Introduction to Psychology
Development of Psychological Science
Psychoanalysis (1920s)
: Focused on: o Emotional responses to childhood experiences o Unconscious though processes o Sexual urges/desires and how they impact behavior Sigmund Freud
Behaviorism (1920s)
Psychology is the "scientific study of observable behavior"
Behaviorists believe that you can only study behavior that is observable -- cannot study mental processes, thoughts, feelings, sensations
John Watson and B.F. Skinner
Humanistic Psychology (1960s)
Emphasized importance of: o Environmental influences o Individual's potential for personal growth o Need for love and acceptance Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
Cognitive Psychology (1960s)
Explores the ways we perceive, process, and remember information Cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field that studies the brain activity underlying cognition o Including perception, thinking, memory and language
Modern Definition of Psychology
: Scientific study of behavior and mental processes o Behavior = anything we can observe and record o Mental processes = internal subjective experiences we infer from behavior Psychology has evolved into a scientific discipline with interdisciplinary implications across the major subfields
Psychology's Three Main Levels of Analysis
:Biopsychosocial Approach (Behavior or mental process) o Biological influences o Psychological influences o Social-cultural influences
Psychology's Current Perspectives
1) Neuroscience 2) Evolutionary 3) Behavioral 4) Psychodynamic 5) Cognitive 6) Social-cultural
Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry
Clinical psychologist (Ph. D.) studies, assesses, and treats individual using evidence- based psychotherapy
Psychiatrists are medical professionals (M.D) who use prescription medication to treat psychiatric symptoms
Psychological Research: The Science of Psychology
Empiricism vs. Intuition
Hindsight bias o Tendency to believe that once you have learned it, you knew it all along Overconfidence . Perceiving order in random events
Thinking Critically
Critical thinking examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values. evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions Reduces bias, with its focus on evidence-based conclusions - Very relevant for therapy
Key Terms
> Scientific method > Theory o Explains through an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events > Hypotheses o Testable predictions, theory-driven > Operational Definitions o Used to define research variables in a specific way : Happy : Depressed : Athletic
Types of Research Strategies
Descriptive % Case Study o Observation o Survey
Correlational o Examines associations between variables o Statistical measure demonstrating how closely two items vary together (how well either one predicts the other) o Positive correlation or Negative correlation Correlation By Itself, Does Not Mean Causation!!
Experimental o Exploring cause and effect by: Manipulating variables Controlling for the other factors oIndependent (IV) and Dependent (DV) Variables - IV: Variable that is manipulated - DV: Variable that is measured o Key for experimental design = random assignment : Randomizing people into groups Quantitative o Classify features, count them, apply statistical models to explain what is observed Data are in the form of numbers and statistics Objec