INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Chapter 1
Foundations
At the end of this Chapter you should be able to:
Understand the scope of psychology
Different perspectives in psychology
The scientific research method in psychology
Different Approahes in Ps!ho"o#!
Psychology is the scientific study of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. An
approach or perspective in psychology is a particular view as to why, and how,
it is we thin, feel, and behave as we do.
$eha%iora"
!ehavioral Psychology is basically interested in how our behavior results from the
stimuli both in the environment and within ourselves.
$io"o#ia"
The biological approach believes us to be as a conse"uence of our genetics and
physiology. #t is the only approach in psychology that e$amines thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors from a physical point of view.
&%o"utionar!
%volutionary psychology focus on how evolution has shaped the mind and behavior.
De%e"op'enta"
Developmental psychology, also nown as &uman Development, is the scientific
study of progressive psychological changes that occur in human beings as they
age.
Ps!hod!na'i
'igmund (reud was the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology. This
school of thought emphasi)ed the influence of the unconscious mind on
behavior.
Cu"tura" (u"tiu"tura"
(ocus is on the role of social and cultural factors and especially on differences
between cultural, ethnic, gender, se$ual preference and racial groups.
Co#niti%e
(ocus on our information processes of perception, attention, language, memory, and
thining, and how they influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
$readth of Content
Ps!ho"o#!) the stud! of **
why we do what we do*
why we feel the way we feel*
why we thin as we thin*
Hu'an +eha%ior
+hat is uni"ue about humans,
+hat do we have in common with other species,
&ow do we differ from each other,
&ow did we come to be who we are,
Hu'ans a"one and in onte,t)
&ow do we act when we are alone,
&ow do we act when we are with one other person,
&ow do we act when we are in a group,
$readth of Content
Ps!ho"o#! o%ers a %ariet! of topis)
1* The -or.in#s of the "i%in# +rain)
metabolic activity gives clues about brain -behavior relationships
no such thing as .memory center. or .reading center.
brain regions: wor in coordination
/* (e'or!)
'tudied as function, not .brain region.
/%yewitness0 memory: window into comple$ity of topic
Common areas of study:
errors of commission
errors of omission
0* Innate Capaities
Achievement through e$perience
+e remember what has happened and alter behavior accordingly
Achievement through innate capacity
%ven seen in infants in areas such as arithmetic 123
1* Disp"a!s and Co''uniation
'ocial topic 1Taes two to communicate3
4erbal
5anguage, sound
Display
!ody structure 1tail feathers in peacoc3, behavior or posture 1smile or folded arms3
2* Soia" $eha%ior in Hu'ans
4aried as compared to most animals
(le$ible as compared to most animals
'trategic and careful, but also unconscious and irrational
Changes when social behavior occurs around more than one person 1large groups,
crowds, mobs3
3h! does soia" +eha%ior han#e so 'uh under these iru'stanes4
6ood "uestion for psychology
Di%ersit! of Perspeti%es
7any perspectives used to study the breadth of psychology8s content
%$ample: Different perspectives that can be brought to bear on a single
phenomena: %AT#96
To stud! &ATING5 -e an "oo. at)
!iological !asis for eating
Cultural #nfluences on eating
%ating and the social world
%ating Disorders
Cognitive Control over eating
The Development of (ood Preferences
3hat is it That Unites Ps!ho"o#!4
Two themes give the field coherence:
The'e 1) The TYP&S of 6U&STIONS ps!ho"o#ists as.
+hy do we do what we do,
+hy do we thin what we thin,
+hy do we feel what we feel,
The'e /) The 3AYS -e ANS3&R those 7uestions
The Sientifi (ethod
Different Researh (ethods used in Ps!ho"o#!
The goals of psychological studies are to describe, e$plain, predict, and perhaps
influence mental processes or behavior. #n order to do this, psychologists
utili)e the scientific method to conduct psychological research. The scientific
method is a set of principles and procedures that are used by researchers to
develop "uestions, collect data, and reach conclusions.
Researh (ethods
:esearch methods fall into two /design0 categories in psychology. :esearch methods
that are e$perimental in design include the laboratory, field and "uasi;
e$periment. 9on;e$perimental methods include the observational, survey,
interview and case study methods.
%$perimental methods produce measurable "uantitative data. 9on;e$perimental
methods can sometimes give you "uantitative data but information is more
liely to be descriptive or "ualitative in nature. The type of data produced by a
particular method affects the validity and reliability of the research results.
O+ser%ation
Perhaps the simplest form of research is 19aturalistic3 <bservation.
#t means, observing behavior in their natural environment. #t often involves
counting behaviors, such as number of aggressive acts, number of smiles, etc.
Corre"ationa" Studies
Correlation means relationship, so the purpose of a correlational study is to
determine if a relationship e$ists, what direction the relationship is, and how
strong it is. #t can not mae any assumptions of cause and effect 1no
causation3.
#n Correlational 'tudies, the relationship is between two variables. There are three
possible results of a correlational study: a positive correlation, a negative
correlation, and no correlation. These are usually shown in graphs.
The correlation coefficient is a measure of correlation strength and can range from =
>.?? to @>.??.
Positive Correlations: !oth variables increase or decrease at the same time. A
correlation coefficient close to @>.?? indicates a strong positive correlation.
9egative Correlations: #ndicates that as the amount of one variable increases,
the other decreases 1and vice versa3. A correlation coefficient close to ;>.??
indicates a strong negative correlation.
9o Correlation: #ndicates no relationship between the two variables.
'trong linear correlation: The closer the number is to > or ;>, the stronger the
correlation, or the stronger the relationship between the variables.
+ea linear correlation: The closer the number is to ?, the weaer the correlation
&,peri'enta" Studies
Unlie correlational research methods or psychological tests, e$periments can
provide information about cause;and;effect relationships between variables. #n
an e$periment, a researcher manipulates or changes a particular variable
under controlled conditions while observing resulting changes in another
variable or variables.
4ariable: A factor or element that can change in observable and measurable ways.
#ndependent 4ariable 1#43 = the variable that is manipulated by the e$perimenter
1input variable3
Dependent 4ariable 1D43 = the outcome variable 1results of the e$periment3
The control group: made up of individuals who are randomly assigned to a group
but do not receive the treatment. The measures taes from the control group
are then compared to those in the e$perimental group to determine if the
treatment had an effect.
The e$perimental group: made up of individuals who are randomly assigned to the
group and then receive the treatment. The scores of these participants are
compared to those in the control group to determine if the treatment had an
effect.
%$perimental &ypothesis: !y defining our variables that we will use to test our
theory we derive at our hypothesis, which is a testable form of a theory that
guess about the possible relationship between two or more variables.
The researcher manipulates the independent variable and observes the dependent
variable. The dependent variable may be affected by changes in the
independent variable. #n other words, the dependent variable depends 1or is
thought to depend3 on the independent variable.
&,a'p"e
&ypothesis: +e can increase the success of students in 7athematics course, by the
use of praisal motivation techni"ue.
(irst, two groups should be formed, which are e"ual to eachother in terms of age,
intelligence, education and math competence* 6roup A and 6roup !
Then, the same instructor, teaches the same 7ath topics to each group, with the
same method.
The students in 6roup A are praised for their wor, whereas the students in 6roup !
do not receive any words of motivation at all...
A couple of days later the same test is given to both groups, and the results show
that students in 6roup A 1praised3 are more successful than the students in
group ! 1not praised3
(or this e$ample:
Dependant variable is ....
The success level of the students
#ndependant variable is ....
Praisal
The %$perimental group is...
6roup A* which was motivated by praisal
The Control group is...
6roup !* which did not receive any praisal
Co'parison
O$S&R8ATION
Advantages
high degree of realism because are in natural environments
data on large number of variables can be collected at the same time
researcher doesnAt have as great an impact on the study as he-she may in other
strategies
Disadvantages
variables not manipulated by the researcher
unable to infer causality
measurement of variables less precise than in laboratory
CORR&LATIONAL STUDI&S
Advantages
shows if two or more variables are related
allows general predictions
used both in natural and laboratory settings
Disadvantages
Does not permit identification of cause and effect
&9P&RI(&NTAL STUDI&S
Advantages
allows researcher to control the situation
Permits researcher to identify cause and effect
Disadvantages
situation is artificial and can not be always generalised to the real world
sometimes difficult to avoid e$perimenter effects