1 / 56

Psychology’s Roots

Psychology’s Roots. Unit One. Psychology. What is it? The definition has changed over time. Today it is: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior- outward or avert actions and reactions Mental Processes- internal covert activity of our minds. Ancient Greeks.

lamond
Télécharger la présentation

Psychology’s Roots

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Psychology’s Roots Unit One

  2. Psychology • What is it? • The definition has changed over time. Today it is: • The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. • Behavior- outward or avert actions and reactions • Mental Processes- internal covert activity of our minds

  3. Ancient Greeks • Socrates and Plato • Dualism - the mind is separate from the bodyand continues after the body dies • some ideas innate (nature) • Aristotle • monism – mind and body are connected • knowledge results from memories of past experiences (nurture) Nature vs. Nurture- Nurture works on what nature endows.

  4. Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt and psychology’s first graduate students studied the “atoms of the mind” by conducting experiments at Leipzig, Germany, in 1879. This work is considered the birth of psychology as we know it today. • Introspection- process of objectively examining and measuring one’s own thoughts and mental activities

  5. Structuralism (cont) • Edward Titchener: • Structuralism - early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind. • Introspection to study inner sensations and mental images • Died out in the 1900’s because introspection is unreliable!!! Explain your feelings????

  6. Functionalism • William James- Father of “modern psychology” • Focused on the adaptive value of conscious thoughts and emotions (how they enable us to survive and reproduce - added the importance of the environment ) • Interested in how and why something happens- predecessor to behaviorism • Functionalists broadened field of psychology to include the study of children, animals, religious experiences, and stream of consciousness

  7. Gestalt Psychology Max Wertheimer- psychological events could not be broken down into different events “the whole is greater than the sum of its part” Focus on how people perceive the world

  8. Psychoanalysis • Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician, and his followers emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind and its effects on human behavior. • Emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts • Psychoanalysis- helps a person gain insight into their early life experiences to change behavior • Behavior is driven by unconscious drives and conflicts and childhood experiences • We protect ourselves from our real feeling by using defense mechanisms.

  9. Behaviorism Ivan Pavlov- Classical Conditioning John Watson and later B.F. Skinner emphasized the study of overt- observable- behavior as the subject matter of scientific psychology

  10. Biopsychosocial Approach We define psychology today as the scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings). The best of psychology takes a combined approach to looking at any given phenomenon- The biopsychosocial approach Evaluates nature and nurture!!!!

  11. Biopsychosocial Approach (cont.)

  12. Psychodynamic Perspective • Psychodynamic Perspective- Focus on the unconscious mind and its influence over conscious behavior and on early childhood experiences with more emphasis on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of other motivations behind a person’s behavior • Freudian ideas are enduring because they lack anyway to test them • In order to get better, we must bring forward the true feelings we have in our unconscious.

  13. Behavioral Perspective • Behavioral Perspective- Focus on observable behavior and ignore “consciousness” issue • B.F. Skinner- developed a theory of how voluntary behavior is learned called operant conditioning • We behave in ways because we have been conditioned by rewards and punishments to act a certain way. • To change behaviors, we have to recondition the client.

  14. Humanistic Perspective- • Humanistic Perspective- Focus on the aspects of human nature that makes us human. People have free will, the freedom to choose their own destiny. • Abraham Maslow and Carl Rodgers both emphasized the human potential, the ability of each person to become the best person he or she could be (self actualization)

  15. Cognitive Perspective • Cognitive Perspective- focus on how people think, remember, store, and use information • Focus on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language and learning • Cognitive Neuroscience- study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system during thinking • How do we react to getting dumped? • Try again or never again???

  16. Socio-cultural Perspective • Socio-cultural Perspective- focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture. How our groups social roles along with cultural norms and values affect our behavior • Cross-cultural research- contrasts and comparisons of a behavior or issue are studied in at least two or more cultures

  17. Biopsychological Perspective • Biopsychological Perspective- human and animal behavior are linked to biological events occurring in the body. • Hormones, heredity, brain chemicals, tumors, and diseases • To change behavior the biological problem must be addressed, usually through medication or surgery

  18. Evolutionary Perspective • Evolutionary Perspective- focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that all humans share, based upon Darwin and Natural Selection • Example: why attractiveness influences mate selection

  19. Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry A clinical psychologist (Ph.D.) studies, assesses, and treats troubled people with psychotherapy. Psychiatrists on the other hand are medical professionals (M.D.) who use treatments like drugs and psychotherapy to treat psychologically diseased patients.

  20. Four Big Ideas in Psychology 1. Critical Thinking is Smart Thinking 2. Behavior is a Biopsychosocial Event 3. We Operate with a Two-Track Mind (Dual Processing) 4. Psychology Explores Human Strengths as Well as Challenges

  21. Why do Psychology? How can we differentiate between uniformed opinions and examined conclusions? The science of psychology helps make these examined conclusions, which leads to our understanding of how people feel, think, and actas they do!

  22. What About Intuition & Common Sense? Many people believe that intuition and common sense are enough to bring forth answers regarding human nature. Intuition and common sense may aid queries, but they are not free of error. Example: Personal interviewers may rely too much on their “gut feelings” when meeting with job applicants.

  23. Hindsight Bias Hindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon. After learning the outcome of an event, many people believe they could have predicted that very outcome. Example: We only knew the dot.com stocks (housing market) would plummet after they actually did plummet.

  24. Overconfidence Sometimes we think we know more than we actually know. How long do you think it would take to unscramble these anagrams? People said it would take about 10 seconds, yet on average they took about 3 minutes (Goranson, 1978) Anagram WREAT WATER ETYRN ENTRY Try it! OLHCOS GLNEIANR SDECELHU TTHWEAM EMLSLS

  25. Critical Thinking Critical thinking does not accept arguments and conclusions blindly. It examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions • There are very few “truths” that do not need to be subjected to testing. • All evidence is not equal in quality. • Just because someone is considered to be an authority or to have a lot of expertise does not make everything that person claims automatically true. • Critical thinking requires an open mind. The Amazing Randi

  26. Critical Thinking Guidelines Ask questions Define your terms Examine the evidence Analyze assumptions and biases Avoid emotional reasoning Don’t oversimplify Consider other interpretations Tolerate uncertainty

  27. How Do Psychologists Ask & Answer Questions? Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize, summarize and simplify observations.

  28. Theory A theory isan explanation that integrates principles and organizes and predicts behavior or events. For example, low self-esteem contributes to depression.

  29. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a testable prediction, often prompted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the theory. People with low self-esteem are apt to feel more depressed.

  30. Research Observations Research would require us to administer tests of self-esteem and depression. Individuals who score low on a self-esteem test and high on a depression test would confirm our hypothesis.

  31. Descriptive Methods Methods that yield descriptions of behavior, but not necessarily causal explanations Include: • Case studies • Observational studies • Psychological tests • Surveys They are difficult to replicate therefore cannot be used as evidence to prove a psychological theory

  32. Case Study A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated, which may be used to formulate broader research hypotheses • May not apply or generalize others • Vulnerable to bias from participant or observer

  33. Observational Studies Researchers carefully and systematically observe and record behavior without interfering with behavior • Naturalistic observation • Purpose is to observe how people or animals behave in their natural environments. • Laboratory observation • Purpose is to observe how people or animals behave in a more controlled setting. • Observation Bias- see what they expect to see

  34. Surveys • Questionnaires and interviews that ask people about experiences, attitudes, or opinions • Requires a representative sample • Group of subjects, selected from the population for study, which matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex • Popular polls and surveys rely on volunteers

  35. Survey • Wording Effect • Wording can change the results of a survey. • Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography be allowed on television? (not allowed vs. forbid) • Courtesy Bias • What they think people want to hear • 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.

  36. Correlational Study • A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena Correlation • A statistical measure of how strongly two variables are related to one another. Correlation coefficients can range from 0.0 – 1.0 Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00) Correlation coefficient r = + 0.37 Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative)

  37. Direction of correlations Positive correlations An association between increases in one variable and increases in another, or decreases in one variable and decreases in the other. Negative correlations An association between increases in one variable and decreases in another.

  38. Correlation does not mean causation!

  39. Explaining correlations Start with three variables (X, Y, Z) X might cause Y Y might cause X X might be correlated with Y, which alone causes Z Correlations show patterns, not causes. Illusory Correlation- The perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists. Examples… Years of marriage and hair loss?

  40. Experimentation Like other sciences, experimentation is the backbone of psychological research. Experiments isolate causes and their effects. Many factors influence our behavior. Experiments (1)manipulate factors that interest us, while other factors are kept under (2) control to test our hypothesis. Effects generated by manipulated factors isolate cause and effect relationships.

  41. Control Group In an experiment, a comparison condition in which subjects are not exposed to the same treatment as in the experimental condition. In some experiments, the control group is given a placebo, an inactive substance or fake treatment.

  42. Independent Variable An independent variable is a factor manipulated by the experimenter. The effect of the independent variable is the focus of the study. For example, when examining the effects of breast feeding upon intelligence, breast feeding is the independent variable.

  43. Dependent Variable A dependent variable is a factor that may change in response to an independent variable. In psychology, it is usually a behavior or a mental process. For example, in our study on the effect of breast feeding upon intelligence, intelligence is the dependent variable.

  44. Depends on the Independent Independent variables Variables the experimenter manipulates Dependent variables Variables the experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable(s)

  45. Double-Blind Procedure 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. Unintended changes in subjects’ behavior due to cues inadvertently given by the experimenter. Strategies for preventing experimenter effects include single- and double-blind studies.

  46. Random Assignment For experiments to have experimental and control groups composed of similar subjects, random assignment should be used. Each individual participating in the study has the same probability as any other of being assigned to a given group. • Assigning participants to experimental (breast-fed) and control (formula-fed) conditions by random assignment minimizes pre-existing differences between the two groups.

  47. A summary of steps during experimentation.

  48. Your Turn An experimenter wants to study the effects of music on studying. He has some students study while listening to music and others study in silence, and then compares their test scores. What is the independent variable in this experiment? 1. The students 2. The presence of music while studying 3. The kind of music 4. The test scores

  49. All the Research Models

More Related