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What Is Psychology
- Psychology is a broad field
- Psychology has many specialties
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What Are the Fundamentals (basics) of Psychology?
- The science of behavioral processes
- The science of mental processes
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What is NOT Psychology?
Not all about mental disorders and therapy
Not focused solely on diagnosing and treating mental problems
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Where does the word Psychology come from?
From psyche (Greek for “mind”)
and -ology (meaning “a field of study”)
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What Does Psychology Mean?
Literally means “the study of the mind”
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What does the study of Psychology cover?
- Internal mental processes
- External mental processes
- Observable behaviors (behavior you can see, or observe)
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What is Psychology based on?
- Objective evidence
- Verifiable evidence
- Scientific evidence
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What is Objective Evidence?
- Information based on facts
- Can be proven through analysis
- Can be proven through measurement
- Can be proven through observation (things you can see)
- Not based on Attitude, Belief or Opinion
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What is Verifiable Evidence?
- Information that can be tested
- Can be tested by experiment
- Can be tested by observation (watching)
- Results can be determined to be True or False
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What is Scientific Evidence?
- Information based on facts (empirical evidence)
- Can be proven through experiment
- Can be proven through experience
- Can be proven through observation (things you can see)
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Psychology vs. Psychiatry
Psychology:
- Broad field of study
- Holds a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
- Training emphasizes research methods
- Advanced study in specialization
Psychiatry:
- Medical specialty
- Holds an MD (Doctor of Medicine)
- Training in treatment of mental and behavioral problems
- Licensed to prescribe medicines
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Psychology vs. Pseudoscience
Psychology:
- Disputes unfounded claims from pseudoscience.
- Disagrees with methods used in pseudoscience.
Pseudoscience:
- Uses methods that have no scientific foundation.
- Does not use Scientific Method (empirical evidence)
- Results can not be proven.
- Any approach to explaining phenomena in the natural world that does not use empirical observation or the scientific method (e.g., astrology, graphology, fortune telling)
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How Do Psychologists Develop New Knowledge?
- Empirical Investigation
- Scientific Method
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What is Empirical Investigation
An approach to research that relies onresearch data gotten from:
- Sensory experience (using the senses)
- Observation (watching, seeing)
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What is Scientific method?
- A five-step process
- Uses empirical investigation (analysis, measurement, observation)
- Tests a hypothesis (idea of how something might work)
- Test conditions designed to control biases
- Test conditions designed to control subjective judgments (judgements based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions)
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The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
- Developing a hypothesis (an idea on how something might happen)
- Performing a controlled test
- Gathering objective data (data based on fact)
- Analyzing the results
- Publishing, criticizing, and replicating (repeating) the results
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The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
Step 1 - Developing a hypothesis
Hypothesis:
A statement predicting the outcome of a scientific study (your best guess at how something works)
Operational definitions:
Exact procedures used in establishing experimental conditions and measurement of results (step by step process for the experiment)
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The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
Step 2 - Performing a controlled test
Independent variable:
The variable manipulated by the experimenter
Randomization:
Using chance alone to determine presentation order of stimulus
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The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
Step 3 - Gathering objective data
Data:
Information gathered by a researcher and used to test a hypothesis
Dependent variable:
The measured outcome of a study; the responses of participants in a study
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The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
Step 4 - Analyzing the results
Analyze the results and then:
- Based on statistical analyses of results
- Determine if the hypothesis is accepted or rejected. (is the hypothesis True or False?)
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The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
Step 5 -
Publishing, criticizing, and replicating the results
- Publish your findings (allow others to see your results)
- Criticize your findings (allow others to criticize the results)
- Replicate the results (do the test again and see if the results are the same)
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Types of Psychological Research
Experiments:
- Experimental condition
- Control condition
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Assignment to Experimental conditions and Control conditions:
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Types of Psychological Research
Experiments:
Experimental condition (test condition) - Control condition (normal condition)
Correlational studies:
Correlation coefficient (how test variables relate to one another) - Survey (ask for information)
- Naturalistic observations (what you see or observe)
- Case Studies:
- What other research has found and published
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Correlation Studies: What is Correlation Coefficient?
A measure of the interdependence of two random variables that ranges in value from -1 to +1, indicating perfect negative correlation at -1, absence of correlation at zero, and perfect positive correlation at +1.
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Correlation Coefficients:
Postitive Correlation
Negative Correlation
No Correlation
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How to Control Bias: Placebo
- One group receives stimulus
- One group receives no stimulus (placebo) (control group)
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How to Control Bias: Blind Control
- Researchers know which participants recieve stimulus (test group) and which group gets the placebo (control group)
- Participants do not know which participants recieve stimulus (test group) and which group gets the placebo (control group)
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How to Control Bias: Double-Blind Control
Researchers and Participants both do not know which participants recieve stimulus (test group) and which group gets the placebo (control group)
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