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PSYCH 100 DAY – Textbook NotesChapter 1 Definition of Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. a. The mind is the non-observable experiences of perception, thought, and memory. b. Behaviour is observable actions of humans and animals. The goals of psychology are to descri...

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PSYCH 100 DAY – Textbook Notes

Chapter 1 Definition of Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. a. The mind is the non-observable experiences of perception, thought, and memory. b. Behaviour is observable actions of humans and animals. The goals of psychology are to describe, understand, explain, predict, and influence. 7 Themes of Psychology Psychology is empirical. Psychology is theoretically diverse. Psychology evolves in a socio-historical context. Behaviour is determined by multiple causes. Behaviour is shaped by environment and cultural heritage. Our experience of the world is highly subjective. Heredity and environment together influence behaviour. Philosophers and Psychology Plato argued for nativism, or that certain knowledge is inborn or innate. Aristotle believed in philosophical empiricism, or that all knowledge is acquired through experience. a. Tableau rasa “blank slate”. Brain to Mind French philosopher Rene Descartes argued that the mind and body are different, a concept called dualism. a. Descartes suggested that the mind influences body through a pineal gland. Monism: The body and brain and one, therefore there is no discrepancy in action, as proposed by Thomas Hobbes. Franz Gall came up with phrenology, stating that certain abilities and characteristics were located in specific parts of the brain. a. Gall incorrectly asserted that feeling bumps on a skull is indicative of personality. Paul Broca worked with monsieur “Tan”, who lost part of his left brain hemisphere. Physiology to Psychology Physiology is the study of biological processes in the human body. Important individuals include Hermann Helmholtz and Wilhelm Wundt. Helmholtz measured the speed of nerve impulses in a frog leg, to measure stimulus and reaction time. a. Stimulus is a sensory input from the environment b. Reaction time is the time needed to respond to the stimulus. Helmholtz disapproved the notion that reaction time is instantaneous. Wundt and Structuralism

Psychology should analyze the consciousness. a. A person’s subjective experience of the world and mind. Structuralism is the analysis of the basic components that form the mind. a. The subjective observation of one’s own experience is called introspection. Edward Titchener bought structuralism to the US. a. Also identified the basic elements of consciousness. Influence of structuralism waned due to lack of replicable and objective observations and conflicting introspections. William James and Functionalism Argued that consciousness was more of a continuum rather than separate elements. Functionalism studies the purpose mental process play in enabling people to adapt to their environment. Related to natural selection, as mental abilities must have adapted because they helped people solve problems. Levels of Analysis and Connections Biological: Neurosciences and evolutionary perspectives. Psychological: Psychodynamic, humanist, and cognitive perspectives. Environmental: Behaviourist and socio-cultural perspectives. Psychoanalytical Perspective Jean Martin Charcot and Pierre Janet observed hysteria. a. A temporary loss of motor/cognitive functions due to emotional upsets. Their behaviour under the effects of hypnosis suggested an unconscious influence. Freud observed that hysteria could be caused by painful childhood experiences that were unconsciously buried. The unconscious is the part of the mind that operates outside of awareness. Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the importance of the unconscious mental process in shaping thoughts, feelings, and actions. Psychoanalysis brings unconscious material into conscious to understand psychological disorders. Psychoanalytic theory is controversial because of the emphasis on sexual experiences and unconscious sexual desires. Humanist Perspective Freud’s view on human nature was considered to be dark, and emphasized limitations and problems. Albert Maslow and Carl Rogers pioneered humanistic psychology after ww2. It is an approach to understand human nature that emphasizes positive potential. Behaviourist Perspective Behaviourism is restricted to scientific study of objectively observable behaviour. The introspection of functionalists/structuralisms were too vague and non-observable. John Watson proposed psychologists study what people do, rather than what they feel. Through their work the notion of the stimulus-response came about.

1. A stimulus is a sensory input that cues a certain behaviour. 2. A response is an action or psychological change elicited by the stimulus.

Pavlov worked with salivating dogs, Watson worked with little Albert. Skinner observed that people operated on their environment to produce stimuli. After experimenting with a rat and a conditioning chamber skinner deduced that individuals could learn how to act. Reinforcement means that the consequence of a behaviour determines the likelihood of it occurring again or not. Cognitive Perspective Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes, including perception, memory, thought, and reasoning. Max Wertheimer focused on illusions, which are perceptions in which subjective experience differs from objective reality. Gestalt psychology emphasizes that we often perceive a whole, rather than a sum of the parts. Jean Piaget in his experiments with children demonstrated cognitive abilities. Kurt Lewin discovered it was a person’s construal of a stimulus that determined behaviour. David Broadbent and George Miller demonstrated cognitive limitations and that limited capacity to handle information is fundamental to human cognition. Biological Perspective Karl Lashley surgically altered rat brains, developing physiological psychology. Behavioural neuroscience links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other body processes. Cognitive neuroscience attempts to understand the link between cognitive processes and brain activity. Uses brain imaging between those with damaged brains and those without. Evolutionary psychology focuses on the adaptive function that mental processes/behaviour serves. Looks at their origins in terms of natural selection. Certain behaviours increase chances of survival and thus reproductive success. Mind is a collection of modules, designed to solve ancestral problems. Sociocultural Perspective Social psychology is the study of the causes and consequences of socialization. The brain is a social organ, the mind is a social adaptation, and the individual is a social creature. 1. Individualism: individual is a separate entity, making his choices, thinking his own thoughts, and responsible for his actions. 2. Collectivism: the group is the most important element, and views the individuals as just members of the group. Cultural psychology is the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes and behaviour of its members.

1. Absolutism holds that culture makes no impact for psychological phenomena. 2. Relativism holds that psychological phenomena varies considerable across cultural

contexts.

Chapter 2 Science Is about measuring, describing, understanding, and perceiving. Starts with a theory, a hypothesis, designing a study, conducting a study, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting the findings. 1. Notice a phenomenon of interest. 2. Develop a hypothesis (if/then). 3. Test your hypothesis by designing a study and collecting data. 4. Analyze the data, interpret the findings. Does it support or refute the theory? 5. Retest your hypothesis and allow others to replicate the study. Types of Research 1. Descriptive research a. Accurate and systematic measurements. b. Increases the awareness of multiple variables. 2. Correlational research a. Finds associations between variables. b. Predicts relations between variables 3. Experimental research a. Establishes cause and effect relationships. Descriptive Approaches 1. Naturalistic observation: Observing others in their environment without manipulation. 2. Case study: Follow a specific individual. 3. Surveys: Uses questionnaires or interviews. Empiricism Dogmatism: Belief that knowledge best came from developing theories and clinging to assumptions. Empiricism: The belief that accurate knowledge is acquired through systemic observation. Empirical Method: A set of rules and techniques for observation. People are difficult to study empirically due to three qualities. 1. Complexity: The human brain and thus mental processes are immensely complex. 2. Variability: A high degree of difference between individuals. 3. Reactivity: People behave differently when conscious of being observed. Scientific Method Definition: A procedure of finding truth using empirical evidence. Theory: A hypothetical explanation of natural observed phenomena.

Theories must follow the rule of parsimony: the simplest theory is the best one. Hypothesis: A falsifiable (testable) prediction made by a theory. A prediction provides direction to the relation between variables. Measurement: Defining and Detecting To accurately measure a phenomena it must be defined and detected. 1. Operational Definition: The description of a property in concrete, measurable terms. E.g. For instance, salt would be “A physical manifestation of NaCl crystals”. The most important feature of an operational definition is validity. Validity: How accurately a concrete term defines the property, e.g. it measures what it actually intends to measure. 2. An instrument is anything that can detect the conditions of an operational definition. Reliability: The tendency for an instrument to produce the same measurement when it measures the same thing. Power: The ability to detect small magnitudes or differences of the property. Demand Characteristics Demand Characteristic: Those aspects of an observational setting where people behave according to what is expected. Naturalistic observation: Unobtrusively observing people in their natural environment. However not all psychological phenomena occur naturally, and some can only be garnered by direct interaction. People are influenced less by demand characteristics when they cannot be identified as the originators of their actions (anonymity). Psychologists can also measure behaviours not easily detected/ involuntary behaviours. Psychologists can also do blind experiments, cover stories, or filler items. Observer Bias Observer bias occurs when expectations influence observations and reality. A double-blind observation negates observer bias by removing expectations. Double blind: Observation where the true purpose is hidden from both the observer and the person being observed. Description: Graphical Representation Frequency Distribution: a graphical representation of a measurement based on the # of times each measurement was made. 1. Every measurement is shown on the X axis. 2. The frequency of each measurement being observed is on the Y axis. Bell Curve: Also called a normal distribution. Mathematically defined as having the frequency of measurements highest in the middle, and decreasing symmetrically in both directions. Descriptive Statistics

Brief summary statements that use information from a frequency distribution. Central Tendency: Statements about the values of measurements that lie near the midpoint of the distribution. 1. Mean: The average value of all the measurements in a distribution. 2. Median: The value in the middle of the distribution. 3. Mode: The most frequently observed measurement. In a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode all have the same value. In a skewed distribution, the values tend to vary, due to a single extreme value. Skewed distributions can be positively or negatively skewed. 1. The mean is dragged off to the tail of the distribution, either positively or negatively. 2. The mode is always the most frequent measurement, so it stays at the highest value. 3. The median is always in the center of the distribution.

Variability: Statements regarding the extent that measurements differ from one another. 1. Range: Value of the largest measurement minus the smallest measurement. 2. Standard deviation: Average difference between each measurement and the mean of

that distribution. Correlations Correlations deal with the patterns of variation in a series of measurements. Variables: Properties whose values can vary across individuals or over time. Variables are correlated when variations in the value of one is synchronized with the variation in the other. Direction and Strength of Correlations Correlation Coefficient (r): Mathematical measure of both the strength and direction of a correlation. 1. Perfect positive: Value of one variable increasing by a fixed amount increases the

value of the other variable by a fixed amount. r = 1. 2. Perfect negative: Value of one variable increasing by a fixed amount decreases the value of the other variable by a fixed amount. r = -1. 3. Uncorrelated: Value of one variable increasing by a fixed amount has no systemic increase or decrease in value of the other variable. r = 0. Most correlations are imperfect. The value of r lies between 0 and 1. 1. The sign of r (+ or -) tells us about the direction of the correlation. 2. The value of r tells us how strong it is. (More exceptions = closer to 0).

Causation Natural correlations are the correlations observed in the world around us. However, correlation does not imply causation. Causation can be inferred by: 1. Random assignment – using equivalent groups, who are on average the same. 2. Control of all other factors – with proper operational definitions.

3. Temporally ordered – the I.V leads to the D.V.

Third Variable Correlates Occurs when two variables are correlated only due to each being causally connected to a third variable. X may be correlated to Y, but we may find that Z causes X to be correlated to Y. Third variable correlates are accounted for by eliminating the third variable. 2 ways are: 1. Matched samples: Technique where participants in two groups are identical in terms

of a third variable. 2. Matched pairs: Each participant is identical to one other participant in terms of a third variable. However, these can only be used to dismiss a particular third variable, not all of them. Third variable problem: Causation cannot be inferred from naturally occurring correlations due to ever present possibility of a third variable correlation. Experimentation Refers to a technique for establishing the causal relationships between variables. The two key features of experimentation are manipulation and random assignment. Manipulation Manipulation involves changing a variable in order to determine its causal power. Because it is manipulated and not measured, there is no need to look for a third variable. 1. The variable undergoing manipulation is the independent variable. 2. The variable that is measured and depends on the manipulation is the dependant variable. 3. The experimental group undergoes the manipulation and receives the I.V. 4. The control group is similar in all aspects, but does not undergo manipulation. 5. Observe whether or not the manipulation of the I.V produced a measurable change in the D.V. Random Assignment Is a procedure that allows chance assign people to the experimental or control group. Self-selection is a problem that occurs when anything about a person influences the decision to include them in an experimental or control group. Ensures that participants in both groups will be the same on average in terms of other variables. Inferential Statistics Detail the kinds of conclusions that can be drawn from observed differences between experimental and control groups. p...