Introduction%20and%20Research%20Methods

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Introduction and Research Methods
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What is Psychology?

• Definition- scientific study of behavior and
  mental processes
• Behavior- any action other people can observe or
  measure
• Mental processes- cognitive activities- dreams,
  perceptions, thoughts, and memories
• Researchers use psychological constructs-
  theoretical concepts that enable one to discuss
  something that cannot be seen, touched, or
  measured

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Goals of Psychology

• Psychologists want to observe and describe
  behaviors and mental processes to better
  understand them
• Try to explain, predict, and control behavior

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Psychology as a Science

• Psychology is a social science with a foundation
  in natural science
• Social sciences include- history, anthropology,
  economics, political science, and sociology
• Deals with the structure of human society and the
  nature and interactions of individuals who make
  up society
• Focus on individuals and their behavior and
  mental processes

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Psy. as a Science contd

• Natural science- biology, chemistry, and physics-
  nature of the physical world
• Some parts of psychology focus on the functioning
  of the brain
• Use the scientific method when conducting
  research
• form a theory- a statement that attempts to
  explain why things are the way they are and
  happen the way they do
• Develop principles- a rule or law about behavior,
  mental, and biological processes

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Fields of Psychology

• Developmental- processes and changes involved in
  mental and physical growth in humans from the
  prenatal period to old age
• Physiological- extent to which behavior is caused
  by physical conditions in the body and focuses on
  the brain, nervous system, and bodily functions
• Experimental- basic processes- learning, memory,
  sensation, perception, cognition, motivation, and
  emotions

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Fields of Psy. Contd

• Personality- differences among peoples traits
• Clinical- diagnosis, causes, and treatment of
  mental disorders
• Counseling- normal problems of adjustment
• Social- investigate the influence of people on
  one another

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Fields of Psy. Contd

• Industrial- study the effects of automation on
  humans
• Organizational- problems of training personnel,
  improving working conditions
• Educational- processes of learning, remembering,
  thinking, train teachers and curriculum design
• School- work with students

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Schools of Psychology

• Structuralism- stresses the basic units of
  experiences and the combinations in which they
  occur
• Developed by Wilhelm Wundt- said psychology
  should be studies objectively and scientifically
• Concern- uncovering the natural laws of the human
  mind
• Edward Bradford Titchener- student of Wundt
• Leader of American Psychology at Cornell
  University
• Said psychology is the study of experiences-
  broken into 3 elements- physical sensations,
  affections or feelings, and images

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Schools contd

• Functionalism- mental life and behavior that is
  concerned with how an organism uses its
  perceptual abilities to function in its
  environment
• Developed by William James
• Disagreed with Wundt and Titchener
• Said perception cannot be separated from
  sensations

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Schools Contd

• Behaviorism- study of observable and measurable
  behavior
• John B. Watson- said psychology must be studied
  in a scientific way
• Believed in conditioning- the acquiring of fairly
  specific patterns of behavior in the presence of
  well-defined stimuli
• BF Skinner had the same ideas as Watson but added
  reinforcement- anything that follows a response
  and makes that response more likely to recur

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Schools Contd

• Gestalt- studies how people perceive and
  experience objects as whole patterns
• Leaders- Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt
  Koffka
• All believed in perception

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Schools Contd

• Psychoanalytic- behavior is governed by hidden
  motives and unconscious desires
• Leader- Sigmund Freud
• Believed people go through stages during first
  years of life and must solve conflicts in stages
  to avoid psychological problems later in life
• Unconscious desires are sexual

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Schools Contd

• Existential- concerned with meaninglessness and
  alienation in modern life, leads to apathy, fear,
  and other psychological problems
• Try to help people find identity and take
  responsibility for actions

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Schools Contd

• Humanistic- possibilities of nonverbal
  experience, unity of the mind, altered sense of
  consciousness, and letting go

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Schools Contd

• Cognitive- interested in the way people perceive,
  interpret, store, and retrieve information
• Mental processes
• More to behavior than responses to stimuli

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Perspectives

• Biological- the influence of biology on our
  behavior
• Evolutionary- the evolution of behavior and
  mental processes
• Cognitive- role that thoughts play in determining
  behavior
• Humanistic- stresses the human capacity for
  self-fulfillment and the importance of
  consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity
  to make choices

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Perspectives

• Psychoanalytic- stresses the influence of
  unconscious forces on human behavior
• Learning- emphasizes the effects of experience on
  behavior
• Sociocultural- studies the influences of
  ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic
  status on behavior and mental processes

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Research Methods

• Naturalistic Observation- study an animal or
  person in their natural setting and not in a lab
• Easy to do in school or factory
• Disadvantages
• Observer bias- can have a distorted view of what
  has been observed
• Notes taken may or may not be relevant to what is
  being observed
• Depends on particular time, place, and people

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Research Contd

• Advantages
• Gives psychology new ideas and suggestions for
  research

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Research Contd

• Case Studies
• Research observes real life behavior of one
  person or a very few at a time
• Disadvantage- observer bias

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Research Contd

• Surveys
• Questionnaires or interviews administered to a
  subject or a group of people

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Research Contd

• Correlational Research
• Technique based on the naturally occurring
  relationship between two or more variables
• Does not permit experimenters to draw conclusions
  about cause and effect, to explain the
  relationship between one set of variables to
  another

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Research Contd

• Experimental Method
• 5 parts
• Subjects- individuals whose reactions or
  responses are observed in an experiment
• Independent variable- the part of the experiment
  which is changed
• Dependent variable- the part of the experiment
  that does not change
• Experimental group- the group subjected to the
  change in the independent variable
• Control group- the group not subjected to the
  change in the experiment

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Research Contd

• Can have experimental bias- expectations by the
  experimenter that influence the results of the
  experiment or its interpretations

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Research Contd

• Types of experimental methods
• Single blind- study participants do not know if
  they are receiving treatment
• Double blind- participants and the experimenter
  do not know who is receiving treatment
• Can use the placebo effect- a substance or
  treatment which has no effect
• The participant believes the substance is working

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Research Contd

• Multi-Method- use more than one method, mostly
  used by women
• When doing research, must use samples
• Sample- taken from a larger population
• Random sample- everyone has an equal chance of
  being selected
• Representative- must closely represent the
  characteristics of the larger population
• Biased- only select those the experimenter wants
• Target population- whole group you want to
  describe or study
• Stratified sample- subgroups in the population
  are represented proportionally in the sample

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Ethics

• Standards for proper and responsible behavior
• Followed to promote the dignity of the
  individual, foster human welfare, and maintain
  scientific integrity
• Established by the APA- American Psychological
  Association

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Ethics

• Research with people
• Have two primary focus
• Confidentiality
• Informed consent

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Ethics

• Confidentiality
• Records are private
• Can only reveal private information when the
  person states they are going to harm themselves
  or someone else

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Ethics

• Informed Consent
• Means that people agree, or consent, to
  participate in a research study only after they
  have been given a general overview of the
  research and have been granted the choice of
  whether or not to participate

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Ethics

• Deception
• In some experiments, a person must be deceived
• Deception can only be used in the following
  situations
• Experimenter believes that the benefits of the
  research outweigh its potential harm
• Experimenter believed that the individuals would
  have been willing to participate if they had
  understood the benefits of the research
• Participants receive an explanation of the study
  after it has occurred

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Ethics

• Research with animals
• Can conduct research on animals but must follow
  rules and standards
• No alternative
• Benefits outweigh the harm