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00 CH 1: INTRO TO THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology science of the mind & behavior Amygdala activated whenever people are afraid & often when they have strong emotional reactions in general. Behavior the outwardly observable acts of a person, alone or in a group. o Typically is preceded by mental events (ex. Perception of the current situation) & a decision about what to do next

LEVELS OF ANALYSIS (3) the brain, the person, & the group 1. Level of the Brain a. psychologists focus on both the activity & the structure & properties of the brain 2. Level of the Person a. Psychologists focus on mental events the contents & functions of the mind. i. Mental contents consist of knowledge, beliefs, desires, & feelings. ii. Mental processes consist of sets of operations that work together to carry out a function, such as attention, perception, or memory. 3. Level of the Group a. Psychologist focus on the ways that collections of people shape the mind & behavior. b. Events that involve relations between people (such as love, competition, & cooperation), relationships among groups, & culture. Events at each level modify & trigger events at the other levels PSYCHOLOGY THEN & NOW The roots of psychology lie in philosophy (the field that relies on logic & speculation to understand the nature of reality, experience, & values) & physiology (studies the biological workings of the body) Early Days The earliest scientific psychologists werent interested in why we behave as we do, but on understanding the operation of perception, memory, & problem solving. A. Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt founder of scientific psychology. Structuralism school of psychology that sought to identify the basic elements of consciousness (occurs at the level of the person) & to describe the rules & circumstances under which these elements combine to form mental structures.

Goal: describe the rules that determine how particular sensations or feelings may occur at the same time or in sequence combining into mental structures. Introspection: technique of observing your mental events as, or immediately after, they occur. Structuralists primary research tool. B. Functionalism Sought to understand how the mind helps individuals to adapt to the world around them Why humans think, feel, & behave as we do. Influenced by Charles Darwin & natural selection. William James (1842-1910) 1st psychology lab in the US. Theorized that some human psychology is related to the psychology of animals. Meant that study of animal behavior could provide clues about characteristics of the human mind & behavior. C. Gestalt Psychology The whole is more that the sum of its parts. Interested in consciousness as it arises during perception. Psychodynamic Theory Continual push & pull interaction among conscious & unconscious thoughts & feelings. Unconscious outside conscious awareness & cant be brought into consciousness at will. Slips of tongue & dreams Sigmund Freud Behaviorism (early 20th century) How a specific stimulus (object, person, or event) evokes a specific response (behavior in reaction to the stimulus) Stimulus-response associations (level of the person) John B. Watson, Thorndike, B.F. Skinner Reinforcement a desirable consequence that occurs after an individual responds to a stimulus in a particular way. o Ex. Reward such payment for a job. Punishment Humanistic Psychology o people have positive values, free will, & deep inner creativity, which in combination can allow them to choose life-fulfilling paths to personal growth. o Level of the person o Carl Rogers o Client-centered therapy. Cognitive Psychology attempts to characterize the mental events that allow info to be stored & operated on internally. The mind is like the software (with stored data) on the computer, & the brain is like the hardware (machine)

*Cognitive revolution led to new ways of conceptualizing & treating mental disorders. Evolutionary Psychology assumes that certain cognitive strategies & goals are so important that natural selection has built them into our brains. Ex. Lying. 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS 1. Clinical & Counseling Psychology Clinical psychologist trained to provide psychotherapy & to administer & interpret psychological tests. o Would deal with anorexia & bulimia Psychotherapy process of helping people learn to change so they can cope with troublesome thoughts, feelings, & behaviors. Counseling psychologist is trained to help people with issues that naturally arise during the course of life. Psychiatrist a physician with special trainging in treating mental disorders. o Has M.D. o Can prescribe drugs. 2. Academic Psychology Focus on teaching & conducting research 3. Applied Psychology Uses the principles, findings, & theories of psychology to improve products & procedures, & conduct research to help solve specific practical problems. THE RESEARCH PROCESS I. The Scientific Method A way to gather facts thatll lead to the formulation & validation (or refutation) of a theory. Step #1: Systematically Observing Events Step #2: Formulating a Question Step #3: Forming a Hypothesis o Hypotheses often propose that one variable cause another. Step #4: Testing the Hypothesis o Operational definition defines a concept by indication how it is measured or manipulated. Step #5: Formulating a Theory o Theory consists of concepts or principles that explain a set of research findings. Focuses on the underlying reasons why certain relationships may exist in data. Step #6: Testing the Theory o Theories produce predictions new hypotheses that should be confirmed if the theory is correct.

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o A good theory is falsifiable; it can be rejected if the predictions arent confirmed. Techniques of Scientific Research a. Descriptive Research i. Naturalistic Observation Observe events as the naturally occur. Only the 1st step of scientific method ii. Case Studies Scientific study that focuses on a single participant, examining his or her psychological characteristics (at any or all of the levels of analysis) in detail. Goal is to discover underlying principles that can be applied to similar people Have to be cautious about generalizing iii. Surveys

Correlational Research Correlation DOESNT imply causation. Advantage allows researches to compare variables that cant be manipulated directly. Experimental Research Confounding variable any other aspect of the situation that varies along with the independent variable of interest & could be the actualy basis for what is measured. Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows researchers to combine results from different studies on the same topic in order to discover whether there is a relationship among variables. Reliability consistency; data are reliable if you obtain the same findings each time the variable is measured. Validity means that a method does in fact measure what its supposed to measure. Experimenter Expectancy Effects occur when an investigators expectations lead him or her to treat participants in a way that encourages them to produce the expected results.