point form notes on each of the
major perspectives identified on pages 1013 of your textbook
Be sure to identify how each perspective
seeks to explain human behavior, as well
as particular scientists associated with
each perspective
Origins of Psychology
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Structuralism: sought to identify the
basic building blocks, or structures, of the
mind through introspection – looking
inward at basic sensations and feelings
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Edward Titchener = key leader
Doomed to fail – no scientific way existed with
which to settle disputes
Origins of Psychology Cont’d
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Functionalism: studied how the mind
functions to adapt organisms to their
environment
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Asked Why? and How?
Strongly influenced by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
and the concept of natural selection
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William James = key leader
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Origins of Psychology (Continued)
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Psychoanalytic/
Psychodynamic
Perspective: unconscious
processes & unresolved
past conflicts between
“acceptable” and
“unacceptable” behaviors
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Freud = key founder
Behaviors based on sexual
impulses
Believed most of our
development occurred
during childhood
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Origins of Psychology (Continued)
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B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Behavioral Perspective:
objective, observable
environmental influences
on behavior
Watson, Pavlov, & Skinner
were key figures
Believed we could use
external stimuli to shape
human behavior
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=qy_mIEnnlF4
Origins of Psychology (Continued)
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Humanistic Perspective: free will, self-actualization,
& a positive, growth-seeking human nature – selfactualization (when we reach our full potential)
Opposite to behaviorists
Rogers & Maslow were key figures
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
Origins of Psychology (Continued)
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Cognitive Perspective: studies
how we gather, encode and store
information such as problem
solving, memory, language, &
information processing
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Neuroscience/ Biopsychology
Perspective: studies how genetics
& other biological processes in the
brain & nervous system affect
behavior
Origins of Psychology (Continued)
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Evolutionary Perspective: argues that
natural selection, adaptation, & evolution
help to explain behavior
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Sociocultural Perspective: social
interaction & cultural determinants
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Show how factors such as ethnicity, religion,
occupation and SES impact behavior
Origins of Psychology: One Unifying
Theme of Modern Psychology
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Biopsychosocial
model: combines all
seven major
perspectives
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Views biological
processes,
psychological factors
and social forces as
interrelated influences
on behavior
Pause & Reflect:
Critical Thinking
Why do you think psychologists &
other scientists may need multiple
perspectives when it comes to
understanding the unknown?
Do See a Vase Or Two Faces?
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Multiple
perspectives allow
psychologists to
better understand
research &
complex behavior
& mental
processes.
Assignment:
Outrageous Celebrities
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Choose one celebrity who has demonstrated
some “not-so-normal” behaviors in recent years
Summarize the behaviors (explain what they
have been doing; identify at least 3 behaviors)
Using the chart on page 14, explain how each of
the seven modern perspectives would explain
the celebrity’s behaviors
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Ex. Freud may explain drinking or drug use to a past
conflict between the individual and their parent
The Science of
Psychology
Research Methods
“What is research, but a blind date with
knowledge” – William Henry
The Science of Psychology
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Basic Research: conducted to advance
scientific knowledge
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Knowledge for its own sake
Typically conducted in universities or research labs
Meets the first three goals of psychology – description,
explanation and prediction
Applied Research: designed to solve
practical problems
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Meets the fourth goal of psychology – to change
existing real world problems
The Scientific Method
The Science of Psychology:
Ethical Guidelines
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Ethical Guidelines for Human Research
Participants:
• Informed consent
• Voluntary participation
• Restricted use of deception & Debriefing
• Confidentiality
• Alternative activities (for college credits)
The Science of Psychology:
Ethical Guidelines (Continued)
Rights of Nonhuman Participants:
Advocates believe nonhuman research
offers significant scientific benefits.
Opponents question these benefits &
suggest nonhuman animals cannot give
informed consent.
 General Guidelines: Psychologists must
maintain high standards for both human &
nonhuman animal research.
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Research Methods
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Four key research methods:
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Experimental
Descriptive
Correlational
Biological
Four Key Research Methods
1. Experimental Research: carefully controlled
scientific procedure that manipulates variables to
determine cause & effect
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Key features of an experiment:
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Independent variable (factor that is
manipulated) versus dependent variable (factor
that is measured)
Experimental group (receives treatment) versus
control group (receives no treatment)
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Does TV increase
aggression? Only
an experiment
can determine
cause & effect.
Research Methods—Experimental
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Potential researcher problems:
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Experimenter bias - researcher influences the
research results in the expected direction
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Solution = Double Blind Study
Ethnocentrism - believing one's culture is
typical of all cultures
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May see impact of personal stereotypes
Research Methods—Experimental
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Potential participant problems:
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Sample bias - research participants are
unrepresentative of the larger population
 Solution = random sampling and random
assignment
Participant bias - research participants are
influenced by the researcher or experimental
conditions
 Ex. May be embarrassed so may lie
Research Methods—Experimental
(Continued)
Research Methods—Descriptive
2. Descriptive Research: observes & records
behavior without producing causal explanations
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Three types of descriptive research:
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Naturalistic Observation - observation &
recording of behavior in natural state or habitat
Survey - assessment of a sample or population
Case Study - in-depth study of a single
participant
Pause & Reflect:
Psychology at Work
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What could be the advantage of
studying psychological research
methods like naturalistic observation?
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What could be the disadvantage?
Research Methods—Correlational
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3. Correlational Research: observes or
measures (without directly manipulating) two or
more variables to find relationships between them
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Be Aware: Correlation does not imply causation
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Example Pg. 31 – ice cream consumption and
drowning are highly correlated. Does this mean eating
ice cream causes people to drown? Of course not! A
third factor, such as time of year, affects both ice
cream consumption and time spent in the water
Research Methods—Correlational
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Positive Correlation:
two variables move
(or vary) in the
same direction—
either up or down
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Ex. Studying for a test is
positively correlated with
higher test scores
Research Methods—Correlational
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Negative Correlation:
two variables move
(or vary) in the
opposite direction—
either up or down
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Ex. Missing more school
decreases grades
Research Methods—Correlational
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Zero Correlation: no
relationship between
two variables (when
one variable increases,
the other can increase,
decrease, or stay the
same)
Research Methods—Correlational
Research Methods—Correlational
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Can you see
why correlation
can never
show cause &
effect?
Research Methods—Biological
4. Biological
Research: scientific
studies of the brain
& other parts of the
nervous system
Research Methods—Biological
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Methods of Biological Research:
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Lesioning (systematically destroying brain tissue
to study the effects on behavior and mental
processes)
Dissection
Observation & Case Studies – particularly of
living people who have had injuries, diseases
and disorders that affected brain functioning
Electrical Recordings of brain activity