PSY 2012 0004 Katie s Notes Chapter 1 What is Psychology 1 1 Psychologists Goals General Points about Psychology 1 It Depends a Few things are true of all people all the time in all circumstances Almost every aspect of behavior depends on age Behavior also varies with people s genetics health past experiences and where they re awake Much of psychology is about discovering the little easily ignored factors that influence your actions 2 Research progress depends on good measurement a Areas of psychology with less certain measurement have less definite conclusions and slower progress 3 Some conclusions reflect stronger evidence than others a People who express an opinion should describe their evidence or lack of it so that others can evaluate it and perhaps overrule it in the light of newer better evidence i e opinions can get in the way of evidence Major Philosophical issues in Psychology Are the causes of behavior knowable and is behavior predictable o Determinism the idea that everything that happens has a cause or determinant that one could observe or measure o Free Will the belief that behavior is caused by a person s independent decisions How is experience related to the organ system called the brain Mid brain problem o Dualism the mind is separate from the brain but somehow controls the brain and therefore the rest of the body o Monism the view that conscious experience is inseparable from the physical brain How do differences in behavior relate to differences in heredity and environment o Some scientists assume the larger proportion of differences in potential and behavior are due to genetic influences o Others assume that most differences stem from the aspects of the environment culture expectations and resources o This issue arises in many areas of psychology o Knowledge gained through research provides few simple answers Concept check In what way does all scientific research presuppose determinism Any attempt to make discoveries about nature presupposes that we live in a universe of cause and effect What is one major objection to dualism It conflicts with the principle of the conservation of matter and energy Theoretically a non material mind could not influence anything in the physical universe 1 PSY 2012 0004 Katie s Notes What do psychologists do Clinical psychologists help with psychological problems They try to understand why a person is having problems and then help them overcome the difficulties Psychiatry branch of medicine that deals with emotional disturbances Because Psychiatrists are doctors they can prescribe drugs Psychoanalysts therapy providers who rely heavily on the theories and methods pioneered by Sigmund Freud He attempted to infer the hidden unconscious symbolic meaning behind people s words and actions Clinical Social Worker similar to clinical psychologist Less formal charge less Counseling psychologists help people with educational vocational marriage health related and other decisions Forensic psychologists provide advice and consultation to police lawyers and courts Industrial organizational I O the psychological study of people at work hiring and training providing feedback Human factors specialist ergonomist attempts to facilitate the operation of machinery so that ordinary people can use it efficiently and safely School psychologists specialists in the psychological condition of students Developmental psychologists study how behavior changes with age Learning and motivation studies how behavior depends on the outcomes of past behaviors and current motivators Cognitive psychologists emphasize how our thinking influences our behaviors Biopsychologists behavioral neuroscientist explains behavior in terms of biological factors such as electrical and chemical activities in the nervous system the effects of drugs and hormones genetics and evolutionary pressures Social psychologists study how an individual influences other people and how the group influences and individual Cross cultural psychology compares the behavior of people from different cultures Comparative psychologists specialists who compare different animal species Psychiatric nurses receive standard nursing education plus additional training in the care of emotionally troubled individuals Concept Check Which psychotherapist would help a middle aged woman transitioning from work as a homemaker back to college Counseling psychologist Which psychotherapist would prescribe a mood stabilizing medication to a patient diagnosed with bipolar disorder Psychiatrist Which psychologist would consult in the design of an airplane cockpit to maximize crew efficiency and safety Ergonomist There is a very helpful table on page 13 of the textbook 1 2 Some Major Specializations in Psychology 2 PSY 2012 0004 Katie s Notes 1 2 Psychology Then and Now Wilhelm Wundt The origin of psychology is generally dated to 1879 when medical doctor and sensory researcher Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig Germany Wundt s fundamental question What are the components of experience or mind He asked his subjects to introspect to look within themselves His interpretation was that a person needs about 1 8 of a second to shift attention from one stimulus to another Edward Titchener Titchener was a student of Wundt and immigrated to the United States in 1892 He developed an approach called structuralism an attempt to describe the structures that compose the mind No feasible way existed to check the accuracy of their observations o This mode of research was abandoned eventually in favor of measuring observable behaviors William James William James wrote The Principles of Psychology 1890 He was interested in how the mind produces behaviors not its composition He rejected the methods of structuralism and called his approach functionalism to learn how people produce useful behaviors o Typical functionalist questions examine how individuals recall answers to questions inhibit undesirable impulses attend to multiple tasks if they can 3 PSY 2012 0004 Katie s Notes Concept Check What topic was the main focus of research for the earliest psychologists and why Sensation because it is central to experience and the early researchers believed that sensation questions were answerable Which now we know are not What was the difference between structuralists and functionalists Structuralists wanted to understand the components of the mind They based their research mainly on introspection Functionalists wanted to