Exploring PsychologySeventh Edition

David G. Myers

Psychology’s Roots

Prescientific

Psychology

Is the mind connected

to the body or distinct?

Are ideas inborn or is

the mind a blank slate

filled by experience?

Psychology’s Roots

Empiricism

knowledge comes from

experience via the senses

science flourishes through

observation and experiment

Psychology’s Roots

Wilhelm Wundt

opened the first

psychology

laboratory at the

University of

Leipzig (c. 1879)

Psychology’s Roots

Structuralism

used introspection

(looking in) to

explore the

elemental

structure of the

human mind

Psychology’s Roots

Functionalism focused on how behavioral processes function- how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

8

Psychological Science is Born

Psychology originated in many disciplines and countries. It was, until the 1920s, defined as the science of mental life.

A Definition

Psychology

the science of behavior (what we do)

and mental processes (sensations,

perceptions, dreams, thoughts,

beliefs, and feelings)

10

Psychological Science Develops

Behaviorists

Watson and later Skinner emphasized the study of overt behavior as the subject matter of scientific

psychology.

Watso

n (1878-1958)

Sk

inn

er (1904-1990)

11

Psychological Science Develops

Humanistic Psychology

Maslow and Rogers emphasized current environmental influences on our growth potential

and our need for love and acceptance.

Mas

low

(19

08-1

970)

Ro

ger

s (1

902-

1987

)h

ttp://fa

cu

ltyw

eb

.co

rtland.e

du

http

://ww

w.c

arlro

ge

rs.d

k

12

Psychology’s Big Question

Nature versus Nurture

The controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience.

Nurture works on what nature endows.

13

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

14

Psychology’s Current PerspectivesPerspective Focus Sample Questions

Neuroscience How the body and brain enables emotions?

How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes?

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Behavior genetics How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences?

To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment?

15

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample Questions

Psychodynamic How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts?

How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral How we learn observable responses?

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 quit smoking?

16

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample Questions

Cognitive How we encode, process, store and retrieve information?

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving?

Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?

How are we — as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans – alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?

17

Survey: What you are about to read, including chapter outlines and section heads.

Question: Ask questions. Make notes.

Read: Look for the answer to your questions by reading a manageable amount at a time.

Rehearse: Recall what you’ve read in your own words. Test yourself with quizzes.

Review: What you learn. Read over notes and quickly review the whole chapter.

Tips for Studying Psychology

Psychology can teach you how to ask and answer important questions.

Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse and Review (SQ3R)

Brain Rulesfrom John Medina book 2008

1. Exercise boosts brain power

2. The human brain evolved, too.

3. Every brain is wired differently.

4. We don’t pay attention to boring things.

5. Repeat to remember.

6. Remember to repeat.

7. Sleep well, think well.

8. Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.

9. Stimulate more of the senses.

10. Vision trumps all other senses.

11. Male and female brains are different.

12. We are powerful and natural explorers.

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method

Theory

an explanation using an integrated set of

principles that organizes and predicts

observations

Hypothesis

a testable prediction

often implied by a theory

The Scientific Method

Operational Definition

a statement of procedures (operations) used to

define research variables

example-

intelligence may be operationally defined as what an

intelligence test measures

Description

Psychologists describe behavior using case

studies, surveys, and naturalistic

observation

Description

Survey technique for ascertaining the self-reported

attitudes or behaviors of people

usually by questioning a representative,

random sample of people

Description

Obama gets a bounce.

New poll shows him up by 6

It took a while to arrive, perhaps, but Barack Obama seemed to get a

convention/vice presidential selection bounce in the latest Gallup poll.

The new poll shows Obama leading John McCain by 48 percent of registered

voters to 42 percent. That's about the lead he'd maintained in August in the

polling groups daily tracking poll, up until a couple weeks ago,

when numbers for the two fell into the "too close to call" category. In recent

days, the poll once showed McCain leading Obama by a couple points.

So, once again, the usual disclaimors: this is a poll, this is August, it's

national and not state by state, etc...

And, perhaps most importantly, the GOP convention is next week, and when

they're dominating the airwaves, they're also likely to get a bump in the polls.

But for the Obama campaign, it has to be a relief not to stagnate during a

time in the campaign that usually brings around support.

Submitted by Matt Schofield on August 28, 2008 - 1:52pm.

Description

Case Study

observation

technique in

which one

person is studied

in depth in the

hope of

revealing

universal

principals Is language uniquely human?

Description

Naturalistic

Observation

observing and

recording behavior

in naturally

occurring situations

without trying to

manipulate and

control the situation

Sampling

Population

all the cases in a group, from which

samples may be drawn for a study

Random Sample

a sample that fairly represents a population

because each member has an equal

chance of inclusion

Experimentation

Experiment

an investigator manipulates one or more factors

(independent variables) to observe their effect

on some behavior or mental process (the

dependent variable)

by random assignment of participants the

experiment controls other relevant factors

Experimentation

Double-Blind Procedure

both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo

commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Placebo

an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent

Experimentation

Experimental Condition

the condition of an experiment that exposes

participants to the treatment, that is, to one

version of the independent variable

Control Condition

the condition of an experiment that contrasts

with the experimental treatment

serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect

of the treatment

Experimentation

Independent Variable

the experimental factor that is manipulated

the variable whose effect is being studied

Dependent Variable

the experimental factor that may change in

response to manipulations of the independent

variable

in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental

process

Experimentation

You can see a lot by

observing.

Yogi Berra

Questions About Psychology

Is psychology

free of value

judgments?

Your expectations

and background

influence your

perception and

understanding.