1. Essentials of Psychology 5e
Robert S. Feldman
Prepared by: John E. Story, Psy.D.
University of Kentucky Lexington Community College

2. Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology
It is always helpful for students to brainstorm how many areas the field of psychology touches in their life. The faithful question of “where do you find Psychologists?” helps to open the doorway to the diversity that is inherent to the field.
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3. Psychology The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
As pointed out in chapter 1, it is important to emphasize the methodical approach the field of psychology uses in order to explore various aspects of human and animal behavior.
The images roughly represent the diversity of information to be covered in the Feldman text – From basic tenets of research to the central concepts of social psychology the field attempts to understand the underlying dynamics of human and animal behavior and apply its knowledge in order to explain, predict, modify, and improve the lives of people and the world in which we live in.
It is also important to outline the “general” interpretation of behavior which includes observable events, as well as, thoughts, feelings, perceptions, reasoning processes, memories, and biological activities.
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4. The Subfields of Psychology: Psychology’s Family Tree
Biopsychology
Specializes in the biological bases of behavior
Sensation, perception, learning and thinking
Experimental psychology
Methodological study of sensing, perceiving, learning and thinking
Cognitive psychology
Emphasis on higher mental processes
As pointed out in chapter 1, biopsychology focuses on biological bases of behavior and studies a broad range of topics such as sites in the brain and the muscular tremors of people affected by Parkinson’s disease
It is helpful to emphasize that experimental psychology provides a template for research for all areas of psychology
Cognitive psychology impacts a variety of aspects of our behavior as evidenced by the areas outlined in chapter 1: thinking, memory, reasoning, problem solving, judging, decision making, and language
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5. The Subfields of Psychology
Understanding change and individual differences
Developmental psychology
Changes in behavior over the life span (womb to tomb)
Personality psychology
Examines consistencies in people’s behavior over time and traits that differentiate us from one another
Developmental psychology incorporates the full life span, from heredity to the tomb this area investigates how we grow
Personality psychology focuses on consistencies in our behavior – it is noteworthy to examine the relationship of this area with developmental psychology and clinical psychology
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6. The Subfields of Psychology
Physical and mental health
Health psychology
Explores relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease
Clinical psychology
Investigates diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
Health psychology seeks to provide an “ounce of prevention” to avoid “years of cure”.
Clinical psychology represents a diversity of thought ranging from Psychoanalytic approaches to mental health to cognitive behavioral approaches. The common core being the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.
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7. The Subfields of Psychology
Understanding our social networks
Social psychology
Studies how people are affected by others
Cross-cultural psychology
Focuses on the similarities and differences in psychological functioning across cultures and ethnic groups
Social psychology examines how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others. It is helpful to differentiate between this area and the field of sociology which examines social behavior.
Chapter 1 identifies child-rearing and perceptions of academic success as being examples of cross cultural psychology. This may also be applied to intelligence, psychotherapy, and family.
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8. The Subfields of Psychology
New frontiers
Clinical neuropsychology
Focuses on relationships between biological factors and psychological disorders
Evolutionary psychology
Examines influence of our genetic heritage and our behavior
While discussing the advent of clinical neuropsychology, it is noteworthy to examine the risks and benefits for clinical psychologist to prescribe medication. Proponents view psychologist as being ideal “gate keepers” for the use of medication while others feel prescription privileges would compromise “talk therapy”
Evolutionary psychology examines the impact of our genetic heritage upon our behavior, it is helpful to mention the notion of depression, alcoholism, schizophrenia, etc. as having a strong genetic component
As a means to wrap up the diversity of the field, chapter 1 provides information concerning the demographics for the variety of settings in which psychologist work. Such positions as Clinical Psychologist in hospitals, clinics, and private practice as well as educators, researchers, industrial organizational, and school psychologist just to name a few.
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9. Educating Psychologist
Doctoral Degrees
Ph.D. & Psy.D.
Master’s Degree
Bachelor’s Degree
As pointed out in the chapter, about a third of people working in the field of psychology have a master’s degree as their highest degree, which is typically earned following 2 to 3 years of graduate work. It is helpful to point out the licensing/certification laws of your state that allow a psychologist to practice independently in the clinical setting.
It is also important to outline the application of a psychology degree to a wide variety of fields, e.g. sales, etc.
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10. Psychology’s Roots Structuralism Early History Gestalt Psychology
Focused on the basic building blocks of perception, consciousness, thinking, and emotions
Introspection
Early History
Trephining
“hollow tubes”
Bumps on the head
When discussing the “early” history of mental health, it is important to note the progression of understanding human behavior. Also, examining the notion of boring holes in order to let evil spirits escape, hollow tubes transporting evil spirits, and phrenology’s attempt to understand personality characteristics. Compare an individual that sought treatment for depression during such times and a person who would seek treatment today and be exposed to talk therapy, medication, and/or electroconvulsive therapy
Emphasize how Wilhelm Wundt had no prior groundwork when he opened his psychology laboratory in Liepzig Germany in It is also helpful to walk students through a lesson of introspection via progressive relaxation exercise
As pointed out in the chapter, psychologist began to challenge Wundt’s approach (important to point out how this process continues today in terms of developing psychological theories) and the emergence of functionalism
Functionalism opened the doorway to a variety of research – such as comparative psychology
Gestalt psychology is rooted in perception but important to point out how it has been applied to psychotherapy which will be discussed in chapter 17
Gestalt Psychology
“the whole is different from the sum of its parts”
Functionalism
Moved from structure to what the mind does and how behavior functions
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11. Founding Mother’s of Psychology
Leta Stetter Hollingworth
Child development and women’s issues
Mary Calkins
First female in the APA
Karen Horney
Social and cultural aspects to personality
June Etta Downey
Personality trait theorist
Anna Freud
As noted in the chapter, it is important to point out that psychology was not immune to the constraints for women of the time. Despite such hurdles, Hollingworth, Calkins, Horney, Downey, and Anna Freud were major contributors to the field. Women continue to play a prominent role in modern day psychology
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12. Today’s Perspectives Biological Humanistic Psychodynamic Cognitive
Biological bases of behavior
Humanistic
Free will
Natural tendency to be in control of our lives
Psychodynamic
Behavioral influences of inner forces
The biological perspective examines a host of biological functions ranging from the neuron to polygenetic factors that influence sophisticated behaviors
Psychodynamic perspective was pioneered by Sigmund Freud and represents the first “talk therapy” approach to mental health – helpful to note that this was a major advance from the days of trephining
The cognitive perspective seeks to explain how our ways of thinking about the world influence our behavior
As noted in the chapter, the behavioral perspective was a direct retaliation of psychodynamic theory – focusing on observable behavior only, the behaviorist rejected any notion of the unconscious and adopting the philosophy “what you see is what you get”
The humanistic perspective adopted the philosophy that we all posses a natural tendency to grow, develop, and be in control of our lives
Cognitive
How people think, understand, and know about the world
Behavioral
Focus on observable events
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13. Psychology’s Key Issues
Nature versus nurture
How much of our behavior is due to heredity and how much is due to environment?
Conscious versus unconscious
How much of our behavior is produced by forces of which we are fully aware?
Having students apply such issues to a variety of areas within psychology, e. g. clinical psychology, evolutionary psychology, developmental psychology etc. Having students begin to examine their own lives based upon such issues also helps to tease out the finer points of such issues
Observable behavior versus internal mental processes
Should psychology only focus on what it can see?
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14. Psychology’s Key Issues
Free will versus determinism
How much of behavior is a result of free will?
Individual differences versus universal principles
How much of our behavior is a consequence of our unique and special qualities?
A discussion concerning consistencies in our personality helps to focus upon the issue of free will vs. determinism. Also examining this issue from a mental health standpoint adds to the discussion – can we get better or are we trapped in a lifetime of abnormality?
Such issues as the universal nature of emotions helps to identify with this concept
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15. Psychology’s Future Increase in specialization Focus on prevention
Greater influence on issues of public interest
Increase in diversity
Have the class identify areas that they feel psychology should address
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16. The Scientific Method
The approach used by psychologists to systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest
Research ties in all areas of the field of psychology.
As pointed out in the chapter, research consists of three main steps: 1. Identifying questions of interest, 2. Formulating an explanation, and 3. Carrying out research designed to lend support to or refute the explanation
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17. Scientific Method: The Process
Carry Out Research:
Operationalize hypothesis
Select a research method
Collect data
Analyze the data
Formulate an Explanation:
Specify a theory
Develop a hypothesis
Identify Questions of Interest
It is important to point out that the scientific method provides an objective approach to examining human and animal behavior.
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18. Scientific Method: Developing Explanations
Theories
Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest
Hypothesis
A prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested
As noted in Feldman, theories are “explanations” that may be supported by research or refuted.
Hypothesis acts as “educated guesses” concerning theories or observations that shall be investigated during the course of research
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19. Scientific Method: Conducting Research
Systematic inquiry aimed at the discovery of new knowledge
Research provides a means to understand the degree to which theories and hypothesis are accurate
The “how to make a peanut butter sandwich” exercise is a helpful means to exemplify the importance of operationalizing variables in the study. This demonstration is done by having a volunteer in the class turn their desk around and then instruct you on how to make a peanut butter sandwich. It helps to be literal as you begin to follow the instructions and make the sandwich with the materials you have brought
Operationalization
Process of translating a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed
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20. Research Methods Archival research
Use of existing data in order to test a hypothesis
Although archival research is relatively inexpensive, it does present its problems: the data may not be in a form that allows the researcher to test a hypothesis fully, the information may be incomplete, and the records needed may not exist
Naturalistic observation provides an opportunity to observe natural behavior without intervention. Observer effect – the experimenter inadvertently being seen by the observed thereby influencing their behavior, and observer bias – tendency for an experimenter to be sensitive to supporting data are two shortcomings to overcome
Naturalistic observation
Observation of naturally occurring behavior without intervention
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21. Research Methods Survey research
A sample of people are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, and attitudes in order to represent a larger population
As pointed out in the chapter, a sample of people is drawn from a population of interest. The methods of choosing the sample is critical in order to fairly represent the population as a whole. Problems occur when you have an insufficient number and/or a self-selection bias
Attrition and specificity of the questions are also major concerns in a survey
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22. Research Methods Case study
An in-depth, intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people
The book “Sybil” is a prime example of a case study.
Case studies are beneficial in clinical psychology and often times include psychological testing. They are also helpful in the area of physiological psychology
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23. Research Methods Variables
Behaviors, events, or other characteristics that can change, or vary in some way
Correlational research
The relationship between two sets of variables is examined to determine whether they are associated, or “correlated”
Ranges from +1 to -1
Correlation does not mean “causation”
Variables are any behavior that can “vary”. It is helpful to have students brainstorm how many behaviors fit this definition
Correlational studies are helpful to identify variables that have some “co-relationship” but do not give any insights to cause effect relationships
TV and aggression, studying and academic performance are helpful examples of positive correlation. Self-esteem and depression is a good example of negative correlation
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24. Research Methods Experiment
The relationship between two (or more) variables is investigated by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation
A psychological experiment is the only method of research that seeks to determine cause-effect relationships between variables
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25. Experimental Research
Experimental manipulation
The change that an experimenter deliberately produces in a situation
Treatment
The manipulation implemented by the experimenter
Experimental group
Any group receiving a treatment
Control group
A group that receives no treatment
Experimental research is conducted under controlled conditions where the situation may be manipulated by the researcher
The treatment is the independent variable of the experiment
The dependent variable is the behavior you suspect will change under the influence of the treatment (independent variable) provided by the experimenter
Two groups share the dependent variable and are only different in respect to which group receives the treatment
The experimental group receives the treatment while the control group does not – the notion being that any changes that occur in the experimental group (as compared to the control group) is due to the treatment provided by the experimenter
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26. Experimental Research
Independent variable
The variable that is manipulated by the experimenter
Dependent variable
The variable that is measured and is expected to change as a result of changes caused by the the experimenter’s manipulation of the independent variable
As previously discussed, the IV is what the experimenter believes will impact a change upon the dependent variable
Helpful to reiterate the importance of developing an operational definition for both the IV and the DV
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27. Experimental Research: Final Step
Random assignment to condition
Participants are assigned to different experimental groups or “conditions” on the basis of chance and chance alone
Significant outcome
Use of statistical procedures in order to determine whether or not differences between groups are large enough to be significant
Replication
Repetition of findings using other procedures in other settings
Random assignment of subjects prevents sampling bias
Inferential statistics analyze the data collected during the course of the experiment in order to determine if the differences among the experimental and control group was significant
Replication helps to support theories and/or research findings
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28. Research Challenges: Ethics
Protection of participants from physical and mental harm
The right of participants to privacy regarding their behavior
The assurance that participation in research is completely voluntary
The necessity of informing participants about the nature of procedures prior to participation in the experiment
Informed consent
Deception and debriefing
Use the examples of the Nuremberg trials (Nazi experiments upon Jews), or the Tuskegee experiment (lack of informed consent on observing long term effects of STD’s on African-American males) to discuss the importance of maintaining ethical standards in research
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29. Research Challenges
Choosing participants who represent the scope of human behavior
Should animals be used in research?
Representative samples are a critical aspect of psychological research that impact the applicability of the results
It is important to emphasize the importance of animal ethics as outlined by the American Psychological Association
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30. Threats to Experiments
Experimental bias
Factors that distort how the independent variable affects the dependent variable in an experiment
Experimenter expectations
Participant expectations
Placebo
A false treatment, such as a pill, “drug”, or other substance without any significant chemical properties or active ingredient
The unconscious tendency for researchers to be sensitive to their expectations during the course of research is offset by methods minimize bias – operational definitions, procedures, and formulating your hypothesis prior to the research
A discussion of the placebo effect is aided by the examination of medication research – Physicians Desk Reference that use placebos in a “placebo control group” and examine reported side effects and benefits by subjects
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31. Becoming An Informed Consumer of Psychology
What was the purpose of the research?
How well was the study conducted?
Are the results presented fairly?
Having students examine the difference between professional journals and magazine articles helps to encourage critical thinking skills
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