CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

PSYCHOLOGY
-psyche = soul (mind)
-ology = scientific study of
-the scientific study of mind (and behavior)

Goals of Psychology:
1. describe
2. explain
3. predict and;
4. change behavior and mental processes of others

History of Psychology

Plato and Aristotle

-rationalism - states that true knowledge comes only through correct
reasoning and not through the senses

St. Augustine
-discussed the theological basis of memory, emotion and motivation

Rene Decartes
-revived Plato’s proposition that reasoning was the best means of gaining true
knowledge

John Locke
-empiricism - the idea that all knowledge comes from experience (with
Thomas Reid)
-tabula rasa = states that a person is born like a blank tablet or slate on which
life experiences conveyed through the senses are written

Hermann von Helmholtz

-measured the speed of the neural impulse and explored the physiology of
hearing and vision

Ernst Weber and Gustav Fechner

-psychophysics - introduced methods for measuring the relationship between
physical stimuli and human perception

Schools of Psychology

1. Structuralism
-sought to analyze the mind and its part by studying conscious mental
experiences

Wilhelm Wundt
-wrote a book entitled, Principles of Physiological Psychology
-one of the founding fathers of modern psychology
-established the field of experiment psychology by serving as a strong
promoter of the idea that psychology be an experimental field

Analytic Introspection - structuralists presented a stimulus to to the subject

who was asked later on to report the mental experiences evolved by the
stimulus in the form of images, feelings and sensations

Edward Titchener
-introduced structuralism to the United States when he joined the faculty of
Cornell University

2. Functionalism
-based on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution
-focused on how mental activities helped on organism fit into its environment

William James
-wrote a Principles of Psychology
-stated that psychology is the “science of mental life, the science of feelings,
desires, cognition, reasoning, decisions and the like
-the conscious mind is a “stream of thought, consciousness, and subjective
life” flowing like a river that cannot be broken into parts

Wundt and James - named “Psychological Popes of the Old and New World:
in the Berlin newspaper

3. Psychoanalysis
-focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood
experiences

Sigmund Freud
-psychic determinism = unconscious psychological conflicts in the human
mind usually related to sex and aggression motivate both normal and
abnormal human behavior

4. Behaviorism
-approach of observing and controlling behavior

John Watson
-stated that psychology was a purely objective experimental branch of natural
science which theoretical goal was to predict and control behavior

Ivan Pavlov
-gave credence to observable behavior and not mental experiences as the
appropriate subject matter for psychological research

B.F. Skinner
-stated that mental and psychic events lack the dimensions of physical
science and should be rejected as basis in understanding human behavior

5. Gestalt Psychology
 -deals with the fact that although a sensory experience can be broken down
into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often
what the individual responds to in perception
-remarkable pioneers are: Max Wertheimer
-Kurt Koffka
-Wolfgang Kohler

Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology

1. Evolutionary Perspective
-mental processes evolve through natural selection

2. Psychodynamic Perspective
-introduced the concept of unconscious determinants of motivation and
behavior

3. Biological Perspective
-focuses on the biological influences on behaviors are associated with
underlying bodily activities and processes

4. Behavioral Perspective
-focuses on how behavior is acquired or modified by environmental
consequences such as rewards and punishments

5. Cognitive Perspective
-focuses on how we acquire, process, remember and use information about
ourselves and the world around us

6. Humanistic Perspective
-promoted a positive view of human nature and maintained that people are in
control of their lives

7. Sociocultural Perspective
-focuses on the roles of social and cultural influences on human behavior and
mental processes

How psychologist study behavior and mental processes

A psychologist is someone who studies mental processes and human behaviour

by observing, interpreting, and recording how people relate to one another and
the environment. Some psychologists work independently, doing research or
working only with patients or clients. Others work as part of a healthcare team,
collaborating with physicians, social workers, and others to treat illness and
promote overall wellness.

A psychologist will typically do the following:

 Conduct scientific studies to study behaviour and brain function

(neuropsychologist)
 Collect information through observations, interviews, surveys, tests, and
other methods
 Find patterns that will help them understand and predict behaviour
 Use their knowledge to increase understanding among individuals and
groups
 Develop programs that improve schools and workplaces by addressing
psychological issues
 Work with individuals, couples, and families to help them make desired
changes to behaviours
 Identify and diagnose mental, behavioural, or emotional disorders
 Develop and carry out treatment plans
 Collaborate with physicians or social workers to help treat patients

Psychologists seek to understand and explain thoughts, emotions, feelings, and

behaviour. Depending on the topic of study, psychologists use techniques such
as observation, assessment, and experimentation to develop theories about the
beliefs and feelings that influence a person’s actions.

Methods of Research used in Psychology

There are several different research methods used in psychology. These fall
into two areas: quantitative, which depends upon the use of mathematical or
statistical data, and qualitative. Within these two divisions are several kinds of
research including correlational, descriptive and experimental. Which type of
research is utilized depends upon the goals of the research.

1. Case Study
A case study is a qualitative research method. It involves an observation of
one individual or a group of individuals over a length of time. The researcher
interviews the subject or observes behavior and records the information.
Generally, this type of psychological research is used to show how
psychology principles or theories are used in actual practice. The case study
method is widely used in professional training.

2. Experiment
Although this is introduced as a broad kind of research that can be a
component of many methods, the term here is used to denote a specific
procedure. In science, experiments are the most often-used method of
research, and there are principles involved in its employment. One is the
presence of a control group. This is an individual, or a group of individuals,
that is not manipulated.

Another principle is the control of variables. That is, the experiment should be
as free of extraneous data as possible. That factor enables psychologists to
repeat the experiment, and that is one requirement of reliable research.
A third principle is the consistency of measurements. Allowing differing
standards makes replication impossible and the results unreliable. The fourth
principle involved is showing cause and effect. That is, the manipulations
performed in the experiment led to the results and nothing else was involved.
Experiments can be laboratory-controlled such as sleep studies, field
experiments which allow the psychologist to manipulate the subject but not his
environment, or natural experiments which allow no control and are largely
observational.

3. Observational Study
This type of qualitative research can be naturalistic or controlled. It is
systematic and carefully recording. The goal of observational research is to
identify and describe a variable or even a set of variables. This type of
research can be used as a precursor to other types that focus on a single
issue.

4. Survey
The survey is a “shotgun” approach to research. It depends upon self-
reported data, and so can be highly subjective. Because of that, surveys
generally involve many subjects. It is a quantitative method using a random
sampling of subjects and is probably the only method in psychological
research where randomness is used. It is not an experimental method, but the
samples are “carefully selected.”

5. Content Analysis
This method of research involves looking at media such as print, television,
radio, and others for the repetition of specific words or phrases, or even ideas.
It is a quantitative method, employing mathematical data about the words or
concepts to study things like stereotyping or certain aspects of culture such as
sexuality. This type of research is especially valuable in advertising but can
also be used to predict behavior in specific populations.

There are many other ways of collecting information; some are

general scientific methods, and some are particular to psychology. The
research methods used in psychology depend on the kinds of data that are
being studied and the goal and breadth of the studies.

Ethics in Psychological Research

Ethics refers to the correct rules of conduct necessary when carrying out
research. We have a moral responsibility to protect research participants from
harm.

Ethical Issues in Psychology

1. Informed Consent

Participants must be given information relating to:

 A statement that participation is voluntary and that refusal to participate
will not result in any consequences or any loss of benefits that the
person is otherwise entitled to receive.
 Purpose of the research.
  All foreseeable risks and discomforts to the participant (if there are
any). These include not only physical injury but also possible
psychological.
 Procedures involved in the research.
 Benefits of the research to society and possibly to the individual human
subject.
 Length of time the subject is expected to participate.
 Person to contact for answers to questions or in the event of injury or
emergency.
 Subjects' right to confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the study
at any time without any consequences.

2. Debrief

After the research is over the participant should be able to discuss the
procedure and the findings with the psychologist.   They must be given a
general idea of what the researcher was investigating and why, and their part
in the research should be explained.

Participants must be told if they have been deceived and given reasons why.
They must be asked if they have any questions and those questions should
be answered honestly and as fully as possible.

Debriefing should take place as soon as possible and be as full as possible;

experimenters should take reasonable steps to ensure that participants
understand debriefing.

The aim of the debriefing is not just to provide information, but to help the
participant leave the experimental situation in a similar frame of mind as when
he/she entered it (Aronson, 1988).

3. Protection of Participants

Researchers must ensure that those taking part in research will not be caused
distress. They must be protected from physical and mental harm. This means
you must not embarrass, frighten, offend or harm participants.

Normally, the risk of harm must be no greater than in ordinary life, i.e.
participants should not be exposed to risks greater than or additional to those
encountered in their normal lifestyles.

4. Deception

This is where participants are misled or wrongly informed about the aims of
the research. Types of deception include (i) deliberate misleading, e.g. using
confederates, staged manipulations in field settings, deceptive instructions; (ii)
deception by omission, e.g., failure to disclose full information about the study,
or creating ambiguity.
The researcher should avoid deceiving participants about the nature of the
research unless there is no alternative – and even then this would need to be
judged acceptable by an independent expert. However, there are some types
of research that cannot be carried out without at least some element of
deception.

For example, in Milgram’s study of obedience, the participants thought they

there giving electric shocks to a learner when they answered a question
wrong. In reality, no shocks were given and the learners were confederates of
Milgram.

This is sometimes necessary in order to avoid demand characteristics (i.e. the

clues in an experiment which lead participants to think they know what the
researcher is looking for). Another common example is when a stooge or
confederate of the experimenter is used (this was the case in both the
experiments carried out by Asch).

5. Confidentiality

Participants, and the data gained from them must be kept anonymous unless
they give their full consent.  No names must be used in a lab report.

Ultimately, decisions to disclose information will have to be set in the context

of the aims of the research.

6. Withdrawal from an Investigation

Participants should be able to leave a study at any time if they feel

uncomfortable. They should also be allowed to withdraw their data. They
should be told at the start of the study that they have the right to withdraw.
They should not have pressure placed upon them to continue if they do not
want to.