Lecture 02 How Psychology Became a Science (Reading pp 28-38)

January 16
th
, 2013


A) What is Psychology?
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.
- focuses on the ABCs ~ affect, behaviour, cognition
It spans many levels of explanation from biological to social influences:
o rungs on a ladder of explanation, with lower levels tied most closely to biological
influences and higher levels tied most closely with social influences.
o biotropes believe that biological factors are most critical for understanding the causes
of behaviour (actions of the brain and nerve cells)
- sociotropes believe that social factors are most critical for understanding the causes
of behaviour (parenting practices, peer influences, culture)
o One must gain new knowledge from each vantage point triangulation (ex; same
concept as surveying property lines- there is a possibility that one single measurement
may be inaccurate, therefore, 3 measurements taken and averaged out to remove
possible error)
Attempts to answer many exceptionally difficult questions (e.g., consciousness)
o Mysterians - believe that certain questions regarding human nature are unanswerable
Originated from philosophy
o Descartes Reasoning
- French philosopher
- doubted everything, but could not doubt that he was doubting (he knew he existed)
- cogito ergo sum I think, therefore I am

B) 10 Things That Make Psychology Challenging

1. Human behaviour is hard to predict
Meehls Maxim ~ guideline that states that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour.

2. Behaviour is multiply determined
almost all actions are multiply determined ~ caused by many factors
we should be skeptical of single-variable explanations of behaviour
Example: one might assume that violence occurs due to single factors such as poverty or genes,
however, it is affected by a wide array of causes

3. Psychological Influences Are Rarely Independent of One Another
multicollinearity ~ the overlap among different causes of behaviour, often making it difficult to
determine which cause or causes are operating
Example: Explaining why some women develop eating disorders factors such as anxiety,
exercise and perfectionism play a role, however, you can not simply focus on only one of these
factors. Women who are perfectionists also tend to exercise and worry a lot, therefore, the factors
are all interrelated.

4. Psychological Influences Are Often Unknown
Example: differences between identical twins can be caused by influences that were never noticed
or measured

5. People Affect Each Other
behaviour in experiments is often standardized ~ maintained the same across all subject
reciprocal determinism ~ tendency for people to mutually influence each others behaviour
Example: if you are an extroverted person, you are more likely to make people around you
comfortable and outgoing. Their outgoing response may feedback to make you even more
extroverted. Circular Relationship.

6. Many Psychological Concepts Are Difficult to Define
defining concepts is called operationalizing in psychology hard process.
Example; Studying aggression in childrenwhat defines aggression in children? When a child hits
another is it being aggressive or simply defending itself? It is hard to distinguish and clearly
define.
The way we perceive things is influenced by who we are
Famous experiment: A baby in pink called Beth would be brought to a person sitting in a room. The
individual would play with the baby for 15 minutes and then asked their opinion about child. Same
experiment done with baby Adam. For baby Beth, the responses would be along the lines of shes
going to be a nurturing mother. For baby Adam, people said hes going to be a strong man
SAME BABY. This proves that our cultural biases change the way we experience and perceive
reality.
Thus, how can we ever be 100% certain with our definitions? We cant. This is the nature of
science it is always open to revision.
Example: Many people deny that climate change is occurring because scientists cannot prove
definitively that it is. However, nothing in science can be proven conclusively.
7. The Human Brain Didnt Evolve to Understand Itself
brain evolved to maximize the chances that our genes are passed on to later generation
paradox of reflexivity ~ psychologists are trying to use the human brain to understand itself
evolutionary theorist Robert Trivers believed that the human mind evolved to deceive itself

8. People in Psychological Research Often Know Theyre Being Studied
reactivity ~ tendency for people to behave differently when they know theyre being studied
quantum physics teaches us that when we measure something, we change it same concept with
psychology
Example : Measuring someones length of urination will change it. When people are aware that you
are measuring them, they will take less time.
9. People Differ From Each Other
People differ in thought, emotion and personality response to situations is different
Hard to come up with psychological explanations that apply to everyone
individual differences ~ variations among people in their thinking, emotion, and behaviour
we have a tendency to assume that people we hang out with or even like think like us not true
we make divisions automaticallyex; is that a man or a woman? Most of us will always know
10. Culture Influences Peoples Behaviour
psychologists must take into account individual and cultural differences when explaining behaviour
because culture shapes how we interpret the world
people from Western culture tend to focus on central details while people from Eastern culture tend
to focus on peripheral details
western society is fiercely individualistic therefore, we raise children that talk back, because they
must know how to defy authority in order to look after themselves
easter society, children are more polite and respectful this is because the societies are more
family-oriented, closer
experiment: kids from china and North America shown digital images of fish that move in different
ways example: red fish separates from a group, other fish remain together , two outlooks on this
situation:
o Western kids: fish has separated because it got tired of the pack, didnt want to deal
with others anymore
Chinese kids: fish was removed from group because it did not behave itself
o shows how culture influences behaviour and thought
emic ~ approach of studying a cultures behaviour from an insiders perspective
~ may understand the unique characteristics of a culture but overlook characteristics that the culture
shares with others
etic ~ approach of studying a cultures behaviour from an outsiders perspective
~ able to view the culture within a broader perspective but unintentionally impose perspectives
from their own culture
Example; studying gay communities


C) Historical Perspective of Psychology

Its liberation from Philosophy
Psychology has been around since at least the time of the early Greeks, although its only been a
truly experimental science for approximately 130 years.
was originally viewed as department of philosophy Immanual Kant even argued that it didnt
need to become a science believed that mental experiences could not be quantified and
experimented with

In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt :
founded the first full-fledged psychological laboratory in Germany.
founded a less formal lab at Harvard- psychology became launched as an experimental science.
developed the practice of introspection ~ method by which trained observers carefully reflect
and report on their mental experiences.
developed the field of New Psychology because he broke the chains of philosophy and
stemmed from traditional science (ex; physics)
Found that mental events could be quantified.
Its liberation from Spiritualism
term psychology literally means study of the psyche spirit or soul

In the 1800s, Americans were obsessed with the paranormal:
Paranormal ~ events, like extrasensory perception, that fall outside the boundaries of traditional
science.
The general public saw psychology and spiritualism as inextricably linked
Some psychologists (William James) investigated spirit mediums and psychics, but never
uncovered scientific evidence
Psychology distanced itself from spiritualism by forging a new field: the psychology of human
error and self-deception How can one fool themselves into believing things for which there
isnt solid evidence?
Parapsychology still exists as a tiny branch of the field
D) Psychology Today: Reasons for Optimism and Concern
today there are approximately 500 000 psychologists worldwide
with so many specialties, psychologists sometime disagree in their approach to subject matter
and interpretation of evidence
main controversy in modern psychology ~ fault line between psychologists who believe that
clinical practice should primarily reflect scientific findings and those who believe that clinical
practice should primarily reflect subjective clinical experience and intuition
first group disagree with all non-scientific aspects of psychology and new bizarre therapeutic
techniques
second group believes that psychotherapy is more of an art than a science -this disagreement is
known as the scientist-practitioner gap
the gap widened in the 80s and early 90s when thousands of people claimed to recover
childhood memories of sexual abuse during or after psychotherapy
scientist portion believed that these recovered memories were false and induced by careless
therapies

E) Psychological Theories Great theoretical frameworks of psych

1) Structuralism
- founded by british Edward Bradford Titchener (influenced by Wundt)
- aimed to identify the basic elements, or structures, of psychological experience
- divide experience into images, feelings, sensations
- wanted to create a comprehensive map of the elements of consciousness using introspection
- eventually dissolved because of two major problems:
- findings lacked reliability, reproducibility people would not see findings that replicated each
other- needed something more systematic
- Ex; if room is always same temperature, a reliable thermometer will always give the same reading,
if not, it is unreliable and useless
~ highly trained introspectionists often disagreed on their subjective reports (lack of
consensus)
~ experiments involved imageless thought which demonstrated that some important aspects
of human psychology lie outside of conscious awareness
- structuralism went astray by assuming that a single method (introspection) could provide all the
information for a complete science of psychology
- no longer exists today - people eventually understood the importance of systematic observation ~
to become a science, psychology must rely on rigorous and carefully standardized reports, not on
casual or informal impressions



2) Functionalism
- aimed to understand the adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics (thoughts, feelings,
behaviours)
- founded by William James influenced by Charles Darwin, origin of species, survival of species
- mind promoted survival (taste divided into sweet, sour, etc. helps us distinguish foods)
- involved the use of why questions
- argued that careful introspections yields not a fixed number of static elements of consciousness
but an ever-changing stream of consciousness
- psychological components serve an adaptive purpose just as physical components do
- no longer exists in its original form, has become absorbed into mainstream scientific psychology
and continues to influence it today
- psychologists are attempting to use evolutionary theory to explain the nature of romantic
attraction, origins of human personality, etc.
3) Behaviourism (Black Box Psychology)
- focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning underlying human and animal behaviour by
looking outside the organism to rewards, punishments, and behaviour delivered by or present in the
environment
- founded by John B. Watson called himself a radical behaviorists others thought mind was a
ghost, could not be seen
- based on punishments and rewards from the environment
- psychological science must be objective and focus on observable behaviour
- the human mind is a black box ~ an unknown entity that we dont need to understand to explain
behaviour
- B.F. Skinner (a follower of Watson) believed that thoughts, feelings, and observable behaviours all
fall within scientific psychology. Thoughts and feelings are behaviour, they are just unobservable.
operons conditioning
- key concept: if there is no change in behaviour, there is no learning
Contribution to Scientific Psychology
- by identifying the fundamental laws of learning that help to explain human and animal behaviour,
behaviourists have placed psychology on a firmer scientific footing
- warned us of the hazards of relying on reports that we cant verify objectively

4) Cognitivism
-proposes that our thinking (cognition) affects our behaviour in powerful ways
- cognition ~ mental processes involved in different aspects of thinking
- argued that a psychology based solely rewards and punishments from the environment is inaccurate
because our interpretation of rewards and punishments is a crucial determinant in our behaviour
- without understanding how people evaluate information, well never understand the causes of their
behaviour
- we learn by insight ~grasping the underlying nature of problems
- Jean Piaget (conservation of matter) and Ulric Neisser are cognitivists opened up the black box
- Albert Bandura bobo doll experiments -collective name of the experiments studying childrens
reaction/behavior after watching an adult model act aggressively towards a Bobo doll
- encouraged psychologists to peek in the black box to examine connections between inputs and
outputs
- established strong linkages to the study of brain function

5) Psychoanalysis
- founded by Sigmund Freud
- focuses on internal psychological processes (impulses, thoughts, and memories) of which were
unaware
- primary influences on behaviour are unconscious drives, specifically sexuality and aggression
- much of our every day psychological life is filled with symbols (referring to a female prof. as
mommy because she secretly reminds you of your mother)
- purpose of a psychoanalyst is to decode the symbolic meaning of our slips of the tongue (Freudian
slips), dreams, and psychological symptoms
- by doing this, psychologists can get to the deep-seated psychological conflicts
- core of personality is molded in the first few years of life
- problem: unconscious processes are difficult to verify
- Freud (parapraxis slip of the tongue, defense mechanisms)
- Jung (collective unconscious- not just personal, looked at other cultures and myths, archetypes- ex;
heros journey)
- The three parts of the psyche:
o Id basic part of personality, wants instant gratification for our needs. If needs not met,
becomes anxious/tense.
A baby cries until it is fed
o Ego reality, tries to meet the desires of the id in a socially acceptable way
Even though Michael needed money, he decided not to steal the money from
the cash register because he didnt want to get in trouble.
o Superego develops last, moral judgments what is right/wrong
Sarah knew that she could steal the supplies from work and no one would
know about it. However, she knew that stealing was wrong, so she decided not
to take anything even though she would probably never get caught
- some critics say that psychoanalysis retarded the progress of scientific psychology because it focused
so heavily on unconscious processes that are so hard to verify while some psychoanalytic claims (such
as the assertion that important mental processing goes on outside of the conscious mind) have held up
well

Modern Psychology
- Critical Multiplism ~ approach of using many different methods in concert (surveys, lab experiments,
real-world observation, etc)AKA triangulation
- the diversity of psychology is a disadvantage because its hard to come up with a grand theory that
unifies all subdisciplines of psychology and is an advantage because there are so many approached at
our disposal to address questions regarding human nature
Basic versus Applied Research
- basic research ~ research examining how the mind works
- applied research ~ research examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems
- translating research findings into real-world applications (e.g yellow fire trucks, third brake light,
sequential police lineups, childrens cereal, impulse items at cash register, etc)
- John B. Wattson- look up
Types of Psychologists
1) Clinical Psychologists
- focus of the assessment, diagnosis, causes, and treatment of mental disorders
- some conduct research on people with these disorders while others primarily assess, diagnose, and
treat them
- in Canada, they cannot prescribe medication
2) Counselling Psychologists
- work with relatively normal people who are experiencing temporary or relatively self-contained life
(situational) problems
- work in counselling centers, hospitals, or private practices
3) School Psychologists
- work with teachers, parents, and children to remedy students behaviour, emotional, and learning
difficulties
- assess these problems and develop behavioural intervention programs
- not the same as educational psychology ~ identify better methods for teaching and presenting course
material
4) Developmental Psychologists
- study why and how people change over time
- most conduct research on infants and children emotional, social, physiological, and cognitive
processes and how they change with age
5) Experimental Psychologists
- use sophisticated research methods (reaction time equipment, etc) to study the memory, language, and
thinking of humans
- work in research setting and sometimes consult for business

6) Biopsychologists (include neuropsychologists)
- sometimes called psychobiologists or physiological psychologists
- examine the physiological bases of behaviour in animals and humans
7) Forensic Psychologists (ex; Elixabeth Loftess?)
- work in prisons, jails, and other settings to assess and diagnose inmates and assist in their
rehabilitation and treatment
- others conduct research on eye-witness testimony or jury decision-making

8) Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
- work in companies and businesses to help select productive employees, evaluate employee
performance, examine the effects of different working or living conditions on peoples behaviour, or
design equipment to maximize performance and minimize accidents

The Great Debates of Psychology

The Nature-Nurture Debate
- Tabula rasa? No, research conducted by behaviour geneticists and others suggests that most
psychological traits are substantially influenced by genes
- for most of the 20
th
century, most psychologists assumed that all human behaviour was a product
of learning, however it was found that the most important psychological traits are influenced by
genes
- human behaviour is attributable to our environment and our geneology
- Behaviour is attributable to both genes and environment, but the relative balance of the two
depends on which characteristic we measure (e.g., risk for ADHD vs. religious affiliation)
- Evolutionary psychology - applies Darwins theory of natural selection to human and animal
behaviour
- just-so stories ~ superficial explanations made-up after the fact; a term sometimes applied by
critics to some evolutionary psychology hypotheses
The Free Will Determinism Debate
- to what extent are our behaviours freely selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control?
insanity defense ~ the legal system assumes that severe mental illness can interfere with a persons
free will
- many psychologists believe that free will is an illusion; Skinner argues that our sense of free will
stems from the fact that we are unaware of the thousands of subtle environmental influences
impinging on our behaviour at any moment (like puppets)
Some psychologists argue most behaviours are generated automatically, without conscious
awareness, though we perceive them as under our control (e.g., philosopher Nietzsche &
causality)
- we believe we are free because we are unaware of all of the influences acting on our behaviour
- readiness potential ~ brain wave measures our preparedness for bodily action
- compatibilism ~ compromise between free will and determinism says that the two can coexist

The Mind-Body Debate
- are our behaviours due to the functioning of the brain and nervous system or also the action of a
nonmaterial entity, like a soul?
- mind-body monists ~ scientists who believe that the mind is the brain and nervous system in
action
- mind-body dualists ~ scientists who believe that the mind is more than the brain and nervous
system
- cannot scientifically test if the soul exists