psychology notes

Class topics - Sleep - Emotion - Memory - Creativity - Personality - Learning - Stress - Consciousness - Cognition Experiment - Hypothesis à testable question ~ Cause à effect - Random assignment - Experimental group - Control group - Independent variable - Dependent variable - Confounding/extraneous variable Chapter 1 1/24/18 Do the pre-assessment à on WSU email à Sona 1. * Psychology- scientific studies of behavior and mental processes Psychi à Mind/soul Logos à study of something - Overt à behavior that can be seen ~ Ex: Crying - Covert à behavior that can’t be seen ~ Ex: Daydreaming Critical thinking - Ability to reflect - Evaluate - Compare - Analyze - Critique - Synthesize info - Rethink - Look for truth and accuracy - Question assumptions - Aware of biases You don’t want bias when you do research because it weakens your position. - Ex: Hitting a child ~ Does it work as a punishment? ~ What are the short term and long term consequences? ~ Is there a better way to handle the situation? Psychology is a scienceà to discover truth and accuracy The scientific method is used to achieve this Psuedo psychology states that they have info that is important to you but is false. It seeks info that supports their beliefs and ignores those that do not work for it. It tries to explain behavior (Confirmation bias) - Palmistryà determines future by reading an individual’s palm - Astrologyà determines personality traits are determined by the alignment of the stars - Phrenologyà determines personality traits by exploring the bumps and shape of the head - Graphologyà analyze personality traits by and individual’s writing Empirical evidence- type of evidence psychologists gain from direct observation - Measurement - Experimentation Common sense views rely on limited personal observation. Scientific observation- using systematic ways - Carefully planned Inter-subjective- team approach - Representation A lot of people study human behavior however psych uses the scientific method. Scientific method - Forms of critical thinking - Method of control observation and method - Set of assumptions, attitudes and procedures that guide scientists in conducting research Components - Careful selection of data - Accurate description and measurement - Precise definitions - Controlled observations The outcome of your study is not the end à repeated results have to be done - Might use different methods - Might use different subjects Part I: Steps 1. Identify questions of interest 2. Prior research findings 3. Behavior that requires an explanation 4. Specify a theory à testable explanation that requires facts Reliably confirmed by multiple people - The theory needs to be precise - Needs to be parsimonious - Testable by facts and observation - Falsifiable Part II: Hypothesis- prediction that can be tested experimentally - Description of 2 variables in a study Operational definition- defines a variable in terms of how it’s measured manipulated and changed Part III: Carry out the research - Translate hypothesis into specific testable procedures - Select a research method ~ Surveys ~ Case studies ~ Questionnaires ~ Observations - Select method and collect data - Statistics are used to make sure you received the correct results Part IIII: Communicate results - Presenting at conferences/Publish work - Falsify other data Schools of psychology - Structuralism - Functionalism - Behaviorism - Psychoanalytic à Sigmund Freud - Humanism - Cognitive - Evolutionary 1859 à Wundt – Structuralism - Lasik laboratory ~ Consciousness ~ Feelings ~ Sensation ~ Perception Parents of Psychology - Philosophy - Biology Mind could be focused on different structures Gave concepts to study behavior