Chapter 1

Psych is a discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organisms physical state, mental state, and external environment Empirical evidence Purpose is to understand explain predict and control behavior Basic psych-Research done to seek knowledge for its own sake Applied psych-Practical significance and application

Wilhelm Wundt(1832-1920) First psych lab (1879) Structuralism what

William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher Identify purpose, or functions, of the mind

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) British Naturalist Natural selection is adaptive and functional Biological Approach- Focus on Brain and nervous system Neuroscience -Structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry of nervous system, Brain and nervous system as central to understanding behavior thought and emotion Behaviors that we see are based on biological determints Behaviorists John B Watson -BF skinner Psychodynamic approach Emphasis on Unconcious (sexual and aggressive impulses -Conflict between biological drives and society -Childhood early family experiences Father-Sigmund Freud

Humanistic approach-Emphasis on -Positive human qualities Capacity for positive growth Freedom to choose any destiny Cognitive approach -how we direct attention -Percieve, remember, think -Solve problems Sociocultural approach Examination of ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior Focus on comparisons of behavior across countries and ethnic and cultural backgrounds Observe, Hypothesis Types of psych research Descriptive research -Finding out some variable Describing some sort of phenomenon Observation Surveys and interviews Case studies Correlational research -Examining whether and how variables are related and change together Correlation coefficient: -1.00<r<1.00 Strength-Number Direction-Sign Correlation does not equal causation Experimental research -Determining whether casual relationships exist Independent variable-Manipulated Student variables-Measured experimental groups-Experiences manipulation} Control groups-Serve as baseline External validity-Do experimental results apply, or generalize, to real world Internal validity-are changes in dependent variable due to independent variable. Experimenter bias -Demand characteristics -Research participant bias

-Placebo effect -Double blind experiment Research Samples -Population -Sample -Random samples likely to be representative of population to allow generalizing of research Lab research -Control, but with some drawbacks Naturalistic observation -Real world setting Ethical research History: World war II Research participants have certain rights Informed consent Confidentiality Debriefing deception Critical thinking: The ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion. Avoid generalizing Distinguish between group results and individual needs Look for answers beyond a single study Avoid attributing causes where none have been found. Consider source of psychological information

For the test Case historyNaturalistic and historic observations Surveys Psych tests Experiment