Introduction to Psychology: Understanding Different Theoretical Approaches in Psychology, Assignments of Introduction to Psychology

Download Introduction to Psychology: Understanding Different Theoretical Approaches in Psychology and more Assignments Introduction to Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! AP Students—please review this study guide in preparation for your Unit 1 exam Introduction to Psychology Study Guide Chapter: Prologue (The Story of Psychology) AP Objective I: History and Approaches (2-4%) Psychology has evolved markedly since its inception as a discipline in 1879. There have been significant changes in the theories that psychologists use to explain behavior and mental processes. In addition, the methodology of psychological research has expanded to include a diversity of approaches to data gathering. AP Objective: Recognize how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought. Intro Terms:  Philosophy: The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge and reality. Asks questions such as “what is truth?”; “what is real?”; “how do we know what we know?”; “what is knowledge?” etc.  Physiology: Branch of biology that studies the function and parts of living organisms (cells, bodily systems, organs, etc.). Psychology’s Ancient Greek Roots  Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC): o Thought the mind/soul resided in the brain, but had no physical substance. This theory is called mind-body dualism and suggests that the body and mind are separate entities.  Plato: (428-423 BC): o Also believed in dualism. o Used self-examination of inner ideas and experiences to conclude that who we are and what we know are innate (inborn). This knowledge is not obtainable simply by observing the physical world.  Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC): o A student of Plato, Aristotle believed that the mind/soul results from our anatomy and physiological processes. o He believed in monoism, the idea that the mind and body are one in the same. o He believed that reality is best studied by observation, and that who we are and what we know are derived from experience. o We derive truth from the physical world. Advent of the Scientific Revolution (c.1600-1700)  René Descartes (1596-1650): o Defended mind-body dualism and that what we know is innate (like Plato). o World and creatures are all machines; humans are the exception because we have minds. o The mind is not observable, so is not subject to natural laws; the mind is what makes us distinct from other living creatures.  John Locke (1632-1704): o Believed the mind and body are one (monoism, like Aristotle). o Knowledge comes from observation and experience. o We are born as blank slates (tabula rasa), so what we know comes from experience.  This theory has since been disproven. o The mind is subject to natural laws.  Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679): o Believed the idea of a soul, spirit, or mind is meaningless. o The only things that exist are matter and energy (materialism). o What we experience as consciousness is a byproduct of the brain’s machinery. o Greatly influenced the behaviorists. AP Objective: Identify major historical figures in psychology.  Dorthea Dix (1802-1887): o American activist on behalf of the mentally insane (terminology used at the time). o Lobbied Congress to create the first generation of mental asylums.  Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920): o Considered the father of psychology. o Founded first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879, dedicated to the scientific study of the immediate conscious experience of sensation. o Using careful methodology, he trained is associates to objectively analyze their sensory experiences systematically through introspection (inward looking). o Required that results of experiments be replicated in order to be validated. o School of Structuralism: focused on the structure of the mind and identification of the basic elements of consciousness (sensations, feelings, and images) using trained introspection.  Edward Titchener (1867-1927): o Student of Wilhelm Wundt. o Analyzed consciousness into its basic elements and investigated how elements were related (structuralism). o Used introspection.  G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924): o American psychologist o Set up lab at Johns Hopkins University employing introspection. o Helped found the American Psychological Association. o Focused on child development and evolutionary theory  William James (1842-1910): o Thought structuralists were asking the wrong questions. o Was interested in the function or purpose of behavioral acts. o Viewed humans as more actively involved in processing sensations and actions. o Wrote the first psychology textbook called Principles of Psychology. o School of Functionalism: focused on the application of psychological findings to practical situations and the function of mental operations in adapting to the environment. The goal was to explain behavior.  Evolutionary o Focuses on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behavior. o Argues that evolution molds our physical features and our behavior, such as decision making, levels of aggressiveness, fears, and mating patterns. o Important figures include: Charles Darwin  Biological o Focuses on how the body and its biological processes, especially the brain, influence thought and behavior. o Neuroscience  The scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system (which includes the brain and the spinal cord).  Cognitive o Focuses on the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems. o Emphasizes the importance of how our mind processes, stores, and retrieves information. o Examines how thinking influences behavior. o Important figures include: Jean Piaget  Sociocultural o Focuses on the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior. o Argues that you must understand a person’s culture and social environment in order to understand their behavior. o Focuses not only on comparisons of behavior across different countries but also on the behavior of individuals from different ethnic and cultural groups within a single country.  Biopsychosocial o Emphasizes that no single theoretical approach explains all aspects of behavior. o Different perspectives offer different pieces of the same puzzle. o Explores how biological, psychological, and social-cultural forces work together to influence a person’s thoughts and behavior. AP Objective: Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.  The various psychological approaches provide different views of the same behavior, and all of them may offer valuable insights that the other perspectives miss.  No single theoretical approach explains all aspects of behavior, so trying to explain thought and behavior from only one perspective is limiting.  The most widely accepted approach today is the biopsychosocial approach because it uses multiple perspectives to explain thought and behavior. AP Objective: Distinguish the different domains of psychology.  Biological Psychology: How the body and brain enables emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences.  Clinical Psychology: Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.  Cognitive Psychology: How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.  Counseling Psychology: Assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.  Developmental Psychology: Studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan.  Educational Psychology: Studies how psychological processes affect and enhance teaching and learning.  Experimental Psychology: Pure science that conducts research in order to contribute more knowledge to the field.  Human Factors Psychology: Studies how humans interact with machines and technology. Attempts to create technological systems that enhance human capabilities.  Industrial-organizational (I/O) Psychology: Uses psychology’s concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems.  Personality Psychology: Studies an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. Personality psychologists are interested in the aspects of your psychological makeup that make you uniquely you.  Psychometrics: The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits. This is closely tied to experimental psychology.  Social Psychology: Studies how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. Studies the influence of groups on a person’s thinking and behavior and how the groups to which we belong influence our attitudes.  Psychiatry: A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians (medical doctors) who sometimes provide medical treatments (such as drugs) as well as therapy. A psychiatrist is not a psychologist. Psychiatrists attend medical school while psychologists do not.  Positive Psychology: The scientific study of the strengths and values that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the believe that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. In simpler terms, it is the study of happiness and how to make people and communities happier.  Forensic Psychology: Applies psychological knowledge to legal matters. Helps to create public policies related to mental health, helps law-enforcement agencies in criminal investigations, and helps in the process of jury selection.  Sports Psychology: Studies how psychological factors affect performance and participation in sports,  Cross Cultural Psychology: Compares the nature of psychological processes in different cultures with a particular focus on whether psychological phenomena are universal or specific to an individual culture.  Health Psychology: Studies the psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. Studies the roles of stress and coping in people’s lives. Research Methods Study Guide Chapter: 1 (Thinking Critically with Psychological Science) AP Objective II: Research Methods (8-10%) Psychology is an empirical discipline. Psychologists develop knowledge by doing research. Research provides guidance for psychologists who develop theories to explain behavior and who apply theories to solve problems in behavior. Part 1: The Need for Psychological Science  Our intuition is more inaccurate than we realize.  Hindsight Bias o Also known as the knew-it-all-along effect o The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that you could have predicted or foreseen it all along.  Example: When the Patriot’s came back to win the Super Bowl, many people looked back after the game and said they knew it would happen all along when really there was no evidence to indicate that (after all, the Falcons were winning by a mile for the majority of the game). o We think things are more predictable than they really are.  Overconfidence o We humans tend to think we know more than we do. o We are wrong far more often than we realize.  Perceiving Order in Random Events o We have a tendency to look for patterns and meaning even when they aren’t there. o Random sequences often don’t look random even though they are. Part 2: The Scientific Method  Theory o A tested and widely accepted model that helps explain and predict behaviors or events. o It is based on observations, experiments, and reason (logical thinking/arguments). o One feature of a good theory is that it should be falsifiable.  If you can find one instance where the theory is proven wrong and replicate the study and results, the theory can be rejected. o Example: As hours of sleep decrease, levels of stress increase.  Zero Correlation: there is no systematic relation between the variables.  Scatterplot: A type of graph that is used to represent correlations.  CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION: Just because two variables are related does not mean that one causes the other. o Being able to predict one event based on the occurrence of another event does not necessarily tell us anything about the cause of either event. o Confounding Variable: Some other variable that has not been measured which may account for the relationship between two others.  Example: If the increase of ice cream sales correlates with an increase in violent crime, it would be silly to suggest that one causes the other. One or more confounding variables are likely involved. o Even if one variable was the cause of the other, a correlation coefficient could not tell us which was the cause and which was the effect.  Cross-Sectional Design: compares different population groups at the same time. o Allows you to measure the correlation between variables among different groups.  Example: a study that splits men and women into separate groups and then measures the relationship between sleep deprivation and stress levels among each group.  This allows you to see whether the same variables relate differently among different groups.  Longitudinal Design: measures the relationship between two variables within the same population over time. o This shows how the relationship between the two variables changes as people grow older.  Example: by measuring the relationship between sleep deprivation and stress levels in the same population over time, we can see if age plays a role in the relationship between the two variables.  This only works if you use the same participants from beginning to end. Part 5: Experimental Research Experimental research is the only way to determine a cause and effect relation between variables.  Experiment: a carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable. o Example: to measure whether taking antidepressants decreases depression, the researcher would create two groups: one that takes the medication and one that does not. By comparing the results between the groups, the experimenter can determine whether taking antidepressants does indeed reduce depression.  Experimental Group: the people who receive the treatment.  Control Group: the people who do not receive the treatment.  Random Assignment: assigning participants to experimental and control groups randomly, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups. o This allows us to determine whether the treatment itself caused the result and not some other confounding variable.  Population: the entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions.  Sample: the subset of the population chosen by the investigator to study.  Random Sample: a sample that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.  Representative Sample: a sample that accurately represents the population being studied. You can only obtain a representative sample by randomly selecting participants from the population.  We tend to generalize from samples we observe, so if we want our studies to be accurate, we must make sure we select participants that accurately represent the population we are studying.  We achieve this by selecting participants randomly rather than targeting a specific group.  Example: your study of whether lack of sleep impacts performance on college exams would be broken down as follows: o Population: college students o Representative Random Sample: the group of college students randomly selected to participate in the study.  Variables involved in experiments: o Independent Variable: the variable that the experimenter manipulates in order to determine its effects.  It is a potential cause of some outcome (dependent variable). o Dependent Variable: the variable that may change as a result of manipulations in the independent variable.  Represents the outcome (effect) in an experiment.  Is dependent on the independent variable. o Independent and dependent variables are two of the most important concepts in psychological research. Remember:  The independent variable is the cause.  The dependent variable is the effect. Some Cautions About Experimental Research  If the results of a research study are replicated (repeated multiple times by different experimenters), the results are considered to be reliable. o Reliability: the degree to which a research study produces stable and consistent results.  Just because a study is reliable doesn’t mean the study is valid. o Validity: the credibility or believability of the research.  External validity: the degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real- world issues it is supposed to address.  Often, operationalizing variables in the lab involves creating models of real- world experiences. External validity is concerned with how will those models represent the real-world contexts they are meant to represent.  Internal validity: the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable.  This allows us to determine whether the experimental methods are free from biases and logical errors that may confound the results.  Experimenter Bias: occurs when the experimenter’s expectations influence the outcome of the research.  Research Participant Bias: occurs when the behavior of research participants during the experiment is influenced by how they think they are supposed to behave or by their expectations about what is happening to them. o Placebo Effect: occurs when the participants’ expectations, rather than the experimental treatment, produce a particular outcome. o Placebo: a harmless substance that looks like a real pill, but has no physiological effect. Given to the participants in a control group to make them think they are receiving the treatment.  Example: if a member of the control group thinks they are being treated with an antidepressant when really it is just a placebo, they might believe the pill is working and report feeling less depressed.  Giving individuals in the control group a placebo pill allows researchers to determine whether changes in the experimental group are due to the actual medication and not simply the participants’ expectations.  Double-Blind Experiment: An experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until the results are calculated. o This helps make sure that neither the experimenter’s nor the participants’ expectations affect the outcome of the study. Part 6: Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics are mathematical procedures that are used to describe and summarize sets of data in a meaningful way. They reveal the “big picture”—the overall characteristics of the data and the variation among them.  Measures of Central Tendency: a single number that represents the overall characteristics of a set of data. Measures of central tendency neatly summarize data. o Mean: the average score in a sample  Obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.  The best measure of central tendency. o Median: the middle score in a sample  if you arrange all the scores in order from the highest to the lowers, half will be above the median and half will be below it. o Mode: the most common score in a sample