David G. Myers. Exploring Psychology Seventh Edition

Transcription

1 David G. Myers Exploring Psychology Seventh Edition

2 Psychology s Roots Prescientific Psychology Is the mind connected to the body or distinct? Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?

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4 Psychology s Roots Empiricism knowledge comes from experience via the senses science flourishes through observation and experiment

5 Psychology s Roots Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig (c. 1879)

6 Psychology s Roots Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

7 Psychology s Roots Functionalism focused on how behavioral processes function- how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

8 Psychological Science is Born Psychology originated in many disciplines and countries. It was, until the 1920s, defined as the science of mental life. 8

9 A Definition Psychology the science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings)

10 Psychological Science Develops Behaviorists Skinner ( ) Watson ( ) Watson and later Skinner emphasized the study of overt behavior as the subject matter of scientific psychology. 10

11 Maslow ( ) Rogers ( ) Psychological Science Develops Humanistic Psychology Maslow and Rogers emphasized current environmental influences on our growth potential and our need for love and acceptance. 11

12 Psychology s Big Question Nature versus Nurture The controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience. Nurture works on what nature endows. 12

13 Psychology s Three Main Levels of Analysis 13

14 Psychology s Current Perspectives Perspective Focus Sample Questions Neuroscience Evolutionary Behavior genetics How the body and brain enables emotions? How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one s genes? How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences? How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? How does evolution influence behavior tendencies? To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment? 14

15 Psychology s Current Perspectives Perspective Focus Sample Questions Psychodynamic Behavioral How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts? How we learn observable responses? How can someone s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas? How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking? 15

16 Psychology s Current Perspectives Perspective Focus Sample Questions Cognitive How we encode, process, store and retrieve information? How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving? Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures? How are we as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ? 16

17 Tips for Studying Psychology Psychology can teach you how to ask and answer important questions. Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse and Review (SQ3R) Survey: What you are about to read, including chapter outlines and section heads. Question: Ask questions. Make notes. Read: Look for the answer to your questions by reading a manageable amount at a time. Rehearse: Recall what you ve read in your own words. Test yourself with quizzes. Review: What you learn. Read over notes and quickly review the whole chapter. 17

18 Brain Rules from John Medina book Exercise boosts brain power 2. The human brain evolved, too. 3. Every brain is wired differently. 4. We don t pay attention to boring things. 5. Repeat to remember. 6. Remember to repeat. 7. Sleep well, think well. 8. Stressed brains don t learn the same way. 9. Stimulate more of the senses. 10. Vision trumps all other senses. 11. Male and female brains are different. 12. We are powerful and natural explorers.

19 The Scientific Method

20 The Scientific Method Theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations Hypothesis a testable prediction often implied by a theory

21 The Scientific Method Operational Definition a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables example- intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

22 Description Psychologists describe behavior using case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation

23 Description Survey technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people

24 Description

25 Obama gets a bounce. New poll shows him up by 6 It took a while to arrive, perhaps, but Barack Obama seemed to get a convention/vice presidential selection bounce in the latest Gallup poll. The new poll shows Obama leading John McCain by 48 percent of registered voters to 42 percent. That's about the lead he'd maintained in August in the polling groups daily tracking poll, up until a couple weeks ago, when numbers for the two fell into the "too close to call" category. In recent days, the poll once showed McCain leading Obama by a couple points. So, once again, the usual disclaimors: this is a poll, this is August, it's national and not state by state, etc... And, perhaps most importantly, the GOP convention is next week, and when they're dominating the airwaves, they're also likely to get a bump in the polls. But for the Obama campaign, it has to be a relief not to stagnate during a time in the campaign that usually brings around support. Submitted by Matt Schofield on August 28, :52pm.

26 Description Case Study observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principals Is language uniquely human?

27 Description Naturalistic Observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

28 Sampling Population all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study Random Sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

29 Experimentation Experiment an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

30 Experimentation Double-Blind Procedure both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo commonly used in drug-evaluation studies Placebo an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent

31 Experimentation Experimental Condition the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable Control Condition the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental treatment serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

32 Experimentation Independent Variable the experimental factor that is manipulated the variable whose effect is being studied Dependent Variable the experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process

33 Experimentation

34 You can see a lot by observing. Yogi Berra

35 Questions About Psychology Is psychology free of value judgments? Your expectations and background influence your perception and understanding.