Chapter I: Introduction
Tuesday, 1 September 2020
17:04
Psychological: study of behavior and mental processes
Psychologist try do:
Describe what they observe
Explain the mechanisms underlying these observations
Understand when and why behaviors occur
Predict future behavior or events
Control or influence human behavior
Levels of analysis;
Intra-personal processes (within an individual, e.g. memory)
Inter-personal processes (between individuals, e.g. communication)
Inter-group processes (between groups)
Cultural/societal processes
Hard to study, for example happiness, because there are a lot of factors that influence happiness.
Humanism was a response to pessism and determinism of psycho-analytic theory and reductionism and
determinism of behaviorism.
First laboratory for psychological research was created by Wilhelm Wundt.
History of psychology
Starts around 1880, first lab was also created around this time (1879) by Wilhelm Wundt.
1887: first scientific journal for psychology
First long psychology had not its own discipline, roots of psychology dates back to 4th and 5th century
BC (e.g. Greek philosophy, Taoism, Buddhism).
1872: Darwin studied the expression of emotions in man and animals. Interested in relationship
between different animals.
Stimulus: any physical energy that affects the person and provokes a response
Introspection: Really carefully object yourself, looking inward (i.e. examing and reporting your thoughts,
feelings).
Structuralism: first 'school' of psychology, created by Wilhelm Wundt together with his student
Tichener. This school was inspired by the success of chemistry. Focus was on how simple components
together form complex experiences.
Sensation can, for example be divided in temperature, humidity
Gestalt Psychology: Response to structuralism: you can't break down everything into parts. Whole is
more than sum of the parts. You see this often in design. Pictures that can be seen in different ways.
,Freud & psycho-analysis: Large impact on clinical psychology. Focus on the unconscious and early
childhood. Id (unconscious desire), ego (reason), super-ego (morality) - just like Plato's chariot allegory.
Lot of his ideas were not empirical supported. Some ideas did survive, but often in adapted form.
Neo-Freudians: criticism on Freud's psycho-analytic method. For example for focusing on cause instead
of solution.
Behaviorism (John Watson): There is no free will, everything is determined by feedback. They are rules
by the rewards they get > conditioning (Pavlov).
Reason why you would attend class: reward you get, nice grade
Humanistic psychology: Needs change throughout life. You have other needs when you get older.
People do have free will and are motivated to reach their full potential (self-actualization)
Reason why you would attend class: because you like the subject, you're interested in the information
you get.
Cognitive psychology: response to behaviorism. We're going to try to make some models to see what is
happening in the mind. Studying thoughts, memories and expectations.
,Chapter II: Psychological research
Tuesday, 1 September 2020
17:08
For a very long time, humans have been concerned about the effects of new technologies on our
behaviors and thinking processes. For example writing, Socrates was concerned this would influence
someone's ability to memorize.
Without scientific research we would only rely on intuition, other people's authority and blind luck.
Throughout systematic scientific research we gain an objective understanding of ourselves and our
world.
2.1 Why is research important?
Scientist want to have a better understanding of the world around them. The important thing with
scientific research is to find evidence to support a claim. This is called empirical. Behavior is observable,
the mind is not.
Use of research information
In a research field as broad as psychology it can be hard to determine which theories are and are not
accepted by the scientific community, because on any given subject you will find a number of
contradictory studies. Until enough amount of research is conducted, there will be no clear consensus.
In the meantime we should strive to think critically about the information we receive. When someone
makes a claim we should examine this from different perspectives.
Important to be good informed before making some important decisions. If you spent a lot of money on
a project you want to make sure that the project is really worth it.
Facts: Observable realities (can only be collected through emperical research)
Opinions: Personal judgements, conclusion, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate
Notable researchers
Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939): First woman to earn a PhD in psychology.
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930): Opposed the behaviorist movement. She established one of the first
psychological labs in USA.
Francis Sumner (1895-1930): First African American to earn PhD.
Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1932): First African American woman to earn PhD.
The process of scientific research
Process is known as the scientific method. Theories and hypotheses are tested against the real world by
empirical observations. These empirical observations lead then again to new theories and hypothesis
(circular process).
Deductive reasoning: ideas are tested in the real world
Inductive reasoning: real-world observations lead to new ideas.
, If a hypothesis is correct, the logical conclusion reached through deductive reasoning should also be
correct (deductive reasoning should include a logical conclusion). > CASE STUDIES
Conclusions drawn from inductive reasoning may or may not be correct, regardless of the observations
on which they are based. (theory based on observations could be wrong when further explored). >
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
Theory: A well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena. They are
often too complex to be tested all at once, often split in hypothesis.
Hypothesis: A testable prediction about how the world will behave if our idea is correct, often worded as
an if-then statement.
Falsifiable: hypothesis is capable of being shown to be incorrect. A hypothesis should be
formulated so that it is possible to investigate.
Invalid reasoning (affirming the consequent): If a theory is true then observation will occur, observations
occurs. Therefore theory is true. If you guess enough the chance you guess an event right is very high or
a prediction that is super obvious.
Valid reasoning (modus tollens): If a theory is true then observation will occur, observations does not
occur. Therefore the theory is false.
2.2 Approaches to research
Observation, survey, and archival research are used to study correlation. Researchers can speak to
important relationships that might exist between two or more variables of interest. To find out what the
relationship between two or more variables is, experiments should be performed = experimental
research.
Clinical or case studies
Clinical or case study: Study that focuses on one person or just a few individuals. This is done to gain a
lot of information on that specific case. Often done on individuals that are not like most other people,
makes it difficult to generalize these findings to the larger population as a whole.
Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation: Observing behavior in its natural setting, so people (or animals) will behave the
way they will normally behave. This kind of research requires significant investments of time, money,
and a good dose of luck.
Observer bias: Researcher may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals or
expectations.
Inter-rater reliability: a measure of reliability that assesses the consistency of observations by
different observers.
