Summary Psychology, Global Edition, ISBN: 9781292159713 Psychology: an Orientation
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Psychology: an Orientation
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Universiteit Twente (UT)
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Psychology
This document contains a summary for chapters 1, 3 and 5 to 7 of the book Psychology, Global Edition. It is based on the learning objectives described in the book.
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Chapter 1 – The science of Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Behaviour includes all of our
outward or overt actions. Mental processes refer to all internal, covert activity in our minds.
Psychologists use a systematic approach to study psychology scientifically.
1.1 Describe the contributions of some of the early pioneers in
psychology
In Leipzig, Germany, 1879, Wilhelm Wundt ( 1832 – 1920) attempted to apply scientific principles to
the study of the human mind. He used objective introspection, the process of objectively examining
and measuring one’s own thoughts and mental activities. This is the first attempt to bring objectivity
and measurements to psychology + first true experimental laboratory in psychology made him the
father of psychology.
Edward Titchener ( 1867 – 1927) was one of Wundt’s students. He expanded on his original ideas,
named his viewpoint structuralism as he focused on the structure of the mind. He believed every
experience could be broken down into its individual emotions & sensations. Structuralism died out in
the early 1900s because structuralists fought over which key elements of experience were important,
this lead to competitivity.
William James ( 1842 – 1910) taught at Harvard University. James focused on how the mind allows
people to function in the real world – how people work, play, and adapt to their surroundings, a
viewpoint called functionalism. He was influenced by Darwin – natural selection in which physical
traits that help survive and adapt are passed on to its offspring, why couldn’t behavioural traits do
the same?. By teaching, some mechanism or heredity. Functionalism is no longer a major
perspective. Instead, one can find elements of functionalism in the modern fields of educational
psychology and industrial psychology.
1.2 Summarize the basic ideas and the important people behind
the early approaches known as Gestalt, psychoanalysis, and
behaviourism
Max Wertheimer (1880 – 1943) and others believed that people naturally seek out patterns in the
sensory information available for them. They devoted their efforts to studying sensation and
perception in the new perspective, Gestalt psychology, it’s a German word meaning ‘an organized
whole’ which fits well with the focus on studying whole patterns rather than small pieces of them
(structuralism). It has influenced the field of cognitive psychology and a form of psychological
therapy, Gestalt therapy.
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) was a neurologist. He proposed that there is an unconscious mind into
which we puss, or repress, all of our threatening urges and desires. Freud stressed the importance of
early childhood experiences, believing that personality was formed in the first 6 years of life; if there
were significant problems, those problems must have begun in the early years. Freudian
psychoanalysis, the theory and therapy based on Freud’s ideas, has been the basis of much modern
psychotherapy.
Ivan Pavlov showed that a reflex could be caused to occur in response to a formerly unrelated
stimulus. This process was called conditioning. By the early 1900s, John. B. Watson wanted to bring
focus back on scientific inquiry and believed only way to do so was to focus on observable behaviour
and ignore ‘consciousness’ issue. He called this the behaviourism.
, 1.3 Summarize the basic ideas behind seven modern
perspectives in psychology
Psychodynamic perspective – modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the
development of a sense of self and the discovery of motivation behind a person’s behaviour other
than sexual motivations. Based on Freuds ideas.
Behavioural perspective – focuses on how behavioural responses are learned through classical and
operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner). Operant conditioning is the theory that behavioural responses
that are followed by pleasurable consequences are strengthened.
Humanistic perspective – professionals began to develop a perspective that would allow them to
focus on people’s ability to direct their own life. Humanists held the vier that people have free will,
the freedom to choose their own destiny and strive for self-actualization, the achievement of one’s
full potential. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers developed this as a reaction to the deterministic
nature of behaviourism and psychoanalysis.
Cognitive perspective – modern perspective in psychology that focuses on memory, intelligence,
perception, problem solving, and learning. The development of the computers stimulated the
interested in studying the processes of thought. Roots in Gestalt psychology. Within the cognitive
perspective, the cognitive neuroscience is the study of the physical changes I the brain and nervous
system during thinking.
Sociocultural perspective – perspective that focuses on the relationship between social behaviour
and culture, in which thinking and behaviour is seen as the product of learning and shaping within
the context of one’s family, social group, and culture.
Biopsychological perspective – perspective that attributes human and animal behaviour to biological
events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of the nervous
system.
Evolutionary perspective – focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics, such
as why we lie, how attractiveness influences mate selection, the universality of fear, and why we
enjoy things like music and dance.
None of the perspectives has all the answers.
1.4 Differentiate between the various types of
professionals within the field of psychology
Psychologist is a professional with an academic degree and specialized training in one or more areas
of psychology.
Psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.
Psychiatric social worker is a social worker with some training in therapy methods who focuses on
the environmental conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders , such as poverty,
overcrowding , stress and drugs abuse.
Basic research Applied research
Research focused on adding information to the Research focused on finding practical solutions
scientific knowledge base. to real-world problems.
, 1.5 Recall the five steps of the scientific approach
In Psychology, researchers want to see what is really there, not what their biases might lead them to
see. This can be achieved using the scientific approach.
Psychology's
goals
Description: Explanation: Prediction: Control: How
What is Why is it When will it can it be
happening? happening? happen again? changed?
The 5 steps in the scientific approach
Perceiving Report
Forming a Testing the Drawing
the conclusions
your
Hypothesis Hypothesis
question results
Perceiving the question about some empirical event for which you would like an explanation; can be
derived from the goal of description. Forming a hypothesis, a tentative explanation about an event.
Testing the hypothesis by collecting data, analysing results. Drawing conclusion about investigation’s
success or failure to explain event. Reporting your results; share exactly what, why, and how you did
it, which provide means for replication.
1.6 Compare and contrast some of the methods used to
describe behaviour
Naturalistic observation – observe people or animals in natural environment. Researcher must stay
hidden because of the observer effect, the tendency of people or animals to behave differently from
normal when they know they are being observed. Participant observation: a naturalistic observation
in which the observer become a participant in the group being observed. One of the disadvantages to
this method is the possibility of observer bias, the tendency of observer to see what they expect to
see. Can be avoided with blind observers.
Laboratory observation – when naturalistic observation is not possible. Researchers control the
number of research objects, their age as well as everything that goes on in the laboratory. But
because the laboratory is artificial, this may lead to artificial behaviour.
Case studies – study of one individual in great detail. The disadvantage of this is that researchers
can’t really apply the results to other similar people.
Surveys – researchers will ask a series of questions about a topic they are studying. Disadvantage is
that they are not able to ask everyone. Researchers need to select a representative sample,
randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects. Population is the entire
group of people or animals in which the researcher is interested. Another major disadvantage is that
people aren’t always going to give accurate answers. Some people deliberately give the answer they
think is more socially correct rather than their true opinion so that no one get offended in a process
called courtesy bias.
, 1.7 Explain how researchers use the correlational technique
to study relationships between two or more variables
A correlation is a measure of the relationship between two or more variables. A variable is anything
that can change or vary. Correlation coefficient is a number that represents the strength and
direction of a relationship existing between two variables, number derived from the formula
measuring a correlation. It’s represented by the small letter ‘r’. If the number is positive, both the
variables move in the same direction. If the number is negative, the two variables have an inverse
relationship.
Remember that correlation does not prove causation. A correlation will only tell researchers if there
is a relationship between two variables.
1.8 Identify the steps involved in designing an experiment
The only method that will allow researchers to determine the cause of behaviour is the experiment,
a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behaviour result, allowing
the determination of cause-and-effect relationships. They change the variable they think is causing
some behaviour while holding all the other variables that might interfere with the experiment’s
results constant and unchanging.
Selection – researchers might start with selecting children they want to use in the experiment.
The variables – need to decide on the variable the researchers want to manipulate. This often comes
before selecting the participants. When, for example, studying the correlation between a violent
cartoon and aggressive behaviour. The researchers need to have a clear description of what they
mean by aggressive behaviour. This is called operationalization, specific description of a variable of
interest that allows it to be measured. The name of the variable that is manipulated in any
experiment is called independent variable. Dependent variable is the variable in an experiment that
represents the measurable response of behaviour of the subjects in the experiment. Confounding
variables are variables that interfere with each other and their possible effects in some other
variable in interest. The best way to control these is by using an experimental group and a control
group. The experimental group is subjected to the independent variable. The control group is not
subjected to the independent variable and they may receive a placebo treatment.
The importance of randomization – this is the best way to choose participations for any study.
Random assignment is the process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups
randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group.
1.9 Recall two common sources of problems in an
experiment and some ways to control for these effects
The placebo effect – the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can
influence their behaviour.
The experimenter effect – tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a study unintentionally
influence the results of the study.
There are way to control these effects. Single-blind study is a study in which the subjects to not know
if they are in the experimental or the control group. In a double blind study, neither the participants
nor the experimenter know if the subjects are in the experimental or the control group.
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