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Psychology as an Empirical Science

January 19, 2010 10:12 AM

Almost all of the studies you will encounter investigate average effects across GROUPS of people. e.g. comparing the "experimental" to "control" group in a study and looking at mean differences. Or looking at relationships between variables. In psychology we test hypotheses, for example does exposure to violent media lead to violent behaviour? Suppose we test onetime exposure, what about lifetime exposure? Does it lead to 'normalizing' violent behaviour, or would the person simply get used to it and not be affected anymore. Even if you get people to report how many movies they have watched, they might not be honest. Two people watching a movie might not pay the same amount of attention to the movie. Violent people like violent media; it is possible that because of their violent nature they like violent media, not because they watch violent media that they are violent. Do a population analysis. Compare the Amish with normal people. e.g. correlation b/w M & V Longitudinal relationship b/w M->B (note, you can control for initial M and initial B) Experimental manipulation of M->B

Audio recording started: 10:39 AM January 19, 2010

Operationalization is the process of taking one's 'pure' theoretical construct and figuring out how to represent it through some sort of measurement device. Operationalization is itself based on a theory (e.g. the items on Scale X, or teacher's evaluations of schoolyard aggression, or criminal records, measure "violent tendencies" Why are measurement scales so repetitive? Because for each item, you dont really know how well it actually reflects the construct youre trying to measure. Some ways of expressing it: My friends and family think energy conservation is a good idea People who are important to me expect me to practice energy conservation in my house People who are important to me think it inappropriate if I were to waste energy (e.g., by leaving lights on in my home unnecessarily) When operationalizing, you have to ask a question more than once in more than one wording to get results that correlate and provide converging evidence. Finding relationships between variables. Correlation vs. causation e.g. the data suggests: people who are taller make more money. Correlation does not mean causation, but causation does mean correlation. Height and $$$ Age difference (were there kids in the sample?) Gender difference (third variable experiment)
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 Gender difference (third variable experiment) Could H lead to more money? (evolutionary social dominance) Money lead to health which leads to money. The logic of experiments: how do you know that one group just isn't different from the other to begin with? e.g. kids who watch more violent TV may have negligent parents, or more violent parents who also like violent TV Random assignment! (when possible) Note the possible of random chance as an alternative explanation - this is why sample size is so important. All studies have flaws e.g. problems with Constructed measurement (reliability and validity) Manipulation of the IV (not strong or precise enough) And more In the lecture slid\ Third variable explanations.

Confounds When running an experiment, you manipulate the IV. But.. What if another variable that you do not ovserve also varies with the IV, and it in turn causes the effects that you observe. i.e. A[C] --> B Does psychotherapy improve mental health? Psychotherapy involves the following: The specific psychotherapeutic technique. Talking to a validating, empathetic person. Articulating your problems. Making a coherent narrative out of your experiences. Having some regular social contact. Doing SOMETHING you believe will make you feel better (i.e. placebo effect).
Do study skills workshops lead to better marks? Perhaps study skills workshops do nothing except make people BELIEVE they are more in control of their grades. Or maybe the process of signing up for and attending these workshops reinforces a person's motivation to do well in school. This is why control groups are so important. Conclusion i.e. methodology It is very easy to conclude things that are not necessarily true. Remember the mind body problem? How have psychologists solved this? Well they haven't but in a way came to agree that the mind is based on the goo in your head, aka neurons. Neurons: consciousness as an emergent property

One ant is no ant. A million ants is a viable community of organisms that exhibits coordinated, "self-directed behaviour". One neuron is no neuron. 100 billion neurons is you.
Three types of neurons: Sensory (afferent) neurons Motor (efferent) neurons Interneurons (relay neurons) Interneurons facilitate within-CNS transmission of information.

Psychology as an Empi...
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Interneurons facilitate within-CNS transmission of information.

Psychology as an Empi...
Audio recording started: 11:58 AM January 19, 2010

Dendrites receive information from other neurons and transmit towards the cell body. Cell body keeps the neuron alive and determine whether the neuron will fire. Axon is an extending fire through which impulse moves. Myelin sheath is fatty acids that protect the axon.

A nerve impulse is when ions move through down the axon. - Information collection occurs at the dendrites. - Information integration occurs in the cell body. - Information transport occurs at the axons and synapses. Whether neurons 'talk' or not depends entirely on electrical charges which in turn depend on chemical interactions. There is an electrical difference between inside and outside a neuron.

Neurons are communication devices. Some chemical signals are excitatory depolarizing the neuron (adding positive) and making it more likely to fire. Other chemical signals inhibitory hyperpolarizing the neuron (adding negative charge) and making it less likely to fire. Once the neuron is 'excited' enough it fires (all or non principle). If you bombard a neuron with excitatory signals the neuron will fire faster. The fire 'strength' is always at the same strength; it is only the frequency the matters.
The firing of a neuron is the transmission of an impulse down the axon. 'Thinking' is the transmission of neurotransmitters across synapses. As this occurs huge networks of neurons.

Key neurotransmitters and their primary functions. Remember that neurotransmitters do not act alone and that each of the following neurotransmitters is not limited to these listed functions. Amino acids Glutamate: the most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter. Learning and memory Seizures: certain parts of the brain have 'the volume too high' GABA: the most prevalent inhibitory neurotansmitter. Inhibition of seizures Anxiety: anti-anxiety use GABA Acetylcholine Complex mental processes: learning, dreaming, memory Ach works in the junction between nerves and muscles; throughout the body. ACh bunds to receptors in muscle cells. Paralyzing poisons. And nicotine can bind to ACh receptors, heightening our attention and memory. Epinephrine and norepinephrine Arousal and alertness Heightened attention Implicated in a variety of psychological disorders; depression (not enough N), anxiety (too much N), ADHD (not enough E) Serotonin Implicated in many different things: Mood (therefore anxiety, depression, various emotional ) Impulse control Dreaming Dopamine
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 Dopamine Rewards Motor control, planning, etc. Remember, dopamine activity in the nucleus accumbens is a practically universal PLEASURE mechanism and the common bond among drugs of abuse. We are all drug addicts. No matter what you like to do, you are only servicing your 'dopamine addiction'. e.g. caffeine: Epinephrine Inhibits a dopamine inhibitor (adenosine) Dopamine concentration increases The dopamine system: drugs of abuse commandeer the brain's natural reward circuitry. Stimulation of this pathway reinforces behaviour, ensuring that what you just did you will do again. Some of the higher things that the brain does are mediated through other lower level things the brain evolved for. When a person is dumped, that person actually feels physical pain; it uses the same pathway in the brain that has evolved for pain. Therefore learning is strongly affected by reward. Many of our behaviours can be thought of at the chemical level analysis, and at this level, it's obvious that much of what we do, we do because of the chemical kick we got out of it. THC: THC also binds to two types of unique receptors, the cannabinoid receptors: CB1 and CB2 CB1 action largely seems to mediate the rewarding aspects of the cannabinoids. Mice without CB receptors have less appetite. Basic Neuroanatomy Century-long debate about whether the brain functions holistically or whether certain functions are localized. The winner is BOTH. Phineas Gage A man with an iron rod through his head. Before the accident he was described the most efficient and capable foreman. After the accident he seemed unaffected. Then he was described as fitful, irrelevant, indulging at times in the grossest profanity (which was not previously his custom), manifesting but little deference when it conflicts with his desires.

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