What is Psychology Chapter 1 Notes

Chapter 15: Thinking Critically w/ Psychological Science - Notes What is Psychology? Psychology's Root: Answers in psychology evolve from instinct/roots in philosophy + biology into a science that aims to describe, explain, how we think, feel, & act. Prescientific Psychology: Socrates & Plato: concluded mind & body separate, and mind continues after body dies, and that knowledge & ideas derived from logic (469-399 BC, Socrates) Aristotle: derived principles from observations/data, "the soul is not separable from the body, the same holds good of particular parts of the soul," knowledge is not preexisting, it grows from experiences stored in memories René Descartes (1596-1650): agreed w/ Socrates & Plato, dissected animals & said "animal spirits" in brains flowed through nerves to muscles + memories made pores in brain for spirits to flow into Francis Bacon (1561-1626): founder of modern science, "human understanding from its peculiar nature, easily supposes a greater degree of order & equality in things than it1 finds"   John Locke (1632-1704): British political philosopher, "Essay Concerning Human Understanding," in which argued tabula rasa Psychological Science is Born Wilhelm Wundt: in 1879 @ University in Leipzig, Germany, 1st psych experiment + dept. Early schools: structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, psychoanalysis Structuralism: Edward Titchener, Cornell, sought to discover elements of mind through introspection, proved unreliable Functionalism: William James, considered evolved functions of thoughts & feelings, Charles Darwin influences W.J., taught Mary Calkins & Harvard (1st woman to earn Ph.D. in Psych + president of APA in 1906). Margaret Floy Washburn: 1st woman to earn Ph.D. in Psych & 2nd APA president in 1921 Psychological Science Develops: Functions in many disciplines + countries +1920s-1960s: defined by John B. Watson as "science of observable behavior" 1960s-today: "science of behavior & mental processes" Psych today: eclectic, behaviorism, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, evolutionary, biopsychosocial, sociocultural **The Scientific Attitude** Underlying all science is a hard-headed curiosity, plus a zest to evaluate truth claims. * **Approach with curiosity:** "What do you mean?" "How do you know?" * **Revive humility:** must put it to the test to see if predicted outcomes occur * **Critical Thinking:** examine assumptions, discern hidden values, evaluate evidence, and assess conclusions **How Do Psychologists Ask & Answer?** * **Scientific Method:** observations, form theories, then refine theories **The Scientific Method:** * **Scientific Theory:** explained through a set of principles that organize and predict behaviors or events * linked with observation, organizes isolated facts to simplify things * good theory must imply testable predictions (hypotheses) * specify what results would support theory & which would disconfirm it * interesting theories provoke results that can be replicated (objective observations) **To put theories to the test, we must:** * **Describe Behavior:** allow others to replicate, help clarify operational definitions of concepts * **Predict Behavior:** organizes a range of self-reports + observations * **Explain Behavior:** effectively organizes a range of self-reports + observations * **Control Behavior:** derives practical applications **We test theories and refine our theories by making observations that describe behavior, detecting correlations that help predict behavior, and doing experiments that help explain behavior.* **How Do Psychologists Ask & Answer?** **Correlation and Causation** * **Correlation does not equal causation.** * Most irresistible error: assuming that correlation proves causation. * Must consider the effect of other factors. * Correlation indicates the possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but doesn't prove causation. * **Illusory Correlations:** * When we believe there is a relationship between 2 things, we are likely to notice and recall instances that confirm our belief.   * Helps explain many superstitious beliefs. * We   are willing to perceive patterns, whether there or not, but not willing to test our hypotheses. * When we notice random coincidences, we may forget that they are random and instead see them as correlated. Thus, we can easily deceive ourselves by seeing what isn't   there. **Perceiving Order in Random Events** * Illusory correlations arise from a natural eagerness to make sense of the world. * Given random data, we seek for order/pattern - random sequences don't often look random **Experimentation** * To isolate cause & effect, psychologists sometimes try to manipulate factors and hold constant (control) other factors. * Experiments enable a researcher to focus on the possible effects of one or more factors by manipulating the factors of interest and holding constant ("controlling") other factors. * If   behavior changes when we vary an experimental factor, then we know the factor is having an effect. * Unlike correlational studies, which uncover naturally occurring relationships, an experiment manipulates a factor to   determine its effect. **Evaluating Therapies**   * Our tendency to seek new remedies when we are ill or emotionally distressed can produce misleading testimonies. When our health/emotions return to normal, we attribute the return to something we have done.