PSY101 Chapter 1 PDF

Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding 2/e Scott O. Lilienfeld Steven Jay Lynn Laura Namy Nancy J. Woolf Prepared by Caleb W. Lack This multimedia product and its contents are protecte...

Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding 2/e Scott O. Lilienfeld Steven Jay Lynn Laura Namy Nancy J. Woolf Prepared by Caleb W. Lack This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.  Psychology & Scientific Thinking: A Framework for Everyday Life Lecture Preview  What is psychology?  Psychological pseudoscience  Scientific thinking  Psychology’s past and present  What is psychology? o Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. o As a discipline, psychology spans many levels of analysis biological social influences We can’t understand psychology by focusing on only one level of analysis – but instead by examining all of them Challenging & Fascinating Challenging & Fascinating o Cross- cultural studies compares different cultures (Ex: punctuality). o Individualism: personal identity, independence, uniqueness & freedom (U.S.A. & European Societies). o Collectivism: group relations, interdependence, loyalty to the family, harmony with the group (Turkey, African, Asian, and Latin Americans and Eastern cultures). Challenging & Fascinating o European Americans  central details ( the tiger) o Asian Americans  peripheral details, (rocks & leaves) (Chua, Boland, & Nisbett, 2005) Psychology as a Science Theories and Hypotheses Theories and Hypotheses  Science as a Safeguard against Bias Confirmation bias - seek out evidence that supports our hypothesis & neglect or distort contradicting evidence. E.g: our evaluations of political candidates. Belief perseverance - tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them E.g. Ross et.al. (1975)- asked subjects to evaluate 50 suicidal notes. Students told they were good at detecting suicidal notes were Science as a Safeguard against Bias Bandwagon fallacy- lots of people believe it so it must be true. Not Me fallacy- other people are biased, but not me. Metaphysical Claims o Non-testable assertions outside the realm of science (God, the soul, or the afterlife) o Science has its limits. Popular Psychology & PSEUDOSCIENCE o About 3,500 self-help books are published each year – only 5% are tested! o The quality of the information can be good, misleading, or even dangerous o The Internet offers easy, quick information, but quality is often questionable Popular Psychology & Pseudoscience What is Pseudoscience? o A set of claims that seem scientific, but aren’t. o Lacks the safeguards against confirmation bias & belief perseverance that characterize science. o Testable beliefs → not supported by the evidence. o Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis Escape hatch to protect against falsification, usually a loophole or exception for negative findings. o Lack of self-correction Despite contrary evidence proponents stick to their claims. What is Pseudoscience? Why should we care? o Can be very dangerous! o Opportunity cost- pseudoscientific treatments can lead people to forgo opportunities to seek treatments. o Direct harm- they may cause physical or psychological damage. Why should we care?  Why should we care? o Ability to think scientifically- Scientific thinking skills can be applied all aspects of life. With scientific thinking we can solve problems about society & nature (e.g. Global warming, novel medical treatments, nuclear power stations.). o Scientific Skepticism: Evaluate claims with an open mind, but insist on persuasive evidence before accepting them. Good scientists are aware they might be wrong. Psychology- Early History o For many centuries, psychology was indistinguishable from philosophy o 1st laboratory (Germany) William Wundt (1879) o focused on our mental experiences & perception o combination of experimental methods (e.g.reaction times) o Introspection- observers to carefully reflect & report mental experiences Psychology- Early History  Structuralism  Functionalism  Behaviorism  Cognitivism  Psychoanalysis Great Theoretical Frameworks  Structuralism o Major figures ; Wundt & Titchner (1867-1927) o Aimed to identify the most basic elements of psychological experience- structures (understand human mind) o Introspection (map of consciousness) Problems: disagreement! imageless thought? (E.g. 10+5=15) outside of conscious awareness.? Great Theoretical Frameworks  Functionalism: William James (1842- 1910) o Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, Charles Darwin (1809-1882). o Physical & behavioral characteristics increased chances of survival & reproduction. o The adaptive purposes of psy. characteristics o Asked why ? Not what? o James rejected structuralist approach, elements of consciousness changes o Evolutionary Psychology Great Theoretical Frameworks  Behaviorism : o J.B Watson (1878-1958) & B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) o the general laws of learning (outside the organism) o Psychology should be concerned with observable beh. o Subjective reports of consciousness???? Great Theoretical Frameworks  Behaviorism : J.B Watson (1878-1958) & B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) o Skinner → uncovering the general principles of learning that explain all beh.s (e.g. eating, riding a bike, becoming depressed) o Rewards & punishment structure human beh.s o Human mind is a black box- need not to be worry about what happens bwt. inputs & outputs. Great Theoretical Frameworks  Cognitivism : Piaget (1896-1980) & Neisser (1928 -2012) o Opens the black-box. o Focuses on the mental processes involved in different aspects of thinking. o Thinking → beh.s in powerful ways. o Piaget concerned with children’s mental (cognitive development) o Children concieve the world in different ways than do adults. o Rewards & punishment → interpretation is important. o Cognitive psychologists  the processes underlying memory, problem solving, language, conceptualization, Great Theoretical Frameworks  Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) o Focused on internal psychological processes (impulses, drives thoughts) of which we’re unaware o The primary influences inside the organisms. o Sexuality & agression o Dreams, slips of tongue or psychological symptoms results from deep-seated conflicts. o the role of infant & childhood experiences o The core of our personalities is molded in the first years of life. o  Psychology Today o Psychology is not just one discipline, but involves many subdiciplines. o Very diverse, as reflected in the 500,000 psychologists worldwide o There are many types of psychologists who work in many settings Types of Psychologists o Clinical o Perform assessment, diagnosis & treatment of mental disorders. (different from psychiatrists) o Counseling o Work with people experiencing temporary or self- contained problems (e.g., marital or occupational difficulties) o School o Assess and develop intervention programs o Differs from educational psychology o Developmental o Study why and how people change over time o Most work with infants and children  Types of Psychologists o Experimental o Use sophisticated research methods to study memory, language, and thinking of humans o Biopsychologists o physiological bases of behavior o Most work in research settings o Forensic o Assess, diagnose, and assist with rehabilitation and treatment of prison inmates o Others conduct research on eyewitnesses or juries o Industrial & organizational o Beh. at work organizations. o Employee selection, performance appraisal, training, also examine the effects of psychological factors on work beh.