Psychology is a
Science
Or is it?
Dr. Tony Tsarkov, M.D.
Psychologists: Usually have masters or
doctorate. Trained in methods, knowledge, and
theories of psychology.
Psychiatrists: MD; usually use medications to
treat problems. Generally do not have extensive
training in providing talk therapy.
Psychoanalysts: Receive additional training
post-Ph.D. or M.D. at an institute.
Psychiatric Social Workers: Many have masters
degrees and perform psychotherapy. Presently a very
popular profession.
Not all psychologists perform therapy!
Be familiar with the definition of Psychology
To understand the Scientific Method
Understand why Psychology is a science and evidence based practice
Be familiar with the historical roots of Psychology
Understand the different research methods used by psychologists
Psychology comes from the root words
psyche, or mind, and logos, or study
Psychology is defined as the scientific
study of behavior and mental processes.
Psychology is an objective and
systematic study of how people
behave and think.
Its goals are to describe, explain,
predict, and control behavior and
mental processes.
Rene Descartes
(1596 1650)
Rene Descartes
Beliefs:
Rationalist: True knowledge comes through reasoning
Nativist: Heredity provides individuals with inborn
knowledge and abilities and we use this to reason
We are to doubt everything thats the only way we
can be certain about anything
I think, therefore I am.
John Locke
(1632 1704)
John Locke
Saw the mind as receptive and passive,
with its main goal as sensing and perceiving
Tabula rasa we are born as a blank slate,
everything we know is learned
This is in direct contrast to the rationalist
Descartes
Hermann
Helmholtz
(1821 1894)
Hermann Helmholtz
He was a mechanist he believed that
everything can be understood with basic physical
and chemical principles
He pushed for the need to test and demonstrate
things.
Gustav
Fechner
(1801
1887)
Gustav Fechner
Psychophysics he pushed to investigate the
relationship between the physical world and our
conscious psychological world
He thought it possible to measure the perceived
as well as the physical intensities of sensory
stimuli and to determine a mathematical
relationship
Just noticeable difference (JND) approach
Wilhelm Wundt
(1832 1920)
Wilhelm Wundt
1st Psychological lab (1879)
University of Leipzig, Germany
Focus on consciousness
Find basic elements of conscious processes
Discover how elements (sensations and feelings) are
connected
Specify laws of connection
Introspection
Self-observation: seeing mental processes in
immediate experience
Structuralism
Lots of work on sensation & perception and breaking those down into minute detail
Three basic mental elements
Images, feelings & sensations
Titchner
Found 43,000 elements associated with sensory experiences
30,000 associated with visual
11,000 associated with auditory
4 associated with taste (was correct with this one)
Functionalism
Focus on adaptation
Applying Darwins theory of natural selection to mental processes
William James
Stream of consciousness
Consciousness is personal/selective, continuous (cant be cut up for
analysis), and constantly changing
Structuralism was foolish to search for common elements to all minds
Behaviorism
Focus on observable behavior
J. B. Watson
Felt that the main goal of psychology should be the
prediction and control of behavior
Stimulus-response theory
We respond to stimuli with our behavior, not thoughts
Pavlovs dog studies
Reinforcement for behavior
If our behavior produces rewarding consequences,
then we will do it again
Gestalt psychology
Wholes vs. multiple individual elements
You shouldnt dissect an experience into
separate elements to discover truths
instead, look at the whole
Freuds Psychodynamic Theory
Conscious vs. unconscious conflicts
Unconscious: motivations and memories of
which we are not aware
Mental illness arises from being overwhelmed by
which of these is in control
Psychoanalysis as therapy: tell me about your
childhood.
Early dates
Greek philosophers: Studied the nature of the mind, the
(Socrates, Plato,
soul, the body, and human
Aristotle)
experience
17th Century
Rene Descartes
Nativist View:
some ideas are innate
John Locke
Empiricist View:
Knowledge is acquired through
experiences & interactions with the
world
1869
Sir Francis Galton of
England
Studied individual differences> devt of
intelligence tests
1879
Wilhelm Wundt
Father of Psychology
Established the first psychological
laboratory (Germany @ Leipzig Univ. )
Research: senses (vision), attention,
emotion and memory
Psychodynamic Approach
Behavioral Approach
Cognitive Approach
Biological or Behavioral Neuroscience
Approach
The Phenomenological or Humanistic Approach
The Sociocultural Approach
The Evolutionary Psychology Approach
Systemic approach
Developed by Sigmund Freud
States that much of our behavior
stems from unconscious
processes, conflict between
biological instincts & societys
demands, and early family
experiences.
Basis for the therapeutic approach
called psychoanalysis
John B. Watson: father of Behaviorism
Behaviors are activities of people or other
organisms that can be observed by others.
States that when we attempt to understand an
event, we need to look at the observable behaviors
& their environmental determinants.
Little Albert experiment.
Concerned with mental processes,
such as perceiving, remembering,
reasoning, deciding, and problem
solving.
States that Only by studying
mental processes can we fully
understand what people do.
Concerned with how the brain and nervous system
underlie behavior & mental processes.
Attempts to relate behavior to electrical and
chemical events taking place inside the body
The Nervous System (brain) and the Endocrine
System are studied to determine the biological
causes of behavior.
Focuses on the subjective and
personal experience of events
(Individual Phenomenology) , and
on the need for personal growth.
Concerned with describing the
inner life and experiences of
individuals, rather than
developing theories or predicting
behaviors.
Studies the ways by which
social and cultural environments
influence behavior
A persons cultural context
should be considered in order to
understand behavior.
Focuses on comparing
behaviors across countries as
well as across cultures within a
country.
Emphasizes the importance of adaptation,
reproduction, and survival of the fittest in explaining
behavior.
Focuses on the conditions that allow people to fail
or survive.
These focus on the feedback loops within the
family system that cause double bind or catch
22 situations that cause the presenting problems.
The solution is the problem focus
The Structures (Munich) or feedback loops (Milan)
cause the issues.
Experimental Method
Quasi-experimental
Method
Correlational Method
The Naturalistic
Observation Method
The Survey Method
Standardized Tests
Case Studies
Archival Research
The main objective of an experiment is to
discover the effect of an independent
variable (IV) on a dependent variable
(DV).
IV: variable to be manipulated;
independent of what the participant does
DV: variable being measured; depends on
the IV
Ex. Effect of Music on Memory
Similar to the experimental method
except
that random assignment of
participants is not possible.
The objective of this method is to determine whether two or more
variables are associated or related to each other.
The variables are first measured, after which a correlational analysis or
technique (e.g. Pearson r) is conducted to determine the relationship.
Involves observing the phenomenon of
interest as it occurs naturally.
Ex. Observing primates in their natural
environment, systematically observing the
behavior of newborn babies, and
observing couples public display of
affection (PDA) in the school campus.
Employs either a written questionnaire or
an interview schedule.
Ex. Political opinions, sexual attitudes, or
product preferences
Allows us to gather data about
experiences, feelings, thoughts, and
motives that are hard to observe directly.
Respondents are required to answer a series of
questions and their responses scored to reflect
something about their persons. A respondents
score is compared with those of the others who
took the same test.
Ex. Otis Test, Stanford-Binet Test (IQ)
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI)
Indigenous Tests: Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino
(PPP), Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao (PUP)
Descriptive record of an
individuals experiences or
behavior, or both, as kept by an
observer.
The main objective is to obtain a
case history of the person being
studied.
Written records (i.e. public and private documents),
statistical archives, and physical traces of human beings
are systematically studied in lieu of actual behaviors.
Exs. Diaries, letters, paintings, books, poems,
newspaper or magazine articles, movies, and speeches.
A range of objective approaches are used
Variables are controlled
Observation leads induction and deduction
Theories are tested against real world
Practice is evidence based on observation
Common factors evidence base to counselling.
