Essentials of Psychology Chapter 1

Robert S.
Feldman & Andrea Dinardo

Prepared by: Professor Anastasia Bake
St. Clair College of Applied Arts and Sciences
Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Key Concepts for Chapter 1
 Module 1: Psychology At Work
 Module 2: A Science Evolves: The Past, the

Present, and the Future
 Module 3: Research in Psychology
 Module 4: Research Challenges: Exploring the

Process
Module 1: Psychology At Work
Learning Objectives
 What is the science of psychology?
 What are the major specialties in the field

of psychology?
 Where do psychologist work ?
The Six Subfields of Psychology:
Psychology's Family Tree
1. What are the Biological Foundations

of Behaviour?
 It is the subfield of psychology that examine how
the brain and the nervous system and other
biological processes determine behaviour.
The Subfields of Psychology:
2. How Do People Sense, Perceive, Learn, and Think

about the World?
 Experimental Psychology
Methodological study of sensing, perceiving, learning
and thinking
 Cognitive Psychology
Emphasis on higher mental processes
The Subfields of Psychology:
3. What are the Sources of Change and Stability

in Behaviour Across the Life Span?
 Developmental Psychology
Changes in behaviour over the life span (womb to

tomb)
 Personality Psychology
Examines consistencies in people’s behaviour over
time and traits that differentiate us
from one another
The Subfields of Psychology
4. How do Psychological Factors Affect Physical and

Mental Health?
 Health Psychology
Explores relationship between psychological factors and

physical ailments or disease
 Clinical Psychology
Investigates diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disorders
 Counselling Psychology
Focuses on educational, social and, career adjustment
problems
5. Understanding our Social Networks

 Social Psychology
Studies how people are affected by others
 Cross-cultural Psychology
Focuses on the similarities and differences
in psychological functioning across cultures
and ethnic groups
6. Expanding Psychologies Frontiers
 Evolutionary Psychology
Examines influence of our genetic heritage and our
behaviour
 Behavioural Genetics
Focuses on how we might inherit genes and how the
environment influences whether we will display traits.
 Clinical Neuropsychology
Focuses on relationships between biological factors and
psychological disorders
Portrait of a Canadian
Psychologist
 The Canadian Psychological Association (2007)
Annual report lists 5,921 members with Masters or a
Doctorate degree
 Half are men and half are women
 Currently 70% of new PhD degrees are earned by
women
 Where do they work in the world?
 Most psychologists today are working in North
America
 About 1/3 of the world's 5 000 000 psychologists
are found elsewhere

Countries in the world where psychologists work.
Where Psychologists Work?
Educating Psychologists
What Are The Educational Requirements?
Doctoral Degrees
4 – 5 years past a
(Ph.D. & Psy.D.) bachelor’s degree
Master’s Degree 2 - 3 years past a

Bachelor’s degree
Bachelor’s Degree 4-year degree

Recap/Evaluate/Rethink: Module 1
 1. What is the science of psychology?
 2. Name and describe one major specialty

in the field of psychology?
Module 2: A Science Evolves:
The Past, the Present, and the Future
Learning Objectives
 What are the origins of psychology?
 What are the major approaches in
contemporary psychology?
 What are psychology’s key issues and
controversies?
 What is the future of psychology likely to hold?
Psychology’s Roots
Early History
 Trephining : chipping a
hole in a patient's skull.
Evil sprits could then escape!
Wilhelm Wundt
Established the first experimental laboratory devoted to
psychology.
Structuralism
 Focused on the basic building blocks of perception,
consciousness, thinking, and emotions
 - Introspection
Psychology’s Roots
 Functionalism
 Moved from structure to the role behaviour plays in
allowing people to adapt to their environments
 Gestalt Psychology
“the whole is different from the sum of its parts”
 This timeline illustrates the major milestones in the development of psychology
Mary Calkins
Women in Psychology
Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)
 Was the first women to receive a doctorate in psychology
Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886 – 1939)

 Child development and women’s issues
Mary J. Wright
 Became the first female president of the Canadian Psychological Association
in 1969
 In 2001 she was awarded the Gold Medal Award of Distinguish Lifetime
contribution to Canadian Psychology.
• Mary Calkins (1883 – 1930) See timeline

 First female in the APA
• .
Women in Psychology
June Etta Downey (1875 – 1932)
• Personality trait theorist
Anna Freud (1895 – 1982)

Notable contributions to the treatment of abnormal behaviour
•
Mamie Phipps Clark (1917 – 1983)

• Demonstrated how children of colour recognize racial differences
Brenda Miller
•Recognized as one of Canada’s great Canadian psychologists
•Received recognition for her work in 1955 with a brain surgery patient
without short-term memory.
Overview of Today’s Perspectives
Today’s Five Perspectives
1. The Neuroscience Perspective:

Blood, Sweat, and Fears.
 This approach views behaviour from the perspective
of the brain , the nervous system,
and other biological functions
 Canadian Donald Hebb known as the Father of

neuropsychology. “Hebb Rule” stated:
“cells that fire together, wire together.”
Today’s Perspectives
2. Psychodynamic Perspective:
Understanding the Inner Person
 Behavioural influences are based on

on inner, unconscious forces,
over which a person has little
control
3. Behavioural Perspective:
 Grew out of the rejection of the inner
workings of the mind.
 Focus on observable events and behaviour

that can be measured objectively.
4. Cognitive Perspective
 The approach that focuses on how

people think, understand, and know
about the world
5. Humanistic Perspective:
 This approach suggests that all

individuals strive to grow, Abraham H. Maslow
develop, and be in control of their lives

and behaviour
Psychology’s Key Issues
1. Nature versus Nurture

 Environment or Heredity?
2. Observable behaviour versus internal mental

processes
 Should psychology only focus on what it can see?
3. Conscious versus unconscious

 How much of our behaviour is produced by forces of
which we are fully aware?
4. Free will versus determinism

 How much of behaviour is a result of choices made
freely or is behaviour determined primarily by factors
outside a person’s willful control?
5. Individual differences versus universal

principles
 How much of our behaviour is a consequence of our
unique and special qualities and how much reflects
culture and society?
Psychology’s Future
 Increased specialization and focus on prevention of
disorders
 Treatment will become more available
 Greater influence will be spent on issues of public interest
 Increase in diversity
 Technology will advance our ability to examine the nervous

system
 1. What are the major approaches in

contemporary psychology?
Module 3:
Research in Psychology
Learning Objectives
 What is the scientific method?
 How do psychologist use theory and research
to answer questions of interest?
 What research methods do psychologist use?
 How do psychologist establish cause-and-
effect relationships in research studies?
The Scientific Method
The approach used by psychologists to
systematically
acquire knowledge and understanding
about behaviour and other phenomena of
interest
Scientific Method:
Developing Explanations
 Research
Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena
of interest
 Theories
Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena
of interest
 Hypothesis
A prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested
 Operationalization
The process of translating a hypothesis into specific,
testable procedures that can be measured and observed
Scientific Method
Descriptive Research
An approach used to systematically investigate a
person, group, or patterns of behaviour
There are several types used in Psychological Research:
 Archival research
Use of existing data in order to test a hypothesis
 Case study
An in-depth, intensive investigation of an
individual or small group of people
 Survey research
A sample of people are

asked a series of
questions about their
behaviour, thoughts,
and attitudes in order
to represent a larger
population
 Naturalistic observation
Observation of naturally
occurring behaviour without
intervention
Correlation Research
Correlational Research
The relationship between two sets of
variables is examined to determine
whether they are associated, or
“correlated”
•Correlation does not mean “causation”

•Ranges from +1 to -1
Correlation Research
Experimental Research
 The relationship between two (or more)
variables is investigated
by deliberately producing a change in one
variable in a situation
and observing the effects of that change on
other aspects of the situation
What is necessary to do Experimental Research?
 Experimental Research requires the responses

of at least two groups to be compared.
 These two groups are called:

 Experimental Group
 Control Group
 Experimental Group:
 A group participating in an experiment that
receives a treatment
 Control Group
 A group participating in an experiment that
receives no treatment
In some experiments there can be more than
one experimental group and/or more than one
control group
Variable
Behaviour, event, or other characteristic that can
change or vary in some way
 Independent variable
The variable that is manipulated by the experiment
 Dependent variable
The variable that is measured and is expected to
change as a result of changes caused by the
experimenter’s manipulation of the independent
variable
Experimental Research: Final Step
 Random assignment to condition

Participants are assigned to different
experimental groups or “conditions” on the
basis of chance and chance alone
The following slide presents the
process of
Random Assignment
The research task is to create

both a control group and a
experiment group
which is chosen from a population
of
Control Group
Original Group
Main Population Being Studied
Random
assignment
completed!
Let the Experimental Group

experiment They will receive the treatment
begin!
Experimental Research: Final Step
 Replication
Repetition of findings using other procedures in
other setting
 Significant outcome
Use of statistical procedures in order to
determine whether or not differences between
groups are large enough to be significant
Experimental Research: In Action!
Research Strategy Recap
 1. What research methods do psychologists

use?
 2. An explanation for a phenomenon of interest

is known as a _____
Module 4: Research Challenges:
Exploring the Process
Learning Objectives
 What major issues confront

psychologists conducting research?
Research Challenges
Ethics
 Protection of participants from
physical and mental harm

 The right of participants to privacy regarding
their behaviour
 The assurance that participation in research is
completely voluntary
 The necessity of informing participants about
the nature of procedures prior to participation

in the experiment
Research Challenges
Participants
Do subjects represent the scope of human
behaviour?
Animals
Should animals be used in research?
Threats to Experiments
 Experimental bias
Factors that distort how the independent variable
affects the dependent variable in an experiment
 Experimenter expectations
 Participant expectations
Threats to Experiments
 Placebo
A false treatment, such as a pill, “drug,” or other
substance without any significant chemical properties
or active ingredient
Becoming An Informed
Consumer of Psychology
 What was the purpose of the research?
 How well was the study conducted?
 Are the results presented fairly?
 1. Ethical research begins with the concept of informed

consent. Before signing up to participate in an experiment,
participants should be informed of:
 A. The procedure of the study, stated generally
 B. The risks that may be involved
 C. Their right to withdraw at ay time
 D. All of the above

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Robert S.

Feldman & Andrea Dinardo

 Module 2: A Science Evolves: The Past, the

 Module 3: Research in Psychology

 Module 4: Research Challenges: Exploring the

 What are the major specialties in the field

 Where do psychologist work ?

1. What are the Biological Foundations

2. How Do People Sense, Perceive, Learn, and Think

Emphasis on higher mental processes

3. What are the Sources of Change and Stability

Changes in behaviour over the life span (womb to

4. How do Psychological Factors Affect Physical and

Explores relationship between psychological factors and

5. Understanding our Social Networks

are found elsewhere

Master’s Degree 2 - 3 years past a

Bachelor’s Degree 4-year degree

 1. What is the science of psychology?

 2. Name and describe one major specialty

 What are the major approaches in

Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886 – 1939)

• Mary Calkins (1883 – 1930) See timeline

Anna Freud (1895 – 1982)

Mamie Phipps Clark (1917 – 1983)

without short-term memory.

1. The Neuroscience Perspective:

 Canadian Donald Hebb known as the Father of

 Behavioural influences are based on

 Focus on observable events and behaviour

 The approach that focuses on how

 This approach suggests that all

develop, and be in control of their lives

1. Nature versus Nurture

2. Observable behaviour versus internal mental

3. Conscious versus unconscious

4. Free will versus determinism

5. Individual differences versus universal

 Treatment will become more available

 Greater influence will be spent on issues of public interest

 Technology will advance our ability to examine the nervous

 1. What are the major approaches in

effect relationships in research studies?

A sample of people are

•Correlation does not mean “causation”

 Experimental Research requires the responses

 These two groups are called:

 Random assignment to condition

The research task is to create

Let the Experimental Group

 1. What research methods do psychologists

 2. An explanation for a phenomenon of interest

 What major issues confront

physical and mental harm

the nature of procedures prior to participation

 What was the purpose of the research?

 How well was the study conducted?

 Are the results presented fairly?

 1. Ethical research begins with the concept of informed

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