What is Psychology?

1. What is Psychology? • The scientific study of human and animal behavior

2. Gestalt  (German for "shape or form") School of psychology founded in the 20th century that provided the foundation for the modern study of perception. Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. The word Gestalt is used in modern German to mean the way a thing has been “placed,” or “put together.” There is no exact equivalent in English. “Form” and “shape” are the usual translations; in psychology the word is often interpreted as “pattern” or “configuration.”

3. Gestalt Laws of Organization • Figure/Ground • Closure • Proximity • Continuity • Similarity

4. Figure/Ground We tend to organize perceptions into the object being looked at (the figure) and the background against which it appears (the ground).

5. Closure There is a tendency in our perception to complete incomplete figures, to fill in gaps.

6. Proximity Parts that are close together in time or space appear to belong together and tend to be perceived together

7. Continuity There is a tendency in our perception to follow a direction, to connect the elements in a way that makes them seem continuous or flowing in a particular direction.

8. Similarity Similar parts tend to be seen together as forming a group.

9. B.F. Skinner • Mid – late 1900s. American • Conditioning can be applied to entire societies • Reward for behavior results in that behavior being done again in the future • Though he did not feel the opposite worked (punishment does not change behavior – just covers it up) • Entire basis for “Walden II” – a utopian society based on rewarding good behavior Class participation points work the same way 

10. Types of Psychology • Research: • Studies why things happen. • Deals with theories and lab experiments • “Lab tests show people’s anxiety level increases when surrounded by the color red.” • Applied: • Figures out how to USE information found by researchers • “NASA scientists study which colors to paint the inside of the International Space Station”

11. Fields of PsychologyWhere Psychologists work

12. Example fields • Clinical Psychology – therapists etc • Educational Psychology – therapists for kids, help ID and aid learning styles and issues • Child Psych – how the brain grows and learns to learn. Also – how to parent • Environmental Psych – coping with disasters, crowding, workplace environment

13. Example Fields continued • Industrial Psych – marketing, public relations, efficiency • Engineering Psych – human / machine interaction, design casinos • Experimental Psych – usually research people. Lab experiments. Colleges • Teaching – this class for instance

14. Approaches to Psychology • Neurobiological • Behavioral • Psychoanalytic • Cognitive • Sociocultural

15. Behavioral • We adapt our behavior based on rewards • We learn through experience • Behavior can be changed • B.F. Skinner was a behavioralist

16. Humanistic • Interested in what it means to be human • Everyone has the chance to grow to greatness. The only thing holding us back is ourselves. We continually strive to achieve greatness Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

17. Psychoanalytical Approach • We all have suppressed desires • We unconsciously do things to alleviate these desires • Analyze what we do subconsciously in order to understand our REAL selves. • Freud: father of psychoanalysis

18. Cognitive Approach • Studies how we process information through • perception, attention, language, memory, and thinking • How they influence our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and ability to operate in our world. • Past experiences make the difference between one person's perception and another's • Can you give an example to illustrate this?

19. Sociocultural Approach • Impact society has on behavior • economics, race, ethnic group, climate, religion, language, traditions, cultures, gender, location, politics, etc

20. Neurobiological • Concentrates on the Chemical / Physical reasons for behavior • What chemical reactions occur in our brains and bodies as a result of stimulations and what reactions do they cause? • In some ways, our behavior is hard wired into us

21. Just for laughs

22. Outdoor GrillingArea

23. Research in Psychology Is Empirical (based off observation) Measures and Describes ( psychological constructs and operational definitions) Makes a Prediction (formulates a hypothesis about the relationship between 2 or more variables) Suggests an application (understanding allows control over our environment)

24. Theories, Hypotheses, and Research • Theories - from the specific to the general • Hypotheses - from the general to the specific • Research - a term for the multiple ways a hypothesis can be tested

25. Steps in Scientific Research • Establish hypothesis - must be clear and testable • Design the Study - how you test and measure the variables of interest • Collect the Data • Analyze Data and Suggest an Application - statistical analysis and relevance of research • Report the findings - writing a research report and journal submission

26. Experimental Research • Establishes Cause and Effect • Independent Variable (IV): is manipulated • Dependent Variable (DV): is measured • Experimental Group : receives the (IV) • Control Group: receives nothing or placebo

27. Placebo Effect • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_feOG94IAs

28. Experimental Research • Population (random selection) • Sample (random assignment) • Extraneous Variables: are controlled • Selection bias (random selection) • Assignment bias (random assignment) • Experimenter bias (double-blind study) • Novelty effects (field study) • Confounding Variables: have an effect on the (DV)

29. Alleviation of Depression = Dependent VariableBetween-Subjects Experimental Design Experimental Group Receives the IV (antidepressant) Control Group Receives nothing (placebo)

30. Correlational Research • A Non-experimental form a research that shows a directional relationship between variables. • Correlational Coefficient (numerical value that determines the strength of a relationship between variables between -1 and +1)

31. X Y X Y Years Smoking Risk of Cancer Years Smoking Risk of Cancer Positive Correlation • High scores on X are related to high scores on Y, and low scores on X are related to low scores on Y.

32. Negative Correlation • High scores on X are related to low scores on Y, and low scores on X are related to high scores on Y. Amount of hours of cocaine sleep x Amount of hours of cocaine sleep x Y

33. No Correlation • A correlation coefficient of (0) indicates there is no relationship between variables.

34. Correlational Coefficient Negative Correlation Positive Correlation -1_______________________0______________________+1 Strength of Relationship Increasing Increasing

35. Research Methods (cont.) • Describing and interpreting • data: • - descriptive statistics: - mean - median - mode - normal distribution • - standard deviation

36. Measures of Central Tendency Mode:The most frequently occurring score in a distribution. Mean:The arithmetic average of scores in a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores that were added together. Median:The middle score in a rank-ordered distribution.

37. Normal Curve A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data (normal distribution). Most scores fall near the mean.

38. Measures of Variation Range: The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution. Standard Deviation: A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean.

39. Illusion of Control • Illusory Correlation: the perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists (e.g. vaccines & autism). • Regression Toward the Mean: the tendency for extremes of unusual scores or events to regress toward the average. That chance events are subject to personal control is an illusion of control fed by:

40. Making Inferences A statistical statement of how frequently an obtained result occurred by experimental manipulation or by chance.

41. Description Case Study A technique in which one person is studied in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles. Susan Kuklin/ Photo Researchers Is language uniquely human? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldYkFdu5FJk&feature=fvsr

42. Survey A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually done by questioning a representative, random sample of people. http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org

43. Survey Wording Effects Wording can change the results of a survey. Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography be allowed on television? (not allowed vs. forbid)

44. Survey Random Sampling If each member of a population has an equal chance of inclusion into a sample, it is called a random sample (unbiased). If the survey sample is biased, its results are not valid. The fastest way to know about the marble color ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller jar and count them.

45. Polls • Can be extremely accurate when carefully conducted.

46. Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording the behavior of animals in the wild and recording self-seating patterns in a multiracial school lunch room constitute naturalistic observation.

47. Evaluating Therapies In evaluating drug therapies, patients and experimenter’s assistants should remain unaware of which patients had the real treatment and which patients had the placebo treatment. Examples: surgery & accupuncture Double-blind Procedure

48. Evaluating Therapies Assigning participants to experimental (breast-fed) and control (formula-fed) conditions by random assignment minimizes pre-existing differences between the two groups. Random Assignment

49. Ethical Principalsof Research • Ethics of research with human participants: • - freedom from coercion - informed consent - limited deception - adequate debriefing - confidentiality

50. Ethical Principals of Research (cont.) • Ethics of research with nonhuman animals: • - necessity - health - humane treatment