READING GUIDE – CICCARELLI 4TH EDITION

Unit 1 – Scientific Foundations of Psychology

Part 1 – What is Psychology

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY (Pg. 4):

1. What is Psychology
a. Define Psychology:

i. What is behavior?

ii. What are mental processes?

iii. What to psychologists do to prevent bias based on what they may expect to see?

b. What are Psychology’s Four Goals? Describe each.

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY (Pg. 6)

2. Psychological Perspectives and History

a. How old is modern psychology?

b. Describe What did Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes want to try and understand?

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For each of the Psychological Approaches below, identify the psychologist (s), the dates, the school of
thought (describe), and give an example:

Psychologist (s) Psychological Dates Description Example

Theory
William Wundt Structuralism 1879 Studied the structure of the Students would
(Father of mind through student’s hold a rock in their
Psychology) Objective observations of their thoughts, hand and explain
Introspection experiences, emotions and their thoughts,
other basic elements. feelings, and
emotions.

Titchener

William James

Name two women

in early
psychology.

Name two African

American
psychologists and
their
accomplishments

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Wertheimer

Freud

Pavlov

Watson

MODERN PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY (PG. 13)

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There are 8 modern perspectives in psychology. Describe each of them below. Include the
leaders of the perspective.
Perspective Leader Description
Psychodynamic Perspective

Behavioral Perspective

Humanistic Perspective

Cognitive Perspective

Sociocultural Perspective

Biological Perspective

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BioPsychosocial Perspective

Evolutionary Perspective

Nature vs Nurture: How does the figure 1.1 above address the question about whether or not behavior is due
to nature (biology) or nurture (social-cultural influcences)?
Free Response Practice

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Arianna is nervous around large crowds and often leaves social situations such as school dances and parties
because she feels she might have a panic attack. Her father died when she was a young girl but she still often
has nightmares about his death. Arianna enjoys school. She generally receives good grades and appreciates
the positive feedback from her teachers which further encourages her to improve her academic skills.
Explain how each of the following three main perspectives in psychology would explain Arianna’s behavior.

psychodynamic approach behavioral approach cognitive approach

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFESSIONS AND AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION (Pg. 17):

 Define a Psychologist:

 Define Psychiatrist:

 Define Psychiatric Social worker:

1) Psychologists who do research have two types of research to consider:

a) Define Basic Research

b) Define Applied Research

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD (Pg. 21)

Why is psychology considered a science?

Define Scientific Method

Describe the five steps of the scientific method: As you go through, think of a question (does the
color yellow make people happier?) and give examples of how that question would be addressed
using the scientific method.

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Step Description Example
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Why is it important to know if others can replicate your research?

DESCRIPTIVE METHODS OF RESEARCH (Pg. 22):

 When would a psychologist choose to use a descriptive method of research?

1) Describe Naturalistic Observations:

a) What are the benefits of Naturalistic Observations

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 b) What is the Observer Effect, and what can be done to minimize its effects on observations?

c) What is Participant Observation?

d) What is Observer Bias? How can observer bias be limited?

e) What are other disadvantages of Naturalistic Observations?

2) Describe Laboratory Observation:

CASE STUDIES:

1) Describe Case Study Research:

a) What are the advantages of case studies?

b) What are the disadvantages of case studies?

SURVEYS:
1) Describe Survey Research:

a. What is a Representative Sample in survey research?

b. What is a “Population” in terms of sample research?

c. What are the advantages of surveys?

d. What are the disadvantages of surveys?

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CORRELATIONAL TECHNIQUES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH (Pg. 27):

1) What are the two methods of research that allow researchers to know more than just a description
of what has happened?

2) What is a Correlation?

a. Give an example of two things you think might have a correlational relationship:

b. What is a Correlational Coefficient?

c. What is a Variable?

d. How can you tell if variables have a positive relationship?

e. How can you tell if variables have a negative relationship?

f. What determines the strength of a relationship between two variables?

3) Does Correlation prove Causation? Why or why not? EXPLAIN!!

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THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH (Pg. 29):

1) Can experiments allow researchers to determine the causes of behavior?

2) Describe an Experiment:

3) What are the Variables in an experiment?

a. What is the Independent Variable?

b. What is the Dependent Variable?

c. Describe the Operational Definition:

d. What is the Hawthorne Effect?

4) Why is it preferable to have two groups of participants when conducting experiments?

a. What are Confounding Variables?

b. Define an Experimental Group:

c. Define a Control Group:

5) Why is Randomization important in experiments?

a. Give an example of an Extraneous (interfering) Variable?

6) Name two experimental hazards:

a. What is the Placebo Effect?

b. What is the Experimenter Effect?

c. Describe Observer Bias:

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 7) Describe the difference between a Single-Blind and a Double-Blind study:

a. In what instances would a double-blind study be better?

8) How can Stereotypes influence research?

STATISTICS IN PSYCHOLOGY (PG. 33):

1) In your own words, explain why statistics are important in the field of psychology. Give at least
three reasons.

a. A

b. A

c. A

d. Define Statistics:

e. What is a Sample in terms of statistical research?

2) What are Descriptive Statistics?

a. What are the Measures of Central Tendency?

b. What are the Measures of Variability?

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3) What is a Frequency Distribution.

a. Come up with your own example of a Frequency Distribution, and record it in the Table
below:

Number of: Number of:

4) In the graphs below, draw a Histogram Bar Graph and a Polygon Line Graph. Come up with
your own imaginary data sets (i.e. The frequency with which students in your AP Psych class
sweatpants in a week).

5) What is a Normal Curve (bell curve), and what does it represent?

6) Draw the shapes of Normal Curves and Skewed Curves in the graphs below:

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 7) What is a Negatively Skewed distribution curve?

8) What is a Positively Skewed distribution curve?

9) What is Bimodal Distribution?

MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDANCY (Pg. 37):

1) What is a Measure of Central Tendency?

a. Describe how the Mean is calculated:

b. Describe how the Median is calculated:

c. Describe how the Mode is calculated:

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2) Answer the questions below:

3) How do the measures of central tendency relate to the shapes of frequency distributions?

4) How can you determine the Measures of Variability by looking at score clusters?

a. How do you calculate the Range of a data set?

b. How is Standard Deviation calculated?

c. What is a Z Score? How is it calculated?

5) How are Inferential Statistics different from Descriptive Statistics?

a. What are the advantages of Inferential Statistics?

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6) What does it mean when researchers say that something is Statistically Significant?

7) Name the three Statistical Techniques used to test if groups are different from one another:

a. A

b. A

c. A

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ETHICS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH (pg. 42):
1) List the top 8 Ethical Concerns of psychological research detailed in your textbook. Describe
each:

Ethical Concern: Description:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

2) Why do psychologists use Animal Research to conduct psychological studies?

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 3) What is the focus of ethical concerns regarding the use of animals for research?

Free Response Practice

A researcher is conducting a study and wants to ensure that the sample chosen to participate will yield good
results.
 Why is it better to have a large sample of data instead of a small sample?

 What happens to reliability as sample size increases?

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ADDITIONAL NOTES OR SUMMARIES:

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