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Psychology 101 Notes, Study notes of Health, psychology

Angelina College Health, psychology

Psychology 101- Chapters 1, 2, 9 Chapter 1- Psychology and Scientific Thinking: A Framework for Everyday Life Defining Psychology  The scientific study of the mind, brain and behavior  Why we do what we do: this is psychology  Why is it important to study human behavior? To understand each other, thoughts, and to have support systems.  How can we use psychology in everyday life? Parenting, workplace, etc… Five Main Challenges of Studying Psychology- the mind, brain and behavior 1. Human behaviour is difficult to predict -Actions are multiply determined – be skeptical of single variable explanations of behavior Not just one thing (Ex. Depression is caused by multiple factors) 2. Psychological influences are rarely independent -Factors are interrelated -Ex. What could be some causal factors of violence? 3. Individual differences among people – thinking, emotion, personality and behavior

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Psychology 101- Chapters 1, 2, 9

Chapter 1- Psychology and Scientific Thinking: A Framework for Everyday Life

Defining Psychology

The scientific study of the mind, brain and behavior

Why we do what we do: this is psychology

Why is it important to study human behavior? To understand each other, thoughts, and to

have support systems.

How can we use psychology in everyday life? Parenting, workplace, etc…

Five Main Challenges of Studying Psychology- the mind, brain and behavior

1. Human behaviour is difficult to predict

-Actions are multiply determined – be skeptical of single variable explanations of

behavior Not just one thing (Ex. Depression is caused by multiple factors)

2. Psychological influences are rarely independent

-Factors are interrelated

-Ex. What could be some causal factors of violence?

3. Individual differences among people – thinking, emotion, personality and behavior

-Ex. Different reactions to the same situation Don’t know how people will react to the

situation.

4. People influence one another

-Reciprocal determinism – we mutually influence each others behaviour when you make

a decision because it felt right at the time

5. Behaviour is shaped by culture

-Ex. Influence of Culture on language

Why We Can’t Always Trust Common Sense

Naive Realism - the belief that we see the world precisely as it is

“Seeing is believing” – we trust our perceptions

Consider:

The earth seems flat

We seem to be standing still but the earth is rotating around the

sun 30 km/sec

Psychology as a Science

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Download Psychology 101 Notes and more Study notes Health, psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

Psychology 101- Chapters 1, 2, 9

Chapter 1- Psychology and Scientific Thinking: A Framework for Everyday Life

Defining Psychology  The scientific study of the mind, brain and behavior  Why we do what we do: this is psychology  Why is it important to study human behavior? To understand each other, thoughts, and to have support systems.  How can we use psychology in everyday life? Parenting, workplace, etc… Five Main Challenges of Studying Psychology- the mind, brain and behavior

Human behaviour is difficult to predict -Actions are multiply determined – be skeptical of single variable explanations of behavior Not just one thing (Ex. Depression is caused by multiple factors)
Psychological influences are rarely independent -Factors are interrelated -Ex. What could be some causal factors of violence?
Individual differences among people – thinking, emotion, personality and behavior -Ex. Different reactions to the same situation Don’t know how people will react to the situation.
People influence one another -Reciprocal determinism – we mutually influence each others behaviour when you make a decision because it felt right at the time
Behaviour is shaped by culture -Ex. Influence of Culture on language Why We Can’t Always Trust Common Sense Naive Realism - the belief that we see the world precisely as it is  “Seeing is believing” – we trust our perceptions Consider:  The earth seems flat  We seem to be standing still but the earth is rotating around the sun 30 km/sec Psychology as a Science

 Not all common sense is wrong  Intuition can guide us  Common sense can help us generate hypotheses that scientists can later test rigorously  Learning to think scientifically teaches us when to trust our common sense and when not to  Science is an approach to evidence – designed to prevent us from fooling ourselves  Why is the general public skeptical of Psychology as a Science?

Because many psychologists in the media are rarely scientists and psychology is familiar to everyone through memory, learning, love, dreams, sleep, and personality. Also, there are a lot of variables and unknowns. Scientific Theory  An explanation for many findings in the natural world.  A theory does NOT explain just one event and is NOT just an educated guess.  A testable prediction is called a hypothesis  Based on tests of hypothesis, scientists can accept, reject or revise the theory Bias Awareness Confirmation Bias  Tendency to seek evidence that supports our hypothesis  Neglecting or distorting contradicting evidence  The best scientists are aware of their biases and know that because of personal investment, they may bias the results unintentionally to make them turn out they way they want. Belief Perseverance  Tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence is contradictory  The “don’t confuse me with the facts” bias  Because none of us wants to believe we’re wrong, we’re usually reluctant to give up our beliefs. The Boundaries of Science  Metaphysical Claims- assertions about the world that are not testable

Patternicity Tendency to detect meaningful patterns in random stimuli – helps us simplify an overwhelming world
We believe because we want to believe  Research suggests that we’re especially likely to seek out and find patterns when we feel a loss of control over our surroundings  Terror Management Theory - our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror we cope with by adopting reassuring cultural world views. Logical Fallacies - traps in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions.  Emotional Reasoning Fallacy- Using emotions rather than evidence  Bandwagon Fallacy- Lots of people believe it so it must be true  Not Me Fallacy- Other people may have those biases, not me – I’m objective. The Antidote for Pseudoscience  Think scientifically  Separate science from pseudoscience  Insist on evidence 3 Major Reasons Why We Should All Be Concerned About Pseudoscience
Opportunity Cost – What we give up  Patients may decline effective treatments after investing time, energy and effort in a questionable treatment. Even harmless pseudoscience treatments can cause harm indirectly by causing people to forfeit the chance to obtain a treatment that works.
Direct Harm – Ex. Rebirthing therapy and many other untested therapies  Ex. Conversion therapy  is the pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using psychological or spiritual interventions. There is virtually no reliable evidence that sexual orientation can be changed, and medical bodies warn that conversion therapy practices are ineffective and potentially harmful. Nevertheless, advocates and proponents do provide anecdotal reports of people who claim some degree of success in becoming heterosexual.
Blocks scientific thinking – we should apply scientific thinking skills to all aspects of our lives Scientific Skepticism A willingness to…  keep an open mind to all claims  accept claims only after researchers have subjected them to careful scientific tests  Unwillingness to accept claims based on authority alone 6 Principles of Critical Thinking/Scientific Thinking

1. Ruling out rival hypotheses  Important alternate explanations should be considered 2. Correlation isn’t Causation  Can we be sure A causes B? 3. Falsifiability  Can the claim be disproven? 4. Replicability  Possible to duplicate scientific findings consistently? 5. Extraordinary Claims  Is the evidence as convincing as the claims? 6. Occam’s razor or KISS ( K eep I t S imple S tupid)  Does a simpler explanation fit the data equally well? Psychology’s Past and Present  Originally psychology was considered a part of philosophy

Relied on common sense – not science  William Wundt – first psychology lab in 1879 Germany  Breaking away from spiritualism (mediums and psychics) Theoretical Perspectives in Psychology  How can we explain behaviour?  There are five primary schools of thought that have shaped modern psychology  Each perspective consists of valuable contributions to psychology and each has limitations Structuralism  William Wundt and E. B. Titchner  Aim: Identify the most fundamental elements of psychological experience-create a comprehensive map of the elements of consciousness to explain human behavior
He used introspection – examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes (subjective)
Emphasized the importance of systematic observation and data collection to study the conscious experience Functionalism

 A means for autistic children to communicate  Autism was thought to be a motor disorder – a facilitator could assist children type using a keyboard or letter pad  At first, there was stunning progress but soon after there were allegations of sexual abuse against parents, despite no physical evidence  Why were there allegations?

Because of the power the translator had (unconscious)
What’s Really Going on? -Our thoughts control our movements without our knowledge Research Design Matters  Science Triumphs over Pseudoscience  Science helps to avoid wasting valuable time on interventions that are ineffective or harmful  Science allows for the development and testing of treatments that work  Helps eliminate biases  At all costs, avoid subjective impressions Prefrontal Lobotomy  Used to treat schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and other mental disorders including homosexuality  Surgical procedure that severs the fibres connecting the frontal lobes of the brain and the underlying thalamus using an ice pick  Developed by Portuguese neurosurgeon Egas Moniz – 1949 won the Nobel Prize. Dubbed as one of the worst Nobel Prizes ever awarded.  Controlled studies showed it didn’t work  Success was based on subjective clinical reports Confirmation bias – see what you want to see  Produced a drastic change in behavior – extreme apathy, lack of emotion and interest  Did not help with any specific symptoms ex. hearing voices  First lobotomy in 1935. Last one was performed in 1967 in the US by Walter Freeman – resulted in death of the patient and was banned. Estimate procedure completed on as many as 100,000 people worldwide – majority were women. Two Modes of Thinking  Intuitive
fast, no effort

snap judgments
gut feelings  Analytical
Slow, reflective, requires effort
problem solving
What we need for good research designs to force us to consider alternative explanations for findings that intuitive thinking overlooks Heuristics  Intuitive thinking involves heuristics  Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb  Ex. Are there more words in the English Language that: a) Start with the letter K b) K is the third letter of the word  Heuristics reduce the cognitive energy required to solve problems  The trouble is when heuristics oversimplify reality How do we Avoid Biases and Heuristics?  Test specific hypotheses derived from broader theories  Scientific Theory – explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world  Hypothesis – testable prediction based on scientific theory  Theories are never “proven,” but hypotheses can be confirmed or disconfirmed  Confirmed – strengthens our confidence in the theory Disconfirmed – revise the theory or abandon it completely The Scientific Toolbox  Different Types of Research Designs to counteract our tendency to fool ourselves
Naturalistic Observation
Case Study
Self Report Measures and Surveys
Correlational Designs
Experimental Designs Naturalistic Observation  Watching behaviour in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation  Advantage - High external validity – extent to which we can generalize findings to real- world settings

 Pros  Easy to administer  Direct (self) assessment of a person’s state  Cons  Accuracy is skewed for certain groups (narcissists)  Potential dishonesty  Make ourselves look better than we are: response sets – distort responses to questionnaire items

Ex. applying for jobs- Malingering – make ourselves look psychologically disturbed
Why would someone do this?  Rating Data  To avoid the cons of self-reports, we can ask someone who knows the participant well to evaluate them  Avoids some of the problems with self-report but can cause new problems  Halo effect: tendency of ratings of one positive characteristic to spill over to influence the ratings of other characteristics  Horns effect – negative characteristics Correlational Designs  Examines the extent to which two variables are associated  Correlations range from −1 (perfect negative correlation) to +1 (perfect positive correlation) – there are almost never perfect correlations because there are always exceptions to the general trend. Psychology is a science of exceptions.  Positive: as the value of one variable changes, the other goes in the same direction. Ex. If one goes up – the other goes up.  Negative: as the value of one variable changes, the other goes in the opposite direction. Ex. If one goes up – the other goes down.  Zero: no relationship between variables  Scatter plots: grouping of points on a two-dimensional graph in which each dot represents a single person’s data  Why do we need to calculate correlations?
Because we’re poor at estimating the sizes of correlations
Illusory Correlation  Perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exists
Animals / humans not really affected by full moon
Superstitions are often based on Illusory Correlations  Humans tend to overemphasize cell A and ignore non-events  Correlational designs help us control for the problem of illusory correlation, because they force us to weigh all cells in the table equally.

The focus is on A instead of all the possibilities  Correlation vs Causation  Correlations help us to predict behavior, but they do not show causation.  Just because two things are related, does not mean that one causes another  Three possible explanations:  “Third variable” influence (C) – when an additional (possibly unknown) variable is responsible for the relationship between the other two
Ex. Broken homes lead to crime - additional variables? Experimental Designs Determining causation only possible through experimentation Experiments Need…

Random assignments of participants to conditions

Experimental group – receives manipulation
Control group – does not receive manipulation

Manipulation of the independent variable

Independent variable - the treatment or intervention that the experimenter “manipulates” or varies
Dependent variable - the variable that an experimenter measures to see whether the manipulation has an effect
Operational definitions – an outline of the researchers approach toward measuring the dependent variable Confounds – a source of false conclusions  Confounds / confounding variable – any variable that differs between the experimental and control groups other than the independent variable The room or any other variable  Cause and effect - is possible to infer, with random assignment and manipulation of independent variable Experimentation Pitfalls  Placebo effect - improvement because you expect improvement
subjects must be blind – unaware of whether one is in the experimental or control group

 Boring’s definition: “Intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure”  Sidesteps the issue… of what makes some people smarter than others Intelligence as Sensory Capacity  Galton’s theory that people with better senses acquire more knowledge especially vision and hearing  Research showed different sensory capacities were only weakly related to each other  Also showed that measures of sensory ability are not highly related to intelligence

Ex. Helen Keller, Beethoven, Ray Charles Intelligence as Abstract Thinking  Binet and Simon’s 1905 first intelligence test – a diagnostic tool designed to measure overall thinking ability – developed to objectively identify children in need of special educational assistance  Focused on higher mental processes – reasoning, understanding, judgment  Most now agree that intelligence is related to the capacity to understand hypothetical concepts (abstract thinking)
ex. Metaphors, analogies, symbols, morals, critical thinking, spatial reasoning General vs Specific Abilities  Positive correlations among all items on IQ tests led to Spearman’s development of g and s  General intelligence (g) accounts for overall differences in intellect among people  Our skills are reflected in our specific abilities (s)  How well we perform on a given mental task depends not only on g but also on s Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence  Cattell and Horn theorized that “intelligence” is a mix of two capacities  Capacity to learn new ways of solving problems, or fluid intelligence - ex. Learning to drive a car  Accumulated knowledge of the world we gain over time, or crystallized intelligence - ex. Facts Cattell and Horn’s Model  Fluid intelligence “flows” into crystallized intelligence over time  Agree or Disagree – Fluid intelligence declines with age and crystallized intelligence increase with age. Multiple Intelligences  Several theorists argue that people vary in their ability levels across different domains of intellectual skill  Gardner’s “frames of mind” – ways of thinking about the world  Argued that autistic savants provided support for these different types of intelligence

 Researchers agree we vary in intellectual strengths and weaknesses and that intelligent people aren’t all smart in the same way  Mixed scientific reaction to this model, because it’s:  virtually impossible to falsify – no formal test to measure level of intelligence  not clear why certain abilities classify as intelligences, while others don’t

Is music or bodily-kinesthetic more of a talent than an intelligence?
Ideas for additional intelligence types?  no good evidence that these intelligences are truly independent Triarchic Model  Sternberg theorized three largely distinct types of intelligence  Believes that having one does not ensure you have the others  Critics do not believe that the intelligences are as independent of each other as Sternberg states  Analytical intelligence is the ability to reason logically, or “book smarts”
used for traditional intelligence tests and school admissions exams  Practical intelligence is the ability to solve real-world problems, or “street smarts”
relates to social intelligence – how we understand others and the world around us  Creative intelligence is the ability to come up with novel and effective answers  Critics argue we all possess strengths and weaknesses, but they might not be as distinct as theorized Biological Bases of Intelligence  Brain volume correlates positively with measured intelligence (between 0.3 and 0.4)  Moderate correlation doesn’t explain all and may not be directly causal. What could a third variable be?  Evidence suggests cerebral cortex development is slower in gifted children

 Forcible sterilization and immigration laws were most visible impacts on society IQ Testing Today  Most used IQ test for adults is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Consists of 15 subtests that give five scores:

Overall IQ
Verbal comprehension
Perceptual reasoning
Working memory
Processing speed  Has been adapted for children 2.5 – 7 (WPPSI) and older 8- 16 (WISC) Culture Fair IQTests  Consist of abstract-reasoning items that don’t depend on language
believed to be less influenced by cultural factors found in comprehension questions
ex. What is a Bunny Hug used for?  Raven’s Progressive Matrices: Which is the final pattern in this series? Reliability Regarding IQ Scores  In adults, scores tend to be highly stable over long periods of time, but scores are not fixed (the same)
Test-retest reliability – correlation of 0.  Prior to age three, IQ tests are very unstable and poor predictors of adult IQ – sensory based Validity Regarding IQ Scores  Moderately successful at predicting grades – 0.
But because this correlation is much lower than 1.0, success also depends on motivation, intellectual curiosity, effort, and mental energy  Predict job performance across wide variety of mentally demanding occupations and associated with health-related outcomes (health literacy / accidents)

1970’s marshmallow experiments – is the ability to delay gratification (will power) linked to intelligence?
Other factors (confounding variables) to consider? Tale of Two Tails  Intelligence follows a bell curve distribution  95% of people have IQ’s between 70 & 130 Intellectual Disability  Characterized by childhood onset of low IQ; IQ below 70; inability to engage in adequate daily functioning  Around 1% of North American population (mostly males)  Four levels: mild (85%), moderate, severe, profound  The more severe the intellectual disability, the less likely it is to run in families  Over 200 different causes, most common are Fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome  Most children with Down Syndrome have a mild or moderate intellectual disability  ADA and CHRC acts have greatly impacted lives of those with disabilities  2017 – Iceland shocked the world with reports claiming they were on the verge of eradicating Down Syndrome Mental Giftedness  Refers to the top 2% of IQ scores  Large portion occupy certain professions: doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors  Terman’s “Termites” showed that prodigies do not “burn out” or have higher rates of mental illness  Genetic factors play a role, but so do practice and dedication  Intellectual brilliance with little effort is very unrealistic Genetic Influences on IQ  Family studies confirm that IQ runs in families
Sibling IQs correlate at 0.5, cousins at 0.  Twin studies show identical twin correlations of 0.7 to 0.8, fraternal of 0.3 to 0.  But high levels of environmental deprivation may swamp out effects of genes  Twins reared apart are as similar in IQ as twins reared together

 Males tend to do better on spatial ability tests, like mental rotation and geography  Most of the sex differences in science and math ability appear to be environmental

Why are there so many more women in Psychology than Physics? Racial Differences in IQ  African Americans and Hispanic Americans score lower than Caucasians on standard IQ tests  Asian-Americans score higher than Caucasians  Why do these differences exist?
Racial “superiority” (genetics) is certainly not the answer  Instead, differences in IQ appear to be largely or completely environmental / societal – resources, opportunities, attitudes and experiences  What are some reasons why differences in IQ scores are shrinking between races?

Psychology 101- Chapters 10, 12, 13

Chapter 10- Human Development: How and Why We Change

Developmental Psychology  The study of how behavior changes over the life span  Several challenges arise when examining human development

Post hoc Fallacy- Logical error where you assume that A causes B, just because B came after A. Ex. Superstitions Lucky Socks or my sneeze caused a power outage
Bidirectional Influences - human development is almost always a two-way street. Children’s development influences their experiences, but their experiences also influence

their development. A doesn’t always cause B. two ways children influence parents and parents influence children

Cohort Effects – sets of people who lived during one period can differ in some systematic way from sets of people who lived during a different period. Ellen making different generations to do different tasks (map, rotary phone, etc.) people develop differently dur to living in a different era Choose between cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Cross sectional- different ages at a single point in time Longitudinal- same group of people over time (no longitudinal marijuana and vaping designs) Influence of Early Experience  Early input from the world exerts a significant impact on development …but so, does all other input throughout life  Myths of infant determinism and childhood fragility widespread assumption that the first 3 years are very important and will determine who and how you are. The Nature-Nurture Debate  Both are important in shaping development  Gene-environment interaction impact on genes on behavior is determined by environment in which they are developed ex. Low Mao enzyme was a risk of violence, but this was only effective if the children are maltreated.

impact of genes on behavior depends on the environment where behavior develops  Nature via nurture
Children with certain genetic predispositions often seek out and create their own environments Ex a fearful child, high anxiety will shelter themselves from things they don’t like. Ex. If the child is scared of dogs they will try and stay away and may not go to peoples houses because of this.  Gene expression
Activation or deactivation of genes by environmental experiences throughout development genes that predispose a person to anxiety may never become anxious until a stressful event happens and they you may have anxiety. Conception & Prenatal Development  Most dramatic changes occur during early prenatal development. A zygote is formed when sperm cell fertilizes an egg.  After this, three stages of development occur:  germinal stage - zygote divides repeatedly to form a blastocyst- ball of identical cells  embryonic stage – 2 to 8 weeks - cells begin to assume different functions and the blastocyst becomes an embryo different body parts begin to take shape.  fetal stage - the major organs are established and heart beats. Fetus continues physical maturation and “bulking up” until birth

Psychology 101 Notes, Study notes of Health, psychology

Related documents

Partial preview of the text

Download Psychology 101 Notes and more Study notes Health, psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

Psychology 101- Chapters 1, 2, 9

Chapter 1- Psychology and Scientific Thinking: A Framework for Everyday Life

Psychology 101- Chapters 10, 12, 13

Chapter 10- Human Development: How and Why We Change