What is psychology?
the scientific study of the mind and behavior
Research Psychologist
psychologist whose primary activity is to conduct and report the results of experiments
Clinical Psychologist
a psychologist who diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances such as bipolar disorder, PTSD, etc. and people who struggle a lot with mental health
Education Psychologist
a psychologist who is concerned with helping students learn as a whole, not each individual student
School Psychologist
issues in school system with children
ex. ADHD or learning disabilities (uses intelligence testing, primarily assessments: what is the best path for this child?)
Industrial Psychologist
in business. how to produce a product and get people to buy it
Forensic Psychologist
applies psychological concepts to legal issues and the justice system
Neuropsychologist
concerned with the relationship between brain/nervous system and behavior
ex. the elderly
Health Psychologist
focuses on the mind-body connection. How is asthma related to depression?
Developmental Psychologist
deals with development in children
Which psychologists do therapy?
clinical, counseling, and school
What does APA stand for?!
American Psychological Association
Organization in order to oversee everything in the psych field. There are 56 divisions.
Basic Research example
What is the difference in attachment between children raised by divorced and married people? How does heroin impact the brain?
Scientific Method
the set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that scientists use to conduct empirical research. There is no bias, have the right variables, demographics, and sample size
Basic Research
knowledge for the sake of knowledge
Applied Research
improve production of a product
Why do we need the scientific method?
It standardizes the research
Empirical Method
Assure research is accurate.
- specific script
- same person isn't the one running the experiment
- double blind
- avoid bias
People tend to believe that the way they see things is right.
Birds of a feather flock together > opposites attract
What are the 4 levels of explanation?
Environmental, biological, social-cultural, interpersonal
Nature v. Nurture
NATURE - Plato argued certain kinds of knowledge in us is innate and inborn.
NURTURE - Aristotle (Plato's student) knowledge is primarily through learning and experience
Rene Descartes
Free will, mind, and body
Dualism - argued in its favor and believing that the mind controls the body through the pineal gland in the brain (an idea that made sense at the time but was later proved incorrect). Dualism means the mind and body are two separ
Wilhelm Wundt
developed the psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. He wanted to understand how our brain is structured.
Structuralism (Wundt)
His goal was to create a periodic table of elements of sensations like the periodic table of elements in chemistry. Introspection - asks research participants to describe exactly what they experience as they work on mental tasks
Functionalism (James)
attempts to understand why animals and humans have developed the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess
Psychodynamic (Freud)
his original theory. focuses on the role of our unconsious thoughts, feelings, and memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior
Behaviorism (Watson and Skinner)
NOT possible to objectively study mind - pay attention to behavior itself
Cognitive (Piaget)
Mental processes. Perception, thinking, memory, and judgements
Social-cultural
study of how the social situations and the cultures in which people find themselves influence thinking and behavior. How society impacts our thoughts
Psychoanalytic
Freud's original theory. Dream analysis/unconscious to conscious
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
focuses on the conscious and unconscious sexual desires. Explorations of desires and experiences are revealed through talk therapy and dream analysis
Psychodynamic
modern psychoanalytic theory. Understand human behavior that focuses on the role of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories. Possible to help patients if their unconscious thoughts can be remembered through a person's earlier experiences
How did Freud come up with these theories?
saw patients and analyzed them with anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction which he believed was from painful childhood experiences (trauma) and used hypnosis
Freud: ID, Ego, Superego
ID - impulsive, desire driven
Ego - realistic, plan for desire (keeps superego and id in check)
Superego - moral and judgement
Ego keeps superego and ID in check
LMSW
Licensed master social worker. Professional and only under supervision of clinical social worker
CLC
Certified life coach
NLP
Neurolinguistic practitioner - can be anyone, no laws
CASAC
Certified alcohol substance abuse counselor
- treats addictions and hours are logged
Ivan Pavlov
The study of salivation and dogs. Discovered the dogs will salivate at the sound of a tone that previously had been associated with the presentation of food
Stimulus in Pavlov's research
Either the food or after learning the tone of the bell would produce the response of salivation in the dogs
Watson
Little Albert with the rat. Trained Little Albert to fear rats when striking a steel bar with a hammer whenever Little Albert touched the rats. He feared this sound or noise and he cried. Rip. Ultimately, he learned to fear the rats and would cry when he
Skinner
Operant conditioning. Rats and pigeons. Behaviorist. Systematically made animals learn new tricks (new behaviors)
Objective Research Study
Must be free from personal bias or emotions of the scientist
Replicate
to repeat, add to, or modify previous research findings
Research Hypothesis
a specific and falsifiable prediction about the relationship between or among two or more variables
Variable
a factor that can change in an experiment. Anything that can be measured like height, weight, hair color, glasses, eye color, temperature, shoe size
Independent variable
manipulates the experiment (what you control)
Dependent variable
outcome, can't control and see what improves
Operational definition
definition of a variable in terms of the actual procedures used by researcher to measure and/or manipulate it. Good operational definitions define procedures so that other researchers can replicate the study
Who ran unethical studies?
Zembargo's prisoner study
That guy set up a prison, whatever that guy's name is zim-whatever, and they that that guy told these prisoners that they were all convicted and they really weren't - they were college students. several prisoners left the experim
What is informed consent? Why do we need it?
Is conducted before a patient begins a research session. Is designed to explain the research procedures and inform the patient of his or her rights during the investigation.
Why do we need it? - the informed consent explains as much as possible about the
Deception
occurs as the result of investigators providing false or incomplete to participants for the purpose of misleading research subjects. The IRB accepts the needs for certain types of studies to employ strategies that include deception
Debriefing
is a crucial component of the consent process for any research involving the use of deception or incomplete disclosure. a debriefing statement is a document given to subjects to keep an oral debriefing occurs or is made available to subjects after the res
What comes after deception?
Debriefing
Who weighs the risks v. benefits?
The IRB. The greater the risk, the more strict the IRB is
Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
Learning that occurs based on the consequences of behavior
Descriptive Research
Research designed to provide a snapshot of the current state of affairs, percent, no manipulation
Correlational Research
Research designed to discover relationships among variables and to allow the prediction of future events from present knowledge
Relationships/predictions
Experimental Research
Research in which initial equivalence among research participants in more than one group is created, followed by a manipulation of a given experience for these groups and a measurement of the influence of the manipulation
Descriptive Research example
provides a snapshot of information that can set the ground for future research. It does not assess relationships among variables
Correlational Research example
Assesses the relationships between and among two or more variables which leads to predictions. Can assess these relationships in everyday life events. cannot be used to draw inferences about the casual relationships between and among the variables
Experimental Research example
assesses the casual impact of one or more experimental manipulations on a dependent variables. Allows drawing of conclusions about the casual relationships among variables. Cannot experimentally manipulate many important variables. May be expensive and ti
Case Studies
descriptive records of one or more individuals experiences and behavior
Surveys
used for descriptive research. Measure administered through either an interview or a written questionnaire to get a picture of the beliefs or behaviors of a sample of people or interest
Naturalistic Observation
research based on the observation of everyday events - environment
What is conditioning?
the ability to connect to stimuli (the changes that occur in the environment) with responses behaviors or other actions
Classical Conditioning
Russian psychological Ivan Pavlov discovered that dogs would salivate at the sound of a tone that had previously been associated with the presentation of food. In Pavlov's research the stimulus (either the food or, after learning, the tone) would produce
Operant Conditioning
The most famous behaviorist was B.F. Skinner who expanded the principles of behaviorism and also brought them to the attention of the public at large. Skinner used the ideas o stimulus and response, along with the application of rewards or reinforcements,
Edward Thorndike's Law of Effect
responses followed by pleasurable consequences are repeated (pleasant outcome = repeated). Animals stop doing things that do not reward them
Forward Conditioning
The conditioned stimulus signals that the unconditioned stimulus is coming
Backward Conditioning
when the natural stimulus is presented and terminated before the conditioned stimulus is presented. If Pavlov had presented the food and then, after the dog ate, presented the sound of the bell, the tone alone would not elicit much salivation, since it no
Teratogens (definition, impact, and examples)
any agent that can disturb the development of an embryo or fetus. They may cause a birth defect in a child, or cause the loss of the pregnancy.
Common teratogens:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) - detrimental developmental effects include limb and face abnor
Critical period of teratogens
exposure of teratogens appears to be 24 to 36 days after fertilization
Environment where mother is living has a major impact on infant. Environmental factors that impact the fetus are...
1) poverty
2) homelessness
3) malnourishment (from mother feeding baby or baby lacking food)
4) domestic violence, psychological issues
5) children living in poverty are more likely to be exposed to teratogens
Assimilation
children use already developed schemas to understand new information
Accommodation
learning new information and changing a schema
Schema
patterns of knowledge in long-term memory that help children remember, organize, and respond to information
Rooting reflex
Stimulus - the baby's cheek is stroked
Response - the baby turns its head toward the stroking, open its mouth, and tries to suck
Significance - ensure the infant's feeding will be a reflexive habit
Grasp reflex
Stimulus - an object is pressed into the palm of the baby
Response - the baby grasps the object pressed and can even hold its own weight for a brief period
Significance - helps in exploratory learning
Moro relfex
Stimulus - loud noises or a sudden drop in height while holding the baby
Response - the baby extends arms and legs and quickly brings them in as if trying to grasp something
Significance - protects from falling; could have assisted infants in holding onto
Stepping reflex
Stimulus - the baby is suspended with bare feet just above a surface and is moved forward
Response - baby makes stepping motions as if trying to walk
Significance - helps encourage motor development
Habituation procedure
Baby is placed in a highchair, presented with visual stimuli, video camera records infant's eyes and face movements. Length of time baby maintains gaze is recorded. Stimulus is removed a few seconds and presented again - gaze will lessen over time and new
Blooming
is when neurons form connections with other neurons
Pruning
connections that are unused wither away
Early brain development
Blooming and pruning process in the first three years of life, a child will have twice as many synapses as it will have in adulthood
Sensorimotor stage
- from birth to about 2 years
- the child experiences the world through fundamental senses of seeing, hearing, touching, and tasting
- stage attainments: object permanence
- first stage of a child's mental development which mainly involves sensation and m
Preoperational stage
- from 2 to 7 years
- children acquire the ability to internally represent the world through language and mental imagery. They also start to see the world from other people's perspectives
- stage attainments: theory of mind; rapid increase in language abi
Concrete operational stage
- from 7 to 11 years old
- children become able to think logically. They can increasingly perform operations on objects that are only imagined
- stage attainments: conservation
- decentration and reversibility
- at this stage the child becomes more stable
Formal operational stage
- from 11 years old to adulthood
- adolescents can think systematically, can reason about abstract concepts, and can understand ethics and scientific reasoning
- stage attainments: abstract logic
- where children become more systematic and reasonable and
Who developed the 4 stages of cognitive development?
Jean Piaget
Preoperational stage (Centration and Egocentrism)
Centration - the tendency to focus on just one feature of a problem
Egocentrism - the limited liability to share another's viewpoint (results in the belief that all things are living, just like oneself)
Self-concept
a knowledge representation or schema that contains knowledge about us, including our beliefs about our personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles, as well as the knowledge that we exist as individuals
What are the different stages of self-concept and describe them.
1) Self-recognition - 18 months
2) Awareness of their gender - 2 years old
3) Self-concept using physical possessions and attributes - age 4
4) Basic understanding of emotions and traits: I am a nice person - age 6
5) Social comparison: comparing oneself
Rouge Test
a self-recognition test that identifies a human child's ability to recognize a reflection in a mirror as his or her own
Attachment theory
emphasizes the importance of a secure and trusting mother-infant bond on development and well-being
John Bolby
Disruptions in attachment, lead to vulnerability to depression, which includes 3 stages: protest, despair/pain, detachment - study with orphan babies. Said disrupted early attachment impacts later life functioning leading to a vulnerability for depression
Harry Harlow's Monkeys
Both monkeys and human babies need a secure base that allows them to feel safe. From this base, they can gain the confidence they need to venture out and explore their worlds
Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation experiment
Was a student of John Bolby. She studied the development of attachment in infants. Best known for developing the strange situation test which measured an infant's attachment to his or her parent. This test is called the strange situation because it is con
The 5 stages of Mary Ainsworth's strange situation assessment
1) Parent and child are alone in a room
2) Child explores the room without parental participation
3) Stranger enters the room, talks to the parent, and approaches the child
4) Parent quietly leaves the room
5) Parent then returns and comforts the child
Temperament
the innate personality characteristics of the infant. Plays an important role in attachment. Some children are warm, friendly, and responsive, whereas others tend to be more irritable, less manageable, and difficult to console
Longitudinal Research Designs
research designs in which individuals in the sample are followed and contacted over an extended period of time, often over multiple developmental stages. These studies found that 72% of adults who has been tested at a year old maintained their classificat
Interpretations drawn from cross-sectional studies (represent an alternative to longitudinal designs) may be...
confounded by cohort effects
Cohort Effects
refer to the possibility that differences in cognition or behavior at two points in time may be caused by differences that are unrelated to the changes in age. The differences might instead be due to environmental factors that affect an entire age group
Adolescence
the years between the onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood
Adolescence: developing independence and identity
A) the body grows rapidly in size
B) sexual and reproductive organs become fully functional
C) development of advanced patterns of reasoning and a stranger sense of self
D) they seek to forge their own identities, developing important attachments with peo
Emerging Adulthood
18-mid 20's refers to the process of becoming fully independent as an adult and is a reflection of today's society
Where is impulsiveness often seen?
In teenagers
Impulsiveness
poor judgement may be connected to development of the prefrontal cortex and hormonal surges associated with puberty which influence emotional responses and impulsiveness. May engage in risky behavior, such as smoking, drug use, dangerous driving, and unpr
Egocentrism
Knowing better than everyone else
Imaginary audience
In which teens feel that everyone is constantly watching them. Because they think so much about themselves, they mistakenly believe that others must be thinking about them too
Social Identity
the part of the self-concept that is derived from one's group memberships. Teens define their social identities according to how they are similar to and different from others, finding meaning in the sports, religious, school, gender, and ethnic categories
Lawrence Kohlberg
argued that as children learn their moral values through active thinking and reasoning, and that as a person moves through the stages of development, their perception morality, known as moral development, will change in a series of stages.
The example of
Moral Stage: Preconventional morality
Age - young children
Until about the age of 9, children, focus on self-interest. At this stage, punishment is avoided and rewards are sought. A person at this level will argue, "The man shouldn't steal the drug, as he may get caught and go to jail.
Moral Stage: Conventional morality
Age - other children, adolescents, most adults
By early adolescence, the child begins to care about how situational outcomes impact others and wants to please and be accepted. At this developmental phase, people are able to value the good that can be deri
Moral Stage: Postconventional morality
Age - many adults
At this stage, individuals employ abstract reasoning to justify behaviors. Moral behavior is based on self-chosen ethical principles that are generally comprehensive and universal, such as justice, dignity, and equality. "The man should
Criticism of Kohlberg's theory
1) Children often use higher levels of reasoning for some types of problems, but revert to lower levels in situations where doing so is more consistent with their goals or beliefs
2) Emphasis on western culture not inclusive for non-western samples
3) Min
Authoritative parenting
Relationship is reciprocal, responsive; high in bidirectional communication
Authoritarian parenting
Relationship is controlling, power-assertive; high in unidirectional communication
Permissive parenting
Relationship is indulgent; low in control attempts
Disengaged parenting
Relationship is rejecting or neglecting; uninvolved
Crystallized intelligence
general knowledge about the world, as reflected in semantic knowledge, vocabulary, and language
Fluid intelligence
The ability to think and acquire information quickly and abstractly - declines with age