1. Introduction to Psychology

2. What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

3. Goals of psychology
Describe, explain, predict, and control behavior and mental processes

4. Some Areas of interest in psychology
Emotion
Motivation
Learning
Thought
Intelligence
Growth and development
Personality
Stress
Abnormal behavior
Sexual behavior
Sensation and perception

5. Behaviorists
A type of psychologist who only looks at overt or observable behavior
All actions that behaviorists study are public and can be measured by simple observation.
Ex: observing actions such as pressing a lever, turning right or left, eating, etc…

6. Cognitive psychologists
Focus on mental representations of the world, memories, problem solving strategies, biases, and prejudices
Ex: Conducting surveys, analyzing journals, conducting tests

7. Activity: Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches
For ONE of the scenarios below describe how the two approaches (cognitive and behavioral) could study the situation. Include how they would study the individual, where they would conduct the research, and how they might help the individual.
Rupert sees a psychologist for depression.
2. Stuart can barely concentrate at school. Stuart’s parents suspect that he either has a learning disability or is suffering from some form of social anxiety.
3. Spike has a drug addiction. Spike wants to stop using drugs, but feels he cannot stop doing so.

8. Is Psychology a Science?
Yes!
Psychology is not often thought of as a science by the general public. Why?

9. What makes Psychology a science?
Psychologists use the empirical approach meaning that studies are conducted through careful observations and scientifically based research.
Psychologists also formulate satisfactory theories

10. Satisfactory theories
Theories that help predict behavior
Ex: A satisfactory theory of hunger will let us predict when people will eat and not eat
Ex: Actual versus assumed effects of alcohol
If our observations can not be explained by a theory or predicted by the theory we should consider revising our theory.

11. Psychology and Critical Thinking
Pseudopsychology: phony, unscientific psychology masquerading as the real thing

12. Activity: Write the following passage on a piece of paper
In a generic sense, everyone is a psychologist. We all study people, analyze their behavior, try to understand what they are thinking and feeling, and attempt to predict what they do next.

13. Handwriting Many angles Rhythmic writing covering the whole page
Strange ending of letters
"Invented" letters
Twisted letters
Broken letters
Corrections, especially "artistic corrections”
Abundance of punctuation marks or lack of them
Slow writing
Tense handwriting
Extremely strong pressure
Narrowness
Extremely wide spaces between words or identical to the spaces between letters
Left slant
Tense strokes
Large or extreme height differentials
At times - a weak stroke
Peculiarities and exaggeration

14. Pseudopsychology
Examples: mysterious powers of the mind, supernatural influences, astrology, graphology, fortune telling

15. Our Goal Distinguish between real and pseudopsychology
Common sense is not enough
“Common sense has led to the belief in the superiority of racial groups, demonic possessions as causes of mental illnesses, lobotomies, and the idea that there are just bad people and there is nothing that can be done to help these individuals.”

16. Examples of Pseudopsychology

18. Does this describe you? Would you want this to describe you?
Lives life head first.
Noted for courage and leadership qualities, primarily because you are nearly always ready for action.
The need for excitement pushes you into new territory -- and as long as you are ahead of others while demonstrating confidence, chances are that they will follow you.
As a leader of the pack you fight for what you believe to be important.
Your courage is more of a commitment to face your fears and overcome them.

19. How can we avoid pseudopsychology?
Detect confirmation biases (the tendency to attend to evidence that compliments and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not)
Analyze methods such as facilitated communication
In other words…Be skeptical, think critically, and ALWAYS seek evidence

20. Pages 1-2
Read the passage on Clever Hans

22. How has pseudopsychology hurt the field of Psychology?
It has diminished public support of legitimate psychological practices.
In other words, most people don’t know the difference between pseudopsychology and the legitimate practice.

23. 3 branches of Psychological practice (3 way of doing psychology)
1. Experimental psychology 2. Teaching Psychology 3. Applied Psychology

24. Experimental Psychologists
Also called research psychologists
Job tasks: Conduct the basic research in psychology
Where they work: Typically works at a college or university

25. Teachers of Psychology
Job tasks: Overlaps with experimental psychology because most researchers also teach classes at the colleges or universities where they conduct research
Were they work: This group also includes high school teachers, community college teachers, etc… who do not conduct research

26. Applied Psychologists
Job tasks: Uses knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to tackle human problems, such as training, equipment design, and psychological treatment.
Where they work: Work in a wide variety of places such as schools, clinics, factories, social service agencies, airports, hospitals, casinos, etc…

27. Psychiatry versus Psychology

28. Psychiatry Is a medical specialty
Psychiatrists hold an MD (Doctor of medicine) degrees and have specialized training in the treatment of mental and behavioral problems.
Licensed to prescribe medication and perform other medical procedures
Use the medical perspective

29. Psychology
Psychologists work in a much broader field, ecompassing many different specialties.
Most have nothing to do with the diagnosing and treating of mental disorders.
While many hold doctoral degrees, most have no training in medicine

30. Types of Applied Psychologists

31. Industrial and Organizational Psychologists
I/O Psychologists
Where/Who: Specialize in modifying the work environment to maximize productivity
Job tasks: May work with developing interviewing and testing procedures, developing training programs, market research, etc…

32. Sports Psychologists
W/W: Work with athletes to help maximize their performance
Job tasks: Work with enhancing motivation, controlling emotions under pressure, and planning practice sessions

33. Engineering Psychologists
W/W: Work at the interface between people and equipment
Job tasks: May design devices for easy and reliable human use, or try and detect what went wrong with a piece of equipment (human error)
Usually employed in private industry or by the government

34. School Psychologists
Are experts in problems with teaching and learning
W/W: Typically work in school districts, where they diagnose learning and behavior problems by consulting with teachers, students, and parents.
Job tasks: Spend a great deal of time administering, scoring, and interpreting psychological tests

35. Rehabilitation Psychologists
W/W: Work with physicians, nurses, counselors, and social workers on teams.
Job tasks: Deal with individuals with both physical and mental disorders (stroke, spinal cord injury, alcohol/drug abuse, amputation)

36. Clinical or Counseling Psychologists
W/W: Help people with psychological problems adjust to the demands of life (ex: anxiety, depression, etc…)
About ½ of all doctoral level psychologists list this as their specialty.
Job Tasks: The clinician would likely have a private practice involving testing and long-term therapy, while the counselor is likely to work at an agency or school and spend fewer sessions with the client

37. Other Types of Applied Psychologists
Developmental- study changes ( emotional, physical, cognitive, social) throughout life spans. Tries to answer nature versus nurture question.
Personality- define human traits and influence on human thought process, feelings, and behavior. Explains normal and abnormal behaviors
Social- concerned with nature and causes of individual’s thoughts, feelings, and overt behavior in social situations

38. Nature versus Nurture
Nature= heredity, our biological make-up, elements we have no control over
Nurture= environment, how we have been treated and taken care of, how our environment affects us.

39. Emerging Fields
Clinical Child Psychologists- help children overcome and adjust to problems

40. Emerging Fields
Forensic Psychologists- apply psychological expertise within the criminal justice system.( expert witnesses, counsel officers on stress, train police in handling suicides, hostage crises, family disputes, etc…)

41. The Roots, History, and Structure of Psychology

42. Where did Psychology come from?
Observing
Questioning
Researching

43. History Continued
Most historians credit Wilhelm Wundt ( ) with the birth of psychology in 1879.
Established the first psychological laboratory in Germany

44. The Beginnings of Schools of Psychology

45. Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt
Devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up the mind.
D: The mind consists of three basic elements- sensations, feelings, and images- which combine to form experience
Introspection: Reporting one’s own conscious experience
Example of Application: Present subjects with sights and sounds and describe sensations and feelings

46. Functionalism
William James felt Wundt’s techniques were far too narrow
D: Emphasized use or function of the mind rather than elements of experience
Experiences permit us to function and adapt to our environments
Example of application: Studying how/why individuals adapt or fail to adapt
*formed the first type of applied psychology

47. Gestalt Psychology Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler
How does perception influence problem solving?
D: Emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns.
Learning or problem solving is accomplished by insight or the sudden recognition of perceptions.
Examples of application: problem solving through analysis of perception

48. Example
The running stranger

54. Count the black dots

55. Stare at the bluish dot for awhile without moving your eyes or your head. The dot will gradually fade. When the dot fades. Move your eyes or head and the blue dot will appear.

56. What does Gestalt psychology tell us?
The visual world is so complex that the mind has developed strategies for coping with the confusion.
The mind tries to find the simplest solution to a problem. One of the ways it does this is to form groups of items that have certain characteristics in common.
Studies higher order cognitive processes relative to behaviorism.

57. “We don’t simply sense the world as it really is, but we perceive it by adding our own interpretations.”

58. Behaviorism D: Limits studies of humans to solely observable events
Focuses on…
Response- a movement or other observable reaction to stimuli.
Stimuli- something causing or regarded as causing a response
Examples of application: simple observation of stimuli and responses

59. Psychoanalysis
D: Founded by Sigmund Freud. Emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior.
Examples of application: hypnosis, free association, talk therapy

60. Consciousness
What is consciousness?

61. Theory
The conscious mind contains information of which we are aware at any given moment.
Ex: your decision to come to school today was a conscious decision.

62. Theory continued
One level down is the pre-conscious , which contains the memories and thoughts that are easily recalled, ready to break into consciousness at any moment.
Ex: What is your address?
What did you east for breakfast this morning?
What are your parent’s names?

63. Theory continued
At the bottom level is the unconscious , which contains the personal information of which we are NOT aware: the drives, urges, wishes, and thoughts of all of our past experience, by far the largest receptacle of the psyche.
All these threaten to destabilize the conscious mind if they surface.

64. Psychoanalytic Techniques
Freud first used hypnosis as a means to find memories in the unconscious.
Some memories were repressed and could come out under the hypnotic trance
Catharsis: a powerful and often traumatic transfer of an memory from the unconscious to the conscious.

65. Psychoanalytic Techniques
Free Association: patients are asked to continually relate anything which comes into their minds, regardless of how superficially unimportant or potentially embarrassing the memory threatens to be.
This technique assumes that all memories are arranged in a single associative network, and that sooner or later the subject will stumble across the crucial memory.

66. Psychoanalysis and Freud continued
Addresses popular culture
Ex: emotionally unstable people likely to go on killing spree. A psychoanalyst explains the killing spree as “unconsciously” doing away with mother or father
Ex: Slip of the tongue or Freudian slip

67. How Psychologists Study Behavior
Does alcohol cause aggression?
What are the effects of aspirin on a fetus?
What are the effects of exercise on anxiety and depression?
Does pornography trigger crimes of violence?

68. Opinions or Theories?
Empirical science- assumptions are supported by evidence (psychology).

69. Scientific Method Step 1: Formulating a Research Question
Daily observations motivate us to ask these

70. Step 2: Developing a Hypothesis
Hypothesis- An assumption about behavior that is tested through research.

71. Step 3: Testing the Hypothesis
Through carefully controlled methods such as naturalistic observation

72. Step 4: Drawing conclusions About the Hypothesis
Drawing conclusions about the accuracy of the hypothesis with the research findings.

73. Methods of Observation Case Study Method
Case Study- A carefully drawn biography that is done through interviews, questionnaires, and psychological tests

74. The Survey Method
Survey- A method of scientific investigation in which a large sample of people is questioned about their attitudes and behaviors.
-questionnaires
-interviews
-examine public records

75. Samples and Populations
In surveys and others research methods, the individuals who are being observed are referred to as a sample. A sample is a segment of a population.

76. Psychological Research continued
Psychologists also use tests ( intelligence, aptitude, personality) to measure characteristics and traits among the population
These tests can be distorted due to social desirability so psychologists use…
Validity Scales- groups of test items that suggest whether or not the test results are valid ( measure what they are supposed to measure)

77. The Naturalistic Observation Method
A scientific method that observes organisms in their natural environments
Use unobtrusive, or non-interfering measures

78. Blind and Double Blind Experiments
Blind- Subject unaware if he or she has received or not received treatment.
Ex: Alcohol and aggression- subjects can not “act” how they think they should.

79. Double Blinds
Neither the subjects nor the persons measuring the results knows who received the treatment.
Ex: FDA administering new drugs. Some members get placebos, or “sugar pill” while others get actual drug. After trial an impartial panel of judges will decide if there was a difference between the drug and the placebo.