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Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes Thinking critically with Psychology Hindsight bias- Common Sense describes what has happened after the fact more easily than it predicts what will happen before the fact Common sense is a poor guide The Scientific Method Theory- an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations Hypothesis- a testable prediction implied by a theory Simple Observation- simply observing world around you, and asking questions why people think and behave as they do
Darrel and Latent thought that they more the bystanders, the less likely to give someone aid, and it was true Confederate- playing the part of someone in distress, but they are Just playing a roll Personal Experience- psychologists want to know their own weakness and tendencies Replication- basic findings can be observed with different participants with different circumstances Operational Definition- specific statement used to define research variables, so it can be repeated by others To choose a research design: Pick between 3 methods- descriptive, correctional, experiment Pick between 2 settings- lab or field
Descriptive Methods The Case Study- deep investigation of a single subject The Survey- investigation of many people Naturalistic Observation- behavior in its natural environment and describing in detail Jane Goodwill- studied chimpanzees and showed observations in natural habit are more complex than previously supposed Another Ex: they used it for interaction on peoples behavior What is a representative sample? One that accurately shows the population of interest Experimental M Manipulate one or more factors, while holding other factors constant Variable- anything that can fluctuate or change states
Independent Variable- vary independently of other variables whose effect is being studied Dependent Variable- variable that may change in response for manipulations of independent variable Random Assignment- assigning by chance, everyone has an equal chance, minimize pre-existing differences between groups Confounding Variable- complicates the interpretation of the results of the experiment Example: Does breast feeding have an impact on their intelligence later in life Independent- Breast milk (experimental) or Formula (control) Dependent- Intelligence score at age 8
Cannot conduct experiment if unethical or if not possible Correctional Methods Purpose is to observe naturally occurring relationships between variables Correlation and Causation Directionality Problem- When we have a correlation between 2 variables, for example A and B, it could be variable A causes variable B, or it could easily be variable B causes variable A. Either way could work Third Variable Problem- There could be another reason causing it to be both variable A or B. For example- Distressing events could lead to low self esteem and depression, when low self esteem use to be variable A and depression was variable
Spurious Correlation- correlation that occurs simply because each of the variables occur CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPALA CAUSATION Correlation Research Methods Descriptive – to observe and record behavior. You do case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations Nothing annulated Weakness- no control of variable, single cases may be misleading Research Ethics Is it Ethical to experiment on humans? The Amalgam Experiments- You either play a role of a teacher, or a student. You are randomly assigned to the position. Then there is another person that is connected to the teacher is hooked up with a shock.
If the learner gets one wrong, the other person tells the teacher to give a shock to the learner and it keeps increasing. Amalgam is interested in how far will people go? The trick to this is the learner is not actually being shocked but the teacher is unaware of this. The discovery was that how many people actually would do it. 2/3 of the subjects gave the maximum shock. Researchers Must: Obtain informed consent Protect them from hard Maintain confidentiality Debrief Is it ethical to experiment on animals? Psychology Roots “Psychology has a long past, but a short history. – Hermann Banishes People have pondered questions of a psychological nature for thousands of years. For example, The Greek It is impossible to pinpoint the exact date when psychology emerged as a scientific discipline. However, 1879 was an important year. This is the year when Wilhelm Wound founded the first laboratory devoted to psychological research. Edward Twitchier introduced Structuralism and aimed to identify the basic elements of the mind the the same way that chemist had identified the basic elements of nature. William James thought about the minds functions.
For example, he argued that the unction’s of consciousness is that it enables us to consider our past and to adjust our present circumstances accordingly. Contemporary Psychology Biological Incenses- natural selection AT patella traits genetic predispositions responding to environment brain mechanisms hormonal influences Psychological Influences- learned fears and other expectations, emotional responses, cognitive processing and perceptual interpretation Social-cultural influences- presence of others, cultural, societal, and family expectations, peer and other group influences, compelling models (such as media)
Psychology Subfields Biological Psychologists- study link between brain and behavior. EX: Hypothalamus Developmental Psychologists- study how our behavior and thinking changes, from womb to tomb. EX: Why do certain types of memory decline with age? Cognitive Psychologists- study how people perceive the world, and how they would form new memories, think, and solve problems. Social Psychologists- study how we interact, how we view and affect one another in social interactions. Counseling Psychologists- help people cope with challenges of all sorts, including academic, vocational, marital, etc