M1 History of Psych

Psychology: The scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, etc) Goals of Psychology: understand and utilize (predict/control) Roots of Psych: -Trace back to philosophy -Physiology/biology -Ancient writings of Buddham, Confucius, Hebrews, Socrates, Plato, Bacon, Locke View of Mind and Body Connected Hebrews Aristotle Nature Socrates Plato Seperate Socrates Plato Aristotle Nurture Locke Aristotle
Nature vs. Nurture debate Genes vs. Experience to understand the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Contemporary Psych Perspectives -eclectic approach: combination of various different perspectives -most common is biopsychosocial: integrates 3 levels of analysis Birth of Psych -Leipzig, Germany -1879 -Wilhelm Wundt: Opened first laboratory Foundations of Modern Psych -seperated from philosophy in the 1800s, still has physiology/biology roots 1. Wilhelm Wundt -First lab and textbook

-used introspection: report thoughts and feelings from a sensory experience 2. Edward Titchener (1867-1927) -structuralism (atoms) -Wundts student, professor at Cornell University -started the first psych school -used introspection, basic sensory and perceptual processes 3. William James (1842-1910) -started psych at Harvard University in the 1870s -1st American textbook -opposed Wundt and Titchener -functionalism -2nd school -influenced by Darwin (behaviors influenced by environment) -whole being 4. Mary Calkins -William James student -APAs 1st female president 5. Margaret Washburn -1st woman to receive Ph. D. 6. Sigmund Freud -unconscious thought -austrian physician Careers in Psych Basic Research: pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge -biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, social Applied Research: scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

-industrial/organizational, clinical Clinical vs. Psychiatry Clinical: help but no meds Psychiatry: prescribe meds and/or help

Critical Thinking and Research Design Science vs. intuition/common sense -both inconsistent, based on hindsight 1. Hindsight bias -i-knew-it-all-along phenomenon -example= 9/11 second tower 2. Overconfidence -think we know more than we do -example= ochsachaos Research Design Checklist Follow Scientific Method -define problem -form hypothesis -conduct research w/ diff methods, analyze -draw conclusions, refine theories Define Operational Definition to allow for Replication Representative Sample of the population -random is key, everyone has an equal chance of being selected -random allows generalization Manipulate factors of interest and hold constant (control other factors to identify cause/effect and build confidence in research) -Identify (1) independent variable (2) dependent variable (3) control variable Help avoid bias -use Blind Procedure

-single blind (subjects) -double blind (subjects and experimenters) -use placebos to avoid placebo effect -use random assignment with experimental and control groups -experimental group (treatment, condition) -control group (placebo) Follow APA research guidelines and ethical code of conduct Correlations -relationship between 2 or more categories/factors -help predict -doesnt explain or show cause/effect -may be an unmeasured factor -coefficient: how well/strong relationships are, + or -scatterplot, scattergram, or scatter diagram

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Attribution Theory: tendency to give casual explanations for someones behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the persons disposition -Disposition -Fritz Heider Fundamental Attribution Error: tendency for observers to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition -example: fatal attraction, 9/11 Muslims, Nazis Attitude: belief and feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events Attitudes and Actions: -example: cheating decreases with mirror in room -when we feel self-conscious, we are truer to our convictions -Attitudes will guide our actions if: 1. Outside influences are minimal 2. Attitude is relevant to behavior 3. Attitude comes quickly to mind (more self-conscious) 1. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent -Leon Festinger -1 to 20 demo, Iraq war soldiers 2. Foot-in-the-Door: small request leads to larger; agree to small, comply to large -example: Korean War Pows -reciprocity norm: small gift, give back 3. Role play: influences actions and attitudes -role: set of expectations about a social position -Philip Zombardos Stanford Prison Experiment: shows role play and that power of the situation is stronger than the individual