Lecture 1 Chapter 1I. PsychologyA. The Scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior1. Influencesi. Biological Processesii. Individual Differencesiii. Time and CultureB. Goals of Psychology1. describe how people and animals behave2. understand and explain the causes of behavior3. Predict behaviors/reactions across situations4. Control behavior through understanding its causes and consequencesII. History of Psychological Inquiry A. Wilhelm Wundt1. Established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany (1879)2. Analyzed Consciousness: a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind3. Structuralism: Wundt explored the relationship between the basic elements that constitute the mind (conscious experience of sensations and feelings relied introspection)B. William James1. built on the principles of introspection and the study of conscious experienced bit instead focused on the why and the adaptive reasons for what and how we perceive in the real worldi. Functionalism: the study of the function or purpose conscious mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environmentIII. Psychological PerspectivesA. Psychoanalytic 1. influenced by Sigmund Freud2. Identified the role unconscious forces that determine thoughts, feelings and behavior3. Personality is dependent on early life experiences4. Drives and motivations conflict leading to compromises(defense mechanism, symptoms)5. Focus on sexual and aggressive impulsesB. Humanistic 1. Rejected psychoanalytic perspective as too pessimistic 2. Stresses Positive potential of all humans3. Believes in free will4. Posits an inherent drive to develop and reach full potentialC. Behaviorist Perspective1. Focus on observable behavioral responses2. Emphasizes the environmental impact on a person’s actionsi. Classical Conditioninga. associative learning stimuli responseb. Pavlov1) dog training with bell and salivatingii. Operant Conditioninga. Explores reinforcement and punishment as determinants of behaviorb. Skinneriii. Social Learning Theorya. behavior is influenced by observation of othersb. BanduraD. Cognitive Perspective1. Reintroduced how one thinks affects behavior and responses2. Studies the mental processes involved in knowing3. Explores how one understands and then thinks about solving problems4. Focus is on storage and retrieval of information5. Mind is like a computerE. Biological/Biopscyhological Perspective and Cognitive Neuroscience1. Understand the min and behavior through biological processes in the brain2. Explores the electrical and chemical processes of neurons affecting mood, perception, cognition and behavior3. Localization of Functioni. Phineas Gage4. Contemporary focus of cognitive neuroscience i. Brain imaging advance key to this growing field inquiry exploring structure and functionF. Evolutionary Psychology1. Understands mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive selection of trait and functions over time2. Seeks to understand a variety of research findings within this theoretical frameworkG. Developmental Psychology1. Explores universal aspects of physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development across the lifespan2. Identifies variation in development across experience H. Social 1. Individual and group behaviors and responses across situationsi. Milgram’s Obedience to Authorityii. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Studyiii. Social psychology also studies altruism and the bystander behaviorI. Cultural Psychology1. Identifies and explores the role of culture on the psychological process of its members2. Culture can influence thoughts, perceptions and behaviorJ. Personality1. Define, describe and measure the stability of behaviors and personality traits over timeK. Pscyhometric: Looks at the measurement of behavrio through the development of psychological testL. Experimental: Conduct lab studies of learning motivation, emotion. Sensation and perception, physiology and cognitionM. Health: Interaction between psychological factors and physical well-being and illnessIV. Applied PyschologyA. Clinical 1. Diagnose and treat emotional problems2. Neuropsychology: focus on cns disorders, trauma, dementia3. Forensic Psychology: interact with the legal system involving competency, custody and risk assessmentB. Counseling1. deal with problems of everday life and transitionC. School/ Educational1. enhance school performance and resolve emotional problems curriculum and teaching training2. Industrial/Organizational: Staff human services departments in businessesworking on issuse of moral, job satisfaction and productivity issuesChapter 2I. Methods in Psychology TermsA. Theory1. Systematic way of organizing and understanding observationsB. Hypothesis1. A proposed relationship between two variablesC. Variable1. Anything which can be measured or described along a particular dimension2. Continuous Variablei. a variable which can be measured across a continuum3. Categorical Variablei. a variable with a fixed meaning or attributeD. Operationalize Defintions1. Research on sexual activity and adolescence: how do you define sexually active2. Research on Marijuana use and academic achievement: hoe does on define/differentiate use?3. Research on Aggression and Preschoolers: What is aggression?II. Research Methods A. Develop a Theory based on ObservationsB. Develop a hypothesis from the theoryC. Gather the dataD. Analyze the date and report findingsIII. Measurement Issues in ResearchA. Validity1. does it measure what it is supposed to measure, is the measurement conceptually related to the construct on is evaluating B. Reliability1. do you get consistent measurements results when repeatedIV. Data Collection TechniquesA. Direct ObservationB. QuestionnairesC. InterviewsD. Psychological TestsE. Psychological Recording F. Examination of Historical RecordsV. Various Types of Psychological Research A. Experimental Method1. Systematic Observation2. Explores changes in variables of interest3. Independent Variable is manipulated by the experimenter4. Independent is measure to asses any change in response to the manipulation5. Subjects: random sample, which represents the population as a whole6. Sampling bias: skewed samples will give results which don’t generalize7. Experimental group: receive the speaical treatment in the experiment8. Control Group: receive all the same treatment except the independent variable to asses its impact9. Extraneuos Variable: variable other then the independent variable