Exam One-Chapter OneoPrologue Book NotesoPrehistory (8/30)oMethods of Experimentation (9/04, 9/06)-Chapter TwooBiology of the Brain (9/11, 9/11 Continued, 9/13)-Chapter ThreeoConsciousness, Sleep (9/18)-Chapter ElevenoMotivation (9/20)PrehistoryThursday, August 30, 20122:12 PM*Bio psychosocial Approach-Concept that revolves around biological influences, social-cultural influences, and psychological influences. -Prehistory of Psychology-Trepanning- Drilling holes into one's skull to fix brain diseases;oFirst known act of brain surgeryoIt was also used to equal the humors (blood, mucus, etc.)oIt proved to be useful because when the brain swelled because of brain infection, drilling into the brain would release the pressure and reduce swelling.-The Seat of the Soul- Aristotle thought that pineal gland was the "seat of the soul".-Wundt- First proper psychologist with a lab-Titchener- Student of WundtoStructuralism - The idea that the mind contains basic elements (atomic structure).oIntrospection - Self-reflective exploration of the mind by experiencing and noting your phenomenology.oThe weakness of introspection: inconsistent and intellectually demanding.-William Jones- Known as the "father of modern psychology" oFunctionalism - Examines how mental and behavioral processes function in adaptive ways to serve organisms.oHis book "Principles of Psychology" is still important todayScientific Method, Data Collection, and Research DesignTuesday, September 04, 20128:04 PM*Hindsight Bias- "I knew it all along"; when you hear a fact and think you knew it all along-We need science to help sort out the reality in many everyday intuitions-This requires a more fine-grained approach than simple logic or introspectionTell half of the participants that psychologists have found that separation weakens romantic attraction ("Out of sight, out of mind"). Most people can find this understandable and unsurprising.Tell the other half that psychologists have found that separation strengths romantic attraction ("Absence makes the heart grow fonder"). People can also find this understandable and unsurprising.-Scientific Method-Theory - An integrated set of principles that organize and predict behaviors and events.-Hypothesis - Testable predictions. (Prediction you make based on the theory)-Operational Definitions - A specific definition used for research purposes.Ex. Are you a good driver? An operational definition for "good driver" can mean that you have had no tickets, or no accidents. It is the parameters or limits that satisfy the behavior.-4 Basic Steps1. Choose theory to be tested2. Formulate hypothesis3. Develop method of testing the hypothesis4. Interpret data yielded and draw a conclusion-Ex. 1. Theory-Low self esteem leads to depression 2. Hypothesis- People with low self-esteem score higher on depression tests 3. Test- Test people with different self-esteem levels on depression tests 4. Interpret- Look for correlation between self-esteem and depression test levels-Appropriate Measurement- Good measures must be directly relevant to hypothesis and must be reliable and valid.-Reliability - Degree to which independent measurements of a given behavior are consistent.Inter-rater reliability - Two or more raters independently agree.Test-retest reliability - Two or more tests yield similar results.-Validity - Degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.Internal validity - If effects observed within the experiment can be attributed to the conditions intentionally manipulated.-Will be lost if there is a confound or experimenter bias-Confound - An alternative explanation for a result.Ex.) In a test that is trying to correlate test prep and ACT Scores, obviously Test prep for ACT will help students learn about test format so score will be higher, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are smarter.-Experimenter Bias - The scientific beliefs influence the outcome of an experiment.Solution: Single-blind and double-blind designs.-Single-Blind Experiments - Info is withheld from participants in experiments. (ex. Sugar pills; placebo effect)-Double-Blind Experiments - Neither subjects nor experimenters know what the participant is receiving.External Validity - If the effects observed in the experiment can be generalized outside of the experiment to other populations, using different methods, at differenttimes, etc.-Ways of Collecting Data1. Case Study - The study of one individual in great depth in order to learn truths that apply more broadly.a.Ex) Brain damage and memory functionb. Advantages- Can lead to findings that you can not find elsewherec.Disadvantages- Can sometimes lead to conclusions that do not generalize2. Naturalistic Observation- A person observes the subject in their natural environment.a.Ex) How a child's behavior changes after baby sibling is brought home; study the child in their own home.b. Advantages- Useful when studying social interactions and other types of behavior which could not be studied "on-demand" in labs.c.Disadvantages- Can't condition all variables in natural environment making it hard to determine variables that may affect outcome; Possibility that observer will influence the person's behavior; May be difficult if the behavior occurs rarely-Variables - Can be anything that might change; noise, age, gender, weather, activity level, etc..3. Experimentation - Researchers design a specific task or situation that will elicit the behavior that is relevant to their hypothesis. a.Ex) Survey- Direct questioning of individuals; careful attention must be paid to wording effects (ex. Wordy vs. welfare) and random sampling.b. Advantages- Ensures that all individuals are experiencing the same thing-allowing for direct comparison of different groupsc.Disadvantages- Reveals less info about subjective info than interviews (age, gender, etc.); not a natural environment (may be particularly important for certain research questions)4. Animal Studies - Based on the assumption of phylogenetic continuity (evolution)a.Because of our common evolutionary history human share some characteristics and developmental processes with other animals.b. It is considered ethically acceptable to perform experiments on certain animalsthat would be unacceptable with humans.c.Humans and chimps share 99% of their genes. Thus, the 1% (plus environmental/cultural differences we don't share) must account for any differences