Directions for the exam

Summary Psychology: The Sciene of Mind and Behaviour

Richard Gross 8 th edition Chapters 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,11

• lectures 1 – 19 year 2024

University of Western Australia Important parts in yellow and green Lots of visuals from the book Special lecture notes Directions for the exam Easy to read, no blur of teksts, with headers 70 pages, reading time 180 minutes 1 / 4

Chapter 1 Summary: The Science of Psychology

Psychology: scientific study of behaviour and the mind.

oBehaviour -‐ actions and responses that we can directly observe oMind – internal states and processes that are inferred from observable responses

SUBFIELDS

Clinical psychology: study and treatment of mental disorders

Cognitive psychology: study of mental processes e.g. attention, consciousness, memory, decision-‐making, problem-‐solving Biopsychology/behavioural neuroscience: how brain processes, genes and hormones influence our actions, thoughts, and feelings. Particular emphasis on how evolution has influenced psychological capabilities and behavioural tendencies Developmental psychology: human physical, psychological and social development across the life span Experimental psychology: basic processes e.g. learning, sensory systems, perception and motivation states Industrial-‐organisational psychology (I/O): people’s behaviour in the workplace, e.g. leadership, team-‐work etc.Personality psychology: study of personality – how core personality traits relate and influence behaviour Social psychology: people’s behaviour pertaining to the social world – how people influence one another

PSYCHOLOGY’S SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

Empirical evidence: evidence gained through experience and observation. Includes evidence obtained by manipulating variables and then observing.Is a public affair, reducing any confirmation bias (paying too much attention to information consistent with what we believe) oThus, science is a self-‐correcting process. We build on each other’s research and discriminate what is correct and incorrect Critical thinking is a tool used to actively understand the world rather than just taking in information. There are a

series of questions to interrogate claims used in psychology:

oWhat is the claim?oWho is making the claim – is the source credible/trustworthy?oWhat’s the evidence and how good is it?oAre other explanations possible? Can I evaluate those?oWhat is the best conclusion?

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Description – describe how people behave, think, and feel Explain – understand why people act as they do (in hypotheses and theories) Control – designing experiments to test whether their proposed explanations are accurate Application – apply psychological knowledge to enhance human welfare BASIC & APPLIED RESEARCH Basic research – the quest for knowledge for its own sake Applied – to solve problems 2 / 4

PSYCHOLOGICAL LEVELS OF ANALYSIS – FACTORS CONSIDERED TO UNDERSTAND BEHAVIOUR

Examine behaviour and its causes at various levels: (e.g. eating)

oBiological level (chemicals, neural circuits and structures that regulate whether you feel hungry or full) oPsychological level (moods, preferences and motives) oEnvironmental and social level (stimuli e.g. appearance of the food, or cultural customs)

MIND-‐BODY, NATURE-‐NURTURE INTERACTIONS

Mind-‐body interactions e.g. get hungry seeing food. Is the relations between mental processes in the brain and the functioning of other bodily systems Nature and nurture interact to shape behaviour

EARLY SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

Edward Titchener and Wilhelm Wundt 1879 established a psychology laboratory.Believed the mind could be studied by breaking it up into its basic components. This was known as structuralism oToo subjective due to introspection method Functionalism held that psychology should study functions of consciousness rather than its elements oNo longer exists as a school of psychology

SIX MAJOR PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

PsychodynamicBehaviouralHumanisticCognitive SocioculturalBiological Conception of human nature Human as controlled by inner conflicts and forces Human as reactor to environmen t Human as free agent, seeking self-‐ actualisation Human as thinker Human as social being embedded in a culture Human animal Major Causal factors in behaviour Unconscious motives, conflicts and defences; early childhood experiences and unresolved conflicts Past learning experiences and the stimuli and behavioural consequences that exist in the current environment Free will, choice and innate drive toward self-‐ actualisation; search for personal meaning of existence Thoughts, anticipations , planning, perceptions, attention and memory processes Social forces, including norms, social interactions and group processes in one’s culture and social environment Genetic and evolutionary factors; brain and biochemical processes PredominantObservations ofStudy of Study of Study of Study of Study of focus and personality learning meaning, cognitive behaviour andbrain-‐ methods ofprocesses in processes invalues and processes,mental behaviour discovery clinical settings;laboratory andpurpose in usually in processes ofrelations; some lab real-‐world life; study ofhighly people in role of research settings, self-‐conceptcontrolleddifferent hormones emphasizes and its role inlaboratorycultures, and observation ofthought, conditionsexperimentsbiochemical stimuli and emotion andexamining factors in responses behaviourpeople’s behaviour; responses tobehaviour social stimuligenetics research

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

Australian Psychological Society (APS) is the national body representing the discipline of psychology in Australia 3 / 4

Chapter 2: Studying Behavior Scientifically

STEPS IN THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

Identify a question of interest Gather information and form a hypothesis (hypothesise) oExamine whether any studies, theories and other information already exist that might help answer their question oHypothesis: specific prediction about some phenomenon that often takes the form of an if-‐then statement Test the hypothesis by conducting research Analyse data, draw tentative conclusions, report findings Build a body of knowledge, eventually leading to theories being formed.

TWO APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOUR

H i nds i ght : the easiest to arrive at after-‐the-‐fact explanation. The limitation is that past events can often be understood in many ways, of which there is no way to know which is correct.Understanding through prediction, control and theory building: a scientific alternative. A good theory consists of: oOrganised existing information meaningfully oTestable, generating new hypotheses oPredictions made by theory are supported by findings of new research oConforms to law of parsimony – a simpler theory is preferred to a more complex one, where they both explain and predict the same phenomenon

DEFINING AND MEASURING VARIABLES

Variable: any factor that can vary

oOperational definition defines a variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce or measure it (to conduct research, this is done)

Measuring: there are various measurement techniques at disposal

oSelf-‐reports and reports by others. They are done often anonymously to reduce social desirability bias.oMeasures of overt behaviour/direct observation. We try to use unobtrusive measures to avoid behavioural changes due to the observation.oPsychological tests oPhysiological measures e.g. measure heart rate, blood pressure etc. to assess what people are experiencing

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN RESEARCH

To safeguard the rights of participants

Fundamental principles of ethical conduct:

oMerit – potential benefit oIntegrity – the study must be done honestly and be open to public scrutiny oJustice – participants treated fairly oBeneficence – benefits individuals/community oRespect Participants must be fully explained as to what their involvement includes. Deception is controversial unless there is no other feasible alternative than to deceive participants, e.g. when it affects results not to.

METHODS OF RESEARCH

METHODPRIMARY FEATURES MAIN ADVANTAGES MAIN DISADVANTAGES

Case studyAn individual, group or event is examined in detail, often using several techniques (e.g.observations, interviews, psychological tests) Provides rich descriptive information, often suggesting hypothesis for further study.Poor method for establishing cause-‐effect.Case may not be representative. Often relies on subjective interpretations Naturalistic Observation Behaviour observed in the setting in which it naturally occurs Can provide detailed information about the nature, frequency and context of naturally occurring behaviours Poor method for establishing cause-‐effect relations.Observer’s presence, if known, may influence participants’

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