1. science
2. medicine
3. psychology and psychiatry

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What Is
Psychology?
ESSENTIALS
2nd Edition
Ellen Pastorino
Valencia College
Susann Doyle-Portillo
Gainesville State College
Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
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What Is Psychology? Essentials, Second Edition
Ellen Pastorino and Susan Doyle-Portillo
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1
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What Is
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psycholog y?
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Chapter Outline
l
What Is Psychology? / 4
l
The Origins of Psychology / 7
l
Psychology in the Modern World / 12
l
Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses,
and Methods / 19
l
Ethical Principles of Psychological Research / 30
NEUROSCIENCE APPLIES TO YOUR WORLD:
Restoring and Enhancing Motor Movement / 13
PSYCHOLOGY APPLIES TO YOUR WORLD:
Training to Be a Psychologist / 17
PSYCHOLOGY ACROSS GENERATIONS:
The Millennials / 25
It was the first day of the semester. Parking as usual was a challenge. Christian
© Ellen Pastorino
finally found a spot, parked his car, and headed toward campus. While grabbing
a coffee at the college café, he ran into his friend Andrew. “Hey, man, what’s
up?” he asked. “Not much,” Andrew replied. “Just getting coffee before I head
to class.” “What are you taking?” Christian asked. “Well, I’ve got math and
music appreciation tomorrow. Today, I’ve got oceanography and intro to psych.
I’m heading to the psych class now.” Christian smiled, “Cool, I’ve got that psych
class now too.” The two students grabbed their coffees
and headed toward the psychology building, continuing their conversation. “What do you think the course
will be about?” Andrew asked. “Probably how you feel
about things. Ought to be an easy A—like being with
Dr. Phil all semester,” Christian joked. Andrew laughed.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll see how screwed up we are and
get a lot of therapy.” “Speak for yourself,” Christian
kidded. “I figure it’s just commonsense stuff, things
your parents have been telling you since you were a
kid. Shouldn’t be too hard.” Andrew nodded in agreement as they arrived at the classroom. “Let’s take a seat
in the back so we don’t have to share our feelings too
much,” Christian whispered. The two found a seat in
the back and waited for class to begin.
Many students hold misconceptions
about the field of psychology.
3
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4
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
L e arning Objectives
• Define psychology.
• Identify common
misconceptions about the field of psychology.
What Is Psychology?
Welcome to the world of psychology, the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes. But what exactly does that include? Behavior includes actions, feelings,
and biological states such as sleeping. Mental processes include problem solving,
intelligence, and memory, to name just a few. Psychology is a science because psychologists conduct research in accord with the scientific method—a systematic
process used to test ideas about behavior. Psychologists analyze the behavior of
humans as well as other species.
Psychology is probably one of the few disciplines in which students come to
the first class believing they already know much about the topic. We see psychologists and psychiatrists on talk shows (Dr. Phil, Dr. Drew) and listen to them on the
radio. We frequently see them depicted on television (Lie to Me, Criminal Minds,
Bones) and in the movies (Shutter Island; A Beautiful Mind; I, Robot). Many of
these portrayals are quite entertaining, but they do not always represent psychology accurately. As a result, the public image of the discipline tends to be distorted.
The purpose of this textbook is to help you develop a deeper understanding of
psychology. In this chapter, we explain what psychologists do, how they think, and
where they work. It is a general overview of the field of psychology, an introduction to the more specific areas of psychology discussed in subsequent chapters. We
describe how psychology became a science, and what the field is like today. We also
describe the goals of psychological research and how psychologists study behavior.
Each chapter begins with former students relating how psychological principles and concepts have helped them better understand their jobs, their relationships, and their world. We hope that by reading these real-life stories, you will
find psychological topics easier to understand and will be better able to apply
psychological principles and concepts to your own life.
Correcting Common Misconceptions
About the Field of Psychology
psychology the scientific study of
behavior and mental processes
scientific method a systematic
process used by psychologists for testing
hypotheses about behavior
theory an explanation of why and how a
behavior occurs
You are probably reading this book because you have enrolled in a general psychology course. Your expectations of what you will learn have been influenced by your
general impressions of psychology. Much of the psychological information presented
in the media focuses on practitioners, therapy, and helping others, and you—like
the students in the opening section—may have the impression that psychology is all
about how you feel and how you can feel better. Although a large proportion of psychologists counsel or otherwise treat clients, most of these professionals hold a doctorate degree in psychology, which required that they study scientific methodology and
complete a considerable amount of research (Wicherski, Michalski, & Kohout, 2009).
Psychology is rooted in scientific research. The information in this book is
research based. Every idea put forward in the field is subject to scientific study.
You will notice that many statements in this text are followed by names and years
in parentheses—for example, (Pastorino, 2012). These text citations refer to the
scientific studies on which the stated conclusions are based, with the researcher
name(s) and date of the study. The complete research citations can be found in
the References section at the end of this book. An example of a complete research
citation is shown in n FIGURE 1.1.
A psychologist’s explanation of a particular behavior is generally presented as
a theory. A theory is an explanation of why and how a behavior occurs. It does
Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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What Is Psychology?
5
not explain a particular behavior for all people, but
it provides general guidelines that summarize facts
APA Style:
and help us organize research on a particular subject.
We all, at times, fancy ourselves as psychologists.
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article:
We interact with people all the time, we observe othSubtitle of article. Title of Periodical or Journal, Vol #, pages.
ers’ behaviors, and we have our own personal experiences. Therefore, we might naturally think that we
Example:
already know a lot about psychology. People often
Whitton, S. W., & Whisman, M. A. (2010). Relationship satisfaction instability
behave the way we think they will behave, so psychology seems as though it is just common sense.
and depression. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 791–794.
However, we often overlook the examples of behavior
that don’t confirm our expectations or support our
F i g u r e
preexisting beliefs. Psychologists systematically test
their ideas about behavior using the prescribed methods and procedures we will describe later in this chapter.
Reference Citations
Take a look at n TABLE 1.1 and answer the questions about behavior. All the
in Psychology
statements are false, yet many students have such misconceptions or believe such
The References section at the end of this
myths about human behavior. Psychological findings do not always confirm our
book lists the complete source for each
everyday observations about behavior. Only by objectively measuring and testcitation. Here is the APA style format for
ing our ideas and observations about behavior can we determine which ideas are
psychological references. The citation for this
more likely to stand up to scientific scruparticular reference would appear in the text
tiny. Behavior is much more complex than
as (Whitton & Whisman, 2010).
the
simple
statements
in
Table
1.1
suggest.
You Asked…
Most students entering a general psyWhat exactly do psychologists do,
chology class, like Christian and Andrew,
other than treat mental disorders or
expect to focus on diagnosing and treating mental disorders. Although some psyhelp people cope?
chologists specialize in mental illness,
Paola Chavez, student
many others work in academic settings,
1.1
TaBLE 1.1
How Much Do You Know About Behavior?
Indicate whether you believe each statement is true (T) or false (F).
1. We are either left-brain or right-brain thinkers.
T
F
2. Genes work only during prenatal development.
T
F
3. No new neurons develop after infancy.
T
F
4. Brain injury in children is always worse than brain injury in adults.
T
F
5. Stress is caused by bad things that happen to you.
T
F
6. During sleep, the brain rests.
T
F
7. There are female brains and male brains.
T
F
8. Males are better than females at math.
T
F
9. We have only five senses.
T
F
10. Legal drugs don’t hurt the brain, but illegal ones do.
T
F
11. Our memory works like a video recorder.
T
F
12. Schizophrenia means you have multiple personalities.
T
F
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6
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
in the business world, in education, or in government agencies. Psychology is an
extremely diverse field, and new specialties are appearing each year. Psychologists are interested in numerous topics, including learning, memory, aging, development, gender, motivation, emotion, sports, criminal behavior, and many other
subjects. We cannot cover every area of psychology in this textbook, but we will
give you an overview of the main areas of psychological research.
Psychology Will Teach You About Critical Thinking
pseudopsychology psychological
information or conclusions that sound
scientific but that have not been
systematically tested using the scientific
method
critical thinking thought processes
used to evaluate and analyze information
and apply it to other situations
Because behavior is so complex, psychological theories generally don’t definitively explain the behavior of all people. To think like a psychologist, you must
think critically, analyzing and evaluating information. You must be able to distinguish true psychological information from pseudopsychology. Pseudopsychological findings sound persuasive, but they are not necessarily based on scientific
procedures. Their conclusions may go far beyond the scope of their actual data.
For example, have you ever heard that people use only 10% of their brains? Many
college students believe this false statement despite evidence that shows it is not
true (Higbee & Clay, 1998). To think like a psychologist, you must be skeptical
rather than accepting about explanations of behavior.
Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating information and applying it to other situations. Critical thinking also makes you an intelligent consumer
of information. You will be encouraged to practice this skill throughout the book
as you read the chapter and test your mastery of the material in the Let’s Review
sections at the end of each main topic and in the What Do You Know? Assess Your
Understanding questions at the end of each chapter.
Because we all engage in behavior, much of the information in this text will
apply to your life. We all dream, remember, like or dislike others, are motivated,
have high or low self-esteem, experience depression, behave aggressively, help
others, learn, perceive, and use our senses. Consequently, we recommend that you
apply the material in this text to your own behavior as much as possible. This connection will increase your interest in the text, and you will study more effectively.
Let’s
In this section we defined psychology and identified some common misconceptions
about the field. For a quick check of your understanding, answer these questions.
1. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Psychology is just common sense.
b. Psychologists only study abnormal behavior.
c. Psychologists know why people behave the way
that they do.
d. Psychologists test ideas about behavior according
to the scientific method.
2. Which of the following topics would a psychologist
most likely study?
a. Weather patterns in Africa
b. Memory changes in adults
c. Causes of the Vietnam War
d. All of the above
3. Which of the following statements is not a pseudo-
psychology claim?
a. Transplant organs carry personality traits that are
always transferred from donors to receivers.
b. Walking on hot coals without burning one’s feet
requires paranormal abilities.
c. You can make a blood clot in your brain disappear by humming.
d. Several studies show a relationship between academic achievement and self-esteem.
Answers 1. d; 2. b; 3. d
Review
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The Origins of Psychology
The Origins of Psychology
Psychology has been described as having “a long past but only a short history”
(Ebbinghaus, 1910, p. 9). Although psychology did not formally become a science
until the 1870s, people have always been interested in explaining behavior. The
roots of psychology can be traced back to philosophy and medicine in ancient
Egypt, Greece, India, and Rome. Although these issues were not considered “psychological” at the time, doctors and philosophers debated many of the same issues
that concern modern psychologists.
7
Learning Objective
• Describe the early schools of
psychology and identify the
major figures that influenced
its development.
Early Approaches: Structuralism, Functionalism, Gestalt
Psychology, and Psychoanalytic Theory
Traditionally, psychology’s birth is linked with the first psychology laboratory,
which was established by Wilhelm Wundt in 1879 at the University of Leipzig, in
Germany. As you will see, some of the people who brought psychology into the
scientific arena were trained as physicians; others were more philosophical in
nature. However, these differences produced a field that was broad and complex,
with many avenues of exploration.
For Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), the goal of psychology was to study conscious
processes of the mind and the body. He wanted to know what thought processes
enable us to experience the external world. In particular, Wundt attempted to
detail the structure of our mental experiences. Like a chemist who questions what
elements combine to create different substances, Wundt questioned what elements, when combined, would explain mental processes. Wundt’s view that mental experiences were created by different elements is referred to as structuralism,
a term coined not by Wundt but by his student Edward Titchener.
To identify the structure of thought, British psychologist Titchener (1867–1927)
used a process known as introspection, a self-observation technique. Trained observers were presented with an event and asked to describe their mental processes. The
observations were repeated many times. From these introspections, Titchener identified three basic elements of all conscious experiences: sensations, images, and feelings.
© Bettmann/Corbis
Wilhelm Wundt, Edward Titchener, and Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) wanted
to know what psychological processes
enable us to experience the external
world.
© David Young-Wolff/PhotoEdit
YO U R
T URN Active Learning
To illustrate the nature of introspection, look at the photo of the object shown here. If
you were asked to describe the object, what would you say? How do you know that the
object is a potato? Does the object fit your visual image or memory of a potato? That
is, does it look like a potato? If it were in front of you right now, how else might you
conclude it is a potato? Does it smell like a potato, taste like a potato,
and feel like a potato? Using your senses, you deduce that the object
before you is a potato.
Apply the technique of introspection to
determine how you know what this object is.
structuralism an early psychological
perspective concerned with identifying the
basic elements of experience
introspection observing one’s own
thoughts, feelings, or sensations
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C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
© History of American Psychology, U. of Akron, Akron, Ohio
8
The first woman to be awarded a
doctorate in psychology was Margaret
Washburn (1871–1939).
Wundt’s and Titchener’s research went beyond introspection and structuralism to encompass a very broad view of psychology. They also conducted detailed
studies on color vision, visual illusions, attention, and feelings, and influenced the
field of psychology through their students, many of whom went on to establish psychology departments and laboratories in the United States. For example, Titchener’s first graduate student, American Margaret Washburn (1871–1939), became the
first woman to earn a doctorate in psychology. Washburn did not share Titchener’s
emphasis on structuralism, but instead investigated the connection between motor
movement and the mind and conducted extensive research on animal behavior.
Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Psychology
Like Washburn, other psychologists soon reacted against the limited view of the
mind that structuralism presented, claiming that it did not adequately explain
how we actively organize or perceive our sensations. Such disagreement gave rise
to another early school of psychology called Gestalt psychology. The word Gestalt
is German for “whole form.” Gestalt psychology, founded by Czech/German psychologist Max Wertheimer (1880–1943) in the early 1900s, emphasized how our
minds organize sensory stimuli to produce the perception of a whole form (such
as perceiving a group of stars in the night sky as the Big Dipper).
© Bettmann/Corbis
William James and Functionalism
William James (1842–1910) is
associated with functionalism.
Gestalt psychology an early
psychological approach that emphasized
how our minds organize sensory stimuli to
produce the perception of a whole form
functionalism © Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy
an early psychological
perspective concerned with how behavior
helps people adapt to their environment
American psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910) had visited
Wundt’s laboratory in Germany but did not share Wundt’s focus on breaking down
mental events into their smallest elements. Rather, James proposed a focus on the
wholeness of an event and the impact of the environment on behavior. He emphasized how a mental process operates as opposed to the structure of a mental process.
He came to believe that consciousness and thought evolved through the process
of natural selection, to help the organism adapt to its environment (Nielsen & Day,
1999). Evolution and natural selection were ideas that were quite new at the time.
Evolution refers to the development of a species—the process by which, through a
series of changes over time, humans have acquired behaviors and characteristics
that distinguish them from other species. For James, the question was not what
elements contribute to one’s experience but rather what function the event serves
for the person or animal. How does a particular behavior help an organism adapt
to its environment and thereby increase its chances of surviving and reproducing?
James’s perspective on psychology became known as functionalism.
Functionalism’s focus on the adaptive value of behavior was influenced by
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin’s theory speculated that certain behaviors or traits that enhance survival are naturally selected. For example, Darwin had
collected several different types of birds in the Galapagos Islands. The birds were
all about the same size but had different beaks (see photo). Through research
with other scientists in London, Darwin discovered that the birds were all
finches and that each species was uniquely related to a specific island.
Darwin thought that the different species had been formed from a small
number of common ancestors. The differences in their beaks could be attributed to adapting to different food supplies on each island. According to James,
Darwin’s finches illustrated the interaction between
genes and adaptation to the environment. The
different species originated from common ancestors
(genes), yet variations in their beaks arose as they
adapted to different food supplies on each island.
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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The Origins of Psychology
9
if human behavior is naturally selected like Darwin’s finches’ beaks, it is important
for psychologists to understand the function, or survival value, of a behavior.
Functionalism was not the whole of James’s work in the young field of psychology. James suggested applications of psychology to teaching, creating the
field of educational psychology. The James-Lange theory of emotion, formulated
by James and a Danish physiologist, Carl Lange, at about the same time, describes
how physical sensations give rise to emotions (more on this in Chapter 8). In addition, James published books on religious experiences and philosophy. James’s
open-mindedness also influenced psychology when he became intrigued by the
unorthodox ideas of a Viennese physician named Sigmund Freud.
Sigmund Freud is probably the best known historical figure in psychology,
and his ideas permeate Western culture in music, media, advertising, art, and
humor—a testament to his influence and importance. Before creating theories
of psychology, however, Freud (1856–1939) studied medicine, focusing on neurology and disorders of the nervous system. He began studying people with all
kinds of “nervous” disorders, such as an intense fear of horses or heights or the
sudden paralysis of an arm. He began asking patients to express any and every
thought that occurred to them, no matter how trivial or unpleasant. Freud theorized that encouraging patients to say whatever came to mind allowed them to
recall forgotten memories that seemed to underlie their problems. This process,
known today as free association, is one element of psychoanalysis, a therapy that
Freud developed.
From these experiences, Freud came to believe that the unconscious plays a
crucial role in human behavior. For Freud, the unconscious was that part of the
mind that includes impulses, behaviors, and desires that we are unaware of but
that influence our behavior. Until this time, much of psychology had focused on
conscious mental processes. Freud’s focus on the unconscious was unique and led
to his formulation of psychoanalytic theory. According to this theory, humans
are similar to animals in that they possess basic sexual and aggressive instincts
that motivate behavior. However, unlike animals, humans can reason and think,
especially as they mature. In childhood we learn to use these conscious reasoning
abilities to deal with and to suppress our basic sexual and aggressive desires so
that we can be viewed approvingly by others. For Freud, the conflict between the
conscious reasoning part of the mind and the unconscious instinctual one was
key to understanding human behavior. Although controversial, Freud’s theory
dominated European psychology. However, in the early 1900s in the United States,
Freud’s ideas were overshadowed by another approach to understanding behavior
called behaviorism.
© Topham/The Image Works
Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud’s (1856–1939) focus
on the unconscious was unique and
led to his formulation of psychoanalytic
theory.
Behaviorism: A True Science of Psychology
In the 1920s, in the United States, functionalism was slowly being replaced by a
school of thought referred to as behaviorism. A growing number of psychologists
believed that in order for psychology to be taken seriously as a “true” science, it
must focus on observable behavior and not on the mind. You can’t see the mind or
what a person thinks; you can only see what a person does. Behaviorists believed
that only overt, observable behaviors could truly be measured consistently from
person to person. One of the most vocal proponents of this school of thought was
American psychologist John B. Watson (1878–1958).
psychoanalytic theory Sigmund
Freud’s view that emphasizes the influence
of unconscious desires and conflicts on
behavior
behaviorism a psychological perspective
that emphasizes the study of observable
responses and behavior
Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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10
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Archives of the History of American Psychology,
University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
John B. Watson’s Behaviorism
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner showed
how stimuli and responses could be studied in
their experiment on Little Albert.
Watson was influenced by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s studies of digestion
in dogs. While measuring and analyzing the first process of digestion (salivation),
Pavlov (1849–1936) noticed that his dogs started to salivate before he gave them
meat powder. When the experiments first started, the salivation had occurred only
after the dogs were given the meat powder. To further study this curious change in
response, Pavlov performed experiments to train the dogs to salivate to other nonfood stimuli. (You will learn more about Pavlov’s classic experiments in Chapter 5.)
Pavlov’s experiments were important to Watson as examples of how behavior
is the product of stimuli and responses. A stimulus is any object or event that is
perceived by our senses. A response is an organism’s reaction to a stimulus. To
further his point, Watson and his associate, Rosalie Rayner, performed an experiment on a 9-month-old infant named Albert. Watson first presented “Little Albert”
with the stimulus of a white rat. Albert played with the white rat and showed no
fear of it (response). Knowing that infants fear loud noises, Watson paired the two
stimuli, first presenting the rat to Albert and then presenting a loud gong sound
behind Albert’s head. Little Albert reacted to the loud noise with the startle, or
fear, response. Over and over again, Watson repeated the procedure of pairing the
two stimuli—presenting the rat followed by the loud gong. Then, when Watson
presented the rat to Albert with no gong, the infant responded with the startle
response. Watson had conditioned Little Albert to fear a white rat, a rat that Albert
had played with earlier without fear. This demonstrated for Watson that observable stimuli and responses should be the focus of psychology. Unfortunately for
Watson, a personal scandal resulted in his dismissal as the chair of the psychology department at Johns Hopkins University (Buckley, 1989).
Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
B. F. Skinner and Behavioral Consequences
B. F. Skinner’s (1904–1990) behaviorism
emphasized the influence of consequences
on behavior.
Although Watson was no longer operating within mainstream psychology, behaviorism remained strong in the United States, partially due to the work of B. F. Skinner
(1904–1990). Skinner, like Watson, believed that psychology should focus on observable behavior. But Skinner added a dimension to Watson’s framework: consequences.
Skinner believed that psychologists should look not only at the stimuli in the environment that cause a particular response but also at what happens to a person or
animal after the response—what Skinner called the consequences of a behavior. To
illustrate consequences, let’s look at Little Albert’s behavior from Skinner’s perspective. Once Albert was afraid of the rat, how would he act when he saw it? If Albert
moved away from the rat, his behavior effectively reduced his fear. Feeling less fear
or anxiety is a good (positive) consequence, or outcome. Whenever Albert saw the
rat again, he probably moved away even faster. Skinner asserted that positive consequences, such as the reduction of Albert’s anxiety, would lead him to engage in the
same behavior again. Negative consequences, or outcomes that are not liked, would
lessen Albert’s desire to engage in the behavior again. We know these processes as
reinforcement and punishment, topics that are explored further in Chapter 5.
Beyond Behaviorism: Humanism, Cognitive Psychology,
and the Birth of Positive Psychology
stimulus any object or event that is
perceived by our senses
response stimulus
an organism’s reaction to a
Behaviorism was a dominant force in American psychology until the 1960s. By
that time, it became evident that this one theory could not account for all behaviors. Behaviors such as feelings and thoughts could not easily be reduced to stimuli and responses. This criticism, combined with the social climate of the time,
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The Origins of Psychology
11
opened the door for other views on behavior and a willingness to explore topics
previously ignored.
The Humanists
Discontent with behaviorism and the social upheaval of the 1960s led to a growing interest in an approach toward treatment called humanism. Many psychologists did not accept the behaviorists’ view that humans were governed by stimuli
and responses, with no will of their own to change their behavior. In the 1960s,
societal values were rapidly changing, and the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War sparked widespread civil disobedience. Many young Americans were
endorsing women’s rights, free love, and free will. Psychology was changing too,
and humanists emphasized that everyone possesses inner resources for personal
growth and development. The goal of humanistic therapy, therefore, would be
to help people use these inner resources to make healthier choices and thus lead
better lives. Humanism stressed the free will of individuals to choose their own
patterns of behavior. Two well-known humanists are Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers. You will read more about their ideas in Chapters 8 and 12.
Cognitive Psychology
While humanism was changing how psychologists were treating clients, changes
were also occurring in research psychology. Researchers were becoming disenchanted with the limits of testing stimuli, responses, and consequences in the laboratory, and there was renewed interest in the study of mental processes. Research
expanded to subjects such as memory, problem solving, and decision making. However, unlike the earlier functionalism and structuralism, this new study of mental
processes was based on more objective experimental methods. Acknowledging that
mental processes are not directly observable to the eye, scientists believed that reasonable inferences about mental processes could be made from performance data.
For example, in studying memory processes in children, a researcher can
ask children what strategies or techniques they use to remember a list of items.
If children using a particular strategy (Strategy A) remember more compared to
children using a different strategy (Strategy B), then one can infer that there must
be something about Strategy A that facilitates memory. This conclusion is reasonable even though we can’t directly see the children use the techniques. Such reasoning led to much experimental research on mental processes, or cognition. By
the 1980s, the study of cognitive processes, or cognitive psychology, was a part
of mainstream psychology.
humanism a psychological perspective
that emphasizes the personal growth and
potential of humans
cognitive psychology the study of
mental processes such as reasoning and
problem solving
positive psychology the study of
factors that contribute to happiness,
positive emotions, and well-being
Positive psychology investigates those factors
that contribute to happiness, positive emotions,
and well-being.
Anne Ackermann/Getty Images
The Birth of Positive Psychology
Focusing on how we think, particularly whether our
thoughts are pessimistic or optimistic in nature, soon
led to a growing emphasis on human strengths and
on how humans attain happiness, called positive
psychology. Led by American psychologists Martin Seligman (1942–) (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi,
2000) and Ed Diener (1946–), positive psychology has
produced an explosion of research over the past decade
describing the factors that contribute to happiness, positive emotions, and well-being (Ruark, 2009; Wallis, 2005).
By scientifically studying positive aspects of human
behavior, the goal of positive psychology is to enable
individuals, families, and communities to thrive.
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12
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Let’s
Review
In this section we discussed early theories of psychology. For a quick check of your
understanding, answer these questions.
1. Javier wants to know how aggression helps a
person adapt to the environment. Which historical
approach is Javier emphasizing?
a. Structuralism
c. Functionalism
b. Psychoanalysis
d. Humanism
3. Which of the following persons would be least
likely to emphasize the influence of stimuli and
responses on behavior?
a. John Watson
c. Rosalie Rayner
b. Carl Rogers
d. B. F. Skinner
2. Karena believes that elements, when combined,
can explain our mental processes. Which historical
approach is Karena emphasizing?
a. Structuralism
c. Functionalism
b. Psychoanalysis
d. Humanism
Answers 1. c; 2. a; 3. b
L e arning Objectives
• Distinguish among the seven
modern perspectives of
psychology and understand the
nature of the eclectic approach.
• Describe the training of a
psychologist and compare and
contrast the different specialty
areas of the profession.
Psychology in the Modern World
Given the historical sketch of psychology you have just read, it is probably no
surprise to learn that modern psychology is a very broad profession. Not everyone agreed on how to explain behavior then, just as many debate the causes of
behavior today. Many modern perspectives are an extension of the historical
schools of thought. Here we discuss seven orientations or perspectives on behavior (n FIGURE 1.2): biological, evolutionary, cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioral,
sociocultural, and humanistic.
• Describe how women and
minorities have contributed to
the field of psychology.
biological perspective an approach
that focuses on physical causes of
behavior
neuroscience a field of science that
investigates the relationships between
the nervous system and behavior/mental
processes
evolutionary perspective an
approach that focuses on how evolution
and natural selection influence behavior
Modern Perspectives and the Eclectic Approach
Psychologists who adopt a biological perspective look for a physical cause for a particular behavior. Such psychologists examine genetic, biochemical, and nervous system
(brain functioning) relationships to behavior and mental processes. The biological
perspective is also a branch of science referred to as neuroscience. (We discuss the
physical processes of the nervous system in Chapter 2.) For example, knowing how
the brain monitors motor behavior has enabled neuroscientists to develop devices to
assist people with severe motor deficits or spinal cord injuries, as seen in the Neuroscience Applies to Your World box (Srinivasan, Eden, Mitter, & Brown, 2007).
Closely aligned to the biological perspective is the evolutionary perspective.
This approach is similar to the biological approach in that both see the cause of
behavior as biological. However, this is where the similarity ends. The evolutionary perspective proposes that natural selection is the process at work. Behaviors that increase your chances of surviving are favored or selected over behaviors that decrease your chances of surviving. Remember James’s functionalism?
One could say that James was an early evolutionary psychologist. Similarly, this
approach analyzes whether a particular behavior increases a person’s ability to
adapt to the environment, thus increasing the chances of surviving, reproducing,
and passing one’s genes on to future generations (Buss, 2009).
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13
Psychology in the Modern World
Neuroscience Applies to Your World:
Using electroencephalography (EEGs) and other brain imaging and computer technology,
neuroscientists have been able to measure how a person’s body movements cause nerve
cells in the brain to fire. They can then use this information to design neuromotor prosthetic devices, such as robotic arms, that work in much the same way. These appliances
can help replace or restore lost motor functioning in people with spinal cord injuries and
other severe motor deficits (Hochberg, Serruya, Friehs et al., 2006).
The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC)
Restoring and Enhancing Motor Movement
The cognitive perspective explains behavior with an emphasis on thoughts
and interpretations based on memory, expectations, beliefs, problem solving, or
decision making. A cognitive view focuses on how people process information and
on how that process may influence behavior. For example, in explaining deprescognitive perspective an approach
sion, a cognitive approach focuses on how people who are depressed think and
that focuses on how mental processes
influence behavior
perceive the world differently from people who are not depressed. You will learn
psychodynamic perspective more about cognitive processes in Chapters 6 and 7, when we discuss such topics as
an approach that focuses on internal
memory, problem solving, thinking, decision making, intelligence, and language.
unconscious mental processes, motives,
The psychodynamic perspective is a collective term that refers to those assumpand desires that may explain behavior
tions about behavior originally conceived by Freud, which have been modified by
behavioral perspective an approach
his followers. The psychodynamic view focuses on internal, often unconscious menthat focuses on external, environmental
influences on behavior
tal processes, motives, and desires or childhood conflicts to explain behavior. For
sociocultural
perspective an
example, many children lie to or manipulate parents to get what they want. The psyapproach that focuses on societal and
chodynamic view might suggest that such behavior is an unconscious expression of
cultural factors that may influence
feelings of powerlessness and lack of control that all children face from time to time.
behavior
The behavioral perspective focuses on external causes of behavior. It looks at how stimuli in
our environment and/or the rewards and punishBiological
ments we receive influence our behavior and menperspective
tal processes. This approach suggests that behavior is learned and is influenced by other people
and events. For example, if a student studies and
then aces an exam, that reward may encourage her
Evolutionary
Humanistic
perspective
perspective
to study again the next time. If she only gets an
average score, merely passing the test may not be
rewarding enough to encourage the student to study
for future exams. This perspective stems from Watson’s and Skinner’s behaviorist views (more on this
Cognitive
Sociocultural
PSYCHOLOGY
perspective
perspective
in Chapter 5).
The sociocultural perspective adopts a wider
view of the impact of the environment on behavior
and mental processes. It suggests that your society
Behavioral
Psychodynamic
or culture influences your actions. Consider, for
perspective
perspective
example, that from 1996 to 2006 the United States had a
higher teen birth and abortion rate than Canada, Sweden,
F i g u r e
Psychological Perspectives
and England/Wales (McKay & Barrett, 2010). The socioJust as a photograph or a piece of art can be examined
cultural perspective would attribute this phenomenon to
from many different angles, so too can mental processes
aspects of society that may differ in these countries, such
and behavior. We call these angles perspectives. Each
as sexual values, contraceptive availability and use, and
offers a somewhat different picture of why people
exposure to sex education. Sociocultural views will be
behave as they do. Taken as a whole, these perspectives
evident throughout this textbook when differences due to
underscore the complex nature of behavior.
culture, income level, or gender are highlighted.
1.2
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C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Wilfried Krecichwost/Getty Images
14
The humanistic perspective explains behavior as stemming from your
choices and free will. These choices are influenced by your self-concept (how
you think of yourself) and by your self-esteem (how you feel about yourself).
This view of the self and these feelings toward the self will lead you to choose
certain behaviors over others. For example, if you see yourself as a low achiever
in school, you may be less likely to take challenging courses or to apply yourself
in the courses that you do take. Humanistic views of behavior are explored in
Chapters 8, 12, and 14.
Most psychologists do not rigidly adhere to just one of these perspectives
but are likely to take what is referred to as an eclectic approach when explaining behavior. An eclectic approach integrates or combines several perspectives to
provide a more complete and complex picture of behavior. n YOU REVIEW 1.1
illustrates these approaches and shows how a combined approach provides a more
expansive understanding of behavior than any single approach could, using anxiety as an example.
The sociocultural perspective suggests that
one’s culture influences behavior.
You Review 1.1
Looking at Anxiety From Modern Perspectives
Psychologists can examine behavior from many different perspectives.
Perspective
Explanation
Biological
Anxiety is related to chemicals in the body or to genetics (heredity).
Evolutionary
Anxiety is an adaptive response that prepares one to respond to potential threats in the environment.
This response helps humans survive because it warns them of danger and thereby helps them avoid
situations or people that may harm them. However, in modern times, these threats tend to be
ongoing: traffic jams, crowding, and the hectic pace of consumerism.
Cognitive
Anxious people think differently than nonanxious people. Anxious people may engage in more
pessimistic thinking or worry that everything will go wrong.
Psychodynamic
Anxiety is the product of unresolved feelings of hostility, guilt, anger, or sexual attraction experienced
in childhood.
Behavioral
Anxiety is a learned behavior much like Albert’s fear of the white rat. It is a response that is associated
with a specific stimulus or a response that has been rewarded.
Sociocultural
Anxiety is a product of a person’s culture. In the United States, more women than men report being
anxious and fearful, and this gender difference results from different socialization experiences.
Men in the United States are raised to believe that they must not be afraid, so they are less likely to
acknowledge or report anxiety. Women do not experience this pressure to hide their fears, so they are
more likely to tell others that they are anxious and to seek treatment.
Humanistic
Anxiety is rooted in people’s dissatisfaction with their real self (how they perceive themselves) as
compared to their ideal self (how they want to be).
Eclectic
Anxiety stems from various sources depending on the individual. One person may be prone to
anxiety because many people in his family are anxious and he has learned to be anxious from several
experiences. Another person may be anxious because she is dissatisfied with herself and believes that
everything always goes wrong in her life.
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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Psychology in the Modern World
15
Specialty Areas in Psychology
In addition to the various approaches or
perspectives psychologists take, they also
You Asked…
study different aspects of behavior, which
What different fields of psychology
correspond to specialty areas of psychology. A number of these specialty areas are
are there?
depicted in n TABLE 1.2, but keep in mind
Nick DeGori, student
that there are many more. This diversity
stems from the complexity of behavior and
the interrelatedness of different areas. What a developmental psychologist studies,
for example, is connected to and may have an impact on the work of social, clinical, and educational psychologists.
In the early development of psychology, women and minorities were not allowed
in many instances to receive graduate degrees despite completing all the requirements for such degrees. Despite these constraints and many other societal hurdles,
several women and minority individuals contributed significantly to the field. As
previously mentioned, Margaret Washburn became the first woman to be awarded
a doctorate in psychology in 1894 (Furumoto, 1989). Mary Calkins (1863–1930)
became the first female president of the American Psychological Association in
1905. She studied at Harvard University with William James and performed several studies on the nature of memory. Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847–1930) studied
color vision in the early 1900s. Karen Horney (1885–1952) focused on environmental and cultural factors that influence personality development (see Chapter 12).
Few degrees were awarded to minority students in the early 1900s. Gilbert
Haven Jones (1883–1966) was the first African American to earn a doctorate in
psychology—in Germany in 1909. Francis Sumner (1895–1954) was the first African American to receive a doctorate in psychology from a university in the United
States (in 1920) and is known as the father of African American psychology for
his many contributions to the education of Black people. His research focused on
equality between Blacks and Whites, refuting the idea that African Americans
were inferior. He also helped establish an independent psychology department at
Howard University, a historically Black college.
Two of Sumner’s students, Kenneth Clark (1914–2005) and Mamie Phipps
Clark (1917–1983), conducted research on the self-perceptions of Black children.
The Clarks’ experiments (Clark, 1950; Clark & Clark, 1950) found that Black children often preferred to play with White dolls over Black dolls and attributed positive descriptors such as good and pretty to the color white and negative descriptors
such as bad and ugly to the color black. The Clarks’ findings were noted in the
landmark 1954 case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the Supreme
Court ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.
Inez Prosser was the first African American woman to be awarded a doctorate
in psychology, in 1933 (Benjamin, Henry, & McMahon, 2005). Her doctoral dissertation (Prosser, 1933) studied the self-perceptions of Black children. She compared
the self-esteem of Black children attending a segregated school to that of Black
children attending an integrated school. She found that the Black children at the
segregated school fared better. The Black children at the integrated school were
more likely to feel inferior and report less satisfactory school relations. Given the
© History of American Psychology, U. of Akron, Akron, Ohio
Gender, Ethnicity, and the Field of Psychology
Known as the father of African American
psychology, in 1920 Francis Sumner
(1895–1954) was the first African American
to receive a doctorate from a U.S. university.
humanistic perspective an approach
that focuses on how an individual’s view
of him- or herself and the world influences
behavior
eclectic [ee-KLECK-tic] approach an approach that integrates and combines
several perspectives when explaining
behavior
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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16
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
TaBLE 1.2
Specialty Areas in Psychology
Specialty Area
Biopsychology
Topics of Interest
Researches the biological processes that underlie behavior, including genetic, biochemical, and nervous system
functioning.
Clinical psychology
Researches, assesses, and treats children, adolescents, and adults who are experiencing difficulty in functioning or
who have a serious mental health disorder such as schizophrenia.
Cognitive psychology
Studies mental processes such as decision making, problem solving, language, and memory.
Community psychology
Seeks to understand and enhance the quality of life for individuals, communities, and society. Focuses on early
intervention in and prevention of individual and community problems.
Counseling psychology
Researches, assesses, and treats children, adolescents, and adults who are experiencing adjustment difficulties.
Cross-cultural psychology
Investigates cultural similarities and differences in psychological traits and behaviors.
Developmental psychology
Researches how we develop physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally over the life span.
Educational psychology
Researches how people learn and how variables in an educational environment influence learning. May develop
materials and strategies to enhance learning.
Envrionmental psychology
Examines the relationship between environments and human behavior. Focuses on designing, managing,
protecting, and/or restoring the environment to enhance behavior. Also studies environmental attitudes,
perceptions, and values to promote environmentally appropriate behavior.
Experimental psychology
Forensic psychology
Conducts research on sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and emotion.
Works with mental health issues within the context of the legal system. May study a certain type of criminal
behavior such as rape or murder, or may be asked to determine a person’s competence to stand trial.
Health psychology
Researches ways to promote health and prevent illness. May be concerned with issues such as diet and nutrition,
exercise, and lifestyle choices that influence health.
Human factors psychology
Researches human capabilities as they apply to the design, operation, and maintenance of machines, systems, and
environments to achieve optimal performance (for example, designing the most effective configuration of control
knobs in airplane cockpits for pilots).
Industrial/organizational
Examines the relationship between people and their work environments. May study issues such as increasing job
(I/O) psychology
satisfaction or decreasing employee absenteeism, or focus on understanding the dynamics of workplace behavior,
such as leadership styles or gender differences in management styles.
Personality psychology
Researches how people differ in their individual traits, how people develop personality, whether personality traits
can be changed, and how these qualities can be measured.
Positive psychology
Seeks to discover and promote those factors that contribute to happiness, positive emotions, and well-being.
School psychology
Assesses students’ psychoeducational abilities (academic achievement, intelligence, cognitive processing) and
shares test results with teachers and parents to help them make decisions regarding the best educational
placement for students.
Social psychology
Researches how our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others, whether in the classroom, on an
elevator, on the beach, on a jury, or at a football game.
Sports psychology
Investigates the mental and emotional aspects of physical performance.
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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Psychology in the Modern World
probable prejudicial attitudes of White people at the integrated school, it is not
surprising that the Black children at that school did not have positive experiences.
Have times changed for women and minorities in psychology? Women have
indeed made great progress in the field of psychology. From 1920 to 1974, 23% of
doctorates in psychology went to women (APA, 2000b), and from 1960 to 1999
the greatest percentage increase in science and engineering doctorates earned by
women was in psychology (National Science Foundation [NSF], 2006). Currently,
far more women than men earn psychology degrees. In 2007, nearly 80% of master’s degrees and 73% of doctorate degrees in psychology were awarded to women
(U.S. Department of Education, 2009). Educational gains have to some extent been
followed by progress in the careers of women in psychology. In 2009–2010, 46%
of the full-time faculty in graduate departments of psychology in the United States
were women (APA Center for Workforce Studies, 2010a). However, female psychology faculty members are less likely than males to be promoted to the rank of full
professor. In a faculty salaries survey conducted by the American Psychological
Association (APA) in 2006–2007, women represented only 29% of full professors
and 35% of tenured faculty members in U.S. psychology graduate departments
(APA Center for Psychology Workforce Analysis and Research, 2007a). Thus,
although psychology has become more fully open to both men and women at the
educational level, inequities at the professional level still exist.
Likewise, progress also has been made in the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities in psychology. While minorities make up approximately 33% of
the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006), 28% of newly enrolled full-time
students in graduate schools in psychology were minorities in 2008–2009 (APA
Center for Workforce Studies, 2010b). Between 1976 and 1993, about 8% of all
doctorates in psychology were awarded to minorities (APA, 1997); by 2008, that
number had increased to almost 25% (National Science Foundation, 2009). However, this means that three out of four psychology doctorates are still granted to
Whites, regardless of gender.
Despite the increase in the number of advanced degrees awarded to minorities, they are still underrepresented among college faculty. In 2006–2007, minorities represented less than 9% of full professors and 10% of tenured faculty members in psychology graduate departments (APA Center for Psychology Workforce
Analysis and Research Office, 2007b). To address this lack of minority representation, the APA has established several programs to attract more minorities to the
field of psychology.
Psychology Applies to Your World:
Training to Be a Psychologist
You Asked…
What do you need to do to become
The majority of psychologists hold a doctorate in psychology—
a psychologist?
usually a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) or a Psy.D. (Doctor of
Jose Moreno, student
Psychology). A Ph.D. program focuses more on research,
whereas the Psy.D. focuses more on clinical training. To obtain
either doctorate, psychologists must first complete a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. The road to a doctoral degree is long, usually 4 to 7 years after the undergraduate degree. Most doctoral programs require
extensive study of research methods and statistics, and most require that students do some form of research.
(continued)
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17
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18
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
F i g u r e
Business
1.3
Social science and history
Undergraduate Degrees
in Psychology
Education
Psychology
Psychology is a popular undergraduate
degree. It ranked fifth following business,
social sciences and history, education,
and health professions in number of
degrees awarded in 2006–2007.
Source: Data from U.S. Department of
Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, 2009.
Visual and performing arts
Health professions and
related clinical sciences
Engineering and
engineering technologies
Communications, journalism,
and related programs
Biological and biomedical sciences
Computer and information sciences
0
50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000
Number of bachelor’s degrees awarded
Those who study psychology to the point of a bachelor’s or
master’s degree aren’t excluded from the profession. A bachYou Asked…
elor’s degree in psychology may qualify you to assist psycholoDo most psychologists own a clinic?
gists in mental health centers or rehabilitation and correctional
Christian Forero, student
programs or to serve as a research assistant. However, without
additional academic training, the opportunities for advancement in the profession are limited (Appleby, 1997). As you can
see in n FIGURE 1.3, psychology is a popular degree among
undergraduate students.
A master’s degree typically requires 2 to 3 years of graduate
Colleges
and universities
work. Master’s-level psychologists may administer tests, conduct
36%
research, or counsel patients under the supervision of a doctorallevel psychologist. In a few states, they may be able to practice
independently. They may teach in high schools or community
Other
colleges, work in corporate human resource departments, or
educational
institutions
work as school psychologists.
9%
A large percentage of psychologists affiliated with colleges
and universities teach and do research. Psychologists also work
in school systems, hospitals, business, government, and other
Human service
Business/
sector
human services settings (APA Center for Workforce
government/
38%
Studies, 2007; n FIGURE 1.4). Psychologists perother
17%
form many functions in many different roles. Their
job descriptions may include conducting research,
F i g u r e
counseling clients, and teaching college courses.
A related profession is psychiatry. A psychiatrist
holds a medical degree (M.D.) and then specializes
Work Settings of Psychologists
in mental health. A psychiatrist’s graduate work
A large percentage of psychologists affiliated with colleges and universities teach and
includes a medical internship and residency, foldo research. Psychologists also work in school systems, business and government, or are
lowed by training in the treatment of mental health
employed in health-related or other human services settings.
disorders. As medical practitioners, psychiatrists
Source: 2007 Doctorate Employment Survey. APA Center for Workforce Studies.
have extensive training in the use of therapeutic
drugs; they may dispense or prescribe medication
and order medical procedures such as brain scans.
1.4
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Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods
19
Let’s
Review
In this section we discussed modern psychological perspectives, described the
training needed to be a psychologist, and surveyed a number of the specialty areas
of psychology. For a quick check of your understanding, answer these questions.
1. Which modern psychological perspective emphasizes the importance of thought processes for
understanding behavior?
a. Behavioral
b. Humanistic
c. Sociocultural
d. Cognitive
3. A psychologist who studies individual differences
in shyness is probably from which specialty area?
a. Cognitive
b. Social
c. Developmental
d. Personality
2. Which of the following professionals is most
Psychological Research: Goals,
Hypotheses, and Methods
Answers 1. d; 2. b; 3. d
likely to prescribe medication for a mental health
disorder?
a. A clinical psychologist
b. A psychiatrist
c. A biopsychologist
d. An experimental psychologist
Learning Objectives
• Identify the four goals of
psychological research.
Though psychologists in various specialty areas study and emphasize different
aspects of behavior, they all share similar goals. The main goals of psychology
and psychological research are:
•
•
•
•
To describe behavior
To predict behavior
To explain behavior
To control or change behavior
Description involves observing events and describing them. Typically, description is used to understand how events are related to one another. For example, you
may notice that your health club tends to get more crowded in the months of January,
February, and March. It seems you have to wait longer to use the weight machines
or there are more people in the yoga classes. This observation describes an event.
If you observe that two events occur together rather reliably or with a general
frequency or regularity, you can make predictions about or anticipate what events
may occur. From your observations, you may predict that the health club will be
more crowded in January. You may arrive earlier to make sure you get a parking
spot or a place in the spinning class.
Although it may be known that two events regularly occur together, that
doesn’t tell us what caused a particular behavior to occur. Winter months do not
cause health clubs to become crowded. These two events are related, but one event
does not cause the other. Therefore, an additional goal of psychology is to explain
or understand the causes of behavior. As stated previously, psychologists usually
• Outline the steps of the
scientific method and
distinguish between predictive
and causal hypotheses.
• Describe the advantages and
disadvantages of observational,
survey, correlational, and
experimental research methods
and the types of conclusions that
can be drawn from each method.
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20
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Describe Behavior
Observe events and behaviors, then look at how
events might be related.
Example: The researcher observes that the health club is
more crowded in January, February, and March.
Predict Behavior
Predict what events or behaviors may occur,
based on their relationship.
Example: Colder months predict higher health club attendance.
Explain Behavior
Suggest and test an explanation (in the form of a hypothesis).
Examples:
• The health club is full because the weather makes outdoor
exercise more difficult.
• The health club is full because many people make New Year’s
resolutions to be physically fit, but give up by the end of March.
put forth explanations of behavior in the form of theories.
A theory is an explanation of why and how a particular
behavior occurs. We introduced seven types of explanations, or perspectives, earlier in the chapter. For example,
how do we explain higher health club attendance in the
winter months? Is it a behavior that is influenced by the
environment? Perhaps health clubs are more crowded
because the weather makes outdoor exercise more difficult. Perhaps it is more influenced by motivation as many
people at the start of a new year resolve to work out more.
As these ideas are tested, more and more causes and predictors of behavior are discovered. Some of these explanations or theories will be modified, some will be discarded,
and new ones will be developed.
The purpose behind explaining and understanding
the causes of behavior is the final goal of psychology, controlling or changing behavior. It relates to the goal of explanation because one needs to understand what is causing a
behavior in order to change or modify it. For example, let’s
say that the weather is a factor in health club attendance.
Health clubs could offer outdoor fitness activities beginning in mid-March to prevent declining enrollment. Many
psychologists go into the field in the hope of improving
society. They may want to improve child care, create
healthier work environments, or reduce discrimination in
society. Such sentiments reflect the goal of control and
underscore the potential impact of good research. n FIGURE 1.5 summarizes the goals of psychology.
Control or Change Behavior
By explaining and understanding the causes of behavior,
psychologists can create programs or treatments to control
or change the behaviors.
Psychologists Are Scientists:
The Scientific Method
Example: If people give up on fitness after three months, develop
incentives to offer during March to remain physically active. If the
weather is a factor, sponsor outdoor fitness activities beginning in
mid-March.
F i g u r e
1.5
Goals of Psychology
Psychologists attempt to describe, predict,
explain, and ultimately control or change
behavior.
The purpose of psychological research is to test ideas
about behavior. As previously stated, researchers use
the scientific method when testing ideas about behavior.
The scientific method is a set of rules for gathering and
analyzing information that enables you to test an idea or
hypothesis. All scientists adhere to these same steps even
though they may use different techniques within each step.
The decisions that scientists make at each step of the scientific method will ultimately affect the types of conclusions they can draw about behavior.
How can the scientific method be used to meet the goals of psychology? Let’s
say that you have an interest in understanding beer drinking among college students. You want to make some predictions (a goal of psychology) about beer drinking. You use the scientific method to test this idea, as outlined in n FIGURE 1.6.
1. Define and describe the issue to be studied. You might hypothesize that college
prediction an expected outcome of how
variables will relate
hypothesis an educated guess
students who buy pitchers of beer tend to drink more than college students
who purchase bottles of beer (a prediction). You study previous research in
scientific journals on alcohol consumption.
2. Form a testable hypothesis. Students who buy pitchers of beer tend to drink
more than students who buy beer in bottles. This hypothesis must be phrased
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Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods
in a way that can be objectively measured—
that is, in such a way that another person
can test the same hypothesis to verify or
replicate your results.
3. Choose an appropriate research strategy. You
choose a group of people to observe (college students) and a research method that
allows you to measure objectively how
much beer students who buy pitchers drink
versus how much beer students who buy
bottles drink. You decide where your study
will be conducted. Will it be in the environment where the behavior naturally occurs
(such as the local college bar) or in a laboratory (a more controlled setting)? You decide
who you will use as participants. Will you
use animals or humans? If using humans,
how will they be selected? If using animals,
what species will you use?
21
Issue to Be Studied
You make
predictions about
beer drinking.
You form a hypothesis:
Students who buy pitchers
of beer tend to drink more
than students who buy
beer in bottles.
You choose a research method
and conduct a study that
measures how much beer
college students who buy
pitchers consume versus how
much beer college students
who buy bottles consume.
4. Conduct the study to test your
hypothesis. Run the study and
collect the data based on the
decisions in steps 1–3.
5. Analyze the data to support or
If the results do not support
your hypothesis, you can
revise the hypothesis or
pose a new one.
You collect and analyze
your data: do the data
support or reject your
prediction?
reject your hypothesis. Researchers usually analyze their data
using statistics. If the results
do not support your hypothesis,
you can revise the hypothesis or
pose a new one. If the results do support your hypothesis, you can make additional predictions and test them. Geller, Russ, and Altomari (1986) actually
included this prediction in a larger study on beer drinking among college students and found support for the hypothesis that buying pitchers was associated
with consuming larger amounts of beer.
Results support your
hypothesis. You can
make additional
predictions and test them.
F i g u r e
1.6
The Scientific Method
The scientific method enables researchers
to test ideas about behavior.
No matter which goal of psychology you are addressing, the process is the
same. The goal merely influences the decisions you make when testing an idea
through the scientific method. If your goal is description or prediction, your
hypothesis will state what you expect to observe or what relationships you expect
to find. Your research strategy will then be designed to measure observations or
relationships, and your analysis of the data will employ statistics that enable you
to support or refute your hypothesis. It is in this way that the scientific method
allows us to test the ideas of psychology.
Psychologists Ask Questions: Hypotheses
As you have seen, one of the first steps of the scientific method is to formulate a
question or hypothesis about behavior. These hypotheses generally fall into one
of two categories: predictive hypotheses and causal hypotheses.
A predictive hypothesis makes a specific prediction or set of predictions
about the relationships among variables. Such hypotheses are used to address two
predictive hypothesis an educated
guess about the relationships among
variables
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22
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
goals of psychology: description and prediction. The previous example on beer
drinking among college students illustrated a predictive hypothesis: The study
predicted that students who buy pitchers of beer tend to drink more than students
who buy beer in bottles. Predictive hypotheses are made when the researcher
measures the variables of interest but does not manipulate or control the variables
in the study. Because the researcher does not control the variables, conclusions
of research studies that test predictive hypotheses are limited. The conclusions
can only state what was observed, or what variables appear to be related to one
another. They cannot be used to draw cause-and-effect conclusions; that is, one
cannot conclude that buying pitchers of beer causes a person to drink more beer.
To determine the cause, you must form and test a causal hypothesis.
A causal hypothesis specifically states how one variable will influence another
variable. Causal hypotheses can be tested only when the researcher is able to control or manipulate the main variables in a study. The researcher sets up different
conditions in a study and then observes whether there is a change in behavior
because of the different conditions. For example, suppose a researcher has developed a new strategy to teach children how to read. The researcher hypothesizes
that this program will cause greater gains in reading than the standard method
for teaching reading. This is a causal hypothesis. Some students are assigned to
the new reading program, and others are assigned to the standard program. The
researcher then measures the children’s gains in reading at the end of the year
to see if there is a difference. As you will soon see, causal hypotheses can only
be tested by means of an experiment. To test a causal hypothesis, a researcher
must be able to conclude how one variable affects or causes a change in another
variable.
Psychologists Strategize: Research Methods
Once you have stated a hypothesis, the
next step in the research process is to
decide on a research strategy and a way of
How do psychologists study people?
selecting participants. The type of hypothKeiran Siddiqi, student
esis you make (predictive or causal) typically determines which research methods
you can employ. You are more likely to use some research methods to test predictive
hypotheses and other methods to test causal hypotheses.
Naturalistic observations, case studies, surveys, and correlational research
are used to test predictive hypotheses. All of these methods are used when the
researcher cannot control or manipulate the main variables in the study. Each
method has its advantages and disadvantages, which we will discuss in a moment.
In a perfect world, researchers would include every person they are interested in studying. This is termed the population of interest. For example, for a
developmental psychologist who specializes in infant development, all infants
would be the population of interest. It is impossible to test everyone, however,
so researchers select a portion, or subset, of the population of interest called a
sample. Because the sample will be used to make inferences or judgments about
the entire population, the sample should reflect the whole population as much as
possible; that is, it should be a representative sample. Random sampling of participants ensures a representative sample. In a random sample, every member of the
population has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study; this
avoids introducing sampling bias into the research.
You Asked…
causal hypothesis an educated guess
about how one variable will influence
another variable
population of interest the entire
universe of animals or people that could
be studied
sample the portion of the population of
interest that is selected for a study
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Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods
23
The more representative the sample is, the more the results will generalize (or
apply) to the population of interest. But random sampling is not always possible.
Instead, psychological research often uses samples of convenience, or groups of
people who are easily accessible to the researcher. The students in your psychology course are a sample of convenience. In fact, much psychological research
relies on using college students as the sample of convenience! Only 29% of people
in the United States over the age of 25 have college degrees, so samples of college
students probably do not represent all types of people and groups (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2008).
Naturalistic Observations
Case Studies
A case study is an in-depth observation of one participant. The participant may
be a person, an animal, or even a setting such as a business or a school. As with
naturalistic observation, in case studies researchers do not control any variables
but merely record or relate their observations. Case studies provide in-depth information on rare and unusual conditions that we might not otherwise be able to
study. However, the main disadvantage of the case study method is its limited
applicability to other situations. It is very difficult to take one case, especially a
rare case, and say that it applies to everyone. In other words, case studies lack
generalizability; because of this, the conclusions that are drawn from case studies are limited to the topic being studied.
© Ariel Skelley/Corbis
Naturalistic observations are research studies that are conducted in the environment in which the behavior typically occurs. For example, Campos, Graesch,
Repetti, and others (2009) wanted to investigate when and in what manner dualearner families interact after work. The researchers measured interaction by observing and video-recording dual-earner couples and their children in their homes
throughout two weekday afternoons and evenings. The researcher in a naturalistic
study is a recorder or observer of behavior who then describes or makes predictions
about behavior based on what he or she has observed. Because the researcher does
not control events in a naturalistic study, it is not possible to pinpoint the causes
of behavior. Therefore, naturalistic studies are predominately used to achieve the
goals of description and prediction. In their observational study, Campos et al.
found that while both mothers and fathers were likely to be greeted with positive
behavior from family members, mothers spent more time with children whereas
fathers spent more time alone.
While naturalistic observation can provide a picture of behavior as it normally occurs, researchers
need to consider the influence of reactivity. Suppose
you want to study childhood aggression by observing students on a school playground. What might
happen if you were to simply enter the playground,
sit down, and start writing about what you saw? The
children might behave differently because of your
presence and/or their awareness that they are being
observed; as a result, your observations of aggression might not be reliable or true. When conducting
a naturalistic observation, researchers attempt to
minimize reactivity to ensure that they are observing the true behavior of their participants.
A school playground could be an environment
for naturally observing children’s behaviors.
naturalistic observation observing
behavior in the environment in which the
behavior typically occurs
case study an in-depth observation of
one participant
generalizability [jen-er-uh-lies-uhBILL-uh-tee] how well a researcher’s
findings apply to other individuals and
situations
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24
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Surveys
Often, psychologists want to study a whole group of people but in less depth.
Surveys can accomplish this task by asking a large group of people about their
attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors. A large group of people can quickly respond
to questions or statements in their homes, online, over the phone, or out in public.
Survey data are used to make predictions and test predictive hypotheses. For
example, knowing which people are more likely to buy a product enables a company to market its products more effectively and perhaps devise new strategies to
target individuals who are not buying them. Similarly, knowing which behaviors
are related to a higher frequency of illness enables a psychologist to predict who
is more at risk for physical or mental illness. However, who you ask to complete a
survey and how you ask them are critical elements in distinguishing good survey
research from biased research. Recall that a random sampling of participants
minimizes sampling bias. The more representative the sample is, the more the
results will generalize to the population of interest.
A second critical element of the survey method is how the questions are
worded. A respondent has to be able to understand the question and interpret it
in the way the researcher intended. It is important to make questions clear and
precise to obtain accurate estimates of people’s feelings, beliefs, and behavior.
For example, differences in survey question wording have been found to have
an influence on rape estimates (Fisher, 2009) and estimates of adolescent sexual
behaviors (Santelli et al., 2000).
In summary, surveys are advantageous in that they allow psychologists to
pose a lot of questions to a large sample of people. Accurate information can be
gathered in a relatively short period of time. Yet the survey’s wording, the representativeness of the sample, and whether people choose to answer the questions
honestly can bias the results. The Psychology Across Generations box illustrates
the survey research method.
Correlational Studies
survey a research method that asks
a large group of people about their
attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors
correlation [cor-ruh-LAY-shun] the relationship between two or more
variables
Correlational studies test the relationship, or correlation, between two or more
variables—television watching and violent behavior, or depression and gender, for
example. The researcher does not control variables but rather measures them to
see whether any reliable relationship exists between them. For example, if we were
to measure your weight (one variable), what other variable might show a relationship to your weight? Your height? Your calorie consumption? Your gender? Your
age? Your life expectancy? If you were to measure all these variables, you might
find that all of them vary in relation to weight. These relationships are correlations.
The strength of a correlation is measured in terms of a correlation coefficient—a
statistic that tells us how strong the relationship between two factors is. Correlation
coefficients range from –1.00 to +1.00. The closer the correlation coefficient is to
–1.00 or +1.00, the stronger the correlation, or the more related the two variables are.
The closer the correlation coefficient is to 0, the weaker the correlation—that is, one
variable does not reliably predict the other. For example, in a study on eating behaviors and weight gain in older women, Hays and Roberts (2008) found a +.25 correlation between weight gain and overeating in response to daily life circumstances. The
correlation between weight gain and overeating in response to emotional states such
as anxiety and depression was +.17. The higher correlation between weight gain and
daily overeating opportunities suggests that ordinary environmental food cues such
as television commercials, billboards, or sweets on one’s food counter are a better
predictor of weight gain in older women than is “emotional eating.” Generally, the
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Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods
25
Psychology Across Generations:
The Millennials
© David J. Green/lifestyle themes/Alamy
The Pew Research Center (2010) set out to compare the values, attitudes, and behaviors of Millennials (adults born
after 1980) with those of today’s older adults as well as with older adults back when they were the age that Millennials are now. Their analyses rely on the survey method, specifically a 2010 telephone survey with a nationally
representative sample of 2,020 adults, including 830 participants between the ages of 18 and 29. Here we summarize just a few of their findings.
Not surprisingly, they reported differences among the groups in behaviors associated with the use of technology. For example, 83% of Millennials reported sleeping with a cell phone by their bed, compared to 68% of Generation Xers (those born between 1965 and 1980), 50% of Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964),
and 20% of the Silent generation (those born before 1946). Nearly two-thirds of Millennials also admitted to texting while driving. Three quarters of Millennials have created a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook,
compared with 50% of Generation Xers, 30% of Baby Boomers, and 6% of the Silent generation.
nterestingly, the Millennials appear to be the least overtly religious American generation since survey research began
measuring it. Fewer Millennials reported belonging to any particular faith than older people do today, and they were less
likely to be affiliated with a particular religion
than previous generations were when they
were 18 to 29 years of age. Millennials also
reported attending religious services less often
than older adults today. However, Millennials
reported praying about as often as older adults
did when they were 18 to 29 years old.
What accounts for these reported differences? Survey research cannot explain the
differences; it can be used only to describe
and predict behavior. However, we can generate multiple hypotheses as to why these
generational differences occur. They could
be due to the unique historical circumstances or social movements experienced
by each generation, such as wars or technoThe Millennial generation (adults born after 1980) report more use of
logical advances. They could be due
social networking websites.
to changing social roles, longer life
expectancies, or varying economic factors, to name a few, or to some combination of these factors.
Also keep in mind that there are as many differences within generations as there are among them.
Yet, from this survey research, we get a glimpse of the attitudes, values, and behaviors of the Millennial generation as they move into adulthood.
stronger the correlation between two variables, the more accurate our predictions
are, but perfect (+1.00 or –1.00) correlations rarely happen in psychology. Human
behavior is too complex for such perfect relationships to occur.
The sign before the correlation coefficient tells us how the variables relate to
one another (n FIGURE 1.7). A positive correlation means that as one variable
increases, the second variable also tends to increase, or as one variable decreases,
the other variable tends to decrease. In both cases, the variables are changing in
the same direction. An example of a positive correlation is marijuana use and lung
cancer. As marijuana use increases, so does the likelihood of developing lung
cancer (Tashkin et al., 2002).
positive correlation a relationship in
which increases in one variable correspond
to increases in a second variable
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C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
High
100
Relationship satisfaction
(variable 2)
High
100
Amount of attraction
(variable 2)
80
60
40
20
0
Low
0
80
60
40
20
0
10 20 30 40 50 60
High
Similar attitudes
(variable 1)
Low
(a) Positive correlation
High
100
Amount of attraction
(variable 2)
26
0
10 20 30 40 50 60
Degree of depression High
(variable 1)
80
60
40
20
0
Low
(b) Negative correlation
6
7
8 9 10 11 12
High
Shoe size
(variable 1)
(c) No correlation
F i g u r e
1.7
Correlation
Correlation, a research method used for
description and prediction, shows how two
variables are related.
negative correlation a relationship in
which increases in one variable correspond
to decreases in a second variable
experiment a research method that is
used to test causal hypotheses
independent variable the variable in
an experiment that is manipulated
In a negative correlation, as one variable increases, the other variable tends
to decrease in what is referred to as an inverse relationship. Notice that the variables are changing in opposite directions. An example of a negative correlation
is video game playing and school competence. The more time children spend
playing video games, the poorer their competence is at school (Hastings et al.,
2009). Or consider the negative correlation between relationship satisfaction and
depression. As relationship satisfaction increases, feelings of depression decrease
(Whitton & Whisman, 2010).
Correlational studies enable researchers to make predictions about behavior,
but they do not allow us to draw cause-and-effect conclusions (n FIGURE 1.8).
For example, there is a positive correlation between academic achievement and
self-esteem. Students who have high academic achievement also tend to have
high self-esteem. Similarly, students who have low academic achievement tend to
have low self-esteem. High academic achievement may cause an increase in selfesteem. However, it is just as likely that having high self-esteem causes one to do
better academically. There may be a third variable, such as the parents’ educational level or genetics, which actually causes the relationship between academic
F i g u r e
Academic achievement and self-esteem are correlated.
1.8
Academic
achievement
Correlation Does Not Mean Causation
When two variables are correlated or related, it does
not mean that we know why they are related. It could
be that high academic achievement causes high
self-esteem. However, it is equally likely that high selfesteem causes high academic achievement. It is also
possible that a third variable, such as genetics, causes
both high self-esteem and high academic achievement,
resulting in a relationship between the two variables.
Correlation can only be used for making predictions, not
for making cause-and-effect statements.
could cause
Self-esteem
could cause
Self-esteem
Academic
achievement
could cause
Academic
achievement
could cause
Genetics
Self-esteem
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Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods
achievement and self-esteem. A correlational study does not tell us which of these
explanations is correct. The only research method that permits us to draw causeand-effect conclusions is the experiment.
Experiments
Although several types of research methods are used to test predictive hypotheses, only one research method can test a causal hypothesis: the experiment.
We will discuss several features of the experiment, including its advantages and
disadvantages.
27
dependent variable the variable in an
experiment that measures any effect of
the manipulation
experimental group the group of
participants who receive the manipulation
that is being tested
control group the group of participants
who do not receive the manipulation that
is being tested
placebo effect a measurable change
in participants’ behavior due to the
expectation or belief that a treatment will
have certain effects
Necessary Conditions for an Experiment Two main features characterize an
double-blind study an experiment
experiment. First, the variables in the study are controlled or manipulated. Secin which neither the experimenters nor
ond, participants are randomly assigned to the conditions of the study. When
the participants know to which group
(experimental or control) participants have
these two conditions have been met, causal conclusions may be drawn. Let’s first
been assigned
turn our attention to the issue of experimenter control.
The point of the experiment is to manipulate one variable
and see what effect this manipulation has on another variable
Elements of an Experiment
(n FIGURE 1.9). These variables are termed the independent
and dependent variables, respectively. The independent variExperiment
able is the variable that the experimenter manipulates; it is the
participants
cause in the experiment. The dependent variable measures any
result of manipulating the independent variable; it is the effect
in the experiment.
Randomly assign
The typical experiment divides participants into two types of
to groups
groups: the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group includes those participants who receive the manipulation
that is being tested. The control
Control group
Experimental group
Independent variable
group includes those participants
gets 8 hours
gets 4 hours
(Cause)
of sleep
of sleep
who do not receive the manipulation
that is being tested; they serve as a
baseline comparison for the experiDaily activities and
Daily activities and
mental group. Both groups are then
Same conditions to control
testing conditions
testing conditions
confounding
variables
measured on the dependent variable
are the same
are the same
to see whether there is a difference
between the groups.
In some experiments, the conDependent variable
Memory test
Memory test
trol group receives a placebo, or
(Effect)
scores
scores
inactive substance such as a sugar
pill, rather than being given nothing. This is to control for the plaF i g u r e
cebo effect. The placebo effect occurs
when participants show changes simply
because they believe or expect a treatment to have certain effects. In double-blind
Elements of an Experiment
studies, neither experimenters nor participants know who is receiving a placebo
The two main ingredients of an experiment
and who is receiving the actual treatment; they are blind to which group (experiare (1) that the variables in the study are
mental or control) a person has been assigned. In this way, neither the particicontrolled or manipulated and (2) that
pant’s nor the experimenter’s expectations will bias the results.
participants are randomly assigned to the
Suppose, for example, that we want to study the effects of sleep deprivation.
conditions of the study. When these two
Specifically, we hypothesize that sleep deprivation causes deficits in memory.
conditions have been met, causal conclusions
may be drawn.
This is a causal hypothesis that can be tested with an experiment. We decide to
manipulate the amount of sleep participants receive to see whether it has any
1.9
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C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
effect on memory. In this example, the amount of sleep is our independent variable. Some participants (the control group) will be allowed to sleep 8 hours per
night for the week of our study. Others (the experimental group) will be allowed
to sleep only 4 hours each night. The experimenter has set, or controlled, the
amount of sleep (the independent variable) at two levels: 8 hours and 4 hours.
Each day of our study, we measure the participants’ memory (the dependent
variable) by having them complete several memory tasks. At the end of the
study, we compare the memory scores of those participants who received 8
hours of sleep (the control group) with those who received only 4 hours of sleep
(the experimental group).
To be sure that it is the amount of sleep affecting memory and not something else, we need to be sure that we have controlled any variable (other than
the independent variable) that may influence this relationship. These potentially problematic variables are called confounding variables. What confounding variables might we need to control? Maybe age influences one’s memory
or how one handles sleep deprivation. If either of these is true, we would want
to control the age of our participants. We also would want to make sure that
participants had not used any substances known to affect memory or the sleep
cycle prior to their participation in the experiment. Consequently, we would
control for this variable too.
Both groups must be treated the same except for the amount of sleep they
receive, so the researcher sets the conditions of the experiment to be the same
for both groups. For example, every participant should complete the memory tasks at the same time of day, and every
participant should complete the same memory tasks. The
criteria for scoring the memory tasks must be the same as
well. The instructions for completing the tasks must be the
same. The lighting, temperature, and other physical features
of the room in which the participants sleep and complete the
memory tasks should be the same for all participants. Our
purpose is to design a study in which we manipulate the
independent variable to see its effect on the dependent variable. If we control any potentially confounding variables that
might influence this relationship and we find a difference
between our groups on the dependent variable, that difference is most likely due to the independent variable, and we
have established a cause-and-effect relationship.
If the experimenter does not control a confounding variable, we now have more than one variable that could be responsible for the change in the dependent variable: the independent
variable and the confounding variable. When this occurs, the researcher is left
with an alternative explanation for the results. The change in the dependent variable could have been caused by the independent variable, but it also could have
been caused by the confounding variable. Consequently, causal conclusions are
limited.
Let’s not forget the second condition necessary for an experiment—how participants are assigned to the conditions of the independent variable. We must
be sure that there are no differences in the composition of our groups of participants. Psychologists eliminate this problem through random assignment of
participants to the conditions of the study. In our example on sleep and memory,
assigning all the males in the sample to the 4-hour sleep condition and all the
© Laura Dwight/PhotoEdit
28
By studying behavior in a lab environment,
researchers are better able to control the
variables in an experiment.
confounding variable any factor
other than the independent variable that
affects the dependent measure
random assignment method of
assigning participants in which they have
an equal chance of being placed in any
group or condition of the study
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Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods
29
females to the 8-hour sleep condition would create a confounding variable. Gender differences might have an effect on memory scores. It may be that gender (the
confounding variable) rather than sleep deprivation (the independent variable)
is the cause of a difference in memory. To eliminate the influence of such confounding variables, experimenters randomly assign participants to conditions.
Each participant has an equal chance of being placed in either condition. Male
participants are just as likely to be assigned to the 4-hour condition as they are
to the 8-hour condition, and the same is true for female participants. In this way,
any participant variable that has the potential to influence the research results is
just as likely to affect one group as it is the other. Without random assignment,
confounding variables could affect the dependent variable. This is typically what
occurs in quasi-experiments.
A quasi-experiment is in some ways like an experiment. The researcher
manipulates the independent variable and sets the other conditions to be the same
for both groups. However, the second requirement for an experiment—randomly
assigning participants to conditions—has not been met. Quasi-experiments use
existing groups of people who differ on some variable. For example, suppose you
want to see if smoking cigarettes during pregnancy causes lower-birth-weight
babies. For ethical reasons, you cannot assign some pregnant women to smoke
and prevent others from smoking. Instead, for your smoking condition, you must
select pregnant women who already smoke. These women may differ on other
variables when compared to pregnant women who do not smoke. For example,
their eating habits may differ. As a result, a confounding variable (the diet of
the mothers) rather than smoking could cause a difference in the dependent
variable (the birth weight of the offspring). Because quasi-experiments do not
meet the conditions necessary for a “true” experiment, causal conclusions based
on these designs should be made cautiously (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002;
West, 2009).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Experiments Experiments have several advantages. First, it is only through experimentation that we can approach
two of the goals of psychology: explaining and changing behavior. An experiment is the only research method that enables us to determine cause-and-effect
relationships. This advantage makes interpreting research results less ambiguous.
In an experiment, we attempt to eliminate any confounding variables through
experimenter control and random assignment of participants to groups. These
techniques enable us to draw clearer conclusions from research results.
Experiments also have disadvantages. First, experiments do not address the
first two goals of psychology: describing and predicting behavior. These are often
the first steps in understanding behavior, and naturalistic observation, surveys,
and correlational studies are quite useful for doing this. Second, in an attempt to
control confounding variables, experiments conducted in laboratory settings may
create an artificial atmosphere. It is then difficult to know whether the same result
would occur in a more natural setting. This may be another reason to conduct naturalistic observations or correlational studies. Third, sometimes employing the
experimental method is simply not possible for ethical or practical reasons. As we
mentioned in the case of quasi-experimental designs, we cannot force people to
be randomly assigned to a condition that would harm them (such as smoking) or
that does not pertain to them (such as having high blood pressure). Psychologists
must follow certain ethical guidelines and practices when conducting research.
We turn our attention to this topic next.
quasi-experiment a research study
that is not a true experiment because
participants are not randomly assigned to
the different conditions
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30
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Let’s
In this section we examined the goals of psychology, identified the steps of the
scientific method, and described methods of research. For a quick check of your
understanding, answer these questions.
1. When we know that two events regularly occur
together, which goal of psychology can be met?
a. Predicting behavior
b. Changing behavior
c. Understanding behavior
d. Explaining behavior
2. In an experiment on attitudes, participants are
3. The more hours that students work, the less suc-
cessful they are academically. This is an example of
what type of correlation?
a. zero
b. positive
c. perfect
d. negative
given either positive or negative information about
a speaker and then asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the speaker. In this experiment, which is the
independent variable?
a. The effectiveness of the speaker
b. The type of information the participant is given
c. Attitude change
d. The speaker
Le arning Objective
Answers 1. a; 2. b; 3. d
Review
Ethical Principles of Psychological Research
• Describe the main ethical
principles that guide
psychologists as they conduct research.
Generally, psychologists affiliated with universities and colleges cannot conduct
research unless their research proposal has passed review by an Institutional
Review Board (IRB). The function of the IRB is to ensure that the research study
being proposed conforms to a set of ethical standards or guidelines.
Ethical Guidelines for Participants
Institutional Review Board (IRB) a committee that reviews research
proposals to ensure that ethical standards
have been met
The American Psychological Association (APA), one of the main professional organizations for psychologists, has taken the lead in establishing ethical guidelines,
or professional behaviors that psychologists must follow. These guidelines, the
“Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct” (APA, 2002), address
a variety of issues, including general professional responsibility, clinical practice,
psychological testing, and research. Here we look at the guidelines psychologists
must follow when conducting research with humans and animals. The ethical
duties of psychologists who treat clients are discussed in Chapter 14.
One of the main concerns of the IRB is to ensure that the proposed research
has met the ethical guideline of respect and concern for the dignity and welfare
of the people who participate (APA, 2002). Researchers must protect participants
from any potential harm, risk, or danger as a result of their participation in a
psychological study. If such effects occur, the researcher has the responsibility to
remove or correct these effects.
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Ethical Principles of Psychological Research
31
Another fundamental principle of ethical practice in research is informed consent. Researchers inform potential participants of any risks during the informed
consent process, wherein the researcher establishes a clear and fair agreement
with research participants prior to their participation in the research study (APA,
2002). This agreement clarifies the obligations and responsibilities of the participants and the researchers and includes the following information:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The general purpose of the research study, including the experimental
nature of any treatment
Services that will or will not be available to the control group
The method by which participants will be assigned to experimental and
control groups
Any aspect of the research that may influence a person’s willingness to
participate in the research
Compensation for or monetary costs of participating
Any risks or side effects that may be experienced as a result of participation in the study
Prospective participants are also informed that they may withdraw from participation in the study at any time, and they are informed of any available treatment alternatives. In addition, the researcher agrees to maintain confidentiality.
Personal information about participants obtained by the researcher during the
course of the investigation cannot be shared with others unless explicitly agreed
to in advance by the participant or as required by law or court order.
It is not always possible to fully inform participants of the details of the
research, as it may change their behavior. For this reason, psychologists sometimes use deception in their research. For example, suppose we wanted to research
student cheating. If we tell participants we are studying cheating behavior, it will
likely influence their behavior. If we tell participants we are investigating student–
teacher behavior, we can measure student cheating more objectively. However, the
use of deception must be justified by the potential value of the research results.
Moreover, deception can be used only when alternative procedures that do not use
deception are unavailable.
If participants have been deceived in any way during the course of a study, the
researcher is obligated to debrief participants after the experiment ends. Debriefing consists of full disclosure by the researcher to inform participants of the true
purpose of the research. Any misconceptions that the participant may hold about
the nature of the research must be removed at this time.
Consider the following classic research study. In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram (1963) set out to determine whether the average person could be induced
to hurt others in response to orders from an authority figure. (You will read
more about Milgram’s research in Chapter 10.) Participants were deceived into
believing that they were participating in a research study on learning rather
than on obedience. Participants were told that they would be playing the role of
a “teacher” in the experiment. Participants were introduced to a “learner” who
was then led to a separate room. The teacher’s job was to administer electric
shocks to the learner every time the learner made a mistake in an effort to help
the learner better learn a list of words. In reality, the participant was not actually shocking the learner. The learner’s responses were prerecorded on a tape,
but the participants did not know this and believed that they were, indeed,
shocking the learner.
informed consent ethical principle that
research participants be told about various
aspects of the study, including any risks,
before agreeing to participate
confidentiality ethical principle that
researchers do not reveal which data were
collected from which participant
debriefing ethical principle that after
participating in an experiment involving
deception participants be fully informed
of the nature of the study
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32
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
Despite the fact that participants believed the learner to be ill or
worse, most of them continued to follow the experimenter’s orders.
A full 65% of the participants shocked the learner all the way up
to the highest shock level! During the procedure, Milgram’s participants exhibited emotional distress. Although Milgram debriefed his
participants after the study, he still violated the ethical principle of
psychological harm. He was criticized for exposing participants to
the trauma of the procedure itself and for not leaving the participants in at least as good a condition as they were prior to the experiment (Baumrind, 1964). Because of these ethical problems, a study
such as this would not be approved today.
We should also note that for years the primary focus in research
was on White males. Women and minorities were not only discouraged from becoming professionals in psychology but also were
largely ignored or neglected when studying psychological issues.
Many minority and female as well as male psychologists have contributed to the field of psychology by addressing these shortcomings and designing research that looks specifically at the behaviors
of minorities and women.
Ethical Guidelines for Animal Research
Obedience © 1965, Stanley Milgram
Animal studies have advanced our understanding of many psychological issues, including the importance of prenatal nutrition,
our treatment of brain injuries, and our understanding of mental health disorders (Domjan & Purdy, 1995). Psychologists must
meet certain standards and follow ethical guidelines when conducting research with animals. Psychological research using animal subjects must also be approved by an IRB. Animals must be
treated humanely and in accord with all federal, state, and local
laws and regulations. Researchers are responsible for the daily
comfort, housing, cleaning, feeding, and health of animal subjects. Discomfort, illness, and pain must be kept at a minimum,
and such procedures can only be used if alternative procedures
are not available. Moreover, harmful or painful procedures used
on animals must be justified in terms of the knowledge that is
expected to be gained from the study. Researchers must also promote the psychological well-being of some animals that are used
in research, most notably primates (APA, 2002).
Although Stanley Milgram debriefed his participants, he still
caused them psychological harm. Such a study would violate
current ethical standards of psychological research.
In the chapters that follow, we will describe in greater detail
psychological research in the main specialty areas of psychology.
In the next chapter, we start with the biological processes that
underlie all behavior. Each chapter will prepare you for mastering the concepts of the next chapter, and we frequently remind
you of concepts presented in earlier chapters to help you connect
the information. A Look Back at What You’ve Learned concludes
each chapter. It will help you remember the topics and concepts
that have been introduced and further your understanding of how
these concepts relate to one another.
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Studying the Chapter
Let’s
Review
In this section we discussed ethical considerations in research. As a quick check of
your understanding, answer these questions.
1. What is the rule for deceiving participants in a psy-
chological study?
a. Deception is never allowed in psychological
research. It is against the law in every state.
b. Deception is allowed only when using animals.
c. Deception is allowed when alternative procedures are unavailable and when participants are
debriefed at the end of the study.
d. Deception can be used under any circumstances
because true psychological research never harms
participants.
3. Which of the following is not an ethical guideline
that psychologists must follow when conducting
research?
a. Paying participants for their participation
b. Informed consent
c. Freedom from harm
d. Confidentiality
2. Dr. Kwan is performing case study research. She
Answers 1. c; 2. d; 3. a
should be most concerned with which of the following ethical principles?
a. Deception
b. Physical harm
c. Debriefing
d. Confidentiality
Studying the
Chapter
Key Terms
behavioral perspective (13)
behaviorism (9)
biological perspective (12)
case study (23)
causal hypothesis (22)
cognitive perspective (13)
cognitive psychology (11)
confidentiality (31)
confounding variable (28)
control group (27)
correlation (24)
critical thinking (6)
debriefing (31)
dependent variable (27)
double-blind study (27)
eclectic approach (14)
evolutionary perspective (12)
experiment (27)
experimental group (27)
functionalism (8)
generalizability (23)
Gestalt psychology (8)
humanism (11)
humanistic perspective (14)
hypothesis (20)
independent variable (27)
informed consent (31)
Institutional Review Board (IRB) (30)
introspection (7)
naturalistic observation (23)
negative correlation (26)
neuroscience (12)
placebo effect (27)
population of interest (22)
positive correlation (25)
positive psychology (11)
prediction (20)
predictive hypothesis (21)
pseudopsychology (6)
psychoanalytic theory (9)
psychodynamic perspective (13)
psychology (4)
quasi-experiment (29)
random assignment (28)
response (10)
sample (22)
scientific method (4)
sociocultural perspective (13)
stimulus (10)
structuralism (7)
survey (24)
theory (4)
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33
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34
C HAPTER
1
What Is Psychology?
What Do You Know? Assess Your Understanding
Test your retention and understanding of the material by answering the following questions.
1. Which of the following is not true about psychology?
a. Psychology is just common sense.
b. Psychology is just the study of mental illness.
c. Psychology has no connection with everyday life.
d.All of the above are not true.
2. Which of the following topics would a psychologist
have the least interest in?
a. Learning
b. Sexuality
c. Weather patterns
d.Color perception
3. The ______ perspective in psychology stresses the
importance of looking at the influence of unconscious drives and motives on behavior and mental
processes.
a. functionalism
b. structuralism
c. psychoanalytic
d.behaviorist
4. Dr. Babar is a psychologist who studies how people’s
eating habits help them adapt to and survive in their
environments. Dr. Babar is emphasizing which psychological perspective?
a. Evolutionary
b. Structuralism
c. Humanism
d.Behaviorism
5. Many modern psychologists follow the ______ approach
to psychology, in that they do not adhere strictly to any
one psychological perspective.
a. pragmatic
b. functional
c. common sense
d.eclectic
6. Which of the following is the most likely educational
attainment of the majority of psychologists?
a. Doctorate degree
b. Master’s degree
c. Bachelor’s degree
d.Associate’s degree
7. Dr. Warren is a psychologist who studies chemicals in
the brain. Dr. Warren is approaching psychology from
the ______ perspective.
a. cognitive
b. eclectic
c. biological
d.sociocultural
8. Dr. Barrios is a psychologist who studies how people
change over time. Dr. Barrios is most likely a ______
psychologist.
a. cognitive
b. biological
c. social
d.developmental
9. Dr. Grogan studies how psychological principles can be
applied in the workplace. Dr. Grogan is most likely a(n)
______ psychologist.
a. organizational
b. clinical
c. social
d.health
10. Dr. Pi wants to test the hypothesis that smoking marijuana impairs one’s ability to remember information.
What type of hypothesis is Dr. Pi interested in testing?
a. Predictive
b. Causal
c. Correlational
d.Biological
11. The first African American to earn a doctorate in psychology was ______.
a. Karen Horney
b. Mary Calkins
c. Gilbert Haven Jones
d.Sidney Beckham
12. Today, who earns most of the doctorates in
psychology?
a. Men
b. Women
c. African Americans
d.Asian Americans
13. Which of the following is not a goal of psychology?
a. To describe behavior
b. To change behavior
c. To explain behavior
d.To eliminate free will
14. Which of the following best defines the nature of a
theory?
a. An explanation of why a behavior occurs
b. A statement of fact
c. An untestable assumption
d.A prediction
15. The hypothesis that the number of rapes will increase
during the summer months is an example of a(n)
______ hypothesis.
a. causal
b. predictive
c. untestable
d.nonscientific
16. Dr. Vaz conducted an experiment in which she randomly assigned her participants to one of two conditions. In the first condition, the participants were shown
visual images of common objects and then one hour
later asked to recall as many of the objects as they
could remember. In the second condition, the participants heard the names of the same objects and then one
hour later were asked to recall as many of the objects as
they could. Dr. Vaz then compared the number of items
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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Studying the Chapter
recalled for these two groups of participants. In this
experiment, the independent variable is ______.
a. the number of items recalled
b. whether the participants saw or heard the objects
c. the sex of the participants
d.the room in which the participants were tested
17. Dr. Ling is studying helping behavior in children. Every
day, he goes to the local playground at 3 p.m., sits on
the sidelines, and records the number of times one child
helps another, the sex of the child who helps, and the
sex of the child who is helped. Dr. Ling is using which
research method in his study?
a. An experiment
b. A case study
c. A naturalistic observation
d.A quasi-experiment
18. A confounding variable ______.
a. measures the effect of the independent variable
b. is the variable that is manipulated by the experimenter
c. has no effect on the dependent variable
d.is any factor other than the independent variable that
affects the dependent variable
19. The longer the commute for a student to a college campus, the less likely he or she is to complete a degree.
This is an example of a ______.
a. positive correlation
b. negative correlation
c. zero correlation
d.case study
20. Dr. Eden tells potential participants of any risks they
may experience prior to their participation in his
research study. Dr. Eden is following the ethical guideline of ______.
a. deception
b. confidentiality
c. informed consent
d.debriefing
Answers: 1. d; 2. c; 3. c; 4. a; 5. d; 6. a; 7. c; 8. d; 9. a; 10. b; 11. c; 12. b; 13. d; 14. a; 15. b; 16. b; 17. c; 18. d; 19. b; 20. c
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What
You’ve
learned
at
© Bettmann/Corbis
•
© Topham/The Image Works
Wilhelm Wundt
Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
36
To think like a psychologist, you must be
skeptical about explanations of behavior, rather
than accepting of them. Psychology is:
•
•
•
• In the early 1900s, Max Wertheimer
emphasized how our minds organize
sensory stimuli to produce the perception
of a whole form (Gestalt psychology).
•
William James’s focus was on
how particular behaviors helped
people adapt to their environment
(functionalism).
•
Sigmund Freud, one of the most
famous people to influence
psychology, believed the key
to understanding behavior was
uncovering unconscious motivations
(psychoanalytic theory).
Sigmund Freud
B. F. Skinner
Psychology became a distinct field
of scientific study when Wilhelm
Wundt established the first psychology
laboratory, in Germany, in 1879. Wundt
studied the elements that explained
mental processes (structuralism).
•
John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner
emphasized the need to study
observable behavior and the
influence of the environment
on behavior (behaviorism).
•
Carl Rogers and Abraham
Maslow emphasized free will and
personal growth in determining
behavior (humanism).
•
Cognitive psychology seeks to
understand key mental processes
such as memory, problem
solving, and decision making.
•
Positive psychology describes
the factors that contribute to
happiness, positive emotions,
and well-being.
NOT simply giving advice
NOT just “common sense”
NOT limited to studying mental illness
What Are the Goals of
Psychological Research?
•
•
•
•
To describe behavior
To predict behavior
To explain behavior
To control or change behavior
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
© Ariel Skelley/Corbis
How Did Psychology
Become a Science?
© Greg Hinsdale/Corbis
1
Look Back
What Is
psychology?
What Is Psychology
Like Today?
•
Psychologists typically have a doctorate in psychology, which usually involves 4–7 years of postgraduate study and
research beyond the undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree.
•
Modern psychological perspectives include:
Biological, which examines the physiological contributions to behavior
•
Behavioral, which focuses on external causes of behavior, such as how stimuli in the environment and/or rewards
and punishments influence our behavior
•
•
•
Cognitive, which focuses on how people process information and on how that process may influence behavior
Evolutionary, which looks at how behaviors may be genetically programmed to help us adapt better for survival
Psychodynamic, which focuses on internal, often unconscious, mental processes, motives, and desires or
childhood conflicts to explain behavior
Sociocultural, which researches behaviors across ethnic groups and cultures
Humanistic, which explains behavior as stemming from choices and free will
•
Psychologists today embrace an eclectic approach, which integrates several
perspectives when studying and explaining behavior.
•
There are numerous specialty areas in psychology, including:
•
© Laura Dwight/PhotoEdit
•
•
•
Biological
perspective
•
•
Developmental psychology (which studies child and adult development)
•
Industrial/organizational psychology (which looks at behavior in the
workplace)
•
Experimental psychology (which performs research on sensation,
perception, and learning)
•
Clinical or counseling psychology (which researches and treats people
who are experiencing difficulty in functioning or who have a serious mental health disorder)
Evolutionary
perspective
Humanistic
perspective
Social psychology (which examines ways in which we are influenced by
others)
Although the numbers of women and ethnic minorities in psychology
have increased, they are still underrepresented as faculty in colleges.
Sociocultural
perspective
Behavioral
perspective
Cognitive
perspective
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychodynamic
perspective
What Research Methods
Do Psychologists Use?
•
Psychologists form predictive and causal hypotheses and then
conduct research using the scientific method.
•
Predictive hypotheses are tested by naturalistic observation, case
studies, surveys, and correlational studies.
•
Causal hypotheses are tested by experiments in which variables are
controlled and care is taken to test a random sample of a population
of interest. The experimental group is compared to the control
group on the dependent variable to see whether the independent
variable had an effect.
•
To ensure humane conduct of experiments, the American Psychological
Association has established a set of strict ethical guidelines that must be
followed when researchers study animals and humans.
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