The Central Question of Psychology Flashcards
Central Question of Psych
> Why do people think, feel, and act the way they do?
Psychology
> scientific study of behavior and mental process
uses empirical methods
therapy needed if “it” interfere w/normal activity
Empirical Methods
> use of direct observation & measurement to answer questions
science is self correcting
Clinical vs. Experimental Psych
> clinical- therapy, counseling
>experimental- research human thoughts/behaviors
Empirical Questions
> questions can be answered using observations of scientific method
ex. Are women smarter than men?
Who is the tallest person on Earth?
What is the Prozac case an example of?
> general principles or findings are not invalidated by individual cases
Origins of Psych
> psych is philosophy questions & physiology methods
Philosophy: big questions, early theories, traces of scientific thinking
Physiology (Biology): experimental methods
Plato’s Ideas
> philosophers debated individual differences
believed people born with “god(s) given” differences
argued math/measurement can help understand nature
Aristotle’s Ideas
> believed in Tabula Rasa (blank slate, colored by experiences)
suggested mind & body are not separate
Rene Descartes
>believed in searching for truth >questioned everything, needed proof >"philosophy of doubt" part of scientific method >focus: empiricism & experiences >radical ideas got him in trouble
Effect of Philosophy
>triggered important questions about human nature >nature & location of mind? > conciseness (functions?) >brain & mind (related/work?) >environment vs. innate abilities
Wilhelm Wundt
> Ph.D in Physiology
University of Leipzig
Founder of Psych
Wundt’s Role in Psych
> 1879: Founded 1st lab of experimental psych
published 1st professional journal of psych
wrote numerous books
trained almost all 1st generation psychologists
BEFORE FREUD
Why use experimentation?
> backbone of psych research
>isolate cause/effect
Simple Experiment Conditions
> Experimental group
Control group/Conditional group
can have multiple groups/conditions
*Independent Variable
> factor being manipulated
ex. Breastfeeding experiment
(IV is breast feeding)
*Dependent Variable
> factor being measured (outcome)
usually behavior/mental process
ex. Breastfeeding experiment
(DV is intelligence)
TV Show Aggression Experiment
experimental condition,control condition,IV,DV,result
> experimental condition: Power Rangers (aggressive)
control condition: Mr. Rogers (not aggressive)
IV: tv show
DV: level of aggression
result: 7x more aggressive, changed empathy if not more aggressive
Experiment IV Effects Data Results
20% -> sorta effects
50% -> effects
100% -> definitely effects
*Random Assignment
> randomly assign participants to experimental & control conditions
balances groups w/respect to uncontrollable variables
*Replication
> if repeat experiment, get same pattern of results
confidence in experiment results
ex. Safety/effectiveness of drug treatments (check for side effects)
CDC Class Experiment
> replication of Tversky and Kahneman
>found people respond to positive language in surveys
Non-Experimental Methods
> have no cause/effect, result is a correlation
correlation (r) - strength of relationship between two variables
ex. Linear scatterplot of husband & wife ages
Correlation of Height/Weight
> scatterplot shows strength of relationship
positive correlation- points up/right
negative correlation- points down/left (inverse relationship between x & y)
no correlation- points all over
Correlation Coefficient (number of Correlation)
> ranges from -1 to 1
if abs value is close, then its strong relationship
correlation does not prove causation, since no experiment done
NOT CAUSATION
Why use correlation?
> for prediction & decision making
if unable to conduct experiment
ex. Zajonc tested family size vs. IQ
Family Resource Model- number of resources down with increase of kids
Survey
> technique for asserting self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people
Survey Advantages
+only way is to ask (can’t know through observation)
+collect lots of info (quick and cheap)
Survey Potential Problems
> social desirability
wording effects
counter social desirability
people’s preferences change based on wording
Social Desirability
> people distort their answers to appear normal
Wording Effect
> different interpretations of language change results
>ex. “on layoff” (fired vs. temp off work)
How to Counter Social Desirability
> cross-check answers
>assure subjects are anonymous
Sampling Error/Bias
> want a representative sample
>use random sampling
Literary Digest Mistake
> 1936 Presidential Election (Landon vs. Roosevelt)
magazine thought Landon would win by landslide
sampled telephone books & auto registrations
over polled Rep. voters (Roosevelt ended up winning)
Summary of Non-Experimental Methods
>correlations/surveys describe behaviors \+useful, informative, proactive \+often good starting point \+correlations aid in decision making -no cause or effect
Subject Bias
> participants change behavior in non-natural ways
know too much about experiment
ex. Hawthorne phone factory (everything increased productivity)
Research Pitfalls
> Experimenter Bias (Rosenthal Effect)
>Subject Bias (Hawthorne Effect)
Experimenter Bias
> Rosenthal Effect- becomes self fulfilling hypothesis
ex. “Bright Rats” vs. Reg Rats
Bias teachers to student success
Teacher behavior after video
Prevention of Bias
> Single-blind procedure
Double-blind procedure
both use deception (cover story)
Single-blind Procedure
> subject doesn’t know elements at play
ex. Asch’s “perceptual judgement” test
(actually studying conformity)
confederates- people who work discretely with experimenter during test
Double-blind Procedure
> only experimenter knows elements at play
>volunteers/data collectors do not know elements
Spontaneous Remission
> person’s symptoms temp go away
ex. Lukemia, sickle-cell, mult. sclerosis
linked w/Placebo effect
Placebo Effect
> people actually get fake drug and feel better
treatment doesn’t do anything in reality
used in drug tests
ex. Patients even “Morphine”
(70% felt better after placebo drug)
