intro to psych

Introduction to Psychology

Review from Last Class:
Pre-Psychology Psychology;
Are humans like animals or do we have something special?
Modern Roots of Pyschology
Early physiologists (Sechnov, Pavlov, Broca) brain can explain behaviour Wundt behaviour (the mind) can be measured scientifically using laboratory techniques
Titchener
introspection can provide clues to the mind James functionalism: how depends on why
Freud
‘nuf said
Other influential branches
Gestalt
Behaviorists (Watson, Skinner)
Sample Test Questions I Will MIGHT Ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. Wilhelm Wundt is credited as the founder of scientific psychology because he:
a. Coined the term “psychology”
b. Was the first to conduct psychology research?
c. Opened the first university-based psychology laboratory
d. Was the first theorist to consider the role of the brain in behavior
2. Wilhelm Wundt is credited as the founder of scientific psychology because he:
a. Coined the term “psychology”
b. Was the first to conduct psychology research
c. Opened the first university-based psychology laboratory
d. Was the first theorist to consider the role of the brain in behavior
3. What limitation makes Descartes theory of Dualism unacceptable to most contemporary psychologists?
a. The body is described as a physical machine that operates according to natural law
b. Thought and thought-related phenomena are not accessible to scientific study
c. Many actions are described in terms of reflexes
d. The organ in which Descartes claimed the soul resides does not in fact exist
Research Methods
Understanding of how experiments should be designed at a basic level.
Be a critical thinker about media
Types of research;
Field study
Natural environment
Hard to control
Observations in a natural environment
Laboratory study
Unnatural environment
Observer may bias results
Easier to control
Can alter the results
Can bias them towards a certain result
Self-report
People describe their own behaviour
Questionnaire
Interview
People may not give accurate responses
Observation
Researches record behaviour
Naturalistic observation
Tests
Reaction time
Need to measure the right thing
Descriptive
i.e. Jane Goodall
Previous belief only man uses tools
Observation chimp took twig stripped off leaves and used it to fish for termites to eat.
Correlational
Experimenter measures relationship between two variable
i.e. measuring the rate of depression and self-confidence (scatter plot) correlational coefficients;
+1 positive relationship; increases and a strong variable
-1 negative relationship; decreases, inverse relationship a strong variable
0 no relationship; scatter everywhere and no correlation
+.8 a bit of scatter of data; correlational, pretty strong but not perfect
Correlation is not causation
All about relationships.
Correlations can be + or –
Value indicated how strong the relationship is
Correlations alone cannot tell you about causation—many possibilities—“third variable problem”
Experiment
Manipulate one thing, measure another
Can infer causality (if you do the experiment right!)
i.e. 60 subjects come to lab; 20 receive no drug, 20 receive small dose of drug, 20 receive large dose = this is the independent variable (* what the experimenter varies); subjects memory is tested = this is the dependant variable (* what the experimenter measures)
Independent variable is what the experimenter manipulating
Dependent variable should be similar to independent.
Independent variable (what you do) leads to the dependent variable (what you see), but there is many different alternative causes that can affect the dependent variable.
When doing a experiment do it blind, do not tell the subject what they are doing
When doing an experiment do it double blind, you don’t tell the experimenter or the subject about where and what they are doing.

Question of the Day * could be on the test
1. Which of the following values is most likely to be the correct correlation coefficient for the data on the left?
a. 0
b. +1
c. -1
d. +0.6
e. -0.6
2. What does this correlation indicate?
a. There is no relationship between intelligence and reading
b. There is a relationship between intelligence and reading
c. People who read more become smarter
d. People who are smarter tend to read more
e. There is a gene that causes people to read more and to be smart
Biases:
Observer bias
Self-report bias
Socially desirable responding
Examples:
1. Subjects are randomly assigned to watch either a violent or a non-violent video and then are observed for aggression while playing with a large inflated Bobo doll in the lab.
a. Design: experiment
b. Data: observation
c. Setting: lab
2. The relation between birth order and the amount of aggression on the school playground is assessed during recess.
a. Design: correlation
b. Data: observation
c. Setting: field
3. Children are interviewed in the lab regarding their opinions about aggression
a. Design: descriptive
b. Data: self-report
c. Setting: lab
4. The effects of stimulating limbic system (a part of the brain) on the occurrence of aggressive behaviour in monkeys is assessed in the lab
a. Design: experiment
b. Data: observation
c. Setting: Lab
5. The relationship between body size and the frequency of aggressive acts is observed in male Ring-tailed lemurs in the forests of Madagascar.
a. Design: correlation
b. Data: observation
c. Setting: field
6. At a camp, young boys are randomly assigned to watch either a violent or a non-violent video. Then their level of aggression is monitored at athletic events.
a. Design: experiment
b. Data: observation
c. Setting: field
Methods and Statistics
Why do we need statistics?
Allows us to interpret what the studies mean.
To quantify the results
What is the average and how variable are the scores
Steps to Statistics
What are the average values for each condition?
How variable are those values?
How big is the difference between two values?
How big is the difference compared to the variability?
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean= total divided by the number of scores
Median= halfway point in rank-ordered scores
Mode= most frequent score
How variable are the numbers?
Look at the variability, what the spread is and the range from low – high
Variance= mean of squared deviations from the mean. This is the average.
Standard deviation= squared root of the variance.

Inferential Statistics
Making an inference about the population from the sample.
In other word, using the statistic from the sample to estimate the parameter of the population.
Do not test everything, test a small sample.
Inferential statistics allow you to calculate the probability that the null hypothesis is correct.
Selecting the Subjects
Sample a small population.
Often we cannot study everyone in the population so we have to use a sample.
Random sample; random choices, not a good sample because it does not represent the whole subject area.
Stratified samples; pick a choice based on the section, a better sample because it represents the subject better.
i.e. picking 10 students in a class, picking three from the back of class, 2 from the middle and four from the front = random sample, not good because there is more people in the front. Picking 10 students in a class, picking two from the back where there is less kids, three or four from the middle where there is more than the back, and 8 from the front where most of the students sit.
Things that influence statistics
The size of the difference between two measurements
The variability of the measurements
The number of measurements
The 5% Rule
Most researchers will tolerate a 5% chance that the null hypothesis is correct
This is why you will hear things like. “these survey results are considered accurate within 5 points, 95 times out of 100%
But remember, that means that, even assuming that all scientists are honest and all scientists do smart experiments, up to 5% of the results could be accidental.
The Mozart Effect
Rauscher, Shaw & Ky (1993)
36 college students each participated in 3 conditions Independent variable:
Listening Condition (10 minutes)
Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K.448) a relaxation tape
Silence
Dependent variable:
Immediately after listening condition subjects performed a spatial reasoning test visuospatial component of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test
Ethics in Psychology
Stanford Prison Experiment film clips http://www.prisonexp.org/ Discussion:
Was the result worth the cost to the subjects?
Why do we need ethical guidelines in Psychology
General
Risk-gain assessment Human Subjects
Review Ethics Boards (REBs)
Informed consent (what about deception?)
Confidentiality
Debriefing Animal subjects
Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) comfortable, sanitary conditions, vets anaesthetics “Animal research has extended human life spans by 20 years”