Introduction to PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY The scientific study of behavior and the mental process.
What are the characteristics of an excellent Psychologist?
How do psychologists think? I feel myself a naturalist and a physician both; and that I am equally interested in diseases and people; perhaps too, that I am equally, if inadequately, a theorist and a dramatist, am equally drawn to the scientific and the romantic and continually see both in the human condition Oliver Sacks The central question addressed in this Psychology class is how do psychologists think? Oliver Sacks, a brilliant neuroscientist, identifies a dual role played by effective psychologists: Good psychologists are both empathic counselors and objective scientists. The course objectives of this class stem from this essential question and acknowledge this complicated role.
Stay Or Switch?!
Stay Or Switch Intuition The act of knowing without use of rational processes, a capacity for guessing accurately, what feels right. Empiricism Relying on information derived from observation or experimentation.
STEP 1: Presenting the problem STEP 2: The critical question: stay or switch? STEP 3: The experiment STEP 4: Debriefing
What is left? - Expectations - Fact or Fiction Quiz?
DO NOW: To what do you attribute YOUR academic Success/Short comings
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is a not an act but a habit -Aristotle- YOU ALL CAN EXPIRIENCE EXCELENCE. Neuroplasticity: changing the brain through practice
BILL GATES OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell
Mental Toughness Training
Marshmallow Test
Carol Dweck Mindset
Lets look at memory
Exit Ticket 1) Three things you learned: 2) Something you would like to learn more about:
I need two volunteers For an experiment about ability
WHAT DO YOU SEE? It depends on your perspective
PYSCHOANALYTIC/PSYCHODYNAMIC BEHAVIORISM HUMANISM COGNITIVE SOCIOCULTURAL BIOLOGICAL/NEUROSCIENTIFIC EVOLUTIONARY
The Biopsychosocial Approach Human Behavior
Do we need it?
Hindsight Bias The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew it all along. After the Germans won the World Cup, my brother told me that he KNEW the Germans would win. Did he really?
Overconfidence We tend to think we know more than we do. 82% of U.S. drivers consider themselves to be in the top 30% of their group in terms of safety. 81% of new business owners felt they had an excellent chance of their businesses succeeding. When asked about the success of their peers, the answer was only 39%. (Now that's overconfidence!!!)
Quarter Flip Which of the three patterns is most likely? 1. HHHTTT 2. HTTHTH WHY? 3. HHHHHH
Scientific attitude: curiosity, skepticism, humility. CRITICAL THINKING. To believe with certainty, we must begin by doubting. Polish proverb
FINDING MEANING IN THE METHOD Five steps of the scientific Method 1. Developing a Hypothesis 2. Performing a controlled test 3. Gathering objective data 4. Analyzing the results 5. Publishing, criticizing and replicating the results
FINDING MEANING IN THE METHOD Identify flaws in the design and implementation of this experiment. How could you correct these flaws? Discuss ethical issues raised in this research
FINDING MEANING IN THE METHOD Can we identify these items: Hypothesis Operational Definition Independent & Dependent Variable Confounding Variables Subject Selection
CONFOUNDING VARIABLE The object of an experiment is to prove A causes B CV = Anything that could cause change in B that is not A. If I was trying to prove that smoking causes heart issues, what are some confounding variables?
Experimenter Bias (Another confounding variable) Influencing the experiment unconsciously. DOUBLE BLIND
Change not due to the Independent Variable but is due to the patient's belief in that they received the Independent Variable. Placebo Effect (Another confounding variable)
HAWTHORNE EFFECT (Another confounding variable) SIMPLY KNOWING YOU ARE IN AN EXPERIMENT MAY CAUSE A CHANGE IN BOTH CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. Whether the lights were brighter or dimmer, production went up in the Hawthorne electric plant.
Sampling 1. Identify the population you want to study. 2. The sample must be representative of the population you want to study. 3. GET A RANDOM SAMPLE. What do you think Sampling Bias is?
How Do Psychologists Observe and Describe Behavior?
Descriptive/Correlational Methods of Research 1.Case Studies 2.Naturalistic Observation 3.Surveys
Examines one individual in depth in hopes of revealing things true of all of us. What does this mean? The famous case of Phineas Gage survived an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior.
Careful, usually prolonged observation of behavior in its natural setting, without direct intervention. Example: Humans laugh 30 times more often in social situations than is solitary situations. (Have you noticed how seldom you laugh when you re alone?) IF you were to conduct a naturalistic observation in the dining hall, what kinds of things would you notice?
Use of Questionnaire to gather information about specific aspects of participants behavior. attitudes, opinions and beliefs
Correlation Method Measure of the extent to which two variables change together. (How well either variable predicts the other) (Often found using Survey or Naturalistic Observation) As the population sleeps longer, fewer car accidents occur. DOES NOT SHOW CAUSATION Does more sleep cause fewer accidents, or fewer accidents cause more sleep?
Correlation and Causation (1) LOW SELF-ESTEEM Could Cause Or DEPRESSION (2) DEPRESSION Could Cause LOW SELF-ESTEEM Or (3) Distressing events or biological predispositions Could Cause DEPRESSION LOW SELF-ESTEEM
Positive or Negative Correlation? (SCATTER PLOT)
Positive Correlation Studying and grades hopefully has a positive correlation. The variables go in the SAME direction.
Negative Correlation Heroin use and grades probably has a negative correlation. The variables go in opposite directions.
NO Correlation
A QUESTION LIKE THIS WILL VERY WELL BE ON THE AP EXAM
Correlation Coefficient A number that measures the strength of a relationship. Range is from -1 to +1 The relationship gets weaker the closer you get to zero. Which is a stronger correlation? -.13 or +.38 -.72 or +.59 -.91 or +.04
Positive or Negative Correlation 1. The more children and youth used various media, the less happy they were with their lives. 2. The less sexual content teens saw on TV, the less likely they were to have sex. 3. The longer children were breast-fed, the greater their later academic achievement. 4. The more income rose among a sample of poor families, the fewer psychiatric symptoms their children experienced.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT AN EXPERIMENT THAT ALLOWS US TO ISOLATE CAUSE AND EFFECT?
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE The experimental factor that is manipulated It is the variable whose effect is being studied DEPENDENT VARIABLE The variable that may change in response to the manipulations of the independent variable.
SCREWING AROUND IN PSYCHOLOGY!!
Social scientists study the backgrounds of children who have been assigned to foster care. They discover that the majority of children who receive foster care have experienced physical punishment methods in their prior homes that would be severe enough to qualify as abuse. Conclusion derived from correlational study or experiment? Why?
AN EXPERIMENT: LANG 75 Does alcohol cause aggression? How might we test this?
AN EXPERIMENT: LANG 75 Does alcohol cause aggression? 96 Subjects split into 4 groups Independent variable: vodka and tonic (belief and actual) Dependent variable: aggression in response to an insulting confederate Only significant determinant of aggression was the expectation factor.
Confidence in theory increases Findings support hypothesis THEORY (A coherent network of explanatory ideas) HYPOTHESIS (specific predictions derived from the theory) THEORY (conduct study to test hypothesis) Findings do not support hypothesis Revises, refine the theory Confidence in theory decreases Discard the Theory
Free Write Is deceptive research justifiable? Why or Why Not
Ethics APA s Ethical guidelines 3 principles and 6 norms Institutional Review Boards (IRB)review and approves all research Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)approves all research using animals Controversy about deceptive research Controversy about animal research Genie: Secrets of the Wild Child case study
Ethics 1) Obtain potential participant s informed consent 2) Protect them from physical or emotional harm and discomfort 3) Keep information about individual participants confidential 4) Fully debrief people
Ethics I feel myself a naturalist and a physician both; and that I am equally interested in diseases and people; perhaps too, that I am equally, if inadequately, a theorist and a dramatist, am equally drawn to the scientific and the romantic and continually see both in the human condition Oliver Sacks (Neuroscientist)
Mean arithmetic average = x/n Median the halfway point Mode the most common answer
1 2 2 2 3 3 Mean = 4.8 Median = 3 4 4 27 Mode = 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 Mean = 7.5 Median = 4 6 27 27 Mode = 27
Range Overall difference between the highest and lowest scores. Variance Average difference from the mean.
The Normal Curve
P value -- The probability that a particular set of data was gained by chance alone. Statistical Significance Any P value of less than.05