Module 1 The Story of Psychology I What is Psychology A Psychology s Roots 1 Wilhelm Wundt created the experiment measuring the difference in time between a ball dropping and people hearing it pressing a telegraph key This began the first psychology laboratory a People responded in one tenth of a second when asked to press it when the sound occurred b People responded in two tenths of a second when asked to press it when they perceive the sound 2 Structuralism Wundt s student Edward Bradford Titchener worked to find the mind s structure a To figure it out he asked people to describe their initial reactions to looking at a rose listening to a metronome smelling a scent etc b This was called Introspection and was somewhat unreliable c As Introspection waned so did Structuralism 3 Functionalism William James attempted to learn more about the mind through the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings a James assumed that thinking was an adaptation that contributed to our ancestors survival b James encouraged explorations of down to earth emotions memories willpower habits and moment to moment streams of consciousness 4 Women in Psychology a William James admitted Mary Calkins into his graduate program circa 1890 and she finished all of the doctoral degree requirements with flying colors However Harvard refused to give her a degree because of her gender Calkins ended up becoming the first female president of the American Psychological Association APA in 1905 b Margaret Floy Washburn later became the first female psychology Ph D wrote the influential book The Animal Mind and became the second woman to president the APA However she was not admitted into an all male organization of experimental psychologists founded by her own graduate adviser 5 James took 12 years to write the first psychology textbook Principles of Psychology printed via publisher Henry Holt B Psychological Science Develops 1 John Watson and B F Skinner redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior becoming the first behaviorists Behaviorists were one of two major forces in psychology from the 1920s 1960s 2 Freudian Psychology was the other major force 3 Humanistic Psychologists a Led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow this group found both Freudian psychology and behaviorism too limiting b Focused on ways that the current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied 4 The Cognitive Revolution led the field of psychology back to its roots wondering how the brain processes thoughts etc a Cognitive Neuroscience has enriched our understanding of the brain activity underlying mental activity b Today we define psychology as the science of behavior and mental processes II Contemporary Psychology A Psychology s Biggest Question 1 Nature vs Nurture a Plato voted nature b Aristotle voted nurture c Darwin said natural selection shapes behaviors too B Psychology s Three Main Levels of Analysis C Psychology s Subfields 1 Biopsychosocial approach formed by different levels of analysis that consider the influences of biological psychological and social cultural factors Provides a more complete view than any one perspective could offer 2 Biological genetics natural selection brain mechanisms hormonal influences 3 Psychological learned fears expectations emotions cognitive processing interpretations of that which was perceived 4 Social cultural presence of others expectations of others peer group influences role models 1 Basic Research builds psychology s knowledge base 2 Applied Research tackles practical problems 3 Counseling Psychologists help people to cope with challenges crises and improve their personal social functioning 4 Clinical Psychologists asses treat mental emotional and behavioral disorders 5 Psychiatrists like counseling clinical psychologists except they can prescribe drugs treat the physical causes of psychological disorders in other ways 6 Community Psychologists work to create social physical environments that are healthy for all Module 2 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science I The Need for Psychological Science A People often underestimate the perils of intuition 1 Hindsight Bias 2 Overconfidence 3 Perceiving Order in Random Events 4 The Scientific Attitude Curious Skeptical and Humble a These three attitudes helped make modern science possible b Psychologists check recheck each other s findings and conclusions 5 Critical Thinking a Also known as smart thinking b What has been learned is not always what is widely believed II Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology A Psychological science focuses less on particular behaviors than on seeking general principles that help explain many behaviors B Culture matters C Even when specific attitudes and behaviors vary the underlying processes are much the same D In human research researchers must 1 Get participants informed consent 2 Protect them from harm and discomfort 3 Keep individual participant information confidential 4 Fully debrief people afterwards Module 3 Research Strategies How Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions I How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions A The Scientific Method B Description 1 The Case Study 1 Theory links facts with deeper principles to create a useful summary a Hypothesis a testable theory directs research 2 Operational Definitions explicitly state the interpretation of each foundational word used in the study a Makes the experiment replicable for others 3 A useful theory a Organizes a range of self reports observations b Implies predictions that anyone can use to check the theory or to find practical applications 2 Naturalistic Observation a Examines one individual in depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all b Not necessarily accurate could be observing an outlier a Describes behavior does not explain it b Does not control all of the factors that may influence behavior does not explain why people act one way or another 3 The Survey a Examines many cases in less depth b Wording Effects 1 ie revenue enhancers vs taxes affirmative action vs preferential treatment etc 2 Can change how people respond express their opinions c Random Sampling 1 Representative of the population when surveying everyone is not possible or practical 2 Large representative samples are better than small ones but even small representative samples are safer than large unrepresentative samples a A correlation between