Chapter 1 - Psychology PDF

Intro to Psych | Psych & Scientific Thinking What is Science: Systemic method to generate knowledge Capable of in producing a reliable outcome OR accurate prediction (As much as possible =despite uncertainty) Body of knowledge and process of building body of evidence Psychology: • Scientific stu...

Intro to Psych | Psych & Scientific Thinking What is Science: Systemic method to generate knowledge Capable of in producing a reliable outcome OR accurate prediction (As much as possible =despite uncertainty) Body of knowledge and process of building body of evidence Psychology: • Scientific study of mind, brain, and behaviour • Levels of Analysis • Biological to Social • Scientific study of cause of behaviour - Application of psychological research findings to solution of problems Why we can’t trust our common sense Most ppl only use 10% of brain Newborn babies are virtually blind/deaf Hypnosis enhances accuracy of memory Ppl w/ dyslexia see words backwards Better to express anger than hold it in Lie-Detector test = 90-95% accurate More people present at emergency, more likely for someone to help Ppl w/ Schizophrenia have more than one personality Effective Psychotherapies require clients getting to root of childhood problems ALL FALSE/Contradictory Common Proverbs Opposites Attract Birds of a feather flock together Out of Sight, out of mind Absence makes the heart grow fonder Nothing ventured, nothing gained Better safe than sorry Two heads are better than one Actions speak louder than words Too many coooks spoil the broth Then pen = mightier than the sword Outline 1. What is Psychology 2. Historical Roots of Psychology 3. Trends in the Development of Psychology 3a. Individual Differences 3b. Theoretical Perspectives *(HINT) - Structuralism - Functionalism - Behaviourism - Cognitivism - Psychodynamic Theory (of Freud) 4. Fields of Psychology Levels of Analysis: Must Consider all levels of analysis to fully understand Psychological concepts and behaviours Psychological Explanation of Behaviour: 1. Describe 2. Categorize 3. Measure (Questionnaires, bloodwork, urine samples, self-reports) Difficulties of Predicting Human Behaviour: 1. Multiply Determined/ Many Factors 2. Psychological Differences = rarely independent of each other (ex. Having both Anxiety and Depression, perfectionists often have eating disorders) 3. Individual Differences 4. Social Influence 5. Cultural Differences/Influence (emic/etic approaches to cross-cultural psychology) -Emic: Study behaviour of culture through its lifelong members -Etic: Study behaviour of culture from outsider Scientific Thinking Scientific Theory: Explanation for large number of findings in the natural world Common Misconceptions: explains one specific event; educated guess Hypothesis: Testable prediction Confirmation Bias: Tendency to seek evidence that supports beliefs - denies contradicting evidence Belief Perseverance: Tendency to stick to initial beliefs despite contradicting evidence Reluctance to give up cherished notions (don’t want to think we’re wrong) Metaphysical Claims: Untestable assertions about the world (ex. God, soul, afterlife) (Doesn’t mean unimportant) Pseudoscience: Set of claims seen as scientific but isn’t (lacks safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance that characterize science) -Signs of Pseudoscience: -Exaggerated claims -Over-reliance on anecdotes -No Connectivity to other research -No Peer Review -No Self-correction upon contradiction -Meaningless “psychobabble” (scientific-sounding words) -Talk of Proof instead of evidence AD Hoc Immunizing Hypothesis: Loophole defenders use to protect theory from disproval Psychomythology Patternicity: Tendency to see patterns in meaningless data. Ex. Eat burger then violently ill- will avoid burgers Ex. Tendency to see meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli Terror Management Theory: Awareness of inevitable death leaves us w/ underlying sense of terror - cope by adopting cultural worldviews that reassure us of greater meaning Logical Fallacies to Avoid When Evaluating Psychological Claims • Emotional Reasoning Fallacy: Using emotions to evaluating the validity of claims • Bandwagon Fallacy: Assuming claims are correct because many people believe it • Not Me Fallacy: Believe immune to errors in thinking that afflict others Bias Blind Spot - unaware of own biases but keenly aware of others) • Either-Or Fallacy: Framing question so answer can only be one of two extremes • Appeal to Authority Fallacy: Accepting claims merely because authority figure endorses it • Genetic Fallacy: Confusing correctness of belief with its origins or genesis (sexist views of times so not true) • Argument from Antiquity Fallacy: Assuming validity of belief since been around for a long time • Argument from Adverse Consequences Fallacy: Confusing validity of idea w/ real-world potential consequences (if this is true, government would be doing this…) • Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy: Assuming claim validity because never proved wrong • Naturalistic Fallacy: Inferring moral judgment from scientific fact (infidelity=product of natural selection so infidelity=ethically justifiable) • Hasty Generalization Fallacy: Drawing conclusion on basis of insufficient evidence (most non-binary have mental illness so sexuality causes mental illness) • Circular Reasoning Fallacy: Basing claim on same claim reworded slightly differently • Correlation-Causation Fallacy: Assuming association w/ something = causing it Dangers of Pseudoscience • Opportunity Cost: Deters those from helpful/necessary treatment (ex. Mental illnesses) • Direct Harm: Pseudoscientific treatments can cause psychological/physical damage • Inability to think scientifically as citizens: Diminishes society’s scientific utilization/ discoveries (educated decisions on climate, vaccinations, parenting practices) Scientific Thinking: Distinguishing Fact From Fiction Scientific Skepticism: Evaluating claims with open-mind but insists on persuasive evidence before acceptance Required Attitudes: Willingness to keep open mind to all claims; Willingness to accept claims only upon careful scientific testing/research Critical Thinking: Set of skills for evaluating claim in open-minded & careful fashion 5 Questions to Ask Self When Evaluating Psychological Websites: 1. Does the site refer to peer-reviews psychological literature/articles in reputable journals? 2. Does site contain multiple references to articles published in questionable journals? 3. Does site consist of references to anecdotes/testimonials or controlled scientific studies? 4. Does site make extreme claims or qualified claims? 5. Has website been recently updated? Six Principles of Scientific Thinking Risky Prediction: forecast w/ good chance of being wrong (good scientific theories take risks) Replicability: study’s findings can be duplicated consistently History of Psychology Historical Roots of Psychology 1. Philosophy: (2 Main Questions) • Are the body and mind connected/distinct? • Born w/ abilities or acquired through learning? 2. Biology: • Theory of specific Nerve energies (or of neural coding) • Localization of function: Broca’s Area (Aphasia) a) Ablation b) Looking at existing brain damage Roots of Psychology: Philosophy Body-Mind Connection: Monism/Connected: Philosophy which holds unity in given field (ex.believing in 1 God) Dualism/Distinct: 2 distinct parts accounting to one whole (mental phenomena=non-physical) Monism Dualism Believes mind is not separate from body Mind is separate from body Ex. Aristotle (Student of Plato, teacher Ex. Socrates (Greek Philosopher) of Alexander the Great) Ex. Plato (Greek Phil. & Mathmatic Ex. Renee Descartes -Animal spirits flow brain -> nerves -Mental processes reside in pineal gland (Endo sys. Produces melatonin) Ability Development: Nature Vs Nurture Nativism (Nature): Empiricism (Nurture): -Genetic Pre-Programming -Tabula Rasa (Aristotle -Learning is based on innate -Learning occurs through experience predispositions -Learning occurs through associations -Experience still needs to occur Tabula Rasa: Born as blank sheet - experiences encountered = impressed on mind Epigenetics: Studies how behaviours/environments catalyze/stop bio processes/alters genes Ex. Salivating - only w/ presence of food, traumatic events - impact ppl differently Roots of Psychology: Biology Johannesburg Muller: Father of Experimental Physiology Theory of specific Nerve Energies 1.All nerves send an identical message (electrical impulse) 2.Different kinds of information travel on different channels (visual, auditory) 3.Different brain areas: (have different functions) 4.Different nerve fibres contain different info Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens: Experimental Ablation -Ablation - Removing/Studying parts of the brain (animals) -Observing lost/impaired function (existing brain damage) -Heart rate, breathing, etc. Paul Broca: Broca’s Area (Lobe involved w/ Speech) Patient (TAN) Suffered Stroke resulting in speech impairment (telegraphic speech - TAN) Autopsied Brain -Revealed damaged area (left frontal lobe) concluded responsible for speech Broca’s Area: Region in brain responsible for speech (L Frontal Lobe) Broca’s Aphasia: Speech impairment despite reserved comprehension Trends in Development of Psychology 3a. Individual Differences Sir Francis Galton: (1822-1911) Cousin of Darwin Belief: Human abilities are genetically determined Developed: • Phrase “Nature Vs Nurture” - Ex. If child acts out - based on genetics • Eugenics (“good birth”) - Aims to improve genetic quality of population ex. Encourages intelligent ppl to repopulate; discourages diseased from repopulation -Can be good (genetic counselling), can be abusive (Nazi Germany) • Psychometrics - Science of measuring mental faculties • Statistical Concept of Correlation - Association of two variables (Correlation / = causation) -Ex. Smoking + Perceived Stress Lvls, might influence but not cause • Regression Towards the Mean Statistical Concept - If variable is measured twice & first = extreme, second will be closer to mean. Ex. Test Score = -Statistical tendency: not based on influencing factors , 2nd = closer to avg. 3b. Psychology: Theoretical Perspectives How can we explain behaviour? 5 Primary Schools of Thought that shaped Modern Psych. Structuralism: Who: William Wundt [Dad of Psych. (1832-1920)] + Edward Titchener [Student (1867-1927) Aim: Identify basic elements/ STRUCTURE of psychological experience/consciousness Introspection (Self-Reflection): Method of examining one’s mental/emotional processes and mapping elements of consciousness Benefits: Emphasized importance of systematic observation to study of conscious exp. Distinguished Psychology from Philosophy (established 1st psych lab 1879) Limits: Highly trained introspectionalists disagreed w/ subjective reports Lack of Awareness - difficulty of validity, research pleasing Imageless Thought - (Thinking unaccompanied by conscious experience) Functionalism: Who: William James (influenced by Charles Darwin) Aim: Understand FUNCTION of Psychological Characteristics (& adaptive purposes) Why: Rejected/saw limits of structuralism bc consciousness = be broken down into elements More concerned w/ ongoing conscious/functions of processes (function, behaviour, and purpose —> (Adaptability/application) Ex. Hunger - adaptive function signals to eat when needed, fear, sex. attraction, socialization Natural Selection: Species adapt to environment (engine of evolution) Emphasizes characteristics best suited for survival Benefits: Influenced scientific method - absorbed into mainstream psychology Limits: Empirical testing was difficult/unreliable Structuralism VS Functionalism Behaviourism: Who: John Watson (1878-1958) and B.F Skinner (1904-1990) Aim: Uncover general laws of LEARNING by focusing on external OBSERVABLE elements Why: Rejected introspection: ‘Only behaviour can be studied’ (observed, quali/quantitative) Believe only environment not genetics that can impact… Reaction to lack of progress using introspection: Focus on Behaviour (measurable) Instead of mental representations, consciousness, inner mental states Condition = Learnning Learning associations between stimuli (classical conditioning) -associating specific classroom with the class you take in there Learning associations between stimuli and responses (operant conditioning) -Punishment or reward: Motivates dis/continuance of actions Impact: Influence on scientific psychology - reaction time of animal (human/animal learning) Identified need for objective research Cognitivism Who:Swiss Psychologist Piaget (1896-1980) and German Psych. Neisser (1928-2012) Aim: Understand mental processes underlying thinking in variety of contexts Why: Argued Behaviourism is also based on cognitivism Motivation = only come thru reward: but w/ contemplation/internal value Cognitive Psychology: Proposes thinking = central to understanding behaviour Cognitive Neuroscience: Examines relation btw brain functioning & thinking Focus: Piaget: Intellectual development of Children (4 Stages) - Developmental Psych. Neisser: Focused on Perception and Memory Impact: Helped understand physiological basis of memory, thinking, etc. Psychoanalysis Who: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) - Psychoanalytic Theory Aim: Uncover internal (unconscious) processes we are unaware of Psychoanalysis: focused internal psychological processes (unconscious impulses, thoughts, memories) Psychoanalysis therapy: Focused on decoding unconscious conflicts, motives, & defences getting to root of deep-seated psychological conflicts (heavy emphasis on childhood exp) Focus: Internal psych. processes: unconscious thoughts, dream analysis, sexual desires, Freudian slips (slip of the tongue) -Suggest everyday lives = filled w/ symbols that represent our fears (Symbols of passed fam) Impact: Recognized important mental processing occurring beyond conscious awareness Limits: Focus on unconscious processes = difficult/impossible to falsify Modern Psychology: Fields of Psych Type of Psychologist Clinical Role Truths/Misconcentions Assess, diagnose and treat mental disorders PhD=Research orient Mental Disorder Research Therapy=more training Work in Colleges, Universities, MH Centres, Private Counselling Work w/ temporary/ self-contained life problems (marital, sexual, career) Clinical=mental disord Counsel=temp. prob Work in C Centres, hospitals, Private, Research School Developmental Experimental Biological Work w/ teachers, parents, children - remedy School = educational behavioural, emotional, & learning difficulties Edu=teaching methods Study how/why ppl change over time Mostly lab-bases Research on emotional, physiological, & cog. Collect/analyze data Research methods to study memory, speech, Research=real-world thinking, social behaviours of humans settings (speech, mem) Research physiology of animal/human behaviour Assess/diagnose/treat inmates w rehabilitation Forensic Research on testimonies/jury decision making Degrees in clinical/counselling psych. Industrial/ Environmental/ Engineer Some use ablation but some use brain imaging Small pop. = criminal profilers (subspecial) most do rehab/research Employee selection, performance evaluation, effects Not usually 1-1 of work/living conditions (env.), equipment Most construct test/ optimization selection process & Org. Changes to ^ productivity