Psychology Lecture Notes PDF

Lecture Notes Textbook Aristotle: derived, through rationalism, that the central organ of emotional state and thinking is the...

Lecture Notes Textbook Aristotle: derived, through rationalism, that the central organ of emotional state and thinking is the heart, not the brain: INSTRUCTOR: DR. LORENA RUCI Centrally located, connected to all the [email protected] other organs PSYC 1101 D INTRODUCTION TO Beats rhythmically to the emotions felt. PSYCHOLOGY: FOUNDATIONS “kind-hearted, openhearted, fainthearted, or heartless” Issues with Rationalism: what we think is true about behaviour is often different from how we actually behave. RESEARCH METHODS Psychology is an empirical science Scientific method: “ A systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena to answer questions about what happens, when it happens and what causes it and why?”  WHY DO WE CONDUCT RESEARCH ON BEHAVIOR? Behavior does not always match our expectations Research allows us to generate theories, hypotheses, and even determine causal relationships THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Steps involved Studying the effects of fatigue on 1. Identify/observe the problem performance 2. Gather information 3. Generate a hypothesis 4. Design and conduct experiments 5. Analyze data and formulate conclusions 6. Restart the process https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_fatigue_study.jpg Author: NASA Ames Research Center – Human Systems Integration Division Public Domain  EXAMPLE Phrenology Debunking a bad theory HYPOTHESES Testable hypothesis Multitasking impairs productivity Non-testable hypothesis Good people have guardian angels  EXAMPLE IN PSYCHOLOGY Gather information Search the literature to see what has been done on topic Read relevant results for what’s been done Search for “distracted driving and car accidents” EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH-TRUE EXPERIMENT Independent variable: What is being manipulated Cell phone use Dependent variable: What is being measured Number of errors Experimental group: Driving & cell phone use Control group Driving & no cell phone use Other issues to consider Extraneous variables Random assignment EXAMPLE IN PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE RESTART PROCESS Think about original problem People have more accidents if they engage in distracted driving Replicate and extend results or ask an entirely new question What other factors contribute to distracted driving? understanding “what is” without necessarily DESCRIPTIVE METHODS focusing on “why it is”. NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION The Hawthorne Effect Hypothesis: Being observed can lead people to change their behavior Study Design: Observational Observe people on the effects of workplace conditions Measure: speed of doing work Results: Productivity increased when they were being observed, regardless of changes to working conditions. Question: Why do people change their behaviour when they know they’re being observed?  JUST WATCH AND LEARN Non-experimental research of behaviour; an Observe behavior without observation of behaviour as it happens in its natural manipulation Most likely representative of real- environment – no manipulation or control over any world behavior No control over behavior factors. Difficult to determine exact cause of behavior https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People_watching_stuff_(66126589 11).jpg Author: Andrew Bowden CC BY-SA 2.0 Operational definition: how a researcher decides to measure a variable. Advantages: NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION: ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES Better understand behaviour as it happens Advantages: Multiple sources of information (inter-rater reliability) Provide access to information not attainable through other in the real world – ecologically valid. sources Disadvantages: Lack access to private experiences Disadvantages: Bias Sometimes unaware of what is causing the effect due to lack of control over experiment. difficult to replicate results for same reason. researchers’ perspectives and bias o share results among each other and ensure interrater reliability. o Reactivity/Hawthorne effect – participants become aware of  being monitored and change their behaviour. Participant Observation: researcher becomes part of the group under investigation; associated with researchers in small communities. Advantages: More enriching due to participation Reduces reactivity because researcher is considered as a fellow participant. Disadvantages: Equal chance that researcher participation increases reactivity, however, as their presence could inherently change behaviour.  o Influence of the observer results in bias and only seeing things that fit the hypothesis. False positives: assuming something given the context without investigating (e.g. assuming someone to be sick when admitted as sick – Rosenhan study) An in=depth analysis of a unique circumstance or CASE STUDIES individual; observing an unusual patient and A report of a single person, group, or situation attempting to investigate the patient’s condition in Collect a lot of detail Not an experiment Can be difficult to draw causal more detail to provide a broader understanding of relationships Memory research 10 second Tom the phenomenon. Advantages: Individuals or smaller groups are easier to observe. Disadvantages: Generalizing findings from a unique case to fit the greater population is not always ideal and can lead to inaccuracies.  Surveys/Questionnaires A method using questions to collect information on PARTICIPANTS ANSWER STANDARD QUESTIONS how people think or act. Questions to extract specific information from a group of people Relatively easy to administer An effective approach to gather lots of information Susceptible to biases from both researchers and participants SURVEY/QUESTIONNAIRES E.g., Twenty Statements Test Instructions. Please complete the statement below 20 times. There are no right or wrong answers. Please write the first things that come to mind, and try not to censor yourself. “I am…………………………………………………… ………………….” S-DATA: ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES Advantages: Advantages: Access to thoughts, feelings, intention A quick way of collecting lots of Simple and easy Definitional truth (e.g., self esteem) information a bout people’s opinions, Disadvantages: May not respond honestly (e.g., social desirability bias) experiences, etc. Lack accurate self-knowledge Potential overuse Too simple and too easy Can be administered in lots of ways, such 16 as online, mailed questionnaires, interviews in-person or through the phone. Disadvantages: Samples are used instead of the entire population, which may cause sampling error/bias (selected group differs from and isn’t an accurate representation of the entire population) Judgement of words can alter participants’ entries, so wording must be deliberate to ensure accuracy (e.g. “not allow” vs. ‘forbid’) Response bias: o Socially desirable bias: the tendency for people to answer the question the way they feel they are expected to answer or in systematic ways that are otherwise inaccurate. o Acquiescent response bias (yes- saying) o Illusory superiority: describing one’s own behaviour as better- than-average. o Volunteer bias: uncomfortable stating genuine opinions regarding taboo subjects if they portray the participant in a negative light.