CHAPTER 1

What Is Psychology?

Learning Outcomes

• Define psychology.

• Describe the various fields and subfields of

psychology.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the origins of psychology and identify

those who made significant contributions to the

field.

• Identify theoretical perspectives of modern

psychologists toward behavior and mental

processes.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

• Describe modern approaches to research and

practice—critical thinking, the scientific method,

and ethical considerations.

Learning Outcomes

Truth or Fiction?

More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle wrote a

book on psychology, with contents similar to

your own textbook.

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates

suggested a research method that is still used in

psychology.

Truth or Fiction?

Men receive the majority of doctoral degrees in

psychology.

Even though she had worked to complete all the

degree requirements, the first female president

of the American Psychological Association

turned down the doctoral degree that was

offered to her.

Truth or Fiction?

You could survey millions of voters and still fail

to predict the outcome of a presidential election.

In many experiments, neither the participants

nor the researchers know who is receiving the

real treatment and who is not.

Psychology as a Science

What is Psychology?

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and

mental processes.

Goals of Psychology

• Psychology seeks to:

– describe

– explain

– predict

– control behavior and mental processes

What is a Theory?

• A theory allows you to

– propose reasons for relationships

– derive explanations

– make predictions

What Psychologists Do

What Do Psychologists Do?

• Research

– Pure research

– Applied research

• Practice

• Teaching

Fields of Psychology

• Clinical

• Counseling

• School

• Educational

• Developmental

• Personality

• Social

• Environmental

• Experimental

• Industrial

– Organizational

– Human Factors

– Consumer

• Health

• Sport

• Forensic

Where Psychology Comes From:

A History

Structuralism

• Wilhelm Wundt

• Structuralism breaks conscious experiences into

– objective sensations (sight, taste), and

– subjective feelings (emotional responses, will)

– mental images (memories, dreams)

• Mind functions by combining objective and

subjective elements of experience

Functionalism

• William James

• Functionalism focused on behavior in addition to

mind and consciousness

• Used direct observations to supplement

introspection

• Influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution

Behaviorism

• John Broadus Watson

• Behaviorism focuses on learning observable

(measurable) behavior

• B.F. Skinner

– Learned behavior is behavior that is reinforced

Gestalt Psychology

• Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Köhler

• Gestalt focused on perception and its influence

on thinking and problem solving

– Perception are more than sum of their parts

– Active and purposeful

– Insight learning

The Importance of Context

Some Insight Into Insight

Psychoanalysis

• Sigmund Freud

• Psychoanalysis

– Influence of unconscious motives and conflicts

– Theory of personality

– Therapy

How Today’s Psychologists View

Behavior and Mental Processes

Biological Perspective

• The approach to psychology that seeks to

understand the nature of the links between

biological processes and structures of the

brain, the endocrine system, and heredity

on one hand, and behavior and mental

processes, on the other.

Cognitive Perspective

• Concerned with ways we mentally represent the

world and process information

– Memory, perceptions, learning, problem

solving, decision making, language, planning

Humanistic — Existential Perspective

• Humanism stresses human capacity for self-

fulfillment

– Role of consciousness, self-awareness,

decision making

• Existentialism stresses free choice and personal

responsibility

– Carl Rogers

– Abraham Maslow

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Neoanalysts focus more on conscious choice and

self-direction then psychoanalysis

– Karen Horney

– Erik Erikson

Perspective on Learning

• Social Cognitive

– People modify and create their environment

– Observation

– A school of psychology in the behaviorist

tradition that includes cognitive factors in the

explanation and prediction of behavior;

formerly termed social learning theory

Sociocultural Perspective

• Focuses on the influence of differences among

people on behavior and mental processes

– Ethnicity, gender, culture, socioeconomic

status

How Psychologists Study

Behavior and Mental Processes

Principles of Critical Thinking

• Be skeptical

• Insist on evidence

• Examine definitions of terms

• Examine the assumptions or premises of

arguments

• Be cautious in drawing conclusions from

evidence

Principles of Critical Thinking (continued)

• Consider alternative interpretations of research

evidence

• Do not oversimplify

• Do not overgeneralize

• Apply critical thinking to all areas of life

The Scientific Method

• Formulate a research question

• State the hypothesis

• Test the hypothesis

• Draw conclusions based on findings

• Publish research

• Replicate study

Scientific Method

Samples and Populations

• Sample

– Segment of population

• Population

– Entire group targeted for study

• Representative samples allow generalization of

findings

Random and Stratified Sampling

• Random sample

– Each member of population has equal chance

of selection

• Stratified sample

– Subgroups are represented proportionally

• Volunteer bias

– Bias represented by studying people who

volunteer to participate

Methods of Observation

• Case Study

– Gather information about individuals or small

groups

– Sometimes used to investigate rarities

• Survey

– Used to collect information that cannot be

observed directly

Methods of Observation

• Naturalistic Observation

– Observe subjects in their natural environment

– Unobtrusive measure

Correlation

• Mathematical method of determining a

relationship between variables

• Correlation

– Expresses strength and direction of

relationship between variables

• Does not prove cause and effect

Positive and Negative Correlations

Experimental Method

• Demonstrates cause and effect through scientific method

• a scientific method that seeks to confirm cause-and-effect

relationships by introducing independent variables and

observing their effects on dependent variables

– Independent variable - a condition in a scientific study

that is manipulated so that its effects may be observed

– Dependent variable - a measure of an assumed effect

of an independent variable

Experimental Method

• Experimental groups – in experiments, groups whose

members obtain the treatment

• Control groups – in experiments, groups whose

members do not obtain the treatment, while other

conditions are held constant

• Placebo – a bogus treatment that has the appearance of

being genuine

• Blind – in experimental terminology, unaware of whether

or not one has received a treatment

• Double-blind study – a study in which neither the

subjects nor the observers know who has received the

treatment

Experimental Conditions in the Lang Study

Ethics of Research with Humans

• Ethical review committee and ethical standards

– Promote individual dignity, human welfare and

scientific integrity

– Ensure no harm will come to subjects

• Informed consent - a participant’s agreement to

participate in research after receiving information about

the purposes of the study and the nature of the treatments

• Confidentiality

• Deception

• Debriefing - to explain the purposes and methods of a

completed procedure to a participant

Ethics of Research with Animals

• Animals are used when research cannot be

carried out with humans

• Animals may be harmed, only when:

– there is no alternative, and

– benefits of the research justify the harm