Psychology: Definition, Focus, Scope

• Psychology is the scientific study of human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Psychology focuses on universal principles applicable to all individuals and personal differences.
• Objectives of psychology include describing, explaining, predicting, controlling, and modifying behavior and experiences.

Definition of Psychology:

• Allgemeine Psychologie investigates systematic laws of perception and behavior applicable to humans.
• Focuses on information intake, processing, and storage, which are crucial for behavior regulation.
• Research topics include perception, attention, consciousness, learning, memory, action, motor skills, language, thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, motivation, and emotion.

General Psychology Focus:

• Primarily investigates the biological aspects of human experience and behavior.
• Does not focus individual differences in traits, interpersonal interactions, or changes in psychological processes.

Scope of General Psychology:

• General Psychology 1 scope is presented by Prof. Dr. Guido Hesselmann at the Psychological University of Berlin.
• Course for the winter semester of 2023-2024 covers key topics within general psychology, focusing on understanding psychological principles.
• Course uses the foundational text "Allgemeine Psychologie 1 kompakt" by Spering & Schmidt (2017).
• Topics covered in General Psychology 2 for the summer semester of 2024 are outlined.
• Course references work by Horstmann & Dreisbach (2017).
• Guido Hesselmann from Psychologische Hochschule Berlin is associated with this spectrum.

Topics in General Psychology 2:

• Cognitive performance is optimized at a moderate level of physiological arousal.
• Social psychology explores how the presence of others enhances cognitive performance.
• Educational psychology focuses on maintaining students' optimal arousal levels in oral examination settings.

Interdisciplinary Interaction:

• Allgemeine Psychologie relies on empirical data gathered through methodologies like human/animal experiments, behavioral observations, introspection, and neurophysiological recordings.
• Utilizes computer simulations, mathematical modeling of cognitive functions, pharmacological studies, and neuropsychological assessments of individuals with brain injuries.

Psychology as Science:

• Wilhelm Wundt established the world's first experimental psychology laboratory in Leipzig in 1879.
• This marked a pivotal moment in the development of psychology as an empirical science.

History of Psychology:

• Wilhelm Wundt aimed to address psychological questions using scientific methods.
• Asserted the soul should be treated as a natural phenomenon.
• Emphasized repeated observations under the same conditions for reliable results.
• Advocated for systematic variation of circumstances to investigate phenomena.
• This solidified the experimental method's role in psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt's Methods:

• Ludwig Wittgenstein critiques psychology's state, saying it cannot be compared to the early phases of physics.
• Argues experimental methods give a false sense of clarity regarding psychological issues.
• Psychological phenomena cannot be accurately captured by current methods.
• 'Psychophysics' is dismissed as unfeasible.

Critique of Psychology:

• Discusses historical perspectives and methodologies in psychology.
• Key literature includes 'Geschichte der Psychologie'.
• Recommended readings include texts Reuter, Galliker, Klein, and Dienes.

Further Reading Recommendations:

• Research processes can be conceptualized as an empirical cycles.
• Incorporates the distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification.
• This framework is rooted in de Groot's empirical cycle.

Empirical Cycle:

• The empirical cycle is susceptible to errors and manipulation.
• Raises concerns about the reproducibility of research findings.

Reproducibility Issues:

• Traditional publications often report results that confirm previously set hypotheses.
• Studies with null findings are scarce.
• To address this, new formats like Registered Reports and alternative research approaches are being explored.

Crisis in Psychology:

• Debates on theories and methods are essential to scientific research.
• Ongoing "crisis in psychology" since around 2012 focuses on flawed methodologies and low reproducibility.
• Addresses issues such as the "publish or perish" mentality that prioritizes quantity over quality.
• Error is the standard rather than certainty.
• Debates about precognition have raised concerns about reproducibility and quality.
• Scholars like Wagenmakers and Nelson et al. suggest a 'renaissance' could occur within the field through a significant transformation in scientific norms.

Renaissance of Psychology:

• Study "Feeling the Future" by Bem investigated retroactive influences on cognition.
• It revealed 53.1% hit rate for erotic images when participants guessed their location.
• Methodological critiques and failed replications occurred.
• Wagenmakers highlighted the need to revise data analysis methods.

Lecture Format Discussion:

• Lectures, a traditional educational format, involve a lecturer presenting and commenting on texts.
• Classic lecture characteristics include frontal delivery, knowledge transfer, low interaction, and a large number of participants.

JITT and Flipped Classroom:

• The "flipped classroom" approach and Just-In-Time Teaching (JITT) are used.
• Aims customize in-class phases using assignments and online pre-tests.
• Enhances learning by aligning teaching with individual student needs.
• Peer Instruction, developed by Eric Mazur, addresses comprehension difficulties.
• Suited for larger audiences.
• Encourages interactive participation using tools such as clickers or smartphones and the survey feature in Zoom.

Peer Instruction Method:

• Multitasking can be examined using two stimuli (S1 and S2), focusing on responding quickly and accurately. Reaction times (RT1 and RT2) and Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA) are measured.

Multitasking Research:

• The 'Central Bottleneck Model' of stimulus processing proposes three processing stages for every stimulus (S1, S2).
• These include a perceptual stage (P), a response selection stage (RS), and a response execution stage (RE).
• Processing is parallel at the perceptual stage and the response execution stage.
• Processing is serial at the response selection stage.
• Serial processing stages cannot overlap, so S2 must wait while S1 occupies the central CPU.

Central Bottleneck Model:

• The relationship between reaction times (RT1 and RT2) is explored by varying the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between short (10ms) and long (1000ms) intervals.
• Scenarios impact RT behavior as influenced by SOA.
• Research indicates that response time 2 (RT2) increases while response time 1 (RT1) remains stable as the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between S1 and S2 decreases.
• This supports the plausibility of response C within the framework of the central bottleneck model.

RT Behavior Analysis:

• Prof. Dr. Guido Hesselmann focuses on General Psychology.
• Content is part of a presentation or coursework discussing foundational aspects of psychology.