Lectures 1-3 Flashcards
*Definition of psychology
Scientific study of mental processes and behavior
*What makes it a natural science?
Use of scientific method
Did Freud study psych as a nat. sci? Why?
No, he didn’t use the scientific method. He’s been called a philosopher
Father of Psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt
Father of American Psychology?
William James
Father of Psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud
Father of Behaviorism?
John Watson
Father of the Humanistic Movement?
Carl Rogers
Father of Structuralism?
Wilhelm Wundt
*What is structuralism?
- Practiced self-examination
- Identifies structures of consciousness, links within consciousness
- Analyzed how an experience made a person feel
- basic components of consciousness
- Wundt
*What is functionalism?
- Opposite to structuralism
- Rather than focus on the elements of consciousness, he focused on its functions (functions of the mind)
- Look at consciousness as a whole, rather than individual pieces
- James
Behaviorism?
- based on observations, behavior
- consequences of behavior
–> reinforcement vs. punishment - Watson
Psychoanalysis?
- Behavior driven by inner forces (instincts, biological drives)
- human nature is not always rational
- actions can be driven by the unconscious
- Freud
Humanism
- alternative to behaviorism and psychoanalysis
- unconditional positive regard
–> acceptance of a person regardless of what they say or do, used in talk therapy - behaviors are not controlled
- we have free will
Cognitive perspective
- focus on human thought and the process of knowing
- memory, language, problem solving
Biological perspective
- causes of behavior in genes, brain, nervous system, endocrine system
4 goals of psych as a nat. sci?
- Describe
- Predict
- Control
- Explain
*Theory
- explanation and prediction of natural phenomenon
- based on and supported by data
- must be falsifiable
- parsimony
*Falsifiable?
- one of the possible outcomes of a designed experiment must be an answer that would disprove the hypothesis
- ex: Harlow’s money theory, Darwin’s theory
- Freud’s theory of dreams (dreams are wish fulfillments) IS NOT
Parsimony
Tend towards simplicity
*Case study? What do we learn? Why is Gage a good example?
- Studies on individuals or small groups because there is a particular or unique situation
- limit to what we can conclude, cause/effect, higher possibility for bias
- good for rare conditions/phenomena
- Ex. Phineas Gage - injury to his eye and frontal cortex which resulted in a significant behavior change and became more aggressive/impulsive
*Naturalistic observation? Role of ODs? Advantage/disadvantage?
- waiting for the behavior to happen
- must have extremely good operational definition or there is too much opportunity for bias
Advantage: observe in natural environment
Disadvantage: no control over other variables, possibility for bias
6 Steps in experimental method:
- state problem
- develop hypothesis
- design study
- collect and analyze data
- replication
- conclusions
external validity
can this data be applied to the real world?
Correlational research? Advantage?
- only 2 variables
- Can be positive or negative
- advantage: study phenomenon that happens in nature but is hard to study in the lab
Nuremburg code
(1947)
- first attempt
- based off holocaust
- voluntary, informed consent
- subject can stop
- scientific basis for experiment
- must yield positive results (you learn something) that can’t be obtained otherwise
Belmont report
(1979)
- prompted by Tuskegee experiment
–> withholding treatment for syphilis
3 principles for human experiments:
1. Justice
2. Beneficence (well being of subjects)
3. Respect for the person
Meaning of justice?
- fair distribution of research
- can’t focus on only one race, disability, socioeconomic status
Declaration of Helsinki
(1964)
- addressed to physicians
- health of patient is priority
*5 principles of ethics:
- informed consent
- freedom from coersion
- protection from harm
- risk benefit analysis
(risk from partaking in experiment cant be bigger
than risk from normal life) - Debriefing
(verbal description of true nature of experiment)
Project MK-Ultra
(1953-73)
- CIA project –> control or influence enemy for info
- Used LSD, every day for 77 days
- Coerced ‘volunteering’
New Zealand cervical cancer experiment
(1966-87)
- hypothesis: maybe cancer won’t grow
- most participants were low income, maori women
- women were uninformed, cancer grew, most of them died
UCLA Schizophrenia med. experiment
(1983-94)
- hypothesis: maybe they’re better off without meds
- people had ‘informed consent’
- didn’t have full access to drop the trial
–> limited state of mind
–> decision was no longer sound
–> never told the length of trial
Rotavirus vaccine
(2011-12)
- affects mainly children
- we already had vaccines!
- went to india, low income kids
- half vaccine, have placebo!
- unethical to withhold treatment we know is effective
