Chapter 1Introduction & Research MethodsWhat is psychology?Psychology studies:● Behavior: outward actions & reactions  what is able to be seen and measured● Mental processes: internal activity  thinking, feeling, remembering● Physiological sensations: arousal, sensationsPsychology’s Four Goals● Description: What is happening?● Explanation: Why is it happening?● Prediction: When will it happen again?● Control: How can it be changed?Beginnings of PsychologyWilhelm Wundt: Founder of psychologyOpened first psychology lab  Germany 1879Developed objective introspection  Openly examining & measuring one’s thoughts &mental activitiesStructuralism:Edward Titchner: Student of Wundt, brought Structuralism to AmericaStructuralism: focused on structure or basic elements of the mind, relied on the processof introspectionStructuralism died out in early 1900sMargaret Washburn: student of Titchner, first woman to receive Ph.D in psychologyFunctionalism● how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play● first proposed by William James● Influenced the modern fields of: educational psychology, evolutionary psychology, andindustrial/organizational psychologyGestalt PsychologyGestalt (“whole”): The whole is greater than the sum of its parts  “good figure” psychologyBegan with Werheimer, who studies sensation & perceptionPrinciples have influenced cognitive psychology & future psychotherapy techniquesPsychoanalysisTheory & therapy based on the work of Sigmund FreudFreud’s patients suffered from nervous disorders with no found physical causeFreud proposed the unconscious mind that pushes or represses all of our threatening urges &desiresHe believed these repressed urges can create nervous disordersHe also stressed the importance of early childhood experiencesDepressionTwo types:Chemical: Caused by imbalance of chemicals in the brain (example: lack of serotonin)Situational: Caused by traumatic events and situations (example: death in the family)BehaviorismThe science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only, must be directly seen &measured; our personalities are the result of trainingFirst proposed by John B. WatsonBased on work of Ivan Pavlov, who demonstrated that a reflex could be conditioned or learnedWatson believed that phobias are a result of learned behaviorLittle Albert  taught to fear a white rat, Stimulus generalization: also learned to fear the colorwhiteClassical conditioning: over time, we learn by seeing patternsNeutral stimulus vs Unconditioned stimulus: neutral is meaningless, unconditioned is instinctWhen a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus, it becomes a conditionedstimulusConditioning has occurred when the neutral stimulus elicits the same response as theunconditioned stimulusHumanistic PsychologyHumanistic perspective: focuses on free will & the human potential for growthDeveloped by Carl Rogers & Abraham MaslowEmphasized by human potentialAbility of each person to become the best person he or she could possibly beSelfactualization: achieving one’s full potentialReinforcementPunishmentPositive (adding)Money for good gradesSpankingNegative (removing)Curfew extension because of good behaviorCan’t use the PlaystationPositive does not mean good things, it means adding something. Negative does not mean badthings, it means taking something away.Punishment decreases the likelihood that a behavior will occur againReinforcement increases the likelihood that behavior will occur againMaslow proposed the idea of the hierarchy of needsContemporary PsychologyBiological perspectiveAttributes human & animal behavior to biological eventsGenetic influences, hormones, & activity of the nervous systemBehavioral perspectiveOperant conditioning: a type of learning in which an individual's behavior is modified by its consequences;the behaviour may change in form, frequency, or strengthOperant conditioning of voluntary behaviorA major force in the 20th centurySkinner introduced the concept of reinforcement to behaviorGenes account for up to 50% of the variation in personalityPsychodynamic perspective: Modern version of psychoanalysisHumanistic perspective: strive for growth, potential, emphasis on selfconceptFocused on the development on a sense of self & other motivationsPositive psychology: positive emotions & psychological states, environments that foster thesequalities, the idea that thinking positively improves healthCognitive perspective: focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, andlearning, now a major force in psychologyCrosscultural perspective: focuses on relationship b/w social behavior & the culture, howcultural factors can influence behavior  social loafing (individualistic) vs. social striving(collectivistic)Evolutionary perspective: focuses on biological bases of universal mental characteristics that allhumans share, examines how the mind works & why it works as it does, behavior is seen ashaving an adaptive or survival valueTypes of psychological professionsPsychiatristPsychologistJob DescriptionRxTherapyTime15 minutes50 minutesMoney$150$150Training25+25+Psychology & the scientific methodScientific method: system of gathering data so that bias & error in measurement are reduced1. Perceive the question2. Forming a hypothesis3. Testing the hypothesis4. Drawing conclusions5. Reporting the resultsNaturalistic observation: watching animals or humans in their normal environmentMajor advantage: realistic picture of behaviorDisadvantages: observer effect, observer biasCase study: study of one individual in great detailAdvantage: tremendous amount of detailDisadvantage: cannot apply to othersSurveys: asks a series of questions about the topic under study, given to a representativesampleAdvantages: data from large numbers of people, study covert behaviorsDisadvantages: must ensure a report, responses are not always accuratePopulation: the entire group being studiedSample: part of the population being surveyed, if it is not large and demographically accurateenough, leads to inaccurate resultsRepresentative sample: a sample proportionate to each demographic of the populationGeneralizability: a statistical framework for conceptualizing, investigating, and designing reliableobservationsPresentation bias: when we want to be seen a certain way, leads to inaccurate resultsVariable: something that has different levels or groupsNominal variable: none are more or better than