General Psychology PSY 201 Instructor Ms T Gumbs

General Psychology PSY 201 Instructor: Ms. T. Gumbs

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

Pseudopsychologies �Pseudopsychologies are unreliable approaches that do not use the scientific method �Examples of pseudopsychologies include: ◦ Phrenology: attempt to assess personality by examining one’s head ◦ Astrology: system that tries to relate personality to the movement of the stars ◦ Palmistry: idea that reading a person’s character from the lines on their palms

Where did Psychology Come From? �Ancient Greek philosophers ◦ Aristostle-wrote Peri Psyches “About the Psyche” �Human behavior subject to rules & laws like nature �Seed of consciousness in the heart not the head ◦ Democritus-suggested thinking of behavior in terms of mind & body ◦ Socrates-advised to “Know thyself” �Reliable self-knowledge not attained through the senses but through introspection (i. e. , careful observation)

The Study of Psychology • Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes • Psychology employs scientific research • Psychology values empirical evidence • Psychology employs critical thinking

4 Goals of Psychology 1. Description identifies and classifies behaviors and mental processes using careful observations 2. Explanation proposing reasons for behaviors and mental processes 3. Prediction allows for specification of the conditions under which a behavior will occur or not 4. Control (Influence) uses the results of research to solve practical problems

Historical Schools of Psychological Thought �Structuralist �Functionalist �Psychodynamic (a. k. a. Psychoanalytic) �Behaviorist �Humanist Wilhelm Wundt (standing, with gray beard) and colleagues 1880

Structuralism (late 19 th century) �Wilhelm Wundt “father of psychology” ◦ Disgusted w/phrenology ◦ set up 1 st psychology lab to study consciousness in Leipzig, Germany (1879) ◦ observed various stimuli, physical energies that evokes a response people & animals (eg. lights & sound) ◦ used introspection, “looking inward” to examine his reaction to stimuli ◦ called his approach experimental selfobservation, which combined trained

Structuralism (late 19 th century) �Edward B. Titchener-carried Wundt’s ideas to the US (1890 s), where it was called… �Structuralism-concerned with analyzing sensations and personal experience into basic elements ◦ Focus: studying the structure of the mind �Problems: ◦ structuralists hardly agreed ◦ Cannot prove/disprove introspection

Functionalism (early 20 th century) �Functionalism-concerned with how humans and animals use mental processes in adapting to their environment ◦ Focus: the function of the mind �Charles Darwin-evolutionary theory ◦ Contributions: �Increased animal use in psychological experiments �William James-”stream of consciousness” ◦ Contributions: �Study of children, animals, and mentally impaired �Study of educational practices, individual practices and workplace adaptation

Early Pioneers of Psychology � Structuralists focused on sensations and perceptual experiences “structure of the mind” � Functionalists investigated functions of mental processes in adapting to the environment “function of the mind”

Behaviorism (most influential until 1960 s & influential today) �challenged functionalism �No need to study mental processes �emphasized the study of overt behavior �objective and measurable behaviors ◦ John B Watson-explained behavior as learned reactions to certain stimuli as a result of conditioning (discovered by Pavlov-1880 s) ◦ B. F. Skinner-explained that behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences �Contribution: ◦ Helped separate psychology from philosophy ◦ Respected as a science

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalyt ic �Sigmund Freud-Austrian doctor ◦ believed our behavior is influenced by unconscious thoughts, impulses, and desires (dark view of humans) ◦ Contribution: �Psychoanalysis-a “talking therapy” where the psychologist explores the thoughts of patients (early 1900 s) �Importance of childhood experiences

Humanism (late 1930 s & influential today) �Humanism- a positive view of humans ◦ Stresses free will & inner-self (unlike behaviorism) and private subjective experience ◦ Less concerned about the scientific aspect, more concerned with human potential ◦ Psychological needs for love, belonging, self-esteem, & spirituality ◦ Abraham Maslow developed the concept of self-actualization, reaching one’s full potential

Other Modern Perspectives • • (late 1800 s-today) Cognitive psychology focuses on mental • Sociocultural psychology function and reasoning examines the influence of culture and ethnic (1950 s-today) practice on people’s • Gestalt psychology behavior emphasized perception; the notion that the whole is more than the sum of the parts • Evolutionary psychology asserts that certain behavioral characteristics are subject to natural selection Biopsychology views behavior as reflecting brain processes (1800 s & major impact today) (1930 s-today; ethics crisis in 1970 s)

Ancient Greek Phiolosphers �Aristostle- (384 -322 B. C. E. ) ◦ wrote Peri Psyches “About the Psyche” ◦ Human behavior subject to rules & laws like nature � Democritus- (400 B. C. E. ) suggested thinking of behavior in terms of mind & body � Socrates-advised to “Know thyself” �Reliable self-knowledge not attained through the senses but through introspection (i. e. , careful observation)

Who’s Who of Psychology Late 19 th century � Wilhelm Wundt (1832 -1920) p. 10 ◦ What is he known as? ◦ Which school of thought does he belong to? � Charles Darwin (1809 -1882) ◦ What theory is he known for? ◦ How does his theory relate to behavior? ◦ Which school of thought? � William James (1842 -1910) p. 11 ◦ Author of first modern psychology textbook Principles of Psychology ◦ Which school of thought?

Who’s Who of Psychology Early 20 th century � Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939) p. 10 ◦ Which school of thought does he belong to? ◦ What therapy technique is he known for? � Mary Calkins (1863 -1930) p. 21 ◦ Attended Harvard University as a “guest student” ◦ Completed all her requirements for Ph. D. at Harvard University, but was denied her degree ◦ Pioneer in memory research � John B. Watson (1878 -1958) p. 12 ◦ Which school of thought? ◦ Theory: behavior is a set of learned reactions to the environment (classical conditioning)

Who’s Who of Psychology Early-Mid 20 th century �B. F. Skinner (1904 -1990) ◦ Which school of thought? ◦ Theory: behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences (operant conditioning) �Frances Cecil Sumner (1895 -1954) ◦ Father of Black Psychology ◦ (1920) first African American to receive a Ph. D. degree in psychology �Abraham Maslow (1908 -1990) ◦ Which school of thought? ◦ Theory: self actualization

Black Psychology �Frances Cecil Sumner ◦ Father of Black Psychology ◦ 1920 -first African American to receive a Ph. D. degree in psychology ◦ Studied “race psychology” at Clarke University ◦ Chair of Psychology department at Howard University �Dr. Kenneth Clark & Mamie Clark p. 22 ◦ Doll Test

Introduction to Psychology Review 1. 2. 3. 4. Psychology is defined as the study of _____. The 4 goals of psychology is to describe, _____, & _____ behavior. What is the difference between behaviorism & humanism? What is the difference between psychodynamic & humanism? 5. Name the following individuals pictured & identify the school of thought and major contributions. ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Mary Calkins Wilson Dr. Kenneth & Mamie Clark Sigmund Freud William James Abraham Maslow B. F. Skinner Frances Cecil Sumner John B. Watson Wilhelm Wundt

“Psych humor”

“Psych humor”

Areas of Psychology Clinical Psychologists • Counseling • Psychologists • Educational Psychologists School Psychologists • Industrial/ Organizational • Psychologists • Developmental Psychologists Social psychologists • Health Psychologists Consumer • Psychologists • Forensic Psychologists • Sport Psychologists

Psychology Degrees By Area

Psychological Research �Two forms of psychological research: ◦ Pure (Basic) research seeks answers for theoretical questions �E. g. How is hunger controlled by the brain? ◦ Applied research seeks answers for specific application problems �E. g. Organizational psychology studies leadership, job satisfaction, job training, and

Psychological Research. Samples �Selecting participants for study: ◦ Sample: a smaller subset of the general population used to represent the larger population �Random sample-participants selected randomly to allow equal chance of being chosen for study ◦ Target population: a particular group of people

Overview of the Scientific Method

Basic (Pure) Research Methods �Naturalistic observation refers to the systematic recording of behavior in a natural state or habitat ◦ Jane Goodall observing apes in the wild �Surveys are instruments designed to sample attitudes or behaviors ◦ Asking persons at a rally how they feel about animal rights issues �A case study is an in-depth study of a single person ◦ Freud used the case study method to probe anxiety

Research Methods �Naturalistic Observation- recording or observing behavior in one’s natural environment ◦ Animal studies ◦ Child studies ◦ Limitations: �Observer effect-change in behavior because someone’s watching

Research Methods �Laboratory Observation- recording or observing in behavior in a laboratory

APPLIED RESEARCH: CORRELATIONS & EXPERIMENTS

Correlational Research �Finding the degree (strength) of relationship between 2 traits, behaviors, or events ◦ Not interested in finding the cause, just making predictions ◦ No causation established �Relationships measured by coefficient of correlation +1. 00 – 1. 00

Correlational Research �The correlation technique indicates the degree of association between 2 variables �Correlations vary in direction: ◦ Positive association: increases in the value of variable 1 are associated with increases in the value of variable 2 ◦ Negative association: increases in the value of variable 1 are associated with decreases in the value of variable 2 ◦ No relation: values of variable 1 are not related to variable 2 values

Correlational Study examples 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. IQ scores and school grades? Reading ability and popularity? IQ and shoe size? Height and weight of a person? Team wins and the number of penalties against a team? 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Income and health? Years spent in University and income? Athletic ability and IQ? Cell phone use and vehicle accidents? Length of hair and IQ?

The Heisman Curse �The Heisman Curse article

“Psych humor”

Correlation Difficulties

The Experiment �An experiment involves a set of controlled conditions that aims to confirm a hypothesis, a prediction about a cause and effect relationship bet/2 variables ◦ Unlike correlations, experiments establish cause & effect relationships n How does X affect Y?

Experimental Method n How does X (indep. var) affect Y (dep. var)? 1) 2) 3) Form hypothesis Define variables Randomly assign groups �Experimental Group �Control group (Comparison group/point of ◦ Exposed to X reference) (independent variable or IV) or multiple variations ◦ Exposed to all the same of a variable conditions except X (independent variable or IV) 4) Measure effects of IV on DV 5) Determine statistical significance- Did the IV really make a difference? Results would have to be unlikely to occur by chance alone

Experimental Variables Hypothesis: “Listening to music increases productivity in the workplace. ” �To test a hypothesis, defines the variables of the hypothesis: ◦ Cause: Independent variable (IV) �Music: Participants working at an automotive company listen to jazz music while performing their tasks. �Sometimes more than one IV- jazz, classical, rock, & country ◦ Effect: Dependent variable (DV) �Work productivity: Time to complete tasks such as tire rotations and oil changes � A) What is another way to test the effect of music in the workplace? B) How do we measure the effects

Practice – Experiment 1 1. A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course. Half the students were offered $25 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money. What would be the hypothesis? IV? DV? Experimental group? Control group?

Limitations of Experiments • Placebo effects represent changes in behavior that are related to expectations of a treatment • Placebo Effects controlled by • Blind study - subject does not know whether the treatment was given or not • Double-blind study - Neither the subjects nor experimenters know who has obtained the treatment.

Ethical Issues in Research �Respecting the rights of human research participants involves: ◦ Informed consent is an explanation of a study and the responsibilities of experimenter and participant ◦ Deception involving the subjects must be justified (benefit outweighs the harm) ◦ Confidentiality of study information must be maintained ◦ Debriefing refers to explaining the research process to the subjects at the end of the study �Animal research must be justified and must minimize discomfort to participants

Statistical Techniques �Statistics: science concerned with obtaining and organizing numerical information or measurements ◦ Descriptive Statistics: �provides information about distributions of scores ◦ Inferential Statistics: �determines whether we can generalize (infer) differences among samples to the general population �Uses statistical significance

Statistical Techniques �Descriptive Statistics ◦ provides information about distributions of scores. ◦ Relies on central tendencies or averages of scores in a frequency distributions. �Mean: adding scores and dividing total by # of scores �Median: the score which lies in the middle of a distribution �Mode: most frequently occurring score

Descriptive Techniques � Finding mean, median, mode, & range ◦ Sample study: What are college students perceptions of the sex life of married couples. How many times a week do you think married couples have sex? 15 students were surveyed and the following were their responses: 2, 5, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 1, 1, 0, 10, 21, 3, 8, 3 ◦ ◦ Range: highest score – lowest score ______- ______ Mean: Add up all the scores divide by the # of scores 2+5+3+3+4+1+2+1+1+0+10+21+3+8+3= ___ then ___/15= _____ ◦ Median: if odd number of raw scores, arrange all scores in order & take number in the middle; if even number of raw scores, take the 2 in the middle and divide by 2 ◦ 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 21 = _____ (# in the middle) ◦ Mode: Most frequently occurring score - ______

Descriptive Techniques � Finding mean, median, mode, & range ◦ Sample study: What are college students perceptions of the sex life of married couples. How many times a week do you think married couples have sex? 15 students were surveyed and the following were their responses: 2, 5, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 1, 1, 0, 10, 21, 3, 8, 3 ◦ Range: highest score – lowest score 21 - 0 = 21 ◦ Mean: Add up all the scores divide by the # of scores ◦ 2, 5, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 1, 1, 0, 10, 21, 3, 8, 3= 67…. 67/15= 4. 5 ◦ Median: if odd number of raw scores, arrange all scores in order & take number in the middle; if even number of raw scores, take the 2 in the middle and divide by 2 ◦ 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 21 = 3 (is # in the middle) ◦ Mode: Most frequently occurring score - 3