MODULE 1: THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY

• Psychology


  The scientific study of the human mind/ mental processes and behavior
• Psychology is a young science; 138 years old
• Psyche


  Greek for "Human soul" and "Vital breath"
• Origins of Psychology


  • Medicine
  • Philosophy
• Psychology and Philosophy


  A philosophical inquiry into the nature of human mind
• Plato and Socrates: '"I don't know what my body is for other than taking my head from room to room" - John Mulaney'
• Dualism


  The mind is separate from the brain but somehow controls the brain and therefore, the rest if the body
• Monism


  The mind and body are not separate
• Brain activity


  Causes thoughts
• Thought


  Causes brain activity
• Free will


  The ability to choose freely
• Determinism


  Choices are determined by causes
• Nature


  Innate factors that influence behavior
• Nurture


  Environmental factors that influence behavior
• Hippocrates and Galen proposed early hypotheses of individual differences long before psychologists conceived of the idea of personality traits
• Theory of Humors


  A person's temperament or personality depends on which fluid is in excess in one's body
• Four types of temperament


  • Melancholic (black bile)
  • Sanguine (blood)
  • Phlegmatic (phlegm)
  • Choleric (yellow bile)
• Wilhelm Wundt


  Father of Psychology, attempted to study the human consciousness using scientific method
• Wundt believed that the human consciousness can be divided into several parts or elements, such as emotions and thoughts
• Wundt's objective introspection allowed individuals to examine their own thoughts and mental activities objectively
• Structuralism


  Attempt to describe the structures that compose the mind, such as feelings, sensations, and images
• Functionalism


  Consciousness is in a state of flux and thus difficult to capture its structure
• Early psychologists were more concerned with studying perception, rather than personality
• Francis Galton (Darwin's cousin) was among the first to study human intelligence and measure it using simple sensory and motor activities
• Behaviorism


  A field of psychology that concentrates on observable, measurable behaviors and not on mental processes
• Gestalt Psychology


  "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
• Psychoanalysis


  Emphasizes the influence of unconscious factors and early childhood experiences in personality
• Behaviorism


  Behavior is learned, who we are is a product of the interaction between the environment (stimulus) and behavior (response)
• Current Perspectives/ Modern Approaches in Psychology


  • Psychodynamic
  • Behavioral
  • Humanistic
  • Cognitive
  • Sociocultural
  • Biopsychological
  • Evolutionary
• Aims of Research in Psychology


  • Describe
  • Explain
  • Predict
  • Control
• Five Steps in Conducting the Scientific Method


  1. Perceiving the question

  2. Forming the hypothesis

  3. Testing the hypothesis

  4. Drawing conclusions

  5. Reporting the results
• Hypothesis must be falsifiable and testable in order to avoid confirmation bias, or the tendency to look only at information that supports the hypothesis
• Research Designs in Psychology


  • Descriptive
  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative
  • Experimental
  • Correlational
• Descriptive Research


  To describe phenomenon of interest
• Correlational Research


  To determine quantitative relationships between two or more variables
• Bivariate Correlational Research


  Determines the direction (positive or negative) and magnitude (0.0 - 1.0) of the relationship between two variables
• Experimental Research


  To determine causal relationships by ensuring that only the independent variable causes change in the dependent variable
• Principles of the PAP Code of Ethics


  • Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples
  • Competent Caring for the Well-being of Persons and People
  • Integrity
  • Professional and Scientific Responsibilities to People