Psych 107 Notes Chap 1 07 06 2012 Chapter 1 Introduction What you believe will never alter the truth James William Robertson Hindsight Bias after learning some outcome we tend to believe we would have known it beforehand the I knew it all along phenomenon Overconfidence the tendency to predict that we will know more than we actually do Psychology is the scientific study of thinking and behavior Behavior outward or overt actions and reactions what we do Mental processes internal covert activity of our minds why we do it Psychology s Four Goals Description what is happening Explanation why is it happening Establish a relationship between cause effect Prediction when will it happen again Develop theories about why people behave the way that they do Control how can it be changed Application Creating effective therapeutic treatments more successful negotiation tactics greater understanding amongst groups of people Psychology s Roots Philosophy Physiology Is the mind connected to the body or distinct Are ideas inborn Freud or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience Behaviorism Evolution of Psychology First actual psychology lab ever 1879 A very young science Incremental progress Multiple diverse perspectives Converging and advancing over time Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud Victorian era most publicly know Psychologist came up with the idea that physical problems can come from Ex Repression etc Early childhood experiences make you who you mental problems are as an adult Psychoanalysis insight therapy for fear anxiety early childhood Unconscious motivations have no knowledge of the thing gone repression burying things down in your unconscious from awareness Untestable you feel this way because no I don t yes you do but you repressed it untestable weather they really repressed it into thier unconscious HUGE influence psychological problems lead to physical Freud believed sex and aggression were the original motivations unconscious motivation sex aggression As to Behaviorism aka learning believed all behavior is learned from experience Tabula rasa born as a blank slate Says motivations are observable Ex If the boy hits the boy and takes the toy It is because he wanted the toy Dismissed unconscious motivations as unobservable and therefore unscientific Opposite with Froed Psychoanalysis and Behaviorism are two different approach s to understanding psychology Another approach towards Psychology Gestalt Psychology Gestalt good figure how does your brain take raw input from the environment and turn it into meaning Ex Seeing something in an image patterns Only approach that is still good The whole is greater than the sum of its parts What your brain does naturally People naturally seek out meaningful patterns wholes Sensations yield perceptions Brought cognition thinking back to focus behaviorists didn t believe you could measure thinking Modern Psychology Nature Nurture Controversy debate over the power of genes vs experience on the development of psychological traits and behaviors Really it s a big mix of both Emphasizes multiple factors Cognitive mental processing Biological brain nervous system Evolutionary genetics Cultural beliefs customs group identity Seven Modern Perspectives 1 Psychodynamic Still focuses on the unconscious and early development but also examines other motivations beyond sex and aggression psychoanalysis based Unconscious motivations something that happened to you a very long time ago that makes you operate the way you do now Mainly extended psychoanalysis 2 Behavioral learning Still focuses on overt measurable learned behaviors but also accepts that unobservable covert mental processes are also involved focus on measurable but understand something s cant be explained by measurable means 3 Humanistic Believes people have the free will to consciously choose their own destiny and the potential for self actualization A Christmas Carol Scrooge people are essentially good but life can make us choose choices that are essentially bad ex Food good people have to make bad choices for good reasons Conscious decisions Ex There is a food shortage someone tries to steal your food for your children you kill the thief 4 Biopsychological Believes behavior is a result of biological events e g genetics hormones nervous system activity look at hormones etc and says what you will do according to those hormones etc or look at brain activity and say this is why you act like so 5 Cognitive starting to mix with perspective above studies the mental processes of memory intelligence perception problem solving language and learning Studies the brain 6 Sociocultural focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture the effects of group dynamics effect culture has on someone and how it effects differently according to sex and other factors of the individual 7 Evolutionary nature Focuses on the genetic and biological bases of universal mental characteristics shared by all humans therefore having an adaptive or survival value People from all cultures lie pick mates fear snakes number one phobia across cultures like music Critical Thinking WHY do you believe what you do Open to all different perspectives Bases of Critical thinking ERIC o Examine all statements and claims even of people you o Realize that people s beliefs are shaped by their own respect experiences o Identify inherent biases and assumptions o Consult diverse sources of info and consider a variety of positions before you decide Chap 2 07 06 2012 Chapter 2 Methods of Psychological Research Dr Hull Understand how research is done The Scientific Method Perceive the question Form a hypothesis specific statement of expectation for a relationship between two variables that is derived from theory variable anything that can change and be measured Test the hypothesis using accepted research methods Draw conclusions use statistical measures to organize and interpret data Report your results clearly other scientists must be able to replicate your results if replicated then your results are reliable things can be reliable but not valid Study of men are smarter then women because of bigger head size Descriptive Studies describe observations about behavior case studies surveys naturalistic observation generate testable hypotheses empirical testable Types of Descriptive Methods 1 Naturalistic observation Record behavior in naturally occurring situations Major Advantage Realistic picture of behavior Disadvantages Observer effect