Ashley Supernault Mr.

Wedge PY 105 Chapter 1 Notes 23 January 2012 Behaviorism- View that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental process. Most modern day scientists believe in the first part. Humanistic Psychology- Perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual potential for person growth. Cognitive Neuroscience- Interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory, language) Psychology- Science of behavior and mental process. Nature/Nurture issue- Long standing controversy over relative contributions that genes and experience contribute to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today, we see traits and behavior arising from the interaction of nature/nurture. Levels of analysis- Differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to socialcultural for analyzing any given phenomenon. Biopsychological Approach- Integrated approach that incorporate brio, psych, and social cultural. Basic Research- Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base Applied Research- study aimed to solve practical problems Counseling Psychology- branch that assist people with problems in living and also help to achieve greater well-being. Clinical Psychology- branch that studies, assess, and treats those with disorders. Psychiatry- Medicine branch dealing with disorders. Practiced by physician who provides therapy and meds. Hindsight Bias- Tendency to believe after learning outcome that we would have foreseen it. I knew it all along phenomenon. Critical Thinking- Thinking that doesnt normally accept arguments and conclusion. Examines assumption, discerns, hidden values, evaluates evidence and then assesses and concludes. Theory- an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organized observations and predicts behaviors or events. Hypothesis- A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Operational Definition- a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what intelligence test measures. Replication- Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances. Case Study- an observation technique in which one person is studies in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. Survey- a technique to ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questions representatives, random sample of the group Population- all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (except national studies, this doesnt refer to countrys whole population.) Random Sample- a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. Naturalistic observation- Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation. Correlation- the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well wither factor predicts the other. The correlation coefficient is the mathematical expression of the relationship, ranging from -1,1. Illusory Correlation- the perception of a relationship where none exists. Experiment- a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable) by random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors. Random Assignment- assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups. Experimental group- in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, independent. Control group- the group that is not exposed to treatment, serves as comparison Double blind procedure- an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies. Placebo effect- experimental results caused by expectations alone; may affect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance of condition which the recipient assumes in an active agent. (I shall please) Independent Variable- experimental factor that is manipulated. Effect is being studied.

Dependent variable- outcome factor, may change in response to manipulations of independent. Culture- the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people who transmitted from one generation to the next. SQ3R- A study method incorporating five steps- surveys Question, Read, Rehearse, Review

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1. Psychological Science is Born Aristotle- theorized about learning memory, motivation, emotion, perception, and personality Psychology- 1879 University of Leipzig; 2 men and William Wundt created experimental apparatus. Created machine to measure time; 1/10 of second it took people to respond asap. 1/20 of second it took people to actually be aware of sound. 1st psychological experiment. Wundt seeked to measure atoms of the mind which is the fastest mental process Psychology developed from philosophy and biology Ivan Pavlov pioneered study of learning Sigmund Freud pioneered study of learning Sigmund Freud developed influential theory of personality Jean Piaget last century s most influential observer of children William James was an author of important 1890 textbook Morton Hunt Magellan s of the mind illustrates psych origins in many disciplines and countries Mary Calkins completed PH.D. at Harvard but was refused and sent to get degree from another place; APA s first female president in 1905. Margaret Froy Washburn- first woman to receive Psych PHD 1921 APA s second president 1921 Psychology is not easily defined Introspection- focusing on inner sensations, images, and feelings Psychology up until 1920 was defined as the science of mental life 1920-60 Watson and Skinner Scientific Study of observational behavior Both Behaviorists said science is rooted in observation can t observe sensation, but can see reactions and behavior Carl Roger and Abraham Maslow thought behaviorisms focus on learned behaviors too mechanic. Humanistic Psyches emphasized important of current environmental influences on our growth potential, and important of having needs for love and acceptance satisfied Cognitive Resolution- how minds process and retain info. Suggested new ideas to treat and understand psych disorders Behavior- anything organism does- observe/record. Mental process-subjective experiences sensation, dreams, etc Psych is more of asking and answering questions then a set of findings. 2. Psychology s biggest question International Union of Psychological Science- 69 member nations Plato assumed character and intelligence are largely inherited and that certain ideas are inborn. Aristotle argued that nothing is in the mind that didn t come from external world (senses) Nurture works on what nature endows; largely able to adapt and learn, but also every psychological event, is simultaneous a biological event. 3. Psychology s three main levels of Analysis

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Everything is related to everything else (Brewer, 1996) Biological, Pyshcological, and socialcultural Light on Anger o Neuroscience perspective- brain circuits cause us to be red in the fact &hot in the collar o Evolutionary Perspective- anger facilitated the survival of ancestors o Behavior genetics- heredity and experience influence temperament o Psychodynamic perspective- an outlet for unconscious hostility o Behavioral perspective- external stimuli trigger angry response o Cognitive perspective- interpretation of situation affects anger which affects thinking o Social-cultural perspective- expressions of anger vary across cultural contexts Like two-dimensional views of a three dimensional object, each of perspective is helpful, each of itself fails to reveal the whole picture Leo Tolstoy- Why should I live? 1904 *expect that psych will help understand why people feel the way they do 4. Psychology s Subfields The cluster of subfields we call psychology is a meeting ground for different disciplines Biological psychologists- link between brain and mind Developmental psych- changing from womb to tomb Cognitive Psychs- perception Social psychs- view and effect one another Industrial organized psychologists- use concepts and methods in work place to help organizations and companies select and train employees New Mexico and Louisiana became first to grant right to give med to psychology patients 02/04 Psychohistory- psychological analysis of historical characters Psycholinguistics- study of language and thinking Psychoceramics- study of crackpots Knowledge transforms us knowledge has modified attitudes, and through them, behavior- Hunt 5. What about intuition and common sense? George Bush had a gut instinct about the Iraq war so he launched it Intuition is important; but often underestimate its perils Madaleine L Engle the naked intellect is an extraordinary narily inaccurate instrument 1973 6. Did we know it all along? Hindsight Bias Widespread Errors in recollections and explanations show why we need research Common sense describes what has happened not what will happen Bohr Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future Yogi Berra You can observe a lot by watching Daniel Gilbert, Brett Pelham, and Douglaas Krull Good ideas in psychology usually have an oddly familiarly quality, and the moment we encounter them we feel certain that we once came close to thinking the same thing ourselves and simply failed to write it down Most people use only 10 percent of brain 7. Overconfidence

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Knwoing the answers makes us overconfident Robert Vallone had students predict certain things, 84 percent confident in making the selfpredictions, when only about 71 percent correct Hindsight Bias and overconfidence often lead us to overestimate our intuition. 8. The Scientific Attitude Empirical approach- letting facts speak for themselves, *moses James Randi aura Todays presumed truth becomes tomorrows fallacies Scientific attitude requires curiosity, skepticism, and humility- Qewnwaa od vulnerability to error and openness All above helped make modern science possible, founders Copernicus and Newtown religion Rodney Stark- scientific revolution was led mostly by religious people acting on idea to fully appreciate god s work 9. Critical Thinking Examines assumptions, hidden values, evidence, and assesses conclusions. 10. The Scientific Method Theory is linked with observation Used everyday in decision making without putting thought into it Used in science to conduct theory Theory will be useful if it effectively organized a range of self reports and observations and implies clear predictions that anyone can use to check the theory or to derive practical applications 11. The Case Study Case Study is one of the oldest research methods Early knowledge about brain came from case studies of individuals who suffered impairment after damage to a certain brain region Show what can happen, and suggest which direction for further study Sometimes individual cases may mislead; if individual is atypical, unrepresentative information can lead to mistaken judgments and false conclusions Plural of anecdote is not evidence 12. The Survey Survey method looks at many cases in less depth Harris and Gallup polls have revealed 89 percent of Americans favor equal job opportunities for homos; 96 percent would like to change appearance; 80 percent economy was a source of stress Wording effect- People are more likely to approve not allowing things then to censor them; Much more approving of affirmative action then preferential treatment and of revenue enhancers than of taxes For an accurate picture of whole population attitude and experience, a representative sample Before accepting findings, think critically. Cannot compensate for unrepresentative sample by adding more people 13. Naturalistic Observation Descriptive method records behavior in natural enviornemt

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Doesn t explain behavior., describes it. Humans don t only use tools, chimps do too, which led to later animal thinking, language, emotion. Jane Gondal, complex chimp observer Illuminate human behavior, and offer interesting snapshots of everyday life without controlling factors that may influence behavior 14. Correlation Describing behavior is first step towards predicting it, other two show that one trait or behavior is related to another, the two correlate Statistical measure helps figure out how closest two things vary together, and how well either predicts the other Positive correlation- between 0 and 1, direct relationship` Negative correlation- between 0 and -1, inverse relationship. One goes up other goes down Positive correlation between parents abusiveness and children s later abusiveness Correlation coefficient helps us see the world more clearly by revealing extent things relate 15. Correlation and Causation Points toward predictions, but imperfect ones Low self esteems correlates with depression, but that doesn t mean low self-esteem causes depression Correlation indicates the possibility of a cause-effect relationship but it doesn t prove causation. Knowing that two events are associated need not tell us anything about causation. 16. Illusory Correlations Perceived but nonexistent correlation- illusory correlation When we believe in relationship, we notice and recall those instances Prone to perceive patterns, whether they are there or not When we notice random coincidences, we many forget they are random and instead see them as correlated. 17. Perceiving order in Random Events Wallace Stevens called range for order natural eagerness to make sense of the world Random sequences often don t look random Kahneman and Tversky card sample Evelyn Marie Adams won New Jersey Lottery Twice Samuels and McCabe said it was a sure thing that it would happen eventually Diaconis and Mosteller with a large enough sample, any outrageous thing is likely to happen 18. Experimentation To isolate cause and effect, psychologists can eliminate the influence of other factors that may account for the results they observe Researcher have controlled for (statistically removed differences in) certain other factors; mother s milk correlates modestly but positively with later intelligence Experiments enable researchers to focus on possible effects of one or more factors by manipulating factors of interest, and holding constant other factors 19. Random Assignment

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No single experiment is conclusive, but by randomly assigning infants to one feeding group, researchers were able to hold constant all factors except nutrition. Unlike correlation studies, which uncover naturally occurring relationship, an experiment manipulates a factor to determine its effect. Placebo effect is well documented in reducing pain, depression, and anxiety Just thinking people are getting treatment can boost sprits, relax body, and relive symptoms, the more expensive the pill, the more placebo effect that occur 20. Independent and dependent variables In Viagra experiment, nobody knew what they were taking, only one factor was manipulated, the drug dosage It is independent variable because we can vary it independently of other factors, such as weight, age, etc. Dependent variable- can vary depending on what takes place Both are given precise operation definitions, which specify procedure that manipulate independent or measure the dependent. Experiments can help evaluate social programs Variable- anything that can vary, anything within bounds of feasible and ethical. Random assignment works to equate before any treatment effects 21. Frequently asked Questions Experiments purpose isn t to recreate the exact behaviors of everyday life by to test theoretical principles; resulting principles help explain everyday behavior Psychologists concerns lie less with particular behavior than with the general principles that help explain many behaviors Culture shapes behavior, influences our standards Gender difference do have differences, but the underlying process of human behavior are the same Psychologists study animals because they like them, and also some experiments are only permissible on animals; we are animals, and we resemble many others Animals experiments have led to the treatment of many human diseases Ulrich- statement about animals Animal protection movement protests use of animals in psych, bio, or med research, but yet a fraction of one percent of the billion of animals killed annually for food Pain and stress aren t put on animals for experiments, because then it would distort behavior Louis Pasteur s experiment led to rabies vaccine which has saved a lot of dogs, experiments help the animals as well American Psychological Association, Birtish, and Psychologists internationally, have developed ethical principles to guide investigators; o Informed Consent o Protecting participants from harm and discomfort o Keeping confidential o Fully explaining the research afterward Psyhcology labeling someone reveals feelings and leaves to be judged If someone asks for guidance, you are accepting value-laden advice Science of behavior and mental process can help reach goal but not determine what goal should be

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Knowledge can be used for good or evil, psychs purpose is to enlighten 22. Tips for studying Psychology Distribute Study Time o Rather than cramming into 1 day, space 1 hour throughout the week spaced vs massed Learn to think critically o Note assumptions and values, evaluate evidence, asses conclusion In class, listen actively o Write down main ideas, ask questions, process info actively-retain better Overlearn o Devote extra study time to test yourself and review what you know Be a smart test-taker o Read essay first, note points you d like to make then organize, then go back to multiple choice, reread essay and rethink about it, write. Proofread, try to answer multiple choice as fill in the blank

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