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What is Psychology? Human consciousness is fascinating! We are intensely interested in ourselves, and in one another  We often wonder  What produces our thoughts?  How have we come to feel emotions?  Why do we do particular actions in particular circumstances? How do we understand and get along with those around us?

Indeed, our thoughts, emotions, and actions (and their interplay with others’ thoughts, emotions, and actions) form the foundations of research in psychological science But not everyone conceptualizes the field of psychology as a ‘science’ Have you ever had this argument with someone? MEANING  Common sense v. science… Many people define psychology based on their exposure to ideas on TV and in popular books and magazines A common belief is that psychologists are only counselors and offer advice to people about relationships or parenting Have you ever found yourself reacting to something just like one of your biological parents would? DID  you wonder, then, how much of your personality or behavioural tendencies you have inherited? Research Question: To what extent are individual differences in personality or behavioural tendencies pre-disposed by genes? And, to what extent by the environment?

Have you ever wondered what the social norms are in other cultures?  E.g., does a smile or a wink (or some other gesture) mean the same thing across cultures? MEANING  Research Question: In what ways are humans alike socioculturally ? How do humans learn from each other’s behaviour in social groups?

Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychology When Did Psychological Science Begin? We could go back all the way to the Greek philosopher Aristotle  He was one of the first to philosophize about learning and memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality  Many of his ideas were incorrect (the seat of the mind is not the heart, for example) but the point that he was asking the right questions For our purposes  things get cool in 1879 when Professor Willheim Wundt created an experimental apparatus for psychophysics at the University of Leipzig in Germany  Psychophysics = stimulus-response research; detection and discrimination SO  Wundt and his lab’s research assistants (his graduate students) measured psychological phenomena in response to external stimuli (i.e., reaction time) MEANING  E.g., the time lag between an object hitting a platform and when participants heard this outcome happen SO  Participants often responded in about 1/10th of a second (Wundt asked them to press a telegraph key down when they heard the sound) • This length of time increased when Wundt asked participants to press the key when they became ‘consciously aware’ of the noise AND  the element of conscious awareness of auditory stimuli takes a little longer than simple audition  Earlier researchers started this tradition, actually  for example, Ernst Weber wanted to examine tactile sensitivity  He used a technique in which he touched the skin’s surface with a device resembling a two-point drawing compass AND The distance between the points could be varied  A blindfolded observer’s task was to judge whether one or two points were felt

For any specific area of the skin, there exists a “two point threshold”  The point where our perception changes from feeling one point to feeling two distinct points MEANING  For highly sensitive areas (e.g., the thumb), this threshold is very small SO the two points do not have to be very far apart for humans to detect them as separate BUT  for areas with less sensitivity (e.g., the upper arm), points have to be placed farther apart for us to ‘feel’ that there are two  Step 1: Your hand is resting on a table and then one weighted cylinder is placed in your palm – and then another Your task is to judge which is heavier  Step 2: There are two cylinders on a table and you pick each one up Again… discriminate which is heavier Which task do you think is easier/more accurate, most of the time? Why?  The act of lifting uses our muscles to a greater extent and helps us sense weight better  This is not to say that we cannot discriminate weight using the other method  BUT , the lifting method is more accurate and allows for finer discriminations Other psychophysical experiments followed  E.g., light (brightness) distinction, auditory distinction, etc. Absolute threshold and “just noticeable difference” (JND)  WHAT matters for our course is that Wundt’s experimental lab launched psychology out of the armchair (the philosopher’s realm) and into the arena of empirical, experimental science (the psychologist’s realm) SOON  various ‘schools of thought’ about psychology started to form  Scholars wanted to know which ‘school’ was best to use to think about psychological questions  IMPORTANT: structuralism versus functionalism

Structuralism vs Functionalism  In the early 1900s, Wundt’s student, E. B. Titchener, proposed that the best way to understand psychology and, more specifically, consciousness, is from a “structuralist” perspective MEANING  Titchener thought that it made the most sense to study the structure of the mind before anything else • He wanted to know which parts of consciousness did what… a bit like an anatomist

THERE ARE  Three types of mental elements constituting the conscious experience: • Sensations (elements of perceptions) • Images (elements of ideas) • Affections (elements of emotions)

 His main method to get at this structural information was introspection (“looking inward”) AND  He trained RAs in his lab to report the three types of elements of their mental experiences with environmental input (smell, touch, taste, etc.)  Example with someone in our class: introspection and touch  Something from Dr. Linz’s bag (eyes closed) and the person will describe it. They have now done introspection  What do you think might be a serious problem with this research methodology? Individual differences in verbal ability, sensory sensitivity MEANING  Experiences often differ from instance to instance, and person to person  Plus, our recollections are not very accurate  Titchener sometimes had RAs try to remember sensations of objects from their past… but memory is often false  So, as introspection was criticized by other psychologists over time, so was structuralism as a school of thought

 Instead, other scholars at the time of Titchener thought it was best to go about psychological research in a functionalist way MEANING Under the recent influence of Charles Darwin, and his writings about natural selection, psychology was being infused with the idea that the function of biological and behavioral elements of life were important with respect to environmental adaptation, reproduction, and survival

THEN  William James was one of the first psychologists to see consciousness as having a function related to survival AND  Consciousness allows us to think about past, present, and future circumstances  this is an advantage when predicting risk and getting along with others THEN  James wanted psychologists to focus not only on the structure of the mind, but also on how it works as a whole to help us survive and thrive

 He wanted psychology to focus on research concerning emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and our ‘streams of consciousness’  His “Principles of Psychology” textbook was enchanting EVEN TODAY  scholars note it for its brilliance and elegance in terms of how it introduces psychology as a modern, scientific field that can help people live better lives

From There  A number of scholars from a diverse range of disciplines and countries continued to forge a scientific field of psychology from the early 1900s onward NOW  Back in Germany, Wundt was seen more of a philosopher/physiologist than a “psychologist”  William James was American and vacillated between referring to himself as a philosopher and a psychologist

From There  Ivan Pavlov, a pioneer in the study of learning (e.g., classical conditioning), was a Russian physiologist  Sigmund Freud developed influential theories of personality – but he was an Austrian physician  Jean Piaget, an extremely influential observer of children and a scholar in developmental psychology, was a Swiss biologist

Redefining Psychology SO  we can see why psychology is a tad tough to define in terms of what it studies and how THEN  Until the 1920s, it was defined as “the science of mental life” BUT  from the 1920s into the 1960s, with the encouragement of two American psychologists (John B. Watson and, later, B. F. Skinner), the introspective method was dismissed  They worked to redefine psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior” These two fellows were key players in the behaviorist movement in psychology They highlighted that science is rooted in observation  Since one cannot observe a feeling or a thought, one must focus on observing and recording human behavior in response to situations

Of course, there are limitations to behaviorism as a school of thought THEN  Enter humanistic psychology as a rebel against too hard a focus on mechanistic human experiences THEN  Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow pioneered this more holistic humanist movement in psychology’s history They also wanted to quell the spotlight on early childhood experiences as overly impactful on one’s psychology during the lifespan (as Freud described in his psychoanalytic model) THEN  They wanted to highlight the importance of current environmental variables on our personality and on our various “selves” • THEN  And their potential to afford us change and growth! And then, during the 1960s, another movement emerged as psychology began to recapture its initial focus on mental processes THEN  Known as the ‘cognitive revolution’ Psychologists began to investigate theories about how the brain processes and retains information

Cognitive neuroscience (the study of brain activity linked with mental activity) has expanded with the aid of technology and pharmaceuticals THEN  We can better explore the ways we perceive, process, and remember information Now, we can use this information to help treat those who have mental disorders • The goal of helping people has become key in modern psychology

To encompass psychology’s concern with observable behaviour and with inner thoughts and feelings THEN  we define the field today as: “the science of behavior and mental processes” To encompass psychology’s concern with observable behaviour and with inner thoughts and feelings

Today’s Definition Behavior being anything a person does  Any action we can observe and record THEN  Mental processes are the internal, subjective, experiences we infer from behaviour  Sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings But science is, perhaps, the key word in our modern definition THEN  This word denotes that the scientific method is utilized  Who can explain what the scientific method is?

Many Levels of Analysis Each of us is a complex system that is part of a larger social system… and societal system… within a global system THEN  And, each of us is composed of smaller systems E.g., our nervous system and individual organs Each are composed of still smaller systems (cells, molecules, atoms, quarks, and so on) This is why good science uses a biopsychosocial approach THEN  This approach considers the influences of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors on an individual Each level provides a valuable vantage point for researching a person or groups of people THEN  E.g., When understanding why an individual is depressed, one may investigate through the lens of one these three vantages points... but all three together offer the best answer A Figure of The Biopsychosocial Approach

Psychology’s current perspectives are: • Neuroscience • Evolutionary • Behavior genetics • Psychodynamic • Behavioural • Cognitive • Socio-cultural For instance, anger can be examined using each perspective  Someone working from a neuroscience perspective might study the neural networks in the brain that fire in a ‘trigger’ situation  Someone working from an evolutionary perspective may analyze how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestors (and, thus, the survival of their genes over time) Someone working from the behavior genetics perspective might study how heredity and experience influence temperament  A researcher using the psychodynamic perspective might view an outburst of anger as an outlet for unconscious hostility  Someone working from the behavioral perspective might try to determine which external stimuli triggers aggressive actions Someone working from a cognitive perspective would study how an interpretation of a situation affects feelings of anger or how being angry affects thinking speed, memory quality, etc.  Someone taking a socio-cultural perspective would explore how facial or bodily expressions of anger vary across cultural contexts The optimal way to understand the human condition is not from a single perspective  Let’s try our hand at understanding each perspective (but for a different variable than anger)

Chapter 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology Many of us are curious about psychological question What will make me happy? Why aren’t I happy? How do I find love? Why do people cheat on each other? Why do I feel attached and bonded to a particular place?

Thinking Critically with Psychological Science There are a number of uninformed opinions and resources out there Important to think critically about research questions (e.g., sample size, recruitment)  Seek knowledge from examined conclusions  Scientifically-gathered (and replicated) data, and interpretation of that data, is often more reliable than anecdotal data or data not put through peer-review  Some ‘pop psychology’ sources will lead us to believe that our gut instinct is best Of course, intuition is important and useful But we often underestimate its perils  For example, how many of you agree with this phrase? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” How many of you agree with this notion? “Out of sight, out of mind”  One study gave two groups of participants two different idioms (like the ones we just used)  Researchers explained (depending on the group) that psychological research supported one phrase over the other  After being told about “expert support,” those in that group better supported the phrase and went on to explain why, in their own experience, it is more true  But, without intervention, people will usually say ‘it depends’  Two phenomena explain why we cannot rely only on intuition or common sense to answer psychological questions  Hindsight bias • Judgmental overconfidence • Can anyone make an educated guess as to what theses two biases are?

Hindsight Bias  Known as the ‘I knew it all along!’ phenomenon  The feeling that we could have predicted something (or known something) before it occurred (but we do not *really* know the outcome ahead of time… it just “feels” like we know )  Intuition is flawed!  E.g., imagine making a bet with a friend and flipping a coin to see who wins… your friend calls heads but the coin lands on tails. Your friend exclaims “Darn! I just KNEW it would land on heads, ugh!” BUT this is odd because the person called heads… if they KNEW it would land on tails, why wasn’t tails called? Another example: Imagine your partner was unfaithful to you and you found out about it  You might selectively recall information that seems to be consistent with what you now know to be true THEN  likely, you might engage in sense-making to impose meaning on this new knowledge and say something like “I knew they were cheating all along”  Humans want to feel confident about our surroundings (either physical or social  hindsight bias is so common because of our tendency to want to feel good and in control  We all have a need to see the world as orderly and predictable  It feels good to feel confident in our knowledge of the world and think that we can predict what happens to us EXAMPLE  “Fear of the unknown” AND “Knowledge is power”  Quotes like this in society portray this sense of comfort with prediction

Judgmental Overconfidence  We tend to be quite confident in our own thoughts and feelings  We often believe we know more than we actually do  One study asked college freshman to make predictions at the start of term SAYING  E.g., “Do you think you will call your mom more than once a month during your first year away at college?” THEN  Students responded more confidently about their future behavior than what was actually done during the term MEANING  Even if a student was 100% confident that they would (or would not) do something (e.g., go to the gym, go to bed early, etc.), their predictions were wrong 15% of the time SO  Indeed, humans are so overconfident that when we are wrong, we like to note how ‘almost’ right we were MEANING  E.g., A fan is sure his hockey team will win the Stanley Cup… but when the team doesn’t win, he maintains his confidence in his prediction of victory by saying “ok, yah, my team lost… but they almost won… they only lost by a goal!”

The Scientific Attitude  Hindsight bias and judgmental overconfidence can both lead us to overestimate our own intuition and our notions about common sense SO  scientific inquiry can help reduce these biases if we adopt a “scientific attitude” when thinking about psychology MEANING  This kind of attitude prepares us to think critically  Being objective and humble AND  Being open to alternative ideas, unexpected results, and others’ perceptions of research ALSO  Reasonably and respectfully arguing (and then counter- arguing) my point IMPORTANT  Trying to replicate others’ work  Contact other researchers and get to know the inner workings of their methods Try to examine assumptions about something Is there something new that you should contribute to a long-held theory? It is important to  Discern hidden values AND Who is producing information? AND Who is the editor of a journal? AND What organization is funding a project? AND Might particular findings be expected?

Evaluate evidence  Be objective and open to whatever you find, no matter what you predict SO  E.g., My study published in Architectural Science Review IMPORTANT  Assess conclusions, Read broadly and be interdisciplinary… think about the next step… don’t stop the cycle (recall that scientific method figure?)

Speaking of The Scientific Method  What is the definition of a theory? WHAT IT IS  A theory is a broad, well-reasoned summary of observed facts For example, a theory about the effects of sleep on memory would help researchers organize countless sleep-related observations  E.g., You notice that your peers with good sleep habits often do better on exams and, based on your observations, theorize that sleep improves memory in some way

Conceptualizing Hypotheses  A strong theory must offer testable hypotheses, though… AND THEN  A hypothesis is an informed prediction about the results we might get if we manipulated the variables in a theory NOW  “if-then” statements AND If I alter [amount of sleep], then [academic performance] will change  Increase? OR Decrease? Difference between a directional and non-directional hypothesis Two types of hypotheses: the null hypothesis (H0) and the research hypothesis (H1)  The H0 states that there is no relationship between the independent (IV) and dependent variables (DV) in the study  H0: µ1 = µ2 • µ1 is the theoretical average of population 1 (control group)  µ2 is the theoretical average of population 2 (experimental group)  The null hypothesis is accepted as true absent any other information • Assumes that chance causes any observed differences between variables

For example, a cogent null hypothesis might be that a group of undergraduate students made to ingest 30mg of caffeine one hour before a math test will not score any better on the test than a group that ingests only 5mg under the same conditions MEANING  H0 = No significant difference ...