The Science of

Psychology
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology & It’s Goals…

u  Psychology: the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

u  Psychology’s Goals:
u  Description: What is happening?
u  Explanation: Why is it happening?
u  Prediction: When will it happen again?
u  Control: How can it be changed?
The History of Psychology

u  Plato,Aristotle, and Descartes

(Philosophers)
u  Wilhelm Wundt (Physiologist)
u Objective Introspection: the process of
objectively examining and measuring
one’s own thoughts and mental
activities
u “Father of Psychology”
Titchener: Structuralism

u  Edward Titchener (1867-1927)

u Structuralism: early
perspective in psychology
in which the focus of study
is the structure or basic
elements of the mind
 James: Functionalism

u  William James (1842-1910)

u  Functionalism:early
perspective in psychology
in which the focus of study
is how the mind allows
people to adapt, live,
work, and play
Wertheimer: Gestalt Psychology

Ø Max Wertheimer
Ø Gestalt Psychology: early perspective in
psychology focusing on perception and
sensation, particularly the perception of
patterns and whole figures
Ø Gestalt: German word meaning “an
organized whole” or “configuration”
Ø “The whole is greater than the sum of its
parts”
Ø Part of Cognitive Psychology
A Gestalt Perception
Freud: Psychoanalysis

u  Sigmund Freud (physician)

u  Psychoanalysis: also
known as psychotherapy –
a process in which a
trained psychological
professional helps a person
gain insights into and
change his or her behavior
Behaviorism: Pavlov & Watson

u  Ivan Pavlov (Physiologist)

u  Conditioning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI

u  John B. Watson (Psychologist)

u  “Father of Behaviorism”
u  Behaviorism: the science that focuses on observable behavior
only
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI
Psychology Now: Modern Perspectives

u  Psychodynamic
u  Behavioral
u  Humanistic
u  Cognitive
u  Sociocultural
u  Biopsychological
u  Evolutionary
 Psychodynamic Perspective

u  Unconsciousmind and its influence

over conscious behavior
u  Early childhood experiences
u  Less
emphasis on sex and sexual
motivations
u  More emphasis on sense of self, social
and interpersonal relationships, and
the discovery of other motivations
behind a person’s behavior
 Behavioral Perspective

u  B.F.Skinner becomes new leader of

the field
u  Operant conditioning: theory of
how voluntary behavior is learned
u Behavioral responses that are
followed by pleasurable
consequences are strengthened,
or reinforced
 Humanistic Perspective

u  “ThirdForce”
u  Focus is on people’s ability to direct their own lives
u  Free will: the freedom to choose their own destiny
u  Self-actualization: the achievement of one’s full
potential
u  Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)
u  Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
 Cognitive Perspective

u  Focuses on how people think, remember, store, and

use information
u  Modern perspective that focuses on memory,
intelligence, perception, thought processes,
problem solving, language and learning
u  Cognitive Neuroscience: study of the physical
changes in the brain and nervous system during
thinking
u MRI
u fMRI
u PET
Sociocultural Perspective

u  Social
Psychology + Cultural Psychology
u Social psychology: the study of groups, social
roles, and rules of social actions and
relationships
u Cultural psychology: the study of cultural
norms, values, and expectations.
Biopsychological Perspective

u Biopsychology: study of the biological bases

of behavior and mental processes
u Biopsychological perspective: human and
animal behavior is seen as a direct result of
events in the body (hormones, heredity, brain
chemicals, tumors, and diseases)
 Evolutionary Perspective

u  Evolutionary perspective: focuses on the

biological bases of universal mental
characteristics that all humans share.
u  Seeksto explain general mental
strategies and traits
u Why we lie
u How attractiveness influences mate
selection
u Why fear of snakes is so common
u Why people universally like music
and dancing
Psychology Professions

u  Psychologist: a professional
with an academic degree
and specialized training in
one or more areas of
psychology
u  Psychiatrist: a medical doctor
who has specialized in the
diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders
 Research Methods

u  Naturalistic observation: watch people/animals in natural

environment
u  Observer effect: tendency of people/animals to behave
differently because they know they are being watched
u  Participation observation: the observer becomes a participant
in the group being observed
u  Observer bias: tendency of observers to see what they expect
to see
u  Laboratory observation
u  Case studies: study of one individual in great detail
u  Surveys
u  Representative sample: randomly selected sample of subjects
from a larger population of subjects
u  Population: the entire group of people or animals in which the
researcher is interested
Finding Relationships

u  Correlation: a measure of the

relationship between two
variables
u  Variable:
anything that can
change or vary
u  Correlation coefficient: the
direction of the relationship
and its strength
 Experiments

u  Experiment: a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if

corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the
determination of cause-and-effect relationships.
u  Operationaldefinition: specifically names the operations
(steps and procedures) that the experimenter must use to
control or measure the variables in the experiment
u  Independent variable: variable that is manipulated by the
experimenter
u  Dependent variable: variable that represents the
measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the
experiment
The Groups

u  Experimental group: subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the

independent variable
u  Control group: subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the
independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment
u  Random assignment: process of assigning subjects to the experimental or
control group randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of
being in either group
Experimental Hazards & Ways to
control them

u  Placebo effect: the phenomenon in which the expectations of the

participants in a study can influence their behavior
u  Experimenter effect: tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a
study to unintentionally influence the results of the study
u  WAYS TO CONTROL EXPERIMENTAL HAZARDS
u  Single-blind study: study in which the subjects do not know if they are in
the experimental or the control group
u  Double-blind study: study in which neither the experimenter nor the
subjects know if the subjects are in the experimental or control group
Ethics of Psychological Research

u  Rights and well-being of participants must be weighted against the study’s value to
science
u  Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about participation
u  Deception must be justified
u  Participants may withdraw from the study at any time
u  Participants must be protected from risks or told explicitly of risks
u  Investigators must debrief participants, telling the true nature of the study and
expectations of results
u  Data must remain confidential
u  If for any reason a study results in undesirable consequences for the participant, the
researcher is responsible for detecting and removing, or correcting, these consequences