Chapter 1- Introducing the World of Psychology PDF

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Course Name: Principles of Psychology
Course Number- 21:830:102
Professor: Dr. Christina M. Zambrano-Varghese
School- Rutgers University- Newark

These notes of Chapter 1 come from the textbook Psychology in Your Life, 3rd edition (Gazzaniga & Grison). They are a summar...

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Chapter 1- Introducing the World of Psychology WHY IS PSYCHOLOGY IMPORTANT TO YOU? 1.1 Psychology Explain Your Mental Activity and Behavior Psychology- the scientific study of the mind and behavior, both of which depend on processing in the brain. Mental Activity- using the senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch) the mind receives information and interprets it ● This process is responsible for all memories, thoughts, and feelings. Behavior- all of the actions that result from sensing and interpreting information ● Both mental activity and behavior are produced by the brain 1.1 Question: Explain the four parts of the definition of psychology Psychology is (1) the science of study (2) mental activity, (3) behavior, and (4) how mental activity and behavior are processes in the brain 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically Critical Thinking- systematically evaluating information to reach conclusions supported by evidence Evidence- the available information that is relevant to the claim Objective Evidence- information that is not influenced by feeling or opinions Intuition- an instinctive, gut feelings about something, not reflecting much thought Belief- a long-held bedrock thought about an issue Opinion- a judgment about a topic, including a judgment about evidence Pseudo Facts- false pieces of information that look true Claim- based on biased information when the person making the claim twists information to fit a personal or political agenda “Peer Review”- a process by which other scientists with similar expertise evaluate and critique research reports before they are published 1.2 Question: Name and explain the three steps in critical thinking (1)Understanding the claim that is being made (2)Determining what evidence, if any, is presented to support the claim (3)Deciding if the evidence supports the claim

Three Steps in Thinking Critically 1. Ask “What is the claim I am being asked to accept?” a. Identify the statement that you will then evaluate b. Keep an open mind about the new claim, but do not accept it at face value 2. Ask “What evidence, if any, is provided to support the claim?” a. Is the claim based on intuition, beliefs, or opinion? If so, then there is no evidence to support the claim b. Is the claim from a source that presents pseudofacts, such as “alternative facts” or “fake news?” If so, then there is no evidence to support the claim c. Is the claim from a credible source that presents objective evidence, such as peer-reviewed scientific data and research? If so, then there is evidence to consider that may support the claim 3. Ask “Given the evidence, what are the most reasonable conclusions about the claim-- should it be accepted or rejected?” a. Reject claims based on intuition, beliefs of opinion b. Reject claims based on pseudofacts c. Have less confidence if the evidence is biased, or if it is based on flawed science/research that was not peer-reviewed, or if additional information is needed d. Have more confidence if the evidence is based on unbiased, wellconducted science/research that was peer-reviewed 1.3 Psychology Improves Your Life Better Academic Success in your Classes ● Every time you learn something, you create “memory traces” in your brain. By working with the information, you strengthen the memory traces, so you will be more likely to recall the information in the future. Improving Your Personal Life ● Learning about your brain and how it to process information can help you understand yourself Success in your Profession ● Psychological concepts can help you consider your options and make good decisions. In most fields, it is vital to grasp the interconnections between the brain, mental activity, and behavior

1.3 Question: Explain why writing answers to learning goal activities help you learn text information better than rereading or highlighting? Answering learning goal activities force you to actively process the information, whereas highlighting material, rereading it, or both are more passive processes that do not require much thought and lead to porter memory

WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS INVESTIGATE? 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions Nature/ Nurture Debate ● In ancient Greece, early philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato, debated psychological issues ○ Did mental activity and behavior result from a person’s biological nature? Or did they result from how a person was nurtured? ● Psychologists recognized that both nature and nurture influence psychological traits Mind/ Body Problem ● Are the mind and the body separate and distinct? ● Or is the mind simply a person’s personal experience of physical brain activity? ○ The ancient Greeks and Romans knew that the brain was essential for normal mental function ● At other points in history, scholars believed that the mind was separate from and in control of the body ○ Partly based on the strong religious belief that humans have a divine and immortal soul. René Descartes ● 1600s French philosopher that suggested the idea of dualism ○ The mind and the body are separate yet intertwined ■ The body was nothing more than an organic machine govern by “reflex” ■ The rational mind was divine and separate from the physical body ● Today, psychologists reject dualism and believe that the mind emerges

from biological activity in the brain 1.4 Question- Explain why nature/nurture and mind/body debates are appropriate topics for exploration in psychology They explore mental activity, behavior, and underlying brain processes 1.5 Psychologists Investigate the Conscious and Unconscious Mind ● In the mid-1800s in Europe, psychology arose as a scientific field of study and then spread throughout the world Psychology’s School of Thought School of Thought and Influential Scientists

Goal

Structuralism (Wilhelm Wundt, Edward

Identify the basic parts, or structures, of the conscious mind

Titchener, Margaret Floy Washburn)

Functionalism (William James, Mary Whiton Calkins)

Psychoanalytic Theory (Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud)

Gestalt Psychology (Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler)

Behaviorism (John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner)

Humanistic Psychology (Abrahan Maslow, Carl Rogers)

Cognitive Psychology (George Miller, Ulric Neisser)

Describe how the conscious mind aids adaptation to an environment Understand how unconscious thoughts cause psychological disorders Study individuals’ personal perceptions a unified whole Describe the behavior in response to environmental stimuli Investigate how people become happier and more fulfilled; focus on people’s goodness Explore internal mental processes that influence behavior

Experimental Psychology Begins ● Began in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological laboratory ○ Realized that psychological processes are the product of brain activity, so they must take time to occur

● This is called reaction time. ○ To this day, scientists use reaction time to study psychological processes, although equipment is far more modern ● Wundt also developed a new method to measure peoples conscious experiences called introspection ○ Research participants had to reflect and report on their thoughts about their personal experiences of objects ● Although Wundt ultimately rejected the use of introspection, his work in investigating conscious experiences was critical to the development of psychology Structuralism: Components of the Conscious Mind ● Edward Titchener pioneered a school of thought that became known as Structuralism. ○ This school is based on the idea that conscious experiences can be broken down into underlying parts ● Titchener believed that if psychologists could understand the basic elements of conscious experiences, they would have a scientific basis for understanding the mind. ● Titchener relied on the introspection method throughout his career ○ A general problem with introspection is that it is unique to every person who is having the experiences. ● Titchener was important to the history of psychology because his first graduate student was the first female to earn a Ph.D. in psychology (Margaret Floy Washburn) ○ In 1921, Washburn was elected the second female president of the American Psychological Association (APA) Functionalism: Purpose of the Conscious Mind ● William James believed that structuralism failed to capture the most important aspect of the mental experience: how it is useful to people ○ He argued that the mind was much more complex than its elements and could not be broken down into parts. ● James’ answer to the question, “What was the purpose of the human mind?” became known as Functionalism ○ The answer: to help preserve human life over time by helping people adapt to environmental demands. ● The critical idea of functionalism was based on the work of naturalist Charles Darwin ○ Darwin observed that species that were able to adapt to their

environments were more likely to survive and reproduce. This process is called natural selection. ● James admitted Mary Whiton Calkins to study in his graduate seminar. She later became the first female president of the APA in 1905 Psychoanalytic Theory: Unconscious Conflicts ● At the beginning of his career, Sigmund Freud worked with people who had nervous system disorders and found that many of his patients had few medical reasons for their paralysis. ○ He believed that psychological factors were causing their conditions. ● In trying to understand the connections between psychology and physical problems, he developed psychoanalytic theory ● Freud concluded that much of human behavior is determined by mental processes operating below the level of conscious awareness. ○ He believed that these specific unconscious mental forces created a psychological blockage within the individual and that these forces produced psychological discomfort and even mental disorders ● From his theories, Freud developed a practice in psychoanalysis ○ In this approach, the therapist and the patient work together to bring the contents of the patients unconscious into their patient’s conscious awareness ○ Once the patient’s unconscious conflicts are revealed, the therapist helps the patient deal with them constructively

1.5 Question- Explain whether the theory of natural selection is related to structuralism or functionalism The theory of natural selection is related to functionalism, a historical school of thought that said the mind serves the function of supporting adaptive behavior 1.6 Psychologists Explore Behavior and Mental Activity ● In the early 20th century, psychological researchers shifted away from studying the conscious and unconscious experiences of the mind ● The idea of Gestalt psychology, behaviorism, and subsequent schools of thought is the historical basis for modern, psychological research on mental activity

Gestalt Psychology: Experiencing the “Whole” ● Developed in opposition to structuralism ● The new school of thought sought to understand how people perceive information ● Around 1912, Gestalt psychologists began to explore how people experience sensory input ○ Example: can two people view and object in very different ways ● Gestalt Theory- the idea that the whole of personal experience is different from simply the sum of its parts ● The Gestalt perspective has influenced many areas of psychology, including the study of vision and our understanding of human personality Behaviorism: Stimuli and Responses ● John B. Watson challenged the focus of conscious and unconscious mental processes as being unscientific. ● Watson believed that animals -- including humans-- learned all behaviors through environmental factors ○ More specifically, Watson believed that psychologists needed to study environmental stimuli in particular situations. ● He developed the school of behaviorism, which investigates how observable stimuli in the environment affect behavior. ○ Behaviorism dominated psychological research well into the early 1960s and behaviorists established many principles that are still viewed as critical to understanding behavior. ● However, researchers within the school, like Edward Tolman, doubted that all psychological processes could be reduced to stimulus-response relationships. ○ Tolman’s research with rats was among the first to reveal that animals have internal states that create a sense of purpose in their behavior. Humanistic Psychology: Focus on Positives ● Psychologists Abrahams Maslow and Carl Rogers focused on how people are free to choose activities that male them feel happy and bring them fulfillment ● This became known as Humanistic Psychology and emphasized the basic goodness of people. ○ It focused on how people should accept themselves, work on personal goals, and try to live up to their full potential as human beings.

● Martin Seligman built on this earlier idea and launched a positive psychology movement, which encouraged the scientific study of how faith, values, creativity, courage, and hope affects us. ○ Positivity Psychology emphasizes the quality of relationships and taking enjoyment from life’s accomplishments Cognitive Psychology: Mental Activity ● In 1957, George A. Miller launched the cognitive revolution in psychology ○ Cognitive Psychology is concerned with investigating mental functions, such as intelligence, thinking, language, attention, learning, memory, problem-solving, and decision making ● In the early 1980’s cognitive psychologists collaborated with computer scientists, philosophers, and researchers who study the brain in order to develop an integrated view of mind and brain ○ The field of cognitive neuroscience studies the brain mechanisms that underlie thought, learning, and memory 1.6 Question- Name and explain what school of thought in psychology emphasized the importance of choosing activities that bring personal fulfillment Humanism is a historical school of thought in psychology that focuses on people's goodness and how we should accept ourselves, work towards achieving our personal goals, and fulfill our potential to be the best we can be

1.7 Psychologists Today Investigate Many Different Topic ● Today, psychologists understand that phenomena need to be examined from many different perspectives, not just in individual schools

Culture- the beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language and environment and that are transmitted through learning from one generation to the next

Subfield

Focus

Sample Questions

Evolutionary Psychology

Explore how traits are selected to aid adaptation in an environment

How has evolution influenced the ability to do many tasks at once?

Biological Psychology

Study how biological systems give rise to mental activity and behavior

How do brain cells change during learning?

Cognitive Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience

Investigate attention, perception, memory, problem-solving, and language, often based on brain processes

What makes some problems harder to solve than others?

Developmental Psychology

Research how people change from infancy through old age

How do children learn to speak?

Health Psychology

Examine how psychological factor affect health and wellbeing

How does feeling stressed affect the body?

Personality Psychology

Analyze enduring characteristics that people display over time and across circumstances

Why are some people shy?

Social Psychology

Explore how people are affected by others

When do people form impressions of others?

Cultural Psychology

Study how people are influenced by the societal rules that dictate behaviors in their culture

How doe culture shape a person’s sense of self?

Clinical Psychology

Consider the factors that cause psychological disorders and the best methods to treat them

What factors lead people to feel depressed?

Educational Psychology

Investigate the

Do fidget spinners help

Industrial/ Organizational Psychology

effectiveness of techniques in teaching and learning

students pay attention?

Examine issues pertaining to the industry and the workplace

How can increasing more help motivate workers?

● Psychologists conduct research to help us understand the mind, behavior, and the brain process underlying them ○ A health psychologist might explore how a pet influences heart rate and blood pressure to have positive health effects ○ A social psychologist might explore how participating in sports helps teenagers develop leadership skills ● In other subfields, psychologist focus on providing services to individuals and groups ○ Clinical psychologists help people with mental health problem cope with challenges and crises in personal, professional, and academic domains ● Phycologists are concerned with nearly every aspect of human life. Regardless of where they work and what they do, psychologists are scientists ○ They use the scientific method to understand the brain, the mind, and behavior

1.7 Question- Name and explain which of the 11 subfields in Psychology you might be working within if you conduct research on how using a cell phone affects the ability to pay attention while driving The subfield of psychology that is most likely to investigate attention process in any situation, including using a cell phone while driving, is cognitive psychology HOW DO PSYCHOLOGISTS CONDUCT RESEARCH?

1.8 Psychologists Use the Scientific Method ● The goal of psychological science is to describe what a particular phenomenon is, predict when it will occur, control what causes it to occur, and explain why it occurs Science Has Four Goals 1. Psychologists describe the phenomenon that is happening 2. Psychologists predict when the phenomenon they have described happens 3. Psychologists may pursue the goal of control by changing one factor to influence another 4. Psychologists try to explain a phenomenon Five Steps In The Cycle of the Scientific Method Scientific Method- a systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena (observable things) to answer questions about what happens, when it happens, what causes it, and why. This process involves a dynamic interaction between theories, hypotheses, and research methods. 1. Formulate a Theory a. Develop a scientific explanation about a phenomenon 2. Develop a testable hypothesis a. You create a specific, testable hypothesis related to the theory 3. Test with research methods a. You test your hypothesis by selecting the most appropriate research method b. You then collect data to evaluate your hypothesis 4. Analyze the data a. You analyze the data using appropriate statistical techniques and draw conclusions b. If the data does not support your hypothesis, you either discard the theory or revise it (and make plans to test that revision) 5. Share the results and conduct more research a. You submit results to research journals and present them at conferences to chare them with the scientific community b. Continue the process by refining your theory, making further predictions, and testing hypotheses

Theory- a model of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events Hypothesis- a specific prediction of what should be observed in a study if a theory is correct Variable- something in the world that can vary and that a researcher can manipulate Three Key Aspects of the Scientific Method 1. The scientific method requires that psychologists follow several carefully planned, systematic steps 2. The processes that psychologists use in the scientific method must be objective (free from bias) 3. The procedures must be reproducible and obtain the same results in replication Three Main Types of Research Methods 1. Descriptive Methods a. Describe what is occurring i...