PSY201 2 1 PSY 2012 Exam 1 Learning Objectives Prologue What is psychology The science of behavior and mental processes Describe how did the field of psychology started What disciplines and individuals were important for its Wilhelm Wundt first measured people s awareness of hearing a sound This is considered the first creation psychology experiment William James American philosopher Ivan Pavlov Russian physiologist Sigmund Freud Physician role of unconscious processes What is a school of thought or theoretical perspective Discuss various schools of thought mentioned in lecture and described further in the text Structuralism used introspection to explore elements of human mind Created by Edward Bradford Titchener He engaged people in introspection training them to report their experience Functionalism focused how our mental and behavioral processes function how they enable us to adapt survive flourish Founded by William James Influenced by Darwinsism Psychoanalysis Freud how unconscious drives conflicts drive behavior Behaviorism psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior John Watson and B F Skinner proposed this Humanistic psychology emphasized growth potential of healthy people and the individuals potential for personal growth Pioneered by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow Focused on current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of having our needs for love be satisfied Cognitive neuroscience study of the brain activity linked with cognition Explore the ways we perceive process and remember information Describe psychology s levels of analysis and how they might work together to explain behavior and mental processes 1 Biological influences Natural selection of adaptive traits genetic predispositions responding to environment brain mechanisms hormonal influences 2 Psychological influences learned fears learned expectations emotional responses cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations 3 Socio cultural influences presence of others cultural societal and family expectations peer and other group influences compelling models Biopsychosocial approach Describe label psychology s main subfields PSY201 2 2 Biological Explore the links between brain and mind Cognitive Study how we perceive think and solve problems Developmental Study changing abilities from womb to tomb Social Explore how we view and affect one another Personality Investigate our persistent traits Industrial Organizational Studies and advises on behavior in the workplace Clinical Studies assesses and treats people with psychological disorders Counseling Helps people cope with academic vocational and marital challenges Learning Objectives Chapter 1 Critical Thinking pg 15 34 37 38 40 42 What are problems with intuition and what are some reasons why intuition common sense can be inaccurate hint know about hindsight bias and overconfidence Our intuition is faulty Hindsight bias The tendency to believe that after you know a certain outcome that you could have predicted it all along Overconfidence People believe that they are right What are three main components of the scientific attitude 1 Curiosity Being passionate to learn 2 Humility Being aware of our own shortcomings 3 Skepticism Questioning what you re told What are components of a good theory and how does a theory advance psychological science A theory is useful if it 1 Organizes a range of self reports and observations 2 Implies clear predictions that anyone can use to check the theory or to derive practical applications What types of studies do psychologists use to observe and describe behavior What are the pros cons of each type of study What type of study is used to establish cause effect relationships 1 The Case Study Study one person in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles Pro Can suggest fruitful ideas Con Misleading is individual is atypical 2 The Survey Self reporting attitudes or behaviors of a particular group usually by questioning a representative random sample of the group Pro Quick and cheap way to collect data PSY201 2 3 Con Can be misleading if it doesn t accurately represent a population of people 3 Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation Pro Unobtrusive an in depth look into people s lives Con Potentially time consuming Why is the study sample important to understanding research findings What s the rationale behind the use of random selection for choosing a sample The study sample is crucial to the research findings so the sample must be representative of the population being studied Using random selection a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion is extremely important in obtaining accurate results A disproportionate study sample will offset the results making the findings misleading and unreliable What does a correlation coefficient tell us about the relationship between variables and how should it be interpreted Why does correlation not tell us about cause and effect Be sure to be able to interpret a correlation coefficient r and a scatterplot A correlation coefficient is a statistical index of the relationship between two things A correlation tells us WHETHER 2 variables relate to each other and HOW they relate Correlations indicates the possibility of a cause effect relationship but it does not prove causation What is the distinction between a correlational study and an experiment A correlational study does NOT provide causation which is what an experiment determines What is the purpose of an experiment and how does the design of an experiment allow it to achieve its goal experiment The purpose of an experiment is to determine causation An investigator will manipulate one or more factors independent variables to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process the dependent variable to achieve its goal What is an independent variable and dependent variable Be able to identify them in an example Independent variable the experimental factor that is being manipulated the variable whose effect is being studied Dependent variable the outcome factor the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable What is random assignment and how is it important to an experiment Random assignment is the indiscriminate placement of participants into either control group the group that is not being
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