Psychology scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

. Behavior: outward/overt actions Mental Processes: internal/covert activity of minds Scientific: observation (scientific method)

Psychologys Goals: Description: Observation (What is happening) Explanation: theory (Why is it happening) Prediction: When will it happen again Control: How can it be changed?

History of Psychology: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Psychology is only 130 years old.

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Philosophers, medical doctors, physiologists Aristotle relationship of soul to body (De Anima) Plato Aristotles teacher; dualism (the soul could exist separately from the body) Rene Descartes Pineal gland was the seat of the soul Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) father of psychology; objective introspection: objectively measuring and examining ones thoughts Edward Titchener (1867-1927) Wundts student; structuralism: focuses on the structure of the mind, every experience could be broken down to individual emotions and sensations - Margaret F. Washburn: first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Psychology William James (1842-1910) Principles of Psychology (still in print); importance of consciousness to everyday life rather than its analysis, scientific study of consciousness was not possible; Conscious ideas are constantly in an ever-changing stream; functionalism: how the mind allows the people to function in the real world. (survival behavior passed down to offsprings) - Mary Whiton Calkins: completed the courses, was not allowed to get her Ph.D. (Harvard) because she was a woman Max Wertheimer the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; Gestalt Psychology: now used in cognitive psychology; psychological events cannot be broken down into events and still be understood Sigmund Freud neurologist, patients have disorders with no physical cause; childhood experiences are important (6 years); there is an unconscious into which we repress all of our threatening urges and desires (sexual and aggressive). Psychoanalysis: basis of modern psychotherapy Ivan Pavlov reflex in response to stimulus; conditioning John Watson behaviourism: focus on the observable behavior; behavior is learned - Phobia: learned through conditioning; Little Albert Mary Cover Jones counter conditioning (Little Peter)

Psychology Now: Modern Perspectives

1. Psychodynamic Perspective: unconscious, influence over conscious behavior and childhood experiences with emphasis on development of self, relationships, and motivations. 2. Behavioral Perspective: B.F. Skinner; operant conditioning how voluntary behavior is learned; reinforcement and punishment 3. Humanistic Perspective: Freewill, human potential, self-actualization 4. Cognitive Perspective: mental processes (memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language, learning); cognitive neuroscience physical workings of brain (MRI, fMRI, PET) 5. Sociocultural Perspective: social (groups, roles) and cultural (cultural norms, values and expectations) 6. Biopsychological perspective: influences on behavior (hormones, genes, nervous system) 7. Evolutionary Perspective: universal behavior and mental characteristics (passing down of behavior) Psychology: The Scientific Methodology 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Perceiving the question. Forming a hypothesis. Testing the hypothesis. Drawing conclusions. Report your results.

Descriptive Methods: 1. Naturalistic Observation: watching behavior within the environment where it typically occurs. - Observer effect: subjects will not behave normally when observer is seen - Participant observation: observer is participant of subject group - Observer bias: observer sees what he wants to see - Blind observer: observer that does not know the hypothesis 2. Laboratory Observation: controlled environment 3. Case Study: individual studied in great detail 4. Survey: sample of the population, not reliable; courtesy bias 5. Interviews/Focus Group Discussions: - Interview: in-depth response, ideal for high profile participants - Focus Group: shares a characteristic/interest 6. Psychological Testing: individuals differences and characteristics - Reliability: scores obtained must be consistent - Validity: are you able to measure what you intended to measure? 7. Correlations: relations between two variables - Variable: anything that changes or varies - Correlation coefficient: direction of relationship (+, increase in same direction. -, different directions), strength of relationship - Purpose: prediction, not causation *The only method that will allow to determine the cause of a behavior is an experiment The Experiment

- Deliberate manipulation 1. Variable: - Independent: controlled - Dependent: result - Confounding: systematically affects the dependent; interference 2. Experiment groups: *Random assignment of participants to: - Experimental group: w/manipulated variable - Control group: w/o varied independent variable *Quasi experimental design: pre-assigned groups, pre-existing characteristics *Placebo Effect: expectations of participants influence their behavior - Single blind study: participants are blind to the treatment they receive. *Experimenter Effect: experimenters expectations for a study unintentionally influence the results - double blind study: neither participants nor the people measuring the dependent variable know what got what.

Ethics in Psychological Research Ethics Committee: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Right to withdraw Confidentiality Minimal Risk Debriefing Right vs. Value to Science Informed, consent Deception justification