AP Psychology Unit 1 Notes With your partner, decide if the following are true or false: 1. 2. Most people only use about 10% of their brains. People with schizophrenia have more than one personality. 3. All effective therapies require clients get to the root of their problems in childhood. 4. All people with dyslexia see words backwards. 5. Drinking coffee is a good way to sober up after drinking. 6. Memories of everything we’ve experienced are stored permanently in our brains, even if we can’t access them. 7. The more people present in an emergency, the more likely it is that at least one of them will help. 8. Newborn babies are virtually blind. 9. If you are unsure of your answer on a test, it’s best to stick with your original answer. 10. People tend to be romantically attracted to people with opposite to their own personalities. Science of Psychology • Think Critically: reflect and evaluate evidence – Using Scientific principles • Skepticism: Question other’s results – Leads to replication • Objectivity: See things as they are, not as we want. – Learn to accept results that do not support your theory. • Curiosity: Why are things the way they are? – Leads to experimentation Psychology • The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior • Spans multiple levels of analysis Social Level Behavioral Level Mental Level Neurological/Physiological Level Neurochemical Level Molecular Level Example: Depression Lack of social support Social Level Less engagement in + activities Behavioral Level Negative cognitions about self Mental Level Differential amygdala activation Neurological/Physiological Level Reduced serotonin in synapse Neurochemical Level Genes that predispose Molecular Level Pseudo-Science • A claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status Growth of psychology Psychology’s Roots Are in Philosophy Prescientific Psychology  Do you have a soul?  Is the mind connected to the body or distinct?  Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience? Psychology’s Roots Psychological Science Is Born Empiricism – Knowledge comes from experience via the senses Science flourishes through observation and experiment Psychology’s Roots  Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology Wundt’s significance? laboratory at the By insisting on University of Liepzig measurement and (c. 1879) experimentation he moves Psych from Philosophy to Science Psychology’s Roots  Bradford Titchener  Emulates the analysis of compounds by looking at atoms  Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind Psychology’s Roots  Structuralism –  School of psychology that stressed the basic units of experience (physical sensation, feelings, and memories) and the combinations in which they occur.  Study these ‘atoms of experience’ to get the structure of the mind Psychology’s Roots     William James Rejects Structuralism Influenced by Darwin Functionalism –theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its enviroment. The Growth of Psychology • Sigmund Freud: Psychodynamic psychology – Behavior results from forces at work within the individual, often at an unconscious level • Sexual and aggressive drives – Late 1800s – Lasting Impact of the field – Hard to prove or disprove scientifically Return to the observable in the early 1900s • John B. Watson: Behaviorism – Studied only observable behaviors – Expanded upon the work of Pavlov • B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism revisited – Expanded behaviorism – Viewed the mind as a “black box” that was irrelevant The Cognitive Revolution • The precursors to cognitive psychology: – Gestalt psychology • Study of how we perceive objects as whole patterns • Therapy that wishes to treat the whole person – Humanistic psychology • Emphasizes realization of full potential • Recognizes importance of love, self esteem, belonging, and self-actualization The Cognitive Revolution of the 1960s • Study of mental processes – Thinking – Learning – Feeling – Remembering – Decision making New Directions in Psychology • Evolutionary psychology – Studies the adaptive value of behaviors and mental processes • Positive psychology – Study of the subjective feelings of happiness and well-being – Focus is on positive attitude – Response away from victimization Multiple Perspectives • There is no single right answer • Several perspectives can provide insight into behavior What is Psychology? • Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes • Scientific? – Not just common sense or guesses – Psychology uses the scientific method – Scientific Method is careful observations and the experimental testing of hypothesis • Behavior – what people do on the outside • Mental Processes – What is going on inside someone's head. We call this cognition. • Psychology includes the study of both humans and animals Psychology As Science • Psychologists use the scientific method • Steps to the scientific method – Collect data – Generate a theory to explain the data – Produce a testable hypothesis – Systematically test the hypothesis Psychology’s Big Issues • • • • • Nature-nurture controversy – Are we a product of innate, inborn tendencies controlled by our genetic make-up? – Are we a reflection of experiences and upbringing? Person–Situation – Is behavior caused by factors inside the person or outside? Stability–Change – Are behavior patterns learned in childhood permanent or do people change over time? Diversity-Universality – How am I like every person, like some people, and like no one else? Mind–Body – What is the relationship between the mind and the body? Approaches to the field of Psychology 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Biological Evolutionary Behavioral Cognitive Psychodynamic Humanistic Social 1. Biological Psychology • Investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions. Looks at how the following biological mechanisms effect your behavior and mental processes. – Brain – Neurotransmitters – Hormones – Drugs (both legal and illegal) – Gender differences in brain structure and function 2. Evolutionary Psychology • Asks the question: How did our species get to be the way we are? – Language – Why do we talk? – Altruism – Why are we nice to each other? – Sexual attraction / mate selection – Why are some people considered beautiful? • Answers these questions by looking at what would most help us pass on our genetic code. • Very concerned with reproduction! 3. Behavioral  This approach only studies observable human behavior focusing on how we learn, react and manipulate our environment.  We learn observable responses through conditioning or by trying to get rewards/avoid punishments.  Mind is a BLACK BOX. Can’t see it? Don’t study it.  Big names  Pavlov – Dogs  Watson – Little Albert  Skinner – Operant Conditioning 4. Cognitive Psychology  School of psychology that studies mental processes  Thinking, feeling, remembering, making decisions and judgments  Studies how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.  Studies behavior and makes inferences about the mental processes behind the behavior  Thanks to new technologies like CAT scans, MRIs and fMRIs, we can open the black box. 5. Psychodynamic Psychology  Personality theory that says behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts  Unconscious is a dynamic cauldron of primitive drives, forbidden desires and nameless fears  Psychoanalysis – patient lies on a couch and recounts dreams and conducts free association.  Sigmund Freud 6. Humanistic Psychology • School of psychology that emphasizes nonverbal experiences and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full human potential • Importance of love, belonging, human potential, and self-esteem. • Abraham Maslow • Not mainstream, more a cultural and spiritual movement. 7. Sociocultural Psychology  Study of how people influence one another  Topics include:       First impressions Interpersonal attraction Attitude formation Prejudice Behavior in a group Obedience to Authority  Some Applications include:  Support groups  Family Therapy  Sensitivity Training Approach Example Careers in Psychology 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Clinical and Counseling Developmental Educational Experimental I/O (Health, Sports, Motivation) Personality Psychometric Social-Psychology 1. Clinical and Counseling Psychology  About 50% of all Psychologists  Counseling psyChologists deal with “normal” problems, such as stress caused by career change or marital problems  Counseling psyChologist’s foCus more on the psychologically healthy individual where clinical focuses on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia).  Clinical psychologists are concerned with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders  Split time between treatment and researching the cause of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapy and counseling. 2. Developmental Psychology • Study of physical and mental growth from birth to old age • study of changing abilities from womb to tomb • Subfields – Child psychology – Adolescent psychology – Life-span psychology 3. Educational Psychology • School Psychologist • psychological evaluations • consult with school personnel in relation to students’ learning, behavior, and environments • they are trained to look at the effectiveness of academic programs, classroom agendas, and treatment interventions, which assists in the development of specific interventions. 4. Experimental Psychology • Design research experiments • May or may not have a direct impact on the treatment of patients • Animal subjects • Drug trials 5. Human Factors  The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science).  The application of this understanding to the design, development and deployment of systems and services (Human Factors Engineering).  It can also be called ergonomics. 6. Industrial and Organizational Psychology • Study of psychological principles in industry and business • Examples – Selecting and training personnel – Productivity improvement – Optimizing working conditions – Managing the impact of automation on workers 7. Personality Psychology • Study of how people differ from one another on traits such as – Openness – Conscientiousness – Extraversion – Agreeableness – Neuroticism 7. Psychometics • • • • • Test creation Validity Reliablity Culture fair Statistics Psychiatry  A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders  Practiced by physicians who sometimes use medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychotherapy Licenses in Psychology • • • • • Psychologists - Ph.D., Psy.D. Psychiatrists - M.D. Psychoanalysts - M.D. or Ph.D. Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW Marriage Family Therapists - M.A. AP Psychology Research Methods: Experiments Research Methods – Essential Methods • How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental processes? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different research methods? • How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from research? Scientific Method Create testable operational definitions Be curious. Question your world. Collect data using DESCRIPTIVE Research Conduct more research Naturalistic Observation Survey Case Study Form a Hypothesis Relationship? CORRELATION Causation? EXPERIMENT Doesn’t support the hypothesis Continue to retest Use this to predict and explain the world Supports the hypothesis Create a Theory Be curious! 1. Does involvement in HS athletics improve academic performance? 2. Does excessive texting impede face-to-face relationships? 3. Does personality influence musical preferences? 4. Do ads portraying unrealistic body types reduce the selfimage of the viewer? 5. Does student consumption of caffeine in the morning improve first period grades? 6. Does gamification of the classroom improve increase student engagement? Be curious! 7. Does a community service requirement positively or negatively impact student opinions of community service? 8. Do we use twitter/facebook/ask.fm/ etc. as an appropriate outline for angst? 9. Do teacher websites improve student performance in class? 10. Does focus on minor rules (flip-flops and hats) reduce student adherence to major rules (insubordination or class cutting)? Research Methods 1. Description – gathering evidence about A and B 2. Correlation – A and B are related 3. Experiment – A causes B Descriptive Research Methods in Psychology • Case Studies – Detailed in-depth description and analysis of one or a few people – Observation, scores on psychological tests, interviews etc. – Prominent in psychology – Piaget used this to develop his theory of cognitive development – Takes advantage of nonreplicable situations – Observer bias is a problem – Unable to make generalizations past person being studied Research Methods in Psychology • Naturalistic Observation – Systematic observation in natural setting – The main drawback is observer bias • (expectations or biases of the observer that might distort or influence the interpretation of what was observed.) – Observing and recording behavior of animals in the wild, to recording self-seating patterns in lunch rooms in a multiracial school constitutes naturalistic observation. – Not replicable so you can’t generalize Research Methods in Psychology • Surveys – A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people. – Questionnaires or interviews, such as polls prior to an election – Can generate a lot of information for a fairly low cost – Questions must be constructed carefully so as to not elicit socially appropriate answers Survey Wording Effect Wording can change the results of a survey. Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography be allowed on television? (not allowed vs. forbid) Survey False Consensus Effect A tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors. * Stronger When* • The behavior is seen to come from strong situational factors. • The matter at hand is seen as being important to the person. • When we are largely sure we are correct. Example • Jeremy is always trying to climb the corporate ladder and has no shortage of sexual partners. In contrast, Justin, his subordinate at work, makes no effort to reach a higher position and is happy in his monogamous marriage to his high school sweetheart. Justin claims that he is quite happy as he is, but Jeremy insists that he is a “beta male” who has buried his real desires because he is too afraid to pursue them. – projects his beliefs, abilities, and desires upon others. – When others do not live up to his standards, concludes there is something wrong with him Operational Definition • An exact description of how to derive a value for a characteristic you are measuring. It includes a precise definition of the characteristic and how, specifically, data collectors are to measure the characteristic. • What you are studying determines the type of data you get. Survey Random Sampling From a population if each member has an equal chance of inclusion into a sample, we call that a random sample (unbiased). If the survey sample is biased, its results are questionable. The fastest way to know about the marble color ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller jar and count them. Comparison Research Method Advantages Limitations Naturalistic Observation •More accurate than reports after the fact •Behavior is more natural •Observer can alter behavior •Observational Bias •Cannot be generalized Case Studies •Depth •Takes advantage of circumstances that could not be coordinated in an experiment •Not representative •Time consuming and expensive •Observational Bias Surveys • Immense amount of data •Quick and inexpensive • Sampling biases can skew results •Bad Questions can corrupt data •Accuracy depends on the ability and willingness of the participants. Research Methods in Psychology • Experimental Research – The only research method that can be used to determine cause and effect – Often called the experimental method – A researcher systematically manipulates a variable under controlled conditions. Components of an Experiment • Participants or subjects • Variable – Factors that can have different values • Operational Definition – Describes the specific procedure used to determine the presence of a variable • Independent variable (IV) – Cause (what you are studying) – This is the variable that is manipulated by the experimenter • Dependent variable (DV) – Effect (result of experiment) – This is the variable that is measured by the experimenter – It DEPENDS on the independent variable Components of an Experiment cont’d • Things to worry about – Confounding/Intervening Variables – differences (other than the IV of course) that arise due to poor planning, sloppy work, or bias. – Experimenter Bias - Expectations by the experimenter that might influence the results of an experiment or its interpretation. Hint • A good way to determine the IV from the DV is to word the Hypothesis in the form of an “If . . . then . . .” statement. • What follows the IF is the IV • What follows the THEN is the DV Components of an Experiment that involves treatments of some kind. •Experimental group – Receives treatment or has the DV changed •Control group – Does not receive treatment or doesn’t have the DV changed, but is the same in every other way – Demand Characteristics – clues participants perceive about the experiment suggesting how they should respond. Clinical Research Studies performed in humans that are intended to increase knowledge about how well a diagnostic test or treatment works in a particular patient population. Clinical Research cont’d Single-blind Procedure Participants don’t know which treatment group – experimental or control – they are in Placebo / Placebo effect Fake treatment / Some paricipants expect improvement in health so they imagine it Double-blind Procedure In evaluating drug therapies it important to keep the patients and experimenter’s assistants blind to which patients got real treatment and which placebo. Clinical Research cont’d Random Assignment Assigning participants to experimental (Breast-fed) and control (formula-fed) conditions by random assignment minimizes pre-existing differences between the two groups. This is not the same as random selection! A summary of steps during experimentation. Breast milk makes babies smarter! Experimentation Exploring Cause and Effect Like other sciences, experimentation makes the backbone of research in psychology. Experiments isolate causes and their effects. AP Psychology Research Methods: Correlation Hypothesis Hypothesis is a testable prediction that lets us accept, reject or revise a theory. For Example: If families do not stress gender differences then there will be fewer sex differences in siblings. Theory Theory is an EXPLANATION based on evidence that PREDICTS behaviors or events. A Theory must: 1. Fit the known facts 2. Predict new discoveries 3. Be falsifiable 4. Be simple. The simpler the better – Occam’s Razor Families influence the gendering of their children. Research Methods in Psychology • Correlational Research – Research technique based on the naturally occurring relationship between two or more variables – Used to make PREDICTIONS, such as the relation between SAT scores and success at college – Cannot be used to determine cause and effect Scatterplots Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) Scatterplot is a graph that comprises of points generated by values of two variables. The slope of points depicts the direction, The amount of scatter shows the strength of relationship. Scatterplots Perfect negative correlation (-1.00) No relationship (0.00) Scatterplot on the left shows a relation between the variables, and the one on the right shows no relationship between the two variables. Correlation When one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate. Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00) Correlation coefficient Correlation Coefficient is a statistical measure of relationship between two variables. r = + 0.37 Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Study of Low Self Esteem and Depression • You do the research because you assume the two are related • Compare two variables – Variable 1 = Score on a self-esteem test – Variable 2 = Length of a bought of depression in months –Score on a self-esteem test –Length of a bought of depression in months Correlation and Causation or Correlation is not Causation: It only predicts!!!! • Children with big feet reason better than children with small feet. – • (Children who are older have bigger feet than younger children; thus they can reason better) Study done in Korea: The most predictive factor in the use of birth control use was the number of appliances in the home. – (Those who have electrical appliances probably have higher socioeconomic level, and thus are probably better educated.) Correlation is not Causation: It only predicts!!!! • People who often ate Frosted Flakes as children had half the cancer rate of those who never ate the cereal. Conversely, those who often ate oatmeal as children were four times more likely to develop cancer than those who did not. – Cancer tends to be a disease of later life. Those who ate Frosted Flakes are younger. In fact, the cereal was not around until the 1950s (when older respondents were children, and so they are much more likely to have eaten oatmeal.) In a Gallup poll, surveyors asked, “Do you believe correlation implies causation?’” • 64% of American’s answered “Yes” . • 38% replied “No”. • The other 8% were undecided. The Simpsons (Season 7, "Much Apu About Nothing") Homer: Not a bear in sight. The "Bear Patrol" is working like a charm! Lisa: That's specious reasoning, Dad. Homer: [uncomprehendingly] Thanks, honey. Lisa: By your logic, I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away. Homer: Hmm. How does it work? Lisa: It doesn't work; it's just a stupid rock! Homer: Uh-huh. Lisa: But I don't see any tigers around, do you? Homer: (pause) Lisa, I want to buy your rock. Consider the following research undertaken by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio appearing to show a link between consumption of diet soda and weight gain. The study of more than 600 normal-weight people found, eight years later, that they were 65 percent more likely to be overweight if they drank one diet soda a day than if they drank none. And if they drank two or more diet sodas a day, they were even more likely to become overweight or obese. Third or Missing Variable Problem A relationship other than causal might exist between the two variables. It's possible that there is some other variable or factor that is causing the outcome. There are two relationships which can be mistaken for causation: 1. Common response 2. Confounding • Ice cream sales and the number of shark attacks on swimmers are correlated. • Skirt lengths and stock prices are highly correlated (as stock prices go up, skirt lengths get shorter). • The number of cavities in elementary school children and vocabulary size are strongly correlated. 1. Common Response: Both X and Y respond to changes in some unobserved variable, Z. All three of our previous examples are examples of common response.