Psychology 1100 Exam 1 Lecture Notes Goals of this Course 1 Diversity a There s much more to psychology i Both natural and social 2 Scientific vs Pop Psychology a Psychology s credibility problem i Science vs pseudoscience ii Media talk shows 1 Dr Phil a What works for one person doesn t necessarily iii Scientific de emphasis for laypersons work for all people 1 The material is very watered down in pop culture a Example in the Scientific American Mind the original subtitle was Neuroscience it was changed to brain science in order to attract a wider audience iv Therapy problems 1 Excessive number of disorders that require treatment none of the treatments have been scientifically tested for ethicality a The treatment is comparable to a placebo you can cure yourself or trust a friend rather than going to treatment v Self help books excessive vi Popular press turns a complicated article into a distorted untrue watered down article b Apophenia random phenomena perceiving meaningful connections among unrelated or i Abraham Lincoln JFK elected in 1860 1960 both have 7 letters in their names both assassinated on a Friday both killed before their trials etc ii Twins may look similar but act differently c Pareidolia seeing meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli i Clouds as shapes 1 Submarines etc ii Manatee ant horse nebula iii Face in chicken nugget 3 Vocabulary 4 Mechanisms Causes a Causes of behavior i Neuronal ii Biochemical b Levels of Mechanisms example depression i Social ii Behavior iii Thought iv Neural 1 Loss of important relationships 1 Decrease in pleasurable activities 1 Sad feelings 1 Change in brain structures 1 Neurotransmitter and or hormone changes v Biochemical vi Molecular 1 Genetic activity Facts in Science 1 Are facts factual Science isn t about establishing hard facts a Facts are always changing due to differences in i Researchers ii Methods iii Technology b Facts don t prove i Experiments provide data that are consistent or inconsistent with a particular hypothesis c Example critical periods i Imprinting development of social attachments 1 A duckling follows something from a young age then is separated for a short period and given the option to follow a new object or the old one the duck choses to follow the old object and thus has imprinted 2 Factors age of testing critical period of imprinting either age related or exposure related d Example Theories of learning i Many different theories based on different research etc ii Why did John hit the dog 1 A bad previous experience 2 Displaced aggression 3 Saw the behavior in a movie 4 God told him outside science into personal belief system a All human beings have an invisible energy field surrounding them that influences them i Valid theories must be falsifiable testable 1 Collecting data that may be consistent or inconsistent e Falsifiablility with a hypothesis f Contradictory facts are ok i Different data sets ii Common as disciplines evolve 1 Neuroscience a Example 1918 influenza i The flu quickly killed thousands due to no available cure a cure was found by recreating the 1918 virus from a corpse the reason for the deaths was that strong immune systems were over stimulated by the virus people with stronger immune systems were more likely to die causing their lungs to fill with water the real cause of death was drowning i Old view old ovaries were the cause of menopause ii Tested old view by placing old ovaries into young mice reproduction occurs new ovaries into old mice no reproduction occurs iii New view brain pituitary glands cause menopause b Example menopause Definition of Psychology 1 Greek root Psyche a Psyche soul or mind i Problem current psychology is the study of mental events 2 Mental vs Non Mental Events a How do we study non mental events i Measure 1 What enables us to measure them a Observations 2 How can we observe measure the soul or mind 3 Hypothetical construct 4 Operational definitions a Unobservable structure that is believed to exist no physical basis a Operational definitions avoid circularity i Example what is a box you have to know what a box is in order to learn it b Defining things by observable entities you can measure c Characteristics d Measurable i Example a mom multitasking you can directly observe that the mom is multitasking e The mind is what the brain does we can measure the brain 5 The best definition of psychology a The study of behavior of organisms not human behavior i Effects of media violence on children 1 What is TV violence Operational definition 2 What is aggression Operational definition a Murder seen b Murder implied c 6 o clock news a Overt threat b Fighting c Sports d Questionnaire Goals of Psychology 1 Proximal a Immediate immediately present causing you to act a certain way i Example proximal cause of eating 1 Hungry 2 Food in front of you causing you to behave a certain way 1 Feelings of melancholy 2 Habits routines 3 Dental structure what you eat 2 Distal a Early experience b Genetic c Evolutionary i Example 3 Functions a Outcomes or results b Function of eating i Gaining weight ii Survival iii Energy 4 Prediction 5 Control a Treatment c Ambiguity between causes and functions i Outcomes become causes for the next event i Exert some control over your behavior ii Environmental design Industrial Organizational Psychology 1 E g human factors 2 Design an environment optimal for our species psychology a Example at urinals at JFK men would pee all over the floor at Amsterdam the floors were clean because they had a fly etched in the urinal for men to aim at psychologists helped model the urinals at JFK after the ones in Amsterdam Subdisciplines of Psychology 1 Professional societies a American Psychological Association 1892 i 56 divisions created only 54 were actually used ii This association spends time lobbying for funds studying clinical matters b American Psychological Association Science First i Renamed the Association for Psychological Science in 2002 ii Focuses more on the scientific aspect of psychology 2 Subdivision examples a Clinical i Clinical psychologist vs psychiatrist 1 Psychologist has a PhD cannot prescribe medication more for behavioral training to talk out problems 2 Psychiatrist has an MD can prescribe medication for mental disorders i Deals with conflicts between people i Collecting experimental data ii Example watching a rat in a maze b Counseling c Experimental d Psychometrics i Testing 1 Design of standardized tests example Scantron ii