Psychology: The scientific study of the brain, the mind, and behavior.

6 principals of scientific thinking:
Correlation vs. Causation
Correlation: A relationship exists between two variables
Causation: One variable is the reason for change in another variable
Ruling out rival hypotheses
Consider other explanations for the findings
Falsifiability
The ability to disprove a claim
Replicability
Have the results been replicated by other individual scientists.
Extraordinary claims
The more extraordinary the claim, the more rigorous the supporting evidence needs to be
Occam’s Razor
Given two explanations, the simpler one will generally suffice.
Confirmation bias
Tendency to seek out evidence supporting our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts our beliefs.
Belief Perseverance
Tendency to stick to initial beliefs even after contradicting evidence is presented
Naïve realism
The belief that we perceive the world precisely as it is
Emotional reasoning fallacy
We use emotions to guide us in evaluating claims
Bandwagon fallacy
Believing a claim because of its popularity
Not me fallacy
Belief that we’re immune from these obstacles to scientific thinking
Pseudoscience
A set of claims that appear scientific, but aren’t
Warning signs:
Exaggerated claims
Talk of “proof”
Failure to connect to other research
Psychobabble
Nature vs. Nurture
Is it due to nature (biological factors)?
Or nurture (environmental factors)?


Evan Wehrer
Psychology
8/24/12

Metaphysical Claimes- Assertians about the world that we cannot test. (assertians about God, the soul, the afterlife)

Theoretical Perspectives that formed PSychology

Psycholot (up to late 1800s"
Similar to philosophy
less scientific, more intuition

First psychology lab - Leipzig, Germany
Asked basic questions about mental states

Intospections- trained observers reflect and report on their mental states

Structuralism-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Goal: to identify the basic elements of psychological experience

	To create a map of elements, of structures, of consciousness, including: sensations, images, and feelings

Problems: Replicability, and "imageless thought" (thoughts that you have, but do not have an image in your head when you think about them

E.B. Tichener
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Functionalism-----------------------------------------------------------------------
What are the functions of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?

Criticides structutalism
	Introspection is simply "steam of concscioness", not specific, concrete elements of consciousness

Infulenced by Dawins theory of natural selection

Wiliam James
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Psychoanalasys----------------------------------------------------------------------

Focus: internal psychologicsl processes:
	Unconscious drives, thoughts, feelings, and memories
Controversial

Contribution: some mental processing takes place outside of conscious awareness
Freudian Slip
Sigmund Freud
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Behaviorism-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus: Observable behavior
	Objective: observable behavior
	not
	Subjective reports of conscious experience
Laws of learning
	Behavior can be explained by how we learn
	Rewards
	Punishments
Greatly influenced modern day psychology
B.F.Skinner
John. B. Watson
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Cognitivism---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus: mental experiences affect behavior
Criticized behaviorists' view on learning
	BEhavior is not just determined by rewards and punishments, but our interpretations  of these concequences
Influential in many areas today: language, problem solving, intelligence, and memory
Jean Piaget
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Humanism-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An approach to understanding human nature, emphasising freedom of human beings
View people as "Free agents" vs. "prisoners of events"

Clients, not patients

Therapist and client equal
Carl Rogers
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Careers in Pyschology-----------------------------------------------------------------
Practice:
Clinical
Counceling
Experimental:
Cognitive
Biological
Developmental
Both: School
Forensiv
I/O: Industrial/Organizational
Educational

Clinical Vs. Counceling---------------------------------------------------------------------
Clinical:
	Focus: assessing, diagnosing, and treating mental disorders

Counseling:
	Focus: Treating less severe life problems
		Family, marital conflict
		Work/School related problems
		Career counseling
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School Vs. Educational----------------------------------------------------------------------
School
	Focus: students
		Behavior problems
		EMotional problems
		LEarning problems
Educational:
	Focus: Instruction
		Teaching methods
		Evaluating learning
		Classroom management
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Forensic Psychologist-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Forensic: Legal matters
Assist in issues concerning the law

Work in prisons and hails, assist inmates with rehabilitation

Court related matters: Custody battles

Conduct research on eyewitness testimony and jury descision making
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Industrial-Organizational
Focus: Work environments
	improving worker productivity and satisfaction
Help select productive employees
Evaluate work performance
Evaluate effects of working and living conditions on behavior
Design practical work equipment
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Biological---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus: Biological bases of behavior
Brain
Neurons
Genes

Research on animals and people
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Cognitive----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus: Mental factors
Thoughts, perception, memory, and language
Research questions such as: What role does attention play in memory
How do we make descisons and process information
How do we aquire language
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Developmental----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus: Developmental stages, milestones, aging process
Taking, walking, by a certain age

Do not exlusively study children
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Preparing for a career in psychology

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Psychology: the scientific study of the brain, the mind, and behavior
“I am a sensitive observer, and my conclusion is that a vast majority of my patients get better as opposed to worse after my treatment,” Naïve realism, and the not-me-fallacy. Statistical issues, vast majority =/= statistical significance.  Also ethical issues because some still get worse. Define “get better.” Is “not getting worse” the same as “getting better”?
Systematic research designs
	-Logical
	-Controlled
	-Objective
Operational definition: Working definition f what is being measured
A minimum 10 point decrease on BDI score after the procedure = operational definition
Definition for aggressiveness: The child hits, kicks, punches, or bites another child more than 2 times within a 1 hour operation
Definition for hyperactivity: If the student moves around more than once every 10 minutes, talks out of turn more than 3 times in the hour, or looks around the room randomly, the student may be hyperactive.
Purposes of the operational definition:
	-Objectivity
	-Specificity
	-Reliability
Components of a research study:
1. Statement of a problem
2. Hypothesis
3. Procedures
a. Methods
b. Participants
c. Measures
4. Results
5. Conclusions
Types of research designs:
1. Experimental
2. Random assignment
3. Naturalistic Observation

-Experimental
Manipulation of an independent variable:
1. Independent variable
2. Dependent variable
What effect does the independent variable have on the dependent variable?
-Random assignment
Experimental group: Receives the manipulation of IV
Control group: Does not receive manipulation of IV
Purpose: To cancel out any preexisting between the two groups
The only difference between the control and the experimental group should be the independent variable
The only type where we can draw causal inferences
Any change you see will be due to the independent variable
Confounding variables: any difference between the two groups that is not the IV
1) The placebo effect- improvement resulting from the mere expectation to improve
2) Experimental  expectancy effect
a. Researchers unintentionally bias the outcome of a study
b.  Avoiding: double-blind experiment (researchers and participants don’t know who is in the control and who isn’t)
3) Demand characteristic
a. Cues participants detecting what the experiment is testing, so they behave in a manner pleasing to the experimenter
4)

Phrenology ----
Franz Joseph Gall (1758 – 1828)
Popular theory involving studying the bumps on the head

“Having one's head examined”

Attempt to map the mind onto the brain

Disproven:
Patients with brain damage didn't exhibit behavior consistent with phrenologists' brain map.

Shape of outward surface of skull does not match the shape of your brain

Modern study of the brain---

Planes:

Coronal plane, through ears vertical

Sagittal plane, in between eyes vertical

Horizontal plane – in between ears, horizontal

Forebrain – most highly developed area; source of our advanced intellectual abilities
- Made up of 2 cerebral hemispheres connected by a corpus callosum

Corpus callosum
Connect the two hemispheres to enable communication between them

Lateralization
A function may be specialized in either the right of left hemisphere
Left hemisphere
	Speech production
	Language comprehension
Right hemisphere
	Tone of voice
	Face perception

Crossing over
Most visual information ends up on the opposite side of the brain
This is also true for most motor control

John had a stroke and now he is unable to move the left side of his face. In which hemisphere of his brain did the stroke occur: Right hemisphere

What if the corpus callosum is severed?

Roget Sperry examined patients of split-brain surgery.

Cerebral cortex – largest component of the forebrain, making up the outer layer

Consists of
	Frontal Lobe – Executive functioning
				Motor cortex, motor control
				Prefrontal cortex: thinking, planning, language
					Broca's area - damage to this area leads to problems
					with speech production
				Phineas Gage
					Railroad worker
					Explosion sent a tamping rod through his head
					He had major damage to the prefrontal cortex

	Parietal Lobe – Processing visual information, touch
				Somatosensory Cortex - senses
				Temporal lobe – hearing, memory, understanding language
					Auditory Cortex - hearing
					Wernicke's are – speech comprehension
	Occipital lobe – vision
				Visual Cortex

Basal Ganglia- movemeny, sensory information is transmitted to the motor cortex
		Damage to the basil ganglia contributes to Parkinson's disease

Limbic System -
			Thalamus – relay station. Sensory information passes through here first
			Hypothalmus – maintains homeostasis (internal bodily states) – regulates different drives (hunger, thirst)
			Amygdala – arousal (excitement, fear)
			Hippocampus – spacial memory
Cerebellum – balance and movement

Brain stem -
	Midbrain – movement
	Pons – triggering dreams
	Medulla – vital functions such as



Outline –

Cerebral Cortex (largest part of forebrain)
	Frontal lobe
	Parietal lobe
	Temporal lobe
	Occipital lobe
Basal Ganglia
Limbic System
	Amygdala
	Hippocampus
	Thalamus
	Hypothalamus
Cerebellum
Brain Stem
	Midbrain
	Pons
	Medulla

Phrenology v. Modern-Day Study

We know today that:
	Brain functions are not localized to one specific brain structure
	Brain structures are not limited to one specific function

Neuroimaging
	CT scans
	MRI images
	Both types are limited in that they only measure the structure of the brain
Functional imaging techniques
	Techniques that measures changes in brain;s activity in response to stimuli
		PET scan – inject patient with radioactive molecules; the scanner measures where majority of molecules consumed,which brain molecules are more active during the task
	fMRI – measures change in blood oxygen level – neural activity


Central nervous system
	Senory info → CNS (brain and spinal cord) → Decisions to act

Spinal cord –
	Nerve cable that starts at the base of the brain and extends down about 2/3rds the length of the vertebral collumn
	Convey information between the brain and the rest of the body

Peripheral Nervous System
	Somatic nervous system – voluntary
		Carries messages to the muscles in the body, in order to control movement
	Autonomic nervous system – involuntary
		Sympathetic nervous system – Fight of flight response
		Parasympathetic nervous system – active when we are not emotionally aroused

Parts of a research study:
Statement of a problem
Hypothesis
Procedures
Methods
Participants
Measures
Results
Conclusions

Naturalistic Observation
Observing behavior in real-world settings without manipulating any variables.

Record behavior
Animals
Humans

Advantages
Captures genuine behavior as it takes place in real-world settings

Case Studies

Examine one person or a small number of people over an extended period

Practical research design for rare disorders and phenomenon.

Advantages
Existence proofs- demonstrations that a given psychological phenomenon can occur

Correlational Design

Examine if a relationship exists between two variables
Correlation- change in one variable is associated with a change in another variable
Types of correlations
Positive
As one variable increases, the other increases
Negative
As one variable increases, the other decreases
Zero
No correlation


Correlation Coefficient “r” can range from -1 to 1
The strength of the correlation is determined by the absolute value of the correlation coefficient
The sign of the correlation indicates the direction of the relationship

Cannot determine cause because random assignment isn't used
Didn't manipulate an independent variable

Advantages
Predict behavior
Cost-efficient

Research Studies – Measures

Self report
Advantages
Useful measure for capturing thoughts, feelings, and internalizing problems.
Disadvantages
Positive impression management – tendency to make ourselves look better than we are
Malingering – making yourself look worse than you are
Other reporters
Advantages
Measure undesirable behavior
Good for younger children
Disadvantages
Halo effect – one positive characteristic may encourage reporter to give positive ratings for other characteristics
Limited perspective
Observations
Advantages
Unbiased report
Disadvantages
Reactivity
Components for good measurement
Random selection
Every person has an equal chance of being chosen to participate
Purpose: to promote generalization
Reliability
Consistency of measurement
Test-retest
Interrater – agreement across reporters


Validity
Extent to which we measure what we are trying to measure
Internal – extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences
External – extent to which we can generalize our findings to real world settings


View chart on page 50 in the book


 Parts of a Research Study
–Results

What ab we do?

Describe our data
Determine how much we can generalize from our sample to the general population

Descriptive statistics
Central tendency – describing the central score in our data set, or where the group clusters

Mean: total score divided by the number of participants
Median: Middle score
Mode: most frequent score

Variability – how loosely or tightly the scores are “bunched”

Range: difference between the highest and lowest scores

Standard deviation: measure of variability that takes into account each data point

Inferential statistics
How much can we generalize our findings from our sample to the general population

Sample – specific participants we select for our research study

Population – general group of people that share a common trait of characteristic

Statistical significance – real difference; unlikely the finding is due to chance
“p-value” the probability that the findings are due to chance

p<0.5 = statistically significant

Practical significance – real world importance

Problem with significance is that it is dependent on sample size