Slide 1Principle #1Principle #3Principle #5Psychology’s Past and PresentTheoretical FrameworksStructuralismSlide 8Slide 9PsychoanalysisCognitivsmModern PsychologyChapter 1: Scientific Thinking PrinciplesPrinciple #1•Ruling out rival hypotheses•Whenever we evaluate a psychological claim, we should ask ourselves whether we have excluded other plausible explanations for it.Principle #2•Correlation is not causation•We should remember that a correlation between two things does not demonstrate a causal connection between them.Principle #3•Falsifiability•Whenever we evaluate a psychological claim, we should ask ourselves whether one could disprove it or whether it’s consistent with any existing body of evidence. Principle #4•Replicability•Whenever we evaluate a psychological claim, we should ask ourselves whether independent researchers have replicated the findings that support this claim.Principle #5•Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence•Whenever we evaluate a psychological claim, we should ask ourselves whether this claim stands against many things we already know to be true and, if it does, we should demand extraordinary evidence.Principle #6•Occam’s Razor (Parsimony)•When an explanation is offered for data/results, we should consider if it is the simplest explanation possible or if a simpler explanation could account for the data/results equally as well.Psychology’s Past and Present•Early in history, psychology was similar to philosophy•Wilhelm Wundt•First psychological laboratory•Introspection•Beginning of psychology as a scienceTheoretical Frameworks•What theoretical perspective best explains behavior?1. Structuralism2. Functionalism3. Behaviorism4. Psychoanalysis5. CognitivismStructuralism•Aimed to identify basic elements or structures of psychological experience•Emphasize importance of systematic observations•Problems with the theory1. Introspection2. Imageless ThoughtFunctionalism•Wanted to understand the adaptive purposes or functions of psychological characteristics•“What” vs. “Why” questions•Darwin’s influence•The theory ceased to exist on its ownBehaviorism•Hoped to create an objective psychological science•Sought to uncover general laws of learning that explain all behaviors•Looked at rewards and punishments delivered by the environment•Identified fundamental laws of learning and behavior but was too dismissive of subjective observations and emotionsPsychoanalysis•Sharp contrast to behaviorism•Focused on internal psychological processes—thoughts and memories of which we are unaware•Humans have unconscious drives—sexuality and aggression—that direct behavior•Our everyday psychological life is filled with symbolsCognitivsm•Rebelled against the behaviorist neglect of the mind•Argued that our thinking affects our behavior in powerful ways•Interpretation of situations matter•Cognitive psychology is currently a thriving approachModern Psychology•Types of psychologists—table 1.7 on page 33•Nature vs. Nurture debateoIs our behavior more influenced by genes (nature) or our environments (nurture)?•Free-will vs. Determinism debateoDo we freely select our behaviors or are they caused by factors outside of our
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