The Science of Psychology 1 2 3 4

The Science of Psychology

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What is Psychology? The Growth of Psychology Human Diversity Psychology as a Science Research Methods in Psychology Ethics in Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Psychologists are interested in every aspect of human thought, feeling and behavior.

� Seven of the largest subfields of Psychology include: �Developmental �Physiological �Experimental �Personality �Clinical and Counseling �Social �Industrial and Organizational

� Studies human physical, mental, social and emotional growth from conception to death �Child psychologists �Adolescent psychologists �Life-span psychologists

� Investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions �Neuropsychologists �Psychobiologists �Behavioral geneticists

� Researches � Learning � Memory � Sensation � Perception � Thinking � Motivation � Emotion basic psychological processes including:

� Studies differences among individuals in traits such as: �Emotional stability �Self-esteem �Aggressive inclinations �Openness to new experiences

� Seeks to help people deal more successfully with their lives �Clinical psychologists Interested primarily in the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of psychological disorders �Counseling psychologists Concerned primarily with “normal” everyday problems of adjustments in life

� Studies �Study how people influence one another examples: Persuasive communications Obedience to authority Conformity to group norms Interaction of work team members

Applied to the workplace Selecting and training personnel Improving productivity and working conditions Impact of computerization and automation on workers

� Behavioristic view �Behavior is shaped and controlled by one’s environment. �Emphasizes Study of observable behavior Effects of learning �Reward and punishment

� Cognitive view �Behavior understood in terms of mental processing of information �Explains behavior in terms of information processing Self-talk Beliefs

� Psychodynamic �Behavior View result of hidden or unconscious forces Clashing forces within personality �We’ll explore core-beliefs or core-issues later

� All psychologists share a common interest in five enduring human issues: �Person (personality)/Situation (environment) �Nature/Nurture �Stability/Change �Diversity/Universality �Mind/Body

Little attention was paid to human diversity throughout most of the 20 th century Today, understanding human diversity is viewed as being essential. Psychologists have begun to examine how culture, gender, race, and ethnicity can affect human behavior

� Understanding cultural, racial, ethnic and gender differences in thinking and behavior: �Reduces interpersonal tensions �Separates fact from fiction �Helps us understand how and why groups differ in their values, behaviors, approaches to the world, thought processes and responses to situations �Increases appreciation of the many universal features of human behavior

� Race shapes people’s social identities, senses of self, experiences and even health � Psychologists study why race is important and how individuals select or create an ethnic identity and respond to stereotypes � Most ethnic minorities are still underrepresented among the ranks of psychologists

� All scientific fields are based on empirical observation �Phenomena measured of interest can be observed and � All scientific fields rely on the scientific method as the basis of study �A systematic method of generating hypotheses (educated guesses), collecting data, and explaining the data � Data is explained using theories to organize known facts and predict relationships �Allow scientists to formulate new hypothesis to expand on the scope of theories

� To collect data systematically and objectively, psychologists use a variety of research methods including: �Naturalistic Observation �Case Studies �Surveys �Correlational Research �Experimental Research

� Observing and recording the behavior of humans or animals in their natural environment � Advantages �Observed behavior is likely to be more accurate, spontaneous and varied than in a laboratory � Disadvantages �Observer bias �May not be able to generalize to other settings or people

� Intensive description and analysis of a single individual or a few individuals � Advantages �Can yield a great deal of detailed, descriptive information � Disadvantages �The individual or group is unique – difficult to draw conclusions from a single case �Can be time consuming and expensive �Observer bias

�A research technique in which questionnaires or interviews are administered to a selected group of people � Advantages �Large quantity of information quickly �Relatively inexpensive � Disadvantages �Must pay close attention to the survey questions �Respondents may not be representative �Response bias (answering the way one ‘should’) �Truthfulness of responses

A research technique in which an investigator deliberately manipulates selected events or circumstances (variables), then measures the effects on one’s behavior See Psych!Live video

� Independent variable �The variable that is manipulated by the experimenter to test its effects � Dependent �The variable that is measured to see how it is changed by the independent variable

� What are variables? �Variable Any condition that can change Anything that might affect an experiment’s outcome

Three types of variables �Independent - cause �Dependent - effect �Extraneous – interfere with results

� Experimental group �The group subjected to a change in the independent variable � Control �The group not subjected to a change in the independent variable

� Advantages �Can draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships � Disadvantages �Lab setting may influence subjects’ behavior �Unexpected and uncontrolled variables may confound results �All variables cannot be controlled and manipulated

�A drawback to every form of research is that it is impossible to measure every variable � Study a small sample and then generalize the information to the larger population �Sample Selection of cases from a larger population �Random sample Each potential participant has an equal chance of being selected �Representative sample The characteristics of the participants corresponds closely to the characteristics of the larger population

Read “RESEARCH ON HUMANS: THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENTS” on pp. 28 to 29 of your text Video

� Milgram demonstrated convincingly that situational influences can lead most people to obey the commands of an authority. � Although Milgram followed standard experimental protocols, should these experiments have been conducted at all, or the research participants placed in that position? � Discussion: �What are the pros and cons of Milgram’s studies?

� � � Participants must be informed of the nature of the research in understandable language Informed consent must be documented Risks, possible adverse side effects and limitations on confidentiality must be given in advance If participation is for course credit, equitable alternative activities must be offered Cannot deceive about aspects of the research that would affect participants’ willingness to participate Deception about the goals of the research can be used only when absolutely necessary to the integrity to the research

� Animals are used in experiments in which it would be clearly unethical to use human participants � APA’s ethical guidelines �Researchers must ensure “appropriate consideration of [the animal’s] comfort, health, and humane treatment. ”

� Animals have helped us understand: �Stress �Learning �Obesity �Aging �Sleep �Many other things