CH 1

Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Objective: Recognize the modern-day
definition of psychology
• Psychology is the study of
 Objective: Recognize key individuals and elements of psychology’s
history, including the goals/beliefs of the major systems of psychology.

• Roots in
• Wundt (1879): 1st psychology lab in Leipzig
• S
– Edward Bradford Titchener
– Sought to describe the basic elements (“structure”) of
consciousness using introspection
• F
– William James (1890)
– Sought to discover how consciousness to help
people adapt to their environment—pragmatic
– Wrote Principles of Psychology
 Recognize key elements … psychology’s history . . .

• P
– Freud (ca 1895-1909) unconscious conflicts
motivate much of our behavior
– Devised treatment aimed at making the
unconscious conscious
• G
– Wertheimer (1912) phi phenomenon

– “the is greater than the sum of its parts”

 psychology … history …
• Behaviorism
– Watson (1913) said “consciousness” cannot be
studied scientifically
– Proposed that psychologists study only publicly
observable (overt) behavior
• B.F. Skinner: operant conditioning
 psychology … history …

• Humanistic Psychology (Maslow, Rogers)

– AKA: “phenomenological”
– Emphasizes the unique experiences of individuals,
especially their capacity for
• Self-
 psychology … history …
• Contemporary Psychology/New Directions in
Psychology

– renewed interest in “consciousness” in the form of

cognitive processes/information processing
– AND in physiology
– Nature-nurture issue
– Growing emphasis on cultural diversity
– Evolutionary psychology
– Positive psychology
 Objective: Recognize the psychological subfields.
Be able to recognize examples of the questions &
issues associated with each subfield.

• Cognitive Psychologists: study how the “mind processes

information”
– e.g.
• Physiological/Biological Psychologists: study the effect of
“biological factors” on mental & behavioral processes
– e.g.
• Developmental Psychologists: study changes in behavior &
mental processes over the life span
– e.g. . . .
• (see text for other subfields!)
 Objective: Recognize the relationship between
theory and research in guiding scientific inquiry.

• Theory: an integrated set of principles

designed to explain, predict, and sometimes
control given phenomena.
• Hypothesis: a testable prediction, usually
derived from a theory
– Hypotheses are tested in research.
• Theory research and vice-versa.
Objective: Recognize the basic forms of research presented in text and
give examples of each. Recognize the advantages & disadvantages
associated with each.

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH METHODS

• Naturalistic Observation: watching & recording a
phenomenon as it naturally occurs, without disrupting
it
– e.g., Rosenhan, D.L. (1973). On being sane in insane
places. Science.
– Provides descriptive data about behavior, supposedly
uncontaminated by outside influences
• Good for initial stages of inquiry & for developing hypotheses for
future study
– Observer bias & participant self-consciousness can distort
results
– Cannot draw conclusions re: ________________________
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH METHODS …

• Case Study: intensive examination of some

event/phenomenon in a particular individual,
group, or situation
– Useful when phenomenon is _________________

– Provide ideas for further research

– Results not “generalizable”
– e.g., Phineas Gage
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH METHODS …
• Surveys: sampling a large group of people
through questionnaires or interviews inquiring
about their attitudes, beliefs, opinions, etc.
– _____________way to gather large amounts of data
• e.g.
• e.g.
– Cannot infer___________________________
– Validity may be questionable based on:
• Poorly phrased questions—wording is crucial
– e.g., “Sex education should not be allowed [should be forbidden]
in public schools.”
• Who is surveyed, who chooses to respond, & who doesn’t
– ________________is critical(e.g., Shere Hite study)
• Social desirability effect: participants say what they think
they should say
 Objective: Recognize key features of the experimental
research method; be able recognize examples of key
concepts.

• Experiment: research method in which the

experimenter ____________one variable [IV] and
observes the effect of that manipulation on another
variable [DV], while holding all other variables
constant via ___________________to conditions.
• Independent variable (IV): variable _________
by the experimenter
• Dependent variable (DV): variable measured
following manipulation of the_______________
 Experimental research method continued . . .
• Experimental group (condition): group that
receives the _________________________
– its performance/response is compared with that of one
or more control groups)

• Control group (condition): group that receives

_______________or provides some other
________(e.g., placebo) against which to
compare the performance/response of the
experimental group.
Experiments are the ONLY research methods
that allow us to determine _____________
Objective: Recognize potential flaws in research and
ways to minimize these flaws

• C_____________________: any factor that

affects the DV along with, or instead of, the IV
• R_________________: procedure whereby
uncontrolled variables are evenly distributed
in an experiment through randomly assigning
participants to treatment or control groups
• THE GREAT EQUALIZER
 Recognize potential flaws continued . . .
• Not always feasible … more on that later…
• May be too artificial/not like the “real world”
• bias: a confounding variable that
occurs when an experimenter [usually
unintentionally] encourages participants to
respond in a way that supports the hypothesis
• design: research design wherein
neither the experimenter nor participants know
who is in the experimental group and who is in
the control group
 Objective: Recognize when a quasi-
experiment might be used and be able to
recognize examples.

• Used when not feasible to conduct a true

experiment
– Ethics
– Logistics
Objective: Be able to interpret the absolute value and sign of
a correlation (correlation coefficient or “r”) by recognizing
examples illustrating these concepts.

• Correlation: measures the relationship between two

variables (can vary from +1.00 to –1.00)
– extent to which they “co-vary”
• Sign refers to _______________ of relationship
– Positive (+): 2 variables change in same direction (greater than
zero); “direct” relationship
– Negative (-): 2 variables change in opposite directions (less than
zero); “inverse” relationship
• Absolute value: indicates __________ of relationship
• 1.00 (+ or -) = perfect relationship
• 0.00 = no relationship
Objective: Recognize that correlations do not allow us to
make inferences regarding causation. Recognize the role
of alternative hypotheses in interpreting correlations.
• “A correlation indicates the possibility of a cause-
effect relationship, but does not prove causation.”
• The fact that two variables are correlated, does not
mean that one causes the other.
– Third factor could be causing effects on both
– Even if one is causing effect on the other, correlational
research cannot tell us which variable is influencing which
– Correlation tells us the degree to which two variables vary
together, not whether a cause & effect relationship exists
• ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE CAUSATION IS
THROUGH A __________________________
Obj: Be able to differentiate between random sampling & random
assignment (e.g., recognize examples of each & know what they are
each used for)
•
– Random _______________________
• Representative sample
– Applies to surveys & experiments
• Gives everyone in the “population of interest” an equal chance of
participating in the study

– Versus

– Random __________ …. (one of the hallmarks of a true

experiment)
• Great Equalizer
Objective: Recognize ethical issues related to
psychological research

• Use of Deception in Research

• Animal Research
• Informed consent: people cannot be forced to
participate & must be told enough about the
study in order to make an informed decision
• Freedom to withdraw: people are free to
withdraw from participation in study at any
time, without fear of penalty
• See text for other issues . . .