Psychology PDF - Introduction to Psychology

 Psychology Ch1. - study mind of the - backed by science - understand how mind interacts w body how does that affect benavior? Overt : Observe , measured by movement/response covert : not observable...

 Psychology Ch1. - study mind of the - backed by science - understand how mind interacts w body how does that affect benavior? Overt : Observe , measured by movement/response covert : not observable , thoughts - behaviors ↓ pown perception = overt & covert can't truley tell If someone is in pawn behavior influenced by culture , other factors inquences rarely independent phychological are anxiety usually goes with depression Everyone expierences the world differently > - Influences Character  of other benavor presence pp, will change affects gender benavior cultural beliefs will influence behavior Common sense -> false results humans-biased Naive Realism - we see the world how it is You never !!! know what ppI are going through Science - is an approach to evidence , atoolbox of skolls used to prevent us from fooling ourselves communalism - willingness to share our findings w others IRB-Institutional review board , peer-review , replications ↓ make sure dheating researchers are must be able to be replicated & participants ethically Pisinterestedness - attempt to be objective when evaluating evidence - Ignore evidence that contradicts Empiricism - knowlege should be initially agrived by Observation cannot measure religon/God (beliefs , Ideologies -  scientific Theory explanation of It Theory large of findings - - a In the natural world - multiple hypothesis ↓ derived from a theory testable prediction · Biased : Conformation Bias : neglect contradictingevidence , seek evidence to support your hypothesis , distort contradicting evidence - scientists need to design experiments to disprove Belief perseverence : stick to Initial beliefs even When evidence contradicts them  subfields Psychology ↳ prain behavioral neuroscience : how brown & nervous system determine behavior structure of brown , protiens , neurons now they - - Communicate , how determines behavior ↑ what changes when people PTSD ? Alzheimers ? get - Genetics - structure function = Experemental Psychology : studies of process sensing , percieving , learning ,thinking phisiological cognitive same stimulus = different reactions - why? Executive function - ability to prioritize , problem Solving ADHD Struggle Developmental psych-howpps grow I Change conception - death change perspective , priorities - Personality psych-focusing on consistency in ppls behavior Trants that differentiale ppl trant must be consistent in all settings - personality  HealthpSych-relationship btwn pyschological factors & physical auments/ausease stress Clinical psych - Schizophrenia - evidence based -research educational marital Counseling- , , theory based - Social psych- how ppis thoughts , feelings , actions are affected Evolutionary psych-how genetics influence behavior Behavioral behavioral traits & genetics how : how environment we inherit certain infrences their expression Clinical Neuropsychology Neuroscience & Clinical - psychology split braun- Seizure sychronized - Giving electrical current in brown kills neurons  Right Bran = left body left brown= right body Corpus callosum separates hemispheres of brown When you interpret stimuli it goes to both sides of brown When you cut the corous both sides receive Separate - Instruction speach from 1 hemisphere left comes - When the corpus is cut words seen by left eye cannot be interpreted DC It goes to the right bran however it can be drawn with the left hand be it can be interpreted by the right hemisphere. where can you work as a psychologist ? universities teacher self-employed Scientist hospitals Clinical practitioner Clinics prisons schools  Wilhem wundt developed first psych lab - Introspection - observers carefully reflect and report mental on their experiences aimed so structuralism-identify basic elements or structures of psychological experience focus on uncovering fundamental mental - components of perception , consiousness , thinking , emotions , & other mental states based on Structure Two major problems : Subjective reports & j Imageless thoughts PPI thoughtless actions - can lie We can't gaurantee if someone or something is consious Functionalism-stron to understand adaptive purposes of functions of ↳ psychological characteristics such as why we thoughts feelings& behavior have these thoughts and feelings - Minds function rather then structure James focused on why ? while structuralism-what ?  Gestalt psychologically now perception is organized. now elements come together as a whole Founders : Herman Ebbighaus & Max Wertheimer Neuroscience Perspective : how nerve cells are joined together how Inheritance of characteristics Influence benavior Fight or flight - - now body affects Instictual benaviors · Includes heredity , evolution, benavior, biological Systems how behavior Over time Changes Psychodynamic Perspective - Internal Psychologica processes - imprises & now does childhood affect ? ↳ thoughts I predermined - - memories unconcious drives (sexuality influence aggression) - , behaviors Why are we having certain thoughts & memories ? Freud -monitored dreams , posture , slips of toungue Nothing is accidental  Benavial Perspective - uncovering general Principles of Garnina underling behavior behavior controlled by environment Watson - Psychological Science = objective Opposite of psychodynamic environment rather than impulses No thinking behind it Cognitive Perspective thinking : affects behavior environment presents = you respond based on Interpretation Psychology-not souly based on rewards & punishments Its based on the Interpretation of rewards & punishment Compare human to thinking computer Humanistic : strive to grow develop and be in Control of their lives and behavior rejects that behavior is determined by genetics Opposite Psychodynamic rejects penavioral per - Humans are innately good in right enviroment  & free will rather than Rogers Maslow argued determanizism Free will us. Determinism-what extent do we act freely not based on environment Skinner-free will stems from the fact that we art conciously aware Nature vs Nurtune: genetics or environment ? individual differences vs universal principles humchists = environment Neuroscience V individuality or culture ? cuture affects ben.  Pseudoscience : research that looks scientific but does not follow scientific method and protocols - EX: Out of Body expierences polygraphs multiple personality psychotherapy 1 restable but do not stand up against rigorous examination METAPHYSICAL CLAIMS God 3 - - Afterlife NOT TESTABLE - Soul Emotional reasoning fallacy : Emotions Validity Using emotions determine validity to now violence on in affects bad things happening like school shooting Bandwagon fallacy : assuming south correct be everyone believes it Ex: zodiac signs  fallacy ? = Error leads to misinterpretation Not me fallacy believing were immune from thinking errors that afflict others thoughts ane not affecting other ppl - Either or fallacy ? frame a question as though we can answer it as one extreme or the other Ex : abortion concept Dangers Predoscience may forfeit other effective opportunity cost : we +X due to cost or , time Ex: acupuncture Animal deaths : questionable +X. animals euthanized after ex = unessecary chaths of ·. animals - animal extinction direct harm : candace newmaker : tried to rebirth her and she died we need to : understand factors we may not be aware of M confounding factors be of biases - aware - use scientific method - think in ways to minimize errors Scientific Skepticism : we should : Evaluate all claims with on open mind Insist on persuasive evidence Extraordinary claums need extraordinary evidence Pathological Skepticism : tendency to dismiss contradicting claims Your thinking may be flawed as well disconformation Bias tendency to seek out evidence inconsistent With hypothesis Opposite Con Bias. distro ! Oberg's but not so open we beleve open mind anything Role of authority - : should be unwilling we to accepting clarms on basis of authority alone need to be Skeptical authority- right CRITICAL THINKING folseability - for cream to be meaningful it must be capable of being arsproved occam's razor : Replicabity : can your findings be replicated by others need to consider alternative hypothesis & test them correlation - Causation : as - + - * or t zra variable need a A -B or B- A B or 1- > -A  Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology  Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. What makes psychology challenging? Multiply determined—produced by many factors. Psychological influences are rarely independent. Individual differences People influence each other Behavior is shaped by culture  Common Sense Is Often Uncommon Consider these proverbs 1) Out of sight out of mind 2) Clothes make the man 3) Better safe than sorry Loading… Now consider these 1) Absence makes the heart grow fonder 2) Don’t judge a book by its cover 3) Nothing ventured, nothing gained We rarely notice these contradictions  Naïve Realism The belief that we see the world precisely as it is Works well in ordinary life, but consider: The earth seems flat We seem to be standing still, yet the earth is moving around the sun 18.5 miles/sec  Psychology as a Science Science is an approach to evidence, a toolbox of skills used to prevent us from fooling ourselves Loading… Communalism - willingness to share our findings with others IRB, peer-reviewed, replications Disinterestedness - attempt to be objective when evaluating evidence Empiricism – the premise that knowledge should initially be acquired through observation Ex) studying the “spirit”  What Is a Scientific Theory? Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world Not just an educated guess - some survive repeated efforts to refute them Hypothesis - testable prediction derived from a theory Ex) WD leads to pain  Science as a Safeguard against Bias Confirmation bias - tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypothesis and neglect or distort contradicting evidence Scientists need to design studies that may disprove their theories Belief perseverance - tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them  Subfields of Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience—mainly examines how the brain and nervous system determine behavior Experimental psychology—studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world Misleading term Subspecialties such as cognitive psychology  Subfields of Psychology Developmental Psychology—studies how people grow and change the moment of conception through death. Personality Psychology—focuses on the consistency in people’s behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another. Health Psychology—explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease.  Subfields of Psychology Clinical Psychology—study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders. Counseling Psychology—focuses on educational, social, and career adjustment problems. Social Psychology—the study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others. Evolutionary Psychology—considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors. https://www.youtube.com/watch? Loading… v=xOYLCy5PVgM Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009  Subfields of Psychology Behavioral Genetics—understanding how we might inherit certain behavioral traits and how the environment influences whether we actually display such traits Clinical Neuropsychology—unites the areas of neuroscience and clinical psychology Ex) split brain Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=zx53Zj7EKQE Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Working as a Psychologist Psychologists can be employed in a variety of settings: universities, self- employed, hospitals, clinics, prisons, schools, and businesses. Majority work in the academic setting where he/she can play a role in society as a teacher, scientist, and clinical practitioner.  Career for Psychology Majors Curriculum has developed students into individuals with good analytical skills, are trained to think critically, and are able to evaluate information properly. Majority of psychology majors work in social services, whether it is as an administrator, counselor, or providing direct care. Some also enter the workforce in public affairs, education, and business.  Education of a Psychologist Psychologist vs. Psychiatrist Psychologist earn a Ph.D. while Psychiatrist earn a MD. Psychiatrist specialize in the diagnosis of and treatment of psychological orders via prescription drugs Ph.D. vs. Psy.D. Ph.D. is a doctor of philosophy and is a research degree Psy.D. is a doctor of psychology and for people who wish to focus on treatment  Psychology’s Early History Wilhelm Wundt developed the first psychological laboratory Introspection – observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences. Helped determine how basic sensory processes shape our understanding of the world. The work of Wundt marked the beginnings of psychology as a science.  Roots of Psychology Structuralism – aimed to identify the basic elements or structures of psychological experience. Focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities. Two major problems: Subjective reports and imageless thought. Simple addition  Roots of Psychology Functionalism – strove to understand the adaptive purposes or functions of psychological characteristics, such as thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Focused on the mind’s function rather than the structure. James, the founder, was focused on “why” questions while structuralism focused on “what” questions. Darwin and natural selection Need to look at species history (ex) field mouse  Roots of Psychology Another reaction to structuralism was the development of Gestalt Psychology Focus on how perception is organized. In other words, consider how the individual elements come together as a unit or whole Ex) look at an apple Hermann Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer are the founding fathers of Gestalt  Current Perspectives of Psychology Neuroscience Perspective—focuses on how individual nerve cells are joined together and how the inheritance of certain characteristics from parents and other ancestors influence behavior This is a combination of what two subfields of psychology? Also focus on how the functioning of the body affects hopes and fears, which behaviors are instinctual, etc. Ex) fight or flight Very broad subject that includes heredity, evolution, behavior, and biological systems http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jdJpLvSTZMU&list=TLFaAxtKZrW5 A6bsYSVjTazjOWPVO_1b2U Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009  Current Perspectives of Psychology Psychodynamic Perspective – focused on internal psychological processes, especially impulses, thoughts, and memories of which we’re unaware. Freud believed that unconscious drives, especially sexuality and aggression, influence behaviors Will monitor dreams, slips of tongue, and body posture Try to decode and get to root of psychological problem Ex) calling teacher “mom” Look at childhood experiences to explain current behavior Ex) abusive relationships  Current Perspectives of Psychology Behavioral Perspective – focuses on uncovering the general principles of learning underlying human and animal behavior. Completely opposite of Psychodynamic Focus on environment rather than impulses Watson claimed that psychological science must be objective. Believed that it was possible to elicit a desired behavior by controlling a person’s environment Watson’s bet Little Albert experiment  Current Perspectives of Psychology Cognitive Perspective – argued that our thinking affects our behavior. Opposition of behavioral perspective Psychology cannot be based solely on rewards and punishments Look at interpretation of rewards and punishments Self administration of alcohol for rats Like to compare human thinking to the working of a computer  Current Perspectives of Psychology Humanistic Perspective—humans naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behavior Rejects the view that behavior is determined by automated biological forces, unconscious processes, and environment. People will strive to reach full potential if given the opportunity. Humans are innately good Rogers and Maslow emphasized free will rather than determinism  Great Debates of Psychology Free will vs. Determinism – To what extent are our behaviors freely selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control? Which perspectives fall into these two categories? Skinner argued that our sense of free will stems from the fact that we aren’t consciously aware of the thousands of environmental influences that affect our behavior.  Great Debates of Psychology Nature vs. Nurture – Are behaviors attributable mostly to our genes or to our rearing environment? Loading…  Great Debates of Psychology Individual differences vs. universal principles—Is behavior a result of our individuality or our culture? Neuroscientists side with universal principles while humanists side with individual differences  Psychological Pseudoscience Pseudoscience - set of claims that seems scientific but isn’t - lacks safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance Examples: out-of-body experiences, polygraph testing, recovered memories, multiple personality disorder, and some forms of psychotherapy Sometimes difficult to discern from bad science Testable but do not stand up against rigorous examination Metaphysical claims are unfalsifiable (e.g., God, the soul, or the afterlife: not necessarily wrong, but untestable)  Logical Fallacies in Psychological Thinking Emotional reasoning fallacy - error of using our emotions to evaluate the validity of the claim Ex) violence on TV Bandwagon fallacy - assuming a claim is correct because many people believe it Ex) belief in astrology  Logical Fallacies in Psychological Thinking What do I mean by fallacies? Students new to psychology fall into this Either–or fallacy - framing a question as though we can answer it one of two extreme ways Not me fallacy - believing we’re immune from thinking errors that afflict others Bias blind spot  Dangers of Pseudoscience Opportunity cost - we may forfeit other effective treatments due to cost or time of ineffective efforts Ex) acupuncture vs. cognitive-behavioral therapy Animal deaths - related to questionable treatments (e.g., the Black Rhinoceros and Chinese green- haired turtle) Direct harm Rebirthing therapy of Candace Newmaker  Scientific Thinking and Everyday Life Strive to think scientifically - think in ways that minimize errors Become aware of your biases Use the tools of the scientific method to try to overcome them  Scientific Skepticism As scientists, we should 1) evaluate all claims with an open mind 2) insist on persuasive evidence before accepting these claims Ex) research class and articles Pathological skepticism - tendency to dismiss any claims that contradict one’s beliefs  Scientific Skepticism Disconfirmation bias - tendency to seek out evidence inconsistent with a hypothesis we don’t believe, and neglect information consistent with it Opposite of confirmation bias Oberg’s dictum - premise that we should keep our minds open, but not so open that we believe virtually everything Role of authority - we should be unwilling to accept claims on the basis of authority alone Ex) Koob Basic Principles of Critical Thinking Critical thinking - set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open-minded and careful fashion 1. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence 2. Falsifiability - for a claim to be meaningful, it must be capable of being disproved 3. Occam’s Razor (parsimony) - simplest explanation for a given set of data is the best one Avoid Speculations Basic Principles of Critical Thinking 4. Replicability - findings must be duplicated, ideally by independent investigators 5. Ruling out rival hypotheses - need to consider alternative hypotheses 6. Correlation Is Not Causation Correlation-causation fallacy Third variable problem (Ice cream and crime) If A and B are correlated: A B OR B A OR C A B Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 people respond differently why? What makes them more venerable = human made trauma = traumatizing bappl blame themselves more can't help a natural disaster S I shoulde donethis... why didn't I do that... PTSD · In response to an extreme traumatic stressor subsective What does that mean? Response to event must involve: Intense fear, helplessness, or horror Cobserving or S fears for life severe or harm expierencing ( need Persistent reexperiencing of the event (ex) all (nightmares) 3 Avoidance of stimuli associated with trauma Lavoid place people situations things) for (ex) what affected them the moss , , , p Persistent increased hyper stimuli arousal to Last more than 1 month arousal (ex) month accute stress If ) I Disorder = ncrease pown senstivity · Increased Startle response Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009  PTSD Disorder may be especially severe or long lasting when the stressor is of human design Symptoms of anxiety or increased arousal that were not present before the trauma Usually meet criteria for Acute Stress Disorder in the immediate aftermath However, approximately 75% of US population experiences a severe trauma event, but only 7% develop PTSD. Why?????  activation fear Amygaila-most during avoidance PTSD = = Conditioning PTSD Individual differences: Genetics high · personality Genetic markers = anxiety , regulation differences affects of - fear Increased levels of Stathmin Increased w ppl responsive) ~ PTSD (hyper (emomons) Decreased levels of gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) = more susceptibl to PTSD Abnormalities in Serotonin levels (mood) ↓ = PTSD depression Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 classical conditioning = neutral w stimulus that will presented - Stimulus not be given an immediate response + Alcohol kdrugs - eventually this stimuli associated With fear will be PTSD Amydala activation witharawal sends them back Individual Differences: Brain Regions Amygdala—role in emotion, learning, and memory May be overactive · conditioning · avoidance = fear conditioning Prefrontal Cortex—role in decision-making, threating or not problem solving, and judgment helpless ? How does the PFC affect response to stress? (rational thought mPFC—suppression > I PTSD dopamine - , probsol medial beleage vmPFC—size and extinction > (smaller size - & = sear ventral extinction) N medial ↓ genetics Over time smaller = fear goes umpfc away association Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 is broken( ↑ cortisol = Stress can't measure N curancemakes of PTSD Animal Models Predator Odor in a conditioned place preference paradigm Chapter Two Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  for reasearch get a team Research Design Matters Even well-educated, intelligent people can be fooled Well-planned designs can help to eliminate biases when examining phenomena to biar social psychology = more susepctible Prefrontal lobotomy is example of what happens when we severe psychological disturchore rely on subjective impressions remedy depression Schiz - , & Lacks systematic research—observations were good enough Created apathy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0aNILW6ILk person no longer having hallucinations must be better No !! - basically ppl in Comas Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  How We Can Be Fooled save time , brown power Heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that we EX same grocery store you : familar use daily = different store = don'tfamiliarlike it not They reduce the cognitive energy required to solve problems Loading… but we oversimplify reality Why are these necessary? Think evolution allows us to focus on more important things If you had to drive from San Diego to Reno, which direction would you need to drive? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Loading… Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  must have prediction that hypothesis carries a direction EX : study habits will i test anxiety pain [m T meds cause ↑ energy-f excercis The Scientific Method ↓ appetite : weight Exercise can 1055 alter pain perception Allows us to test specific hypotheses derived from broader theories of how things work Hypothesis is a prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested. “Effects of study habits on test anxiety” Operational definition is the translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable, procedures that can be measured and measure and ? observe how are observed Objective o you going is it direct variable to measures - pros Ex) test anxiety=increased heart rate vs test anxiety=response 2 measure ? cons Of Ex) memory in the radial maze experement curonic pawn = memory issues morphine group whats best & morphine pown group for it Copyright Both © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Friday 27th Article summary I page hypothesis ? Expirement Overall findings/meaning Important why word duX.  The Scientific Method how different factors work +g Theories are broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest Constantly change over time Theories are never “proven,” but hypotheses can be confirmed or disconfirmed Can be supported by multiple hypotheses Ex) theory of natural selection applies to all species Hypotheses off of this theory: Mice freeze in the face of danger as a means to hide from predators Dogs raise hackles when confronted by strangers Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Archival Research · Not directly manipulating anything Existing data, such as census documents, college records, and newspaper clippings are examined to test a hypothesis. Ex) college records to determine differences in performance between males and females Inexpensive but may be incompatible · Don't have to collect data · can't control could affect data (missing data , Incompetence of previous data collectors flaws ? Elemination ? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Naturalistic Observation Do let not them know you are watching = cause behavioral changes Watching behavior in real-world settings No change is made to the situation *****No modification to environment Ex) want to look at laughter. How often do people laugh? Do men laugh more than women? Etc. High degree of external validity - extent to which we can generalize our findings to the real world now relates to overall population Low degree of internal validity - extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences Why is this? does it allow a a rrest cause Is effect Can't control environment Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=OSsPfbup0ac Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  give Venete example - Make sure you use random samples for these surveys have someone give opinio Self Report Measures and Surveys Psychologists often need to ask people about themselves or others Loading… Self-report measures or questionnaires assess characteristics such as personality or mental illness Surveys ask about a person’s behavior, thoughts, or attitudes PCS questionnaire - Pain cotastrificing scale-how ppl Interpret Injury ppI can lie based on what your measuring Controversial views would want them to PPI will answer how society unaware of issues = PDI not© Copyright man know abt 2011 Pearson Education, mental theirInc. Illness All rights reserved.  Random Selection The key to generalizability in surveys and questionnaire studies Ensure every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate Ex) collect data about education in Louisiana Make sure you have a respresentation of all populations Non-random selection can skew results and make them inaccurate when applied to the population as a whole Ex) Shere Hite on women’s relationship with men Controversial figure that made money with some health books(women’s overall happiness with men in relationships),she was only taking measurements from divorcees = skewed data Collect data from all types of relationships Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Must have reliability and validity Interrator reliability: Used in reasearch to help with subjective measures Ex: interpreting animal Evaluating Measures behavior based on stimuli Then someone else does it and gets same results To trust results, the measures must have: Reliability—consistency of measurement Similar results consistently Test-retest reliability—personality test over 2 months Interrater reliability—depression and schizophrenia Validity—extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure Ex) Trying to measure introversion Making sure your measuring anxiety and only that Ex: hyperarousal to heat source may show anxiety but also pain perception so it wouldn’t work A test must be reliable to be valid, but a reliable test can still be completely invalid VERY IMPORTANT Ex) intelligence test (Distance Index-Middle Width) This is to validate distance between index and middle finger does not determine intelligence It is reliable because your finger height is not changing but is not valid Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Distort views if they are controversial because they don’t want to be judged or ppl to know their true opinion= response sets Self-Report Measures Pros – Easy to administer – Direct (self) assessment of person’s state No one knows your internal thoughts(is it accurate) Cons – Accuracy is skewed for certain groups—narcissists Rate themselves higher – Potential for dishonesty—drugs or cheating Lie abt illegal activities – Response sets - tendencies of research subjects to distort their responses, often in socially desirable way—racism – Positive impression management—GRE scores Make better ourselves look – Malingering—to avoid incarceration or military duty Answer a certain way to show a disorder Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Reporting on other idividuals Rating Data People can also be asked to rate others on different characteristics—usually done with references for a job This can do away with some biases in self-report, but still has problems Ant person to rate themselves and have someone else rate them too Halo effect—tendency of ratings of one positive characteristic to spill over to influence the ratings of other characteristics Think of people we like as “angels” Attractiveness Ex: More attractive= higher ratings on sot One very positive trait can cancel out the “bad” Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. ones  For more clinical individuals Case Study Designs Studying one person or a small number of people for an extended period of time Common with rare types of brain damage or mental illness Mostly done with phenomenon that are difficult or impossible to re-create in the lab Study one person with schizophrenia over 10 years Academic and job performance, family life, friendships, etc. Helpful in providing existence proofs, but can be misleading and anecdotal Individuals and their treatment varies Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Correlational Designs Examine how two variables are related or associated Variables –anything that can take on different values across individuals As one increases the other decreases NOT cause and effect bc we are not directly manipulating variables(different values across individuals) gender, race Perfect correlations(-1 or +1)will Correlations vary from -1 to +1 and can be never exist Positive (as one increases, so does the other) Negative (as one increases, the other decreases) Zero (no relationship between variables) Depicted in a scatterplot Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Zero correlation Negative correlation Positive correlation Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Correlational Designs Illusory Correlation—perception of a statistical association where none exists Relationship doesn’t exist Crime rates and the full moon—lunar lunacy effect As full moon increase crime Arthritis and weather increases Arthritis pain increases in cool weather Examining a probability table helps to explain why we are all prone to seeing relationships where one exists Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Did a crime occur? D Yes No id Full moon no crime a Yes fu ll m No full moon no crime o No No full moon o Crime Humans tend to overemphasize cell n A and ignore the non-events o cc Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  u Correlation vs. Causation Just because two things are related, does not mean that one causes another Can be very helpful to predict behavior Ex) personality traits and inmates reoffending Certain personality trait are prevalent in inmates reoffending(doesnt mean perso with those traits will reoffend) Relationship might exist but does not cause it There are three possible explanations: A causes B B causes A C causes both A and B Ex) Ph.D. and mules Always possibility of third variable Correlation btw doctorate and mules Third variable highest rate of colleges = more phd’s Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. VERY IMPORTANT The Scientific Method Help to expand that theory Whatever makes you interested in topic Curiosity Correlation? Case study? Experimental design? Write paper and publish it 2-0 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Determining Causation The only way to determine if one thing is causally related to another is via an experimental design. Purposefully manipulating variables rather than measuring exists differences Ex: petting animals during studying = better scores?(correlation) Expieremental: petting 10 times while studying This is because in an experiment, you purposefully manipulate variables, rather than just measure already existing differences. Ex) pets and studying Correlational designs measure differences among participants VERY IMPORTANT Experimental designs create the differences among participants and then measure the effect VERY IMPORTANT Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  What Makes a Study an Experiment? Random assignment of participants to the Experimental Group - receives the manipulation Control Group - does not receive the manipulation Manipulation of an independent variable The dependent variable is what the experimenter measures to see whether manipulation had an effect Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  What Makes a Study an Experiment? Confounds - any difference between the experimental and control groups aside from IV Ex) ADHD Makes IV effects uninterpretable Ex) radial maze and cognition--injections Cause and effect - possible to infer, with random assignment and manipulation of independent variable Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Pitfalls of Experimental Design Placebo effect - improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement Ex) sugar pill to treat depression Subjects must be blind Placebos show many of the same characteristics as real drugs Ex) What about animals? Nocebo effect - harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm Ex) Steve’s thesis Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=ps4pRPYJWOo Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=yfRVCaA5o18 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Pitfalls of Experimental Design Experimenter expectancy effect is when researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias a study outcome Loading… Clever Hans, the mathematical horse Rosenthal’s undergrads and maze-bright or maze-dull rats Using a double-blind design can decrease this Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Pitfalls of Experimental Design Demand characteristics - cues that participants pick up that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher’s hypotheses Disguising the purpose of the study or using “filler” items can help to decrease these Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Evaluating Psychological Research The process of peer review helps to identify and correct flaws in research and research conclusions Remember to keep a look out for confounds, placebos, experimenter expectancy, correlation vs. causation, and others. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Modern Ethical Guidelines Today, research has to go through a careful process of review to ensure that it is conducted ethically. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Informed consent Justification of deception Impossible to conduct without it Benefits outweigh the risks Debriefing of subjects afterwards Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Ethical Issues in Research Design Tuskegee Study ran from 1932 to 1972 African American men living in rural Alabama diagnosed with syphilis U.S. Public Health Service never informed, or treated, the men, merely studied the course of the disease 28 men died of syphilis, 100 of related complications, 40 wives were infected, 19 children were born with it Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Modern Ethical Guidelines Animal research goes through the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Only 7-8% of psychological research uses animals Vast majority of animals are rodents and birds Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_Go8tnl21MU Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Statistics: The Language of Research Descriptive statistics—numerical characteristics of the nature of the data set Central tendency—where the group tends to cluster Mean: average of all scores Median: middle scores in the data set Mode: most frequent score in the data set Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  5, 2, 2, 4, 3, 8 What is the mean? What is the median? What is the mode? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Statistics: The Language of Research Dispersion—sense of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are Range—difference between the highest and lowest scores Standard deviation—measure of dispersion that takes into account how far each data point is from the mean Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  Range vs. Standard Deviation Both sets of data have the same range, but very different SDs SDs are less susceptible to extreme scores than ranges are Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.