PSYCHOLOGY S ROOTS, BIG IDEAS AND CRITICAL THINKING TOOLS CHAPTER 1 MYERS AND DEWALL

PSYCHOLOGY S ROOTS, BIG IDEAS AND CRITICAL THINKING TOOLS CHAPTER 1 MYERS AND DEWALL

CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW PSYCHOLOGY S ROOTS FOUR BIG IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY WHY DO PSYCHOLOGY ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS RESEARCH

PSYCHOLOGY S ROOTS Wilhelm Wundt created psychology s first experiment Early Pioneers Charles Darwin Ivan Pavlov Sigmund Freud William James Mary Whiton Calkins

PSYCHOLOGY S ROOTS DEFINITIONS AND APPROACHES Psychology s Roots - originally defined as the science of mental life Behaviorism the scientific study of observable behavior (John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner) Freudian Psychology the study of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences Humanistic Psychology the study of how our environment helps or hinders our personal and emotional growth (Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow) Cognitive Psychology the scientific study perception, memory, and information processing

MODERN PSYCHOLOGY Modern Psychology the science of behavior and mental processes Modern Perspectives: Neuroscience brain and body s effects on emotions, memory, senses Evolutionary how natural selection influenced genetic traits Behavior Genetics combination of genes and environment; individual differences Psychodynamic unconscious drives and conflicts Behavioral learning observable responses Cognitive encode, process, store information Social-Cultural how behavior changes across situations

FOUR BIG IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY #1 Critical Thinking examining assumption, values, weighing evidence and conclusions #2 Biopsychosocial Approach using biology, psychology, and social-cultural factors to explain and predict Nature and Nurture Issue nature (biology) and nurture (experiences) that determine who you are #3 Dual Processing Theory our mind simultaneously operates consciously and unconsciously Dual Attitude System we have two sets of attitudes systems that influence behavior Implicit Attitudes (unconscious) often differ from our Explicit Attitudes (conscious) Implicit Egotism preference for things that are self-referencing #4 Positive Psychology study of human strength, skill, and meaningfulness

WHY STUDY PSYCHOLOGY? Is Psychology Simply Common Sense? Our intuitions are limited and prone to errors Hindsight (20/20) Bias tendency to think you could have predicted an outcome, after having learned the outcome I knew it all along Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Out of sight out of mind? Overconfidence this bias leads to overconfidence and increased blame towards others Perceiving Order in Random Events we like to notice patterns, streaks in life events and assume they are meaningful/real

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Scientific Attitude - Curiosity, Skepticism, Humility The Scientific Method - Forming and Testing Hypotheses Theory a set of principles or ideas that seek to explain or predict an observation Good theories summarize behaviors and make clear predictions Hypotheses testable components of a theory that describes a relationship(s) Operational Definitions clearly worded concepts and terms (e.g. memory)

TESTING HYPOTHESES: DESCRIPTIVE METHODS Descriptive Research watching, observing, and describing thoughts and behaviors Case Study in depth examination of a person or group Naturalistic Observation observing and describing naturally occurring behaviors

TESTING HYPOTHESES: DESCRIPTIVE METHODS Surveys having individuals in a population self-describe their behaviors and attitudes

TESTING HYPOTHESES: DESCRIPTIVE METHODS Surveys Problems Small and Unrepresentative Samples lead to inaccurate conclusions Random Sampling every person in the population has an equal chance of taking the survey Wording Effects wording and order can affect the responses to question

TESTING HYPOTHESES: CORRELATIONAL METHODS Correlational Studies describe how two naturally occurring events/factors related to one another No Correlation no relationship between two variables Negative Correlation two variables change/move in opposite directions (-1.0 0.0) Self-esteem and Depression Positive Correlation two variables increase/decrease together (0.0 - +1.0) Diet soda consumption and heart disease Golf courses and divorce Ice cream sales and murder

Correlation Does Not Equal Causation Correlation and Causation

TESTING HYPOTHESES: EXPERIMENTS Experimental Research laboratory/controlled simulations that test cause and effect relationships Manipulating/altering one or more variable) to see if it affects another variable(s) Independent Variable the factor(s) that is manipulated/altered by the researcher to create multiple groups/conditions (Experimental and Control) Dependent Variable the variable(s) that is measured

TESTING HYPOTHESES: EXPERIMENTS Experimental Research Issues: Experimental Control removing potential problems (confounds) from experiments Confound #1 Unequal Groups/Conditions Random assignment placing participants randomly into the experimental group(s) and/or control group Randomization insures that all groups are equivalent except for the manipulation

TESTING HYPOTHESES: EXPERIMENTS Cofound #2 - Placebo Effect anticipating an effect can cause you to experience the expected outcome Double-Blind Procedure controls for anticipation/placebo effects

TESTING HYPOTHESES: CORRELATION OR EXPERIMENT? You can only conduct an experiment when you are able to use random assignment