TCJ PowerPoint Chapter 1 - Psychology as a Science PDF

Chapter 1 – Psychology as a Science Overview of Topics What is Psychology? Historical Development of the Schools of Psychology Areas of Specialization Pure vs Applies Science Stages in the Research Process What Make a Good Theory Ethical Guidelines for Human Particip...

Chapter 1 – Psychology as a Science Overview of Topics What is Psychology? Historical Development of the Schools of Psychology Areas of Specialization Pure vs Applies Science Stages in the Research Process What Make a Good Theory Ethical Guidelines for Human Participants Observational Research Experimental Research Correlational Research Statistics What is Psychology? Definition Scientific Discipline Meaning of “psyche” Meaning of “ology” Psychiatry vs Psychology Historical Development of the Schools of Psychology Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Behaviorism Humanistic Psychology Gestalt Psychology Cognitive Psychology Physiological Psychology Evolutionary Psychology Sociocultural Psychology Schools of Psychology What is meant by a “school” of psychology? Approach Questions Starting Points Structuralism (late 1800’s) Wilhelm Wundt Father of Modern Psychology First research lab (Germany, 1979) Over 100 doctoral students Used introspection to try to find the components of the conscious mind – people report their thoughts, feelings, images – people report what their mind is experiencing Elements of the mind Called his approach “voluntarism” Brought quantitative measurement and experimentation to psychology – psychology as a science Structuralism (late 1800’s) Edward Titchener Student of Wundt Developed school of functionalism in US Looked for “laws” to make connections between the elements of the mind Interested in relationship between physical events and conscious experiences Trained almost 60 students Functionalism (late 1800’s) William James Father of American Psychology Influenced by Theory of Natural Selection Studied the functions of mental processes, like language, love, conformity. Interested in how mental processes function to adapt the organism to the environment Used introspection but other experimental and empirical approaches too. Studied groups that the structuralists did not study – children, animals, intellectually challenged Didn’t think you could discover the “elements of the mind” that the structuralists were looking for Functionalism (late 1800’s) William James Students: Mary Calkins – 1st female president of APA Edward Thorndike – student who went on to study trial and error learning Robert Woodworth – student who studied motivation and went on to develop drive theory Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Trained as a medical doctor Developed an approach called psychoanalysis which has based on the influence of unconscious processes on behavior Placed major emphasis on sexual and aggressive impulses Also placed a lot of emphasis on early experiences in the development of the personality Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Techniques for exploring the unconscious mind – dream analysis, free association, hypnosis Studied the mind through case studies with patients This school still exists today but less emphasis on sexual drives and considers both early and later experiences in personality development The unconscious mind is still considered to be important.  Behaviorism (1920’s-1970’s) John B. Watson Led this movement which became prominent in the US Psychology needed to focus on behavior because it could be observed and measured objectively The mind was a “black box” and should be left alone Goal of psychology was to predict and control behavior Logical positivism – philosophy of behaviorism – knowledge needs to be verifiable through empirical evidence Focused on learning Little Albert study Behaviorism (1920’s-1970’s) Ivan Pavlov Russian Scientist Classical conditioning – transferring a response from an unconditioned stimulus to a new stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) Watson incorporated his work into behaviorism B.F. Skinner Operant conditioning – looked at how the frequency of a behavior can be changed by controlling the consequences that follow the behavior Created the Skinner Box to control the environment for rats in the laboratory Helped develop the use of the white rat in psychology research Applied his ideas to education and the development of language Humanistic Psychology (1960’s) Movement developed as a reaction to the deterministic approaches of behaviorism and psychoanalysis Focuses on the uniqueness of individuals and their capacity for choice, growth, psychological health Believed people are capable of free will and strive for self-actualization Maslow Hierarchy of Needs – basic needs must be met before people can work on higher- level needs J. Finkelstein, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Self-Actualization – where individuals Wikimedia Commons strive to achieve their full potential (not all people achieve this level) Humanistic Psychology (1960’s) Carl Rogers Client-centered therapy with the patient taking the lead role and the therapist providing unconditional positive regard, genuineness, empathy With this support the patients are capable of working through their problems Contributions of this approach Promoted the studies of areas that had been neglected by psychology – self-awareness, love, helping behavior Positive Psychology Modern version of humanistic psychology Focuses on optimizing human functioning Ex: what does it mean to be well-adapted and happy Gestalt Psychology (early 1900’s) Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Koehler Developed in Germany as a reaction to structuralism Studied perception Objected to attempt to break the mind/experience into components, people perceive objects and patterns as whole units By looking at individual elements you miss the big picture Moved to the US and struggled to establish labs, US psychology was also heavily into behaviorism This school continues to be influential in the area of sensation & perception Cognitive Psychology 1950’s and 60’s American psychologists became interested in mental processes again With developments in computers psychologists began to look at the computer as a model for how the human mind might work Interesting phenomena were difficult to explain without considering mental processes (ex: Tolman and cognitive maps) Noam Chomsky Spoke out against the behaviorist belief that mental processes should not be studied Developed a theory of language development Believed language development to be innate, not learned Physiological Psychology/Neuroscience Psychology became interested in the underlying physiology of behaviors and mental processes Growth of the area of neuroscience Not limited to the nervous system, psychologists were also interested in the contributions of the endocrine system Also interested in the role of genetics in behaviors and mental processes Studies humans and animals Evolutionary Psychology Look at behavior and mental processes by studying their evolution Evolution – changes across generations that occur as a result of natural selection, genetic drift, etc. Ex: Why don’t humans see well at night? Because of the evolutionary history of our visual system Sociocultural Psychology (1990’s) Looks at the role of social and cultural factors in the development of behaviors and mental processes Lev Vygotsky The higher order functions seen in humans results from the combined influences of parents, caregivers, peers, culture Brought attention to the role that social factors play in development and how that development can vary across cultures.  Areas of Specialization in Psychology Neuroscience/Psychobiology/Biopsychology/Physiological Psychology Study the underlying physiological processes of behaviors and mental processes Developmental Psychology Look at how behaviors and mental processes change over the life span Experimental Psychology Investigate a variety of psychological processes using the scientific method, including learning, motivation, emotions, states of consciousness, dreams, perceptions Comparative Psychology Look at similarity and differences across species in behaviors and mental processes  Areas of Specialization in Psychology Personality Psychology Study how people develop their distinct characteristics and how these can change Social Psychology Study social interactions among people Clinical Psychology Diagnosis and treatment of people with psychological disorders Counseling Psychology Diagnosis and treatment of problems that do not involve psychological disorders (social skills training, marriage counseling, etc) Industrial/Organizational Psychology Apply psychological principles in business settings (employee retention, personnel training, etc) Education & School Psychologists Apply psychological principles in school settings (ex: assessment of learning disabilities) Applied vs Pure Science Applied Science To solve practical problems and improve quality of life More likely to work in private practice, hospitals, other health settings Pure Science To gain knowledge and understanding Tend to work at colleges, universities, government funded institutions Stages in the Research Process What is pseudoscience? When statements or ideas are claimed to be scientifically sound but they haven’t been researched using the scientific method 1. Selecting a Topic and Searching the Literature How do you decide what you are going to study? Read the literature Talk to researchers Narrow your focus  Stages in the Research Process 2. Developing a Theory & Formulating a Hypothesis Literature search leads to a theory or you develop your own Theory – a comprehensive explanation of phenomena that leads to accurate predictions Ex: Theory of Evolution offers an explanation & mechanisms for the diversity of organisms currently found on Earth  Stages in the Research Process 2. Developing a Theory & Formulating a Hypothesis A Good Theory: Predictive Accuracy - Makes accurate predictions Internal Coherence – doesn’t make contradictory predictions, is internally consistent Broad – explains a variety of behaviors/mental processes Fertility – generates research & explains a broad variety of behaviors/mental processes Economy – It is parsimonious – accounts for results with the fewest assumptions Ex: Reinforcement theory relates the probability of a behavior to the reinforcement of the behavior and doesn’t assume a “mind.”  Stages in the Research Process 2. Developing a Theory & Formulating a Hypothesis Formulating a hypothesis from the theory: From the broad theory we formulate a specific testable hypothesis Hypothesis – testable prediction of what happens under specific circumstances Theory-Hypothesis Relationship is Cyclic: A hypothesis is formed, then tested, then any necessary adjustments are made to the theory, then a hypothesis is formed… Stages in the Research Process 3. Selecting a Scientific Method & Submitting the Study for Ethical Consideration Design the study you are going to conduct to test your hypothesis Get your study approved by the IRB (Internal Review Board) or IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) General ethical guidelines with people need informed consent use caution with deception debrief participants participants are free to refuse at any time avoid physical or psychological harm confidentiality Stages in the Research Process 4. Collecting and Analyzing Data and Reporting Results Data Collection - collect the data Data Analysis - analyze the data Draw Conclusions – do your results support your hypothesis? Share your results - report your results at conferences, in journal articles, etc. Types of Research Methods Observational Research Experimental Research Correlational Research Types of Observational Research Naturalistic Observation Participant Observation Case Studies Observational Research A type of research where behaviors are observed and described, but behavior is not manipulated Purposes: - To get ideas - Starting point for additional studies - do lab findings generalize to natural settings? Types of Observational Research: 1. Naturalistic Observation Making observations in a natural setting – “real behavior” Can use standardized methods for making observations No manipulation of the setting Lack control over the setting Types of Observational Research: 2. Participant Observation Description of behavior in a natural setting Ex: Festinger's study of a doomsday cult in the 1950’s. This was one of the first tests of Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Some challenges: Effect of observer Ethical concerns – invasion of privacy Types of Observational Research: 3. Case Studies thorough description of a single individual suited to rare, poorly understood conditions must be careful with generalizations - that individual might not be typical of others cautious when relying on memories Koko and sign language Experimental Research Logic – if you keep everything the same between groups except for the one thing you vary, and behavior difference between the groups must be due to the thing the varied between the groups. You want a sample that represents your population – Representative sample Random Sampling – is it possible? Group Assignment Random Assignment Check your groups Experimental Research Number of Subjects for your study? With more participants you are more likely to get a representative sample Your results are not as influenced by possible outliers Experimental Research Variables Independent Variable (IV) – the variable you manipulate/control Dependent Variable (DV) – the variable that is measured Operational Definitions – specify exactly how the variable(s) will be measured or manipulated Experimental Research Experimental Group vs Control Group Do you have to have a control group? Can you have multiple experimental groups? Do you need to use confederates? Experimental Research Causal Relationships Experiments are used to determine causal relationships between variables. The IV causes the DV….unless there is a confound Confounds – variables, other than the IV, that vary across the groups Experimental Research Replications We gain confidence in conclusions through replication Correlational Research No Causal Conclusions Two or more variables and the relationship between them is examined The variables are measured, not controlled Correlational Research Why No Causal Conclusions? 1. Which one is the cause and which one is the effect? 2. Third variable producing the apparent relationship? Why do correlational research? Not all variables can be manipulated Correlational Research Correlation Coefficients mathematical estimation of the relationship between two variables, expressed as r ranges from -1 to +1 absolute value = strength of relationship sign reflects the direction of the relationship Correlational Research Strength of Relationship r=0 no relationship r=+ as one variable increases the other variable increases r=- as one variable decreases the other variable Correlational Research Surveys Type of correlational research Uses questionnaire responses for measurement  Statistics Descriptive Statistics – summarize/describe data mean – average score median – middle score mode – most common score range – greatest score minus lowest score, indicates how spread out the scores are Statistics Inferential Statistics Used to make inferences about the population from which the sample was taken Are the differences between the groups likely real or due to chance?