Basic Psychology

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Basic Psychology

• Introduction Unit

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Overview of Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior
  and mental processes. Everything people think,
  feel, and do. (Psyche breath, life, soul)
  (ology study of)
• Psychology Scientific Method
• Psychological scientists reach their conclusions
  by IDENTIFYING a specific problem, formulating a
  HYPOTHESIS (educated guess), COLLECTING DATA
  (observation and experimentation), and ANALYZING
  the data.

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Overview of Psychology, contd.

• Where else is this formula for problem solving
  and theory-forming found?
• How valuable is this manner of forming
  conclusions?
• Is it consistent?
• Is it objective?
• Is it accurate?
• What problems might arise from humans performing
  experiments?

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Psychology Overview, contd.

• Goals of Psychology Describe, Explain, Predict,
  and Control Behavior
• Research Psychology Study the origin, cause, or
  results of certain behaviors.
• Basic Psychology pursuit of knowledge for its
  own sake
• Applied Psychology practical application of the
  principles discovered
• There is a difference!

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Whats a theory, and whats it for?

• Definition A comprehensive explanation of
  observable events.
• Psychoanalytic
• Behavioral
• Biological
• Humanistic
• Cognitive
• Social-Cultural

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Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Psychoanalytic Perspective
• Sigmund Freud
• How behavior springs from unconscious drives and
  conflicts(Sexual, Aggression, and Fear of Death)
• Can personality traits and disorders be explained
  in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as
  the disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and
  childhood traumas?

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Psychoanalytic Perspective, contd.

• Psychoanalysis - free association, dream
  analysis, Hypnosis
• Unconscious Process Conflict (Id - Pleasure,
  Ego Reality Principle, Super Ego Conscious
  Morals)

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Id, Ego, Super Egoin San Diego
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Behavioral Perspective

• Behavioral Perspective
• B.F. Skinner
• How we learn observable responses
• Modeling, Classical Conditioning, Operant
  Conditioning
• Environment shapes behavior
• All Knowledge gained through observation
  experiences
• Butwhat does this say about our sense of
  agency/freedom as Humans?

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Behavioral Perspective, contd.

• How do we learn to fear particular objects or
  situations? What is the most effective way to
  alter our behavior, say, to lose weight or stop
  smoking?

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Biological/Neuroscience Perspective

• Neuroscience
• How the body and brain create emotions, memories,
  and sensory experience
• Nervous System (Neurons) Endocrine System
  (Hormones)
• Biological Psychology IQ, Heredity, Stress,
  Lifestyle, Exercise, Sleep Nutrition
• Nature vs. Nurture (Behavioral vs. Bio)
• Nature/genetics load(s) the _________, while
  nurture/environment pulls the __________.
• How are messages transmitted within the body?

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Humanistic Perspective

• Humanistic Perspective
• Maslow, Rogers
• How humans reach their highest aspirations, hopes
  and personal fulfillment.
• Self Esteem Self Identity
• How can individuals reach their highest
  potential?

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Cognitive Perspective

• Cognitive Perspective
• How we process, store, and use information
• Thinking drives behavior
• How do we use information in remembering?
  Reasoning? Solving problems?

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Social-Cultural Perspective

• Social-cultural Perspective
• How behavior and thinking vary across situations
  and cultures.
• Social Pressures / Peer Pressures.
• As products of different environmental contexts,
  how do we differ?
• What defines normal?

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Issue Alcohol Abuse

• Neuroscience / Bio
• Is alcoholism a disease? What role does heredity
  play? How does alcohol affect the brain?
• Behaviorists
• Is alcoholism learned? If so, can it be
  unlearned? Can new habitats replace drinking
  habits?
• Humanists
• Do people drink because they dont feel a sense
  of worth? Does alcohol give people a false sense
  of worth?

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Issue Alcohol Abuse

• Psychoanalysts
• Is heavy drinking an indication of some deeper
  problem or conflict raging in the unconscious?
  Does drinking make people less inhibited,
  allowing their unconscious desires to surface?
• Cognitive Psychologists
• What thoughts lead up to episodes of heavy
  drinking? If these thoughts are analyzed and
  changed, will the drinking be curbed?

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Issue Alcohol Abuse

• Sociocultural Psychologists
• How does alcoholism differ from one culture to
  another? What are the unique pressures within a
  certain culture that might contribute to alcohol
  abuse?
• Suppose a millionaire wanted to fund research to
  find answers to these questions. To which
  psychologists should the millionaire give money?

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How Might You Attempt To Explain Aviophobia?

• Simpsons Fear of Flying

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How Might You Attempt To Explain Agoraphobia?
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Scientific Research

• Theory
• Organizes a wide range of observations and
  implies a hypothesis
• Hypothesis
• a testable prediction

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Scientific Method
Scientific Method Refining theories and
hypothesis through research that better organizes
and predicts observable behaviors or events
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Psychologys Fields

• Psychologists people who have been trained to
  observe, analyze, evaluate, and treat behavior.
  (Clinical, Counseling, Industrial/Organizational,
  Environmental, Health and Experimental).
• I need to go see my psychologist.
• .different from.
• Psychiatry a specialty of medicine that deals
  with emotional disturbances.
• I need to go see my psychiatrist.

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3 Types of Research

• 1) Descriptive describes behavior but does not
  explain it
• Case study analyze one or more individuals in
  great depth in hopes of revealing things true of
  all of us
• Pros generally inexpensive, provides much
  information
• Cons an individual may be atypical
• EX. Phineas Gage
• Survey looks at many cases in less depth
• Pros generally fairly inexpensive, wider group
  of people
• Cons
• self-reported attitudes and behavior
• wording effect (not allowing forbidding)
• false consensus (overestimate others agreement w/
  us)
• requires excellent random sampling of population
• Phone vs. letter vs. in person

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• Naturalistic Observation observing and recording
  the behavior of organisms in their natural
  environment
• Pros inexpensive, natural setting
• Cons not a representative group, time consuming,
  good for only limited behaviors
• Ex. Estimate the distance that individuals stand
  apart when they are talking. Noting differences
  between same sex and opposite sex different
  social situations (party, hallway, locker room)

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3 Types of Research

• 2) Correlational statistical measurement of a
  relationship
• Positive correlation a direct relationship where
  two things increase or decrease together (0 to 1
  correlation coefficient)
• Negative correlation an inverse relationship
  where as one thing increases the other decreases
  (0 to 1 correlation coefficient)

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• Correlation Coefficient
• a statistical measure of the extent to which two
  factors vary together and thus how well either
  factor predicts the other

Indicates direction of relationship (positive or
negative)
Correlation coefficient
r .37
Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00)
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• Scatter plot
• a graphed cluster of dots, each of which
  represents the values of two variables
• the slope of the points suggests the direction of
  the relationship
• the amount of scatter suggests the strength of
  the correlation
• little scatter indicates high correlation
• also called a scatter gram or scatter diagram

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CORRELATION DOES NOT PROVE CAUSATION IT ONLY
ASSISTS IN PREDICTING
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Clip Pulled From AP Psych Ch. 1 and 2 Folder
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Correlation and Causation

• Three possible cause-effect relations

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Does Correlation Cause Anything?(Height and
Shoes Size)

• Height and Shoe size
• Speculate on the relationship between height and
  shoe size.
• Collect data
• We cannot show cause and effect relationship with
  correlation
• Ex. ACT test scores / High School Grades
• Ex. Partying / Poor Grades
• Ex. Marital satisfaction / Sexual satisfaction
• Ex. Smoking Cigarettes / Lung Cancer

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• Illusory correlation the perception of a
  relationship where none exists
• This occurs since our belief that there is a
  relationship leads us to notice and recall
  confirming instances of that belief
• It is our natural eagerness to make sense of the
  world/create patterns

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3 Types of Research

• 3) Experimentation only method to allow us to
  state cause and effect
• The investigator manipulates one or more factors
  to observe their effect on some behavior or
  mental process while controlling other relevant
  factors by random assignment of subjects

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• Operational definitions in an experiment
• Hypothesis a testable prediction
• Population group of people from which the
  participants in the experiment are selected
• Each member of the population must have an equal
  chance of being selected
• Random sampling the procedure for obtaining a
  sample group for the experiment
• Random assignment assigning subjects to
  experimental and control conditions by chance
  minimizes pre-existing differences between those
  assigned to the different groups
• Independent variable the factor that is
  manipulated
• Dependent variable the behavior or mental
  process that is affected by the independent
  variable (that is, what is measured)
• Control group people who are not exposed to the
  treatment or IV
• May receive a placebo a pseudo-treatment
• Experimental group people who are exposed to the
  treatment or IV

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Attitude

• The longer I live, the more I realize the impact
  of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more
  important than facts. It is more important than
  the past, than education, than money, than
  circumstances, than failures, than successes,
  than what other people think or say or do. It is
  more important than appearance, giftedness or
  skill. It will make or break a companya
  churcha home. The remarkable thing is we have a
  choice every day regarding the attitude we will
  embrace for that day.

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Attitude, contd.

• We cannot change the pastwe cannot change the
  fact that people will act a certain way. We
  cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we
  can do is play on the one string we have, and
  that is our attitudeI am convinced that life is
  10 what happens to me and 90 how I react to it.
  And so it is with youwe are in charge of our
  attitudes.
• Charles Swindoll