Chapter 1

The study of mental activity and behavior, which are based on brain processes.

• -mind and body are separate yet intertwined.
• -body a machine
• -mind was divine and separate from physical body
• -Rene Descartes

• -the idea that conscious experience can be broken down into underlying parts.
• -Identify the basic parts, or structures, of the conscious mind
• -introspection: person might report on the quality (red) and intensity (bright) of an apple. 
• -Problem: Each person has a personal and unique experience

• -Describe how the conscious mind aids adaptation to an environment
• -focused on how mental and behavioral processes function
• - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
• -Darwin major influencer

• -Understand how unconscious thoughts cause psychological disorders
• -mental processes operating below the level of conscious awareness
• -unconscious forces include childhood experiences
• -Sigmund Freud

• -Study subjective perceptions as a unified whole
• -the perception of objects is a personal experience
• -The idea that the whole of personal experience is different from simply the sum of its parts.
• -Ex. dots on a picture, might looks as dots but you see a dalmatian dog

• -Describe behavior in response to environmental stimuli
• -environmental factors influenced behavior

-Investigate how people become happier and more fulfilled; focus on the basic goodness of people

• -Explore internal mental processes that influence behavior
• -The study of how people think, learn, and remember.

-The study of how people are influenced by their interactions with others.

• -Study how biological systems give rise to mental activity.
• -Ex. how do brain chemicals influence sexual behavior?

• -Study attention, perception, memory, problem solving, and language, often based on brain processes.
• -Ex. How do brain chemicals influence sexual behavior?
• • How do brain cells change during learning?

• -Study how people change from infancy through old age.
• -Ex. How do children learn to speak?
• •-How can older adults maintain mental abilities as they age?

• -Study enduring characteristics that people display over time and across circumstances.
• -Ex. Why are some people shy?

• -study how people are affected by others
• -Ex. when do people form impression of others?

-Study how people are influenced by the societal rules that dictate behavior in their cultures.

-Study the factors that cause psychological disorders and the best methods to treat them.

• -Study the factors that cause psychological disorders and the best methods to treat them.
• -how can building morale help motivate others

-A systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena (observable things) to answer questions about what happens, when it happens, what causes it, and why. This process involves a dynamic interaction between theories, hypotheses, and research methods.

• 1. Theory
• 2. Hypothesis
• 3. Test the hypothesis
• 4. Analyze

A model of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events.

A specific prediction of what should be observed if a theory is correct.

• -A research method that provides a systematic and objective description of what is occurring.
• -describe what is happening

-A resarch method that examines how variables are naturally related in the real world. The researcher makes no attempt to alter the variables or assign causation between them

• -A research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating independent variables and measuring the effects on dependent variables.
• -used to determine if one causes the other
• -examine how one variable that is manipulated by researchers affects another variable.

• 1. Observational studies
• 2. Self-reports
• 3. Case studies

• -are a descriptive research method.
• -They involve observing and classifying behavior, either with intervention by the observer or without intervention by the observer.

• -valuable in the early stages of research
• -can take place in a lab or a real-world setting

• -errors can occur because observer bias
• -observer's presence can change the behavior being witness

• -are a descriptive research method that involves asking questions of research participants. The participants then respond in any way they feel is appropriate or select from among a fixed number of options.
• -surveys, questionaires

• - can gather data from a large number of people
• -easy to administer
• -cost efficient
• -fast way to collect data
• -face to face interviewing gives researcher new lines of questioning (new questions)

• -people can introduce bias into their answers (self-report bias). People may not reveal information that casts them into negative light
• -people may not recall information accurately

-are a descriptive research method that involves intensive examination of one person or organization or a few individuals or organizations.

-Can provide a lot of data

• -can be very subjective
• -results cannot be generalized from a single case study to the population

• -A research method that examines how variables are naturally related in the real world. The researcher makes no attempt to alter the variables or assign causation between them. 
• -examines how one factor is related to another factor

• -rely on naturally occurring relationships
• -may take place in a real-world setting

• -cannot demonstrate causal relationship
• -cannot show the direction of the cause/effect relationship between variables
• -an unidentified variable may be involved

• -provide control over independent variables
• -can demonstrate that one things causes another
• -avoid directionality problem

• -varying something other than indepent variable can affect dependent variable and lead to inaccurate conclusions
• -often take place in artificial setting

-researcher manipulates this variable to examine impact on dependent variable

-variable that is affected by the manipulation of the independent variable

• -a comparison group of participants that receives no intervention or receives an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable being investigated.
• -Ex. participants would drink water instead of alcohol but they wouldnt know its water

-In an experiment, one or more treatment groups of participants that receive the intervention of the independent variable being investigated.

the adaptive purpose of specific traits and characteristics.

to a large extent, behavior is directed by mental processes that operate at a subconscious level.

Gestalt theory

an approach to gaining knowledge about behavior and mental processes by observation and measurement only