CHAPTER 1 INTRO AND RESEARCH METHODS psychology=> the scientific study of behavior and mental processes THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD When a researcher wants to plan or conduct a study, they have to reach at least 1 of 4 basic goals of psychology 1) 2) 3) 4) In order to get to these goals, researchers use the scientific method The scientific method is a set of assumptions, methods, and values that researchers use to plan and conduct a study DESCRIPTIVE METHODS Descriptive methods are used to observe and describe behavior Can be used to explain behavior that would be difficult to study using the experimental method Doesn’t identify the causes of behavior Better during early stages of research TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE METHODS Naturalistic Observation a researcher observes someone in a natural setting without letting that person know they are being observed Ex: Advantage: Disadvantages: Observer bias: researcher tells what he thinks and It may not be what someone else thinks Laboratory Observation Observe in a laboratory setting Can control the setting more Ex: Case Study An in-depth study of one person or a small group of people over a period of time Case studies have provided much of the information about psychological disorders Ex: Surveys A survey examines the behaviors, opinions, and attitudes of a particular group of people Can be in the form of a questionnaire or interview, over the phone, paper and pencil, or in person Ex: Population: the entire group that a researcher will apply his findings to A sample is part of the population that represents the whole population If he wanted to concentrate only on subgroups of the population, he would take what is called a representative sample; is more close to what the larger group is, they may be of the same race, sex, or age; depending on what he is researching Ex: random selection: the most common way to choose a sample; everyone in the group has a chance of being selected One of the problems with surveys is that you can’t depend on the person to be completely honest with you Other problems with surveys: Correlational Studies Used to find a relationship between two variables variable: any factor that can change A correlation coefficient is a number that shows the strength of the relationship between two variables Can range from -1.00 to +1.00; the number tells how strong or weak the relationship is and the sign tells the direction of the relationship, it can go up or down separately or in the same direction The higher the number is, positive or negative, the stronger the relationship between the variables So the lower the number….. The weaker the relationship Ex: Signs If the sign is positive, the variables go up or down together, they go in the same direction If the sign is negative, the variables are going in opposite directions The important thing to remember is that just because there is a correlation between two variables, it does not mean that one variable causes another variable The correlational method does not define a cause and effect relationship Can be used to make predictions especially if the relationship is strong EXPERIMENTAL METHOD Researchers use the experimental method to show a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables. A hypothesis is a statement assuming that two or more variables are related variables are factors or things that can change and you have to be able to observe, measure, and verify the change 2 variables--independent variable and dependent variable The independent variable is manipulated, or changed on purpose; it’s sometimes called the treatment dependent variable: may change because there was a change in the independent variable this is what you are measuring Is there a change in the dependent variable based upon the change in the independent variable? The dependent variable does not have to change just because the independent variable changes Ex: Independent variable-Dependent variable-Experimental and Control Groups experimental group gets exposed to the independent variable; they get the intentional change or manipulation The control group does not get exposed to the independent variable; that’s so both groups can be compared to each other at the end of the experiment Factors that affect validity of experiment validity: is a test able to measure what it is intended to measure 1. Placebo effect: the subject’s response to a drug or treatment is based on them expecting the drug or treatment to work It’s not based on the actual treatment Ex: placebo control group: the group that gets the placebo, i.e., sugar pill, “fake treatment” None of the subjects know which group they are in Some of the subjects in placebo control group will report feeling better because they expect to feel better Having a placebo control group can affect the outcome of an experiment A researcher can make sure the change, or the subject feeling better, is because of the placebo effect and not the actual treatment 2. Experimenter bias: the researcher expects to find certain results from an experiment and the results turn out to be what they expected Researcher can unknowingly let the subjects know their expectation by their facial expression, gesture, or their tone of voice This can influence the subjects’ behavior Ex: 3. Double-blind technique: controls experimenter bias because neither the researchers nor the subjects know which group the subjects are in may be best to use this type of technique BACKGROUND Physiology is the study of the parts and functioning of living organisms (including humans) Psychology emerged partly from the field of physiology Physiologists were interested in how the human brain works and how it is related to behavior One of these physiologists was a German named Wilhelm Wundt, who is considered to be the In his book, Principles of Physiological Psychology (1874) he stated that: Psyc and physiology are connected but psyc deserved to be a separate discipline from physiology Experimental methods should be used to study mental processes he established the first psyc research lab at the University of Leipzig in 1879 Structuralism 1st major school of thought in psychology Developed by one of Wundt’s students- Edward B. Titchener Structuralism studied the basic structures of conscious mental experiences Used introspection, where subjects examined their own thoughts and feelings Was criticized because was Ex: Functionalism America’s first school of psychology Studied the purpose of behavior and mental processes in adapting to the environment Sigmund Freud An Austrian physician Developed a theory called psychoanalysis, which says that a person’s behavior is influenced by unconscious thoughts or conflicts that are usually aggressive or sexual in nature The person is not aware of these thoughts and conflicts Felt that whatever happened to you as a child determines Can see the unconscious conflicts by Slips of the tongue-- where you intend to say one thing but something else comes out; Freud would say that what you said is actually how you feel, you’re just unaware of it Behaviorism Behaviorism is concerned with studying overt behavior, or behavior that can be observed, measured and verified John B. Watson is the key figure in behaviorism being a new school of thought in psychology He felt that conscious thoughts and experiences shouldn’t be used for studying psychology, wasn’t scientific enough Behaviorism emphasized how the environment influences behavior; our environment may actually control our behavior Another American psychologist that influenced behaviorism was B.F. Skinner believed that Humanistic Psychology By the 1950s another school of thought came about called humanistic psychology, concerned with a person’s uniqueness and their potential to grow psychologically Carl Rogers was the main figure in developing humanistic psychology Shouldn’t focus on unconscious conflicts like in psychoanalysis, but focus on conscious experiences (what a person is aware of) Abraham Maslow was also an important figure in humanistic psyc; His theory emphasized how influences your psychological growth CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY Perspectives 1) behavioral perspective: comes from behaviorism and studies how behavior is acquired and how the environment shapes behavior 2) cognitive perspective: looks at how important mental processes are in developing language, thinking, solving problems and processing information 3) cross-cultural perspective: how culture plays a role in a person’s behavior; people of different cultures may act a certain way in some situations Specialty areas 1) developmental psychology: studies how people change psychologically, physically, and socially from when they are conceived to when they are elderly 2) personality psychology: how people are different and what makes everyone unique Ex: 3) industrial/organizational psychology: studies people and their behavior in the workplace; look at things like how satisfied you are with your job. Also helps with selecting employees; match the best personality for a job 4) biological psychology: studies the relationship between the physical body and behavior 5) clinical psychology: study the cause of a psychological disorder, how to treat it, and how to prevent it Ex: Difference between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist: A psychiatrist can do the same as a clinical psychologist, however a psychiatrist has a medical degree to treat psychological disorders Actually goes through med school A clinical psychologist has a doctorate and is trained to treat disorders clinical psychologists cannot prescribe medication for psychological disorders but a psychiatrist can because they are a medical doctor A psychiatrist can also prescribe certain procedures such as shock therapy to treat severe cases of depression