Day 1 January 22 2019 Psychology Scientific study of behavior and mental processes Philosophical contributions Greeks Soc Plato 4th 5th century BCE knowledge is inborn mind and body are separate mind continues after death Aristotle 4th century BCE knowledge comes from experience remember under certain circumstances you can remember better laws of association learn to relate events if they are similar dissimilar or happen together in space time Inductive method many accurate systematic behavioral observations are required prior to theory construction 17th century french philosopher Rene Descartes Spirits flow from the brain through the nerves then muscles which enables movement Motivation through 2 sources internal external world Jean Jacques Rousseau nativist birth an infant is a noble savage society can corrupt this virtue such as lectures classes he believed we should just learn what we wanted to own research English Philosopher Francis Bacon Human understanding imposes patterns on random events and attributes more order than is present John locke Agreed with aristotle about experience At birth an infant is a tabula rasa which means blank slate empiricist all knowledge is gained through experience parents and society must teach virtue German 19th century Philosopher Wilhelm Wundt considered father of psychology 1879 had the first lab Atoms of the mind reaction time from hearing a sound to pressing a button Structuralist approach study the organization of the mind and establish psychology as independent of philosophy and demonstrating that human can be studied by experimental methods by Introspection looking inward Would show a complex object and ask what you see example with an apple red sphere Literal elements of the object so they can see how the brain structures things American 19th century Philosopher William James functionalist concerned with what the mind could do and not how it was structured Conscious processes like thinking and learning exist only to help with our survival Consciousness is like a flowing stream Austrian 19th early 20th century Sigmund Freud investigated unconsciousness mental processes Said that people act in response to their unconscious motives Childhood experience is the most important factor in personality development Defined abnormal behaviors invented therapeutic techniques discussed defense mechanisms American 20th century JB Watson Only overt behaviors could be studied scientifically and not conscious or unconscious S R Envisioned stimuli that responded as followed Humanists 20th century americans that formed a reaction against determinism and behaviorism Carl Rogers Abraham Maslow Thought that humans are basically good have free will can actualize their potential and determine their own destiny Maslow provided a needs hierarchy Take care the needs of the lower level before you can move up Physiological needs hunger thirst Safety and belongings Esteem self actualization HOMEWORK tell where you fit between physiological needs safety and belongings esteem and self actualization Day 2 January 24 2019 Role of theory relation to research method Theory an explanation of the influences on behavior that accounts for existing data that predicts new observations and guides further research In research we have a hypothesis expected relationship between 2 or more variables it is empirical which uses direct observation and measurement Finally uses operational definitions one that specifies exactly how the event or variable is measured Methods Case study In depth analysis of a single person s behavior over an extended period of time Survey Many individuals in a representative sample are asked carefully selected questions Naturalistic Observation Study of behavior as it occurs usually Both surveys and naturalistic observation often used a statistic called correlation coefficient The strength and relation of relationship between variables Correlation Coefficient can only have a 1 and 1 Strength Strongest Perfect correlation 1 and 1 means if the value of 1 variable is known then the value of the other variable can be determined exactly Weakest 0 variables have no relation to each other ex Eye color to smartness Our findings are likely to be replicated 1 6 6 1 Direction Positive correlation variables change in the same direction ex Older child gets then the more expanse the vocab gets Negative correlation variables change in opposite directions ex As temp goes up the amount of clothes we wear go down Experimental method only method that can establish cause and effect relationships which makes it the most powerful Requirements hypothesis must be causal Variables independent variable manipulated by the experimenter expected cause of the behavior Dependent variable variable expected to change as a result of the experimental manipulation Groups experimental group group that receives the manipulated independent variable control group group that participates on all aspects of the study but does not receive the manipulated independent variable Subject selection each person has an equal chance of being in the experimental or control group only good for huge samples Matched each group is similar on all variables important to the study Single Blind subject doesnt know in which group they belong Double blind subject nor experimenter know who is in the experimental or control group Placebo expectation of an effect causes the effect a behavioral change Strength of studies results reliability replicable probability level likelihood the study results occurred by chance alone Statistical Significance p 05 reads fewer than 5 chances in 100 the results happened accidentally p 003 far stronger Ethics Confidentiality all info gained is private must agree if it will be made public Harm injury if either is possible the subject must be told prior to study Informed consent subject must know all features of the study that could influence willingness to participate if minor than parent must sign Subject freedom subject may decline participation at any point in the research and must be told of this right Deception should be used only rarely when there is no other way to establish an important fact marshmallow kid challenge Operational definition study studied 3 hours for every class specific details how long film is questions specifying what you mean exactly by the variable Day 3 January 29 2019 Neurons are the cells of the nervous system There s 3 classes of neurons Sensory take