Myers EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY 8th Ed

1. Dec. 2011 1 Myers� EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (8th Ed) Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science Some slides taken from James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University and Henderson State University Worth Publishers 2011

2. Dec. 2011 2 What is Psychology? Psychology the science of behavior and mental processes * Nature-Nurture Issue the long-standing controversy over the relative contribution of genes (nature) and experience to the development of psychological traits and behaviors (Nurture)

3. What is Psychology? * Nature-Nurture Issue the long-standing controversy over the relative contribution of genes (nature) and experience to the development of psychological traits and behaviors (Nurture) Dec. 2011

4. Dec. 2011 4 What is Psychology?

5. *** Biopsychosocial approach July 26 2008

6. Dec. 2011 6 What is Psychology? Basic Research pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base * Applied Research scientific study that aims to solve practical problems industrial/organizational psychologists

7. Dec. 2011 7 What is Psychology? Clinical Psychology a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders * Psychiatry a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatment as well as psychological therapy Medical Model � When in doubt - cut it out or drug it.

8. Dec. 2011 8 Why do Psychology? * Hindsight Bias tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it the �I-knew-it-all-along� phenomenon Overconfidence we tend to think we know more than we do Generalizing we tend to over generalize with vivid cases best bases is not (vivid) exceptional cases but from a representative sample size

9. Dec. 2011 9 Why do Psychology? * Critical Thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions examines assumptions discerns hidden values evaluates evidence assesses conclusions

10. Dec. 2011 10 Critical Thinkers: Open-minded. Ability to identify inherent biases and assumptions. Have attitude of skepticism. Distinguish facts from opinions. Do not oversimplify. Use the processes of logical inference. Review all the available evidence before reaching a conclusion. Albert Einstein, 1941 �science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind�

11. Dec. 2011 11 The Scientific Method * Theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations * Hypothesis a testable prediction often implied by a theory

12. Dec. 2011 12 The Scientific Method

13. Dec. 2011 13 The Scientific Method Operational Definition a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables for example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

14. Dec. 2011 14 The Scientific Method Replication (repeatable) repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances usually with different subjects in different situations Case Study an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

15. Dec. 2011 15 The Scientific Method Survey technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

16. 16 The Scientific Method Population all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn Random Sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

17. 17 The Scientific Method * Naturalistic Observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

18. 18 The Scientific Method Correlation Coefficient a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other

19. 19 Correlation and Causation *( Correlation does not prove causation) Three possible cause-effect relations

20. 20 Correlation example: People how often eat Frosted Flakes as children have half the cancer rate of those who never ate the cereal. People how often eat oatmeal as children were four times more likely to develop cancer than those who did not. Does this mean that Frosted Flakes prevents cancer while oatmeal causes it?

21. 21 Correlation Finding? Cancer tends to be a disease of later life. Those who ate Frosted Flakes are younger. Cereal was not around when older respondents were children, and so they are much likely to have eaten oatmeal.

22. 22 Random SequencesWhich hand is more likely? Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

23. 23 The Scientific Method Experiment a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

24. 24 The Scientific Method Placebo an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent * Placebo Effect any effect on behavior caused by a placebo

25. 25 The Scientific Method Double-blind Procedure an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

26. 26 The Scientific Method Experimental Condition the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable Control Condition the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental treatment serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

27. 27 The Scientific Method Random Assignment assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance minimizes preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

28. 28 The Scientific Method * Independent Variable the experimental factor that is manipulated the variable whose effect is being studied Dependent Variable the experimental factor that is being measured in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

29. 29 The Scientific Method

30. 30 The Scientific Method Culture enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people transmitted from one generation to the next

31. 31 What do you see? Our preconceptions can bias our observations and interpretations

32. 32 Studying Psychology SQ3R a study method incorporating five steps: Survey Question Read Rehearse Review