Psychology

History & Research

Methods
Review for the Exam
Still missing..
Research Design Essays Token Economy

- Addison David
- David Armin
- Franczesca Chris
- Joanna Joanna
- Andersan Andersan
- Pourochista Kiana
- Charlotte Pourochista
Erinn
Gavin
Charlotte
Victor
Zoe
Shape of the Learning
day Intentions
- Notes - I will understand
- Kahoot the key points
- Notes from unit 1
- Kahoot History and
Approaches
- I will understand
the key points
from unit 2
Research Methods
 AP Exam 2 h mc section & free response
Section I:Multiple Choice | 100 Questions | 1 hour and 10 minutes | 66.6% of Exam Score
Youll be asked to:
Define and explain content from a range of course topics
Apply skills of comparison and interpretation to course concepts, theories, and scientific methods
Section II:Free-Response | 2 Questions | 50 minutes | 33.3% of Exam Score
Typical questions may include (but are not limited to) the following:
Analyze a unique scenario using concepts from different theoretical frameworks or subdomains in
the field
Design, analyze, or critique a research study
The followingtask verbsare commonly used in the AP Psychology free-response questions:
Identifyrequires that you name or point out psychological concepts as they pertain to the
question.
Showordescriberequires you to detail the essential characteristics and/or examples of a
particular concept, theory, or phenomenon.
Explain,discuss, andrelaterequire that you make logical and coherent connections among the
prompt (or premise), question, and psychological concepts.
What is Psychology?
What is Psychology?
Psychology is a word deriving from
Greek roots:
Psyche soul or mind, Logos
word
Psychology is the systematic study of
behavior and experience
 PSYCHOLOGYS ROOTS
PRESCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY
Ancient Greeks
Socrates and his student Plato
Mind is separate from the body and continues
after the body dies (dualism)
Used self- examination of ideas & experiences to
conclude that who we are and what we know are
innate (inborn)
oAristotle (Platos student) believed mind/ soul
results from our physiological processes & that
reality is studied by observation & that who we
are and what we know are acquired from
experience
About 2000 years after
Aristotle..
Rene Descartes defended mind-body
dualism (mind/ soul reside in the brain, but
is not composed of physical substance) &
what we know is innate
John Locke Believed knowledge comes
from observation and what we know comes
from experience since we are born without
knowledge, a blank state (tabula rasa).
Debate = nature vs. nurture controversy
John Locke (1632-1704)
The mind at birth was a blank slate
a white paper upon which
experience writes.
He thought that knowledge was
gained through experience and
experimentation.
He held that ideas are mental
representations of objects. The
minds knows only of ideasmy mind
only knows my mother as an idea
Where do ideas come from? Locke-
said experience Empiricism - The
view that knowledge originates in
experience and that science should,
therefore rely on observation and
experimentation.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Founder of modern
science Memory Trick: what a crazy
food EXPERIMENT, Scallops,
He stressed lemons, and BACON!
experimentation
Wrote the human
understanding, easily
supposes a greater degree
of order and equality in
things than it really finds.
means- we want to find
order or patterns in
random events. They are
not always there.
 History of
Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
father of experimental
psychology
created the first
psychology I wundt to be the 1st
experimental lab (in person to create an
Germany in 1879). He experimental lab!
measured the time lag
between peoples
hearing a ball hit the
platform and their
pressing a telegraph
key.
Wundt was seeking to
measure atoms of the
mindthe fastest and
simplest mental
processes.
 Edward Titchener
Wundts student Edward Titchener introduced
structuralism- study of the elemental structure of
the mind to the United States. He worked at Cornell
University.
His method was to engage people in self-reflective
introspection (looking inward) training them to
report elements of their experience as they looked at
a rose, smelled a scent, or tasted a substance, etc.
What were their immediate sensations, their images,
their feelings?
Structuralism: early school of psychology that used
introspection to explore the structural elements of the
human mind

Structuralists sought to identify what the mind and

consciousness were Results vary from person to
person and experience to experience; eventually
recent studies indicate that peoples recollections
frequently erreventually the theory of structuralism
faded
Structuralism
Margaret Floy Washburn
was Titcheners first
graduate student and the
first woman to complete her
Ph. D. in psychology.
She wrote an influential
book The Animal Mind and
became the second female
president of the APA in 1921.
William James
Considered the evolved (as in evolution) functions
of our thoughts and feelings. Smelling is what the
nose does; thinking is what the brain does.
Like Darwin, James assumed that thinking, like
smelling developed because it was adaptiveit
contributed to our ancestors survival.
Consciousness serves a purpose.
James developed a philosophy of pragmatism or common sense,
which tested truth by its practical consequences.
As a functionalist, he encouraged exploration of down-to-earth
emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment to moment
streams of consciousness.
He wrote Principles of Psychology in 1890 (1400 pages)
We can do so much more than what we think we can
Consciousness will be different things to different people
The mind is a stream of consciousness.
Functionalism
Functionalism: a school of psychology that focused
on how our mental and behavioral processes function
how they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish

Mary Whiton Calkins, who studied

psychology under James at Harvard, was
denied her Ph. D.
She went on to do research, study the
function of memory, and serve as the first
female president of the American
Psychological Association 1905
 Structuralism vs. Functionalism
Structuralism- Wilhelm Functionalism- William James
Wundt American philosopher, John
Titchener emphasized Dewey, said it is important to
the what of mental seek why learned habits
contents rather than enable organisms to adapt to
the why or how of their environment and
thinking. function effectively
Goal: Reveal the Functionalists asked, What
underlying structure of is the function or purpose of
the mind by analyzing any behavioral act?
the elements of Practical uses of mental
sensation and other processes led to important
experience
Functionalism studied mental testing, child development, and educational
advances in education.
practices.
They wanted to apply psychological findings to practical situations and the
function of mental operations in adapting to the environment.
The Early Era and Roots
of Psychology

Darwin: The origin of species (1859);

The descent of man (1871)
Charles Darwin applied the law of
natural selection to human beings,
forwarding the idea that human
behavior and thinking are subject to
scientific inquiry.
Nature = inborn = genetic
Nurture =experience = environmental
 The Early Era and Roots of Psychology
Behaviorism John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner
structuralism was abandoned because it was
difficult to study the subjective perception of
experience.
Behaviorism concentrates on observable,
measurable behaviors and not mental
processes.

Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a

purely objective experimental branch of
natural science. Its theoretical goal is the
prediction and control of behavior. -- John
B. Watson, 1913
Study of Psychology Today
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
Psychology values:
empirical evidence
critical thinking
systematic research methods
Goals of psychology include:
description of behavior using careful observations
explanation identifying the cause(s) of behavior
prediction allows for specification of the
conditions under which a behavior will or will not
occur
facilitating changes in behavior (e.g., therapy)
Psychologys Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus
Neuroscience How the body and brain create emotions,
memories, and sensory experiences
Evolutionary How nature selects traits that promote the
perpetuation of ones genes
Behavior How much our genes, and our environment,
influence our genetics individual differences
Psychodynamic How behavior springs from unconscious drives
and conflicts
Behavioral How behavior is learned
Cognitive How we encode, process, store, and retrieve
information
Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across
situations and cultures
Eclectic Drawing from 2 or more of the above
perspectives to explain behaviour or thought
PSYCHOLOGYS THREE MAIN
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
Positive Psychology
A recent addition to the field
Focuses on the characteristics that
make people happy and successful
Asserts that psychology has, in
the past, focused too much on the
negative
Professions &
Careers
Scientific psychology developed in
universities with research laboratories
where basic research was conducted, and
where experimental psychologists continue
to add knowledge to the field.
After WWII, many opportunities for applied
psychologists developed outside of these
institutions.
Job opportunities grew, and the field
became more fragmented and specialized.
Professions &
Careers
Counseling
psychologists: help people
adapt to change and to
make changes in their
lifestyle.
Clinical psychologists:
evaluate and treat mental,
emotional, and behavioral
disorders.
Professions &
Careers
Psychiatrist: a doctor that
specializes in the diagnosis and
treatment of mental illness.
Has earned a medical degree.
Can prescribe drugs,
psychologists CANNOT.
Professions &
Careers
Forensic psychologists:
apply psychological
principles to legal issues.
Health psychologists:
concentrate on biological,
psychological, and social
factors involved in health
and illness.
 Professions &
Careers
Rehabilitation psychologists: help clients with
mental retardation, developmental disabilities,
and disabilities resulting from stroke or accidents
adapt to their situations.
School psychologists: assess and counsel
students, consult with educators and parents, and
perform behavioral intervention when necessary.
Sports psychologists: help athletes refine their
focus on competition goals, increase motivation,
and deal with anxiety and fear of failure.
KAHOOT -
AP Psych 12 Quiz 1
18 questions
*Next 15 slides will be definitions
BEHAVIORISM

The view that psychology (1)

should be an objective science that
(2) studies behavior without
reference to mental processes
Most research psychologists today
agree with (1) but not (2)
HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY
Historically significant perspective that
emphasized the growth potential of
healthy people and the individuals
potential for personal growth
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE

The interdisciplinary study of

the brain activity linked with
cognition (including perception,
thinking, memory and
language).
NATURAL SELECTION
The principle that, among the range of
inherited trait variations, those
contributing to reproduction and survival
will most likely be passed on to
succeeding generations
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL
APPROACH
An integrated approach that
incorporates biological,
psychological and social-
cultural levels of analysis
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

A branch of psychology that

studies the links between
biological (including
neuroscience and behavior
genetics) and psychosocial
processes
 EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
The study of the roots of
behavior and mental
processes using the
principles of natural
selection
PSYCHODYNAMIC
PSYCHOLOGY
A branch of psychology that studies how
unconscious drives and conflicts
influence behavior, and uses that
information to treat people with
psychological disorders
BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY
The scientific study of observable
behavior and its explanation by
principles of learning
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

The scientific study of all the

mental activities associated with
thinking, knowing, remembering
and communicating
SOCIAL-CULTURAL
PSYCHOLOGY
The study of how situations and
cultures affect our behavior and
thinking
PSYCHOMETRICS

The scientific study of the

measurements of human
abilities, attitudes and traits
DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
The scientific study of
physical, cognitive and social
change throughout a life span
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
The study of how psychological
processes affect and can enhance
teaching and learning
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
The study of an individuals
characteristic pattern of thinking,
feeling and acting

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: The

scientific study of how we think about,
influence, and relate to one another
INDUSTRIAL-
ORGANIZATIONAL (I/O)
PSYCHOLOGY
The application of psychological
concepts and methods to optimizing
human behavior in workplaces
Dorothea Dix
Starting in the 1840s in the
US, she fought for humane
treatment of people with
psychological disorders.
Big debates in Psych - Stability
vs Change
As the years pass,
do we change or
remain the same?
Do we become
adults or are we
always just big kids?
Personality traits,
physical
appearance, sense
of humor, tastes,
etc
 Big Debates in Psych
-Continuity vs Discontinuity
Does growth occur gradually or in stages?
Big Debates in Psych - Nature
vs Nurture
Biology versus Experience
Am I the way I am because I was born that
way or because of my surroundings?
Can I ever be like these
people, or does nature
give me limitations?
 Science
Terminology:
Theory - an explanation for the way things
are, usually supported by a lot of data.
A theory is good if
it fits the data
it has the ability to predict
it has the ability to explain
The Scientific Method
The Experiment

An experiment involves a set of controlled

conditions that aim to confirm a
hypothesis.
Hypothesis refers to a statement of cause
and effect:
Higher environmental temperatures
lead to more aggression.
Exposure to marijuana increases
appetite.
Experimental Variables
To test a hypothesis, an experimenter defines
the variables of the hypothesis:
Cause: Independent variable (IV)
marijuana: plain cigarette versus cigarette
containing 5 mg of THC (the active ingredient
in marijuana)
Effect: Dependent variable (DV)
appetite: grams of ice cream consumed in 1
hour
The experimenter manipulates the IV and
measures the DV to test the hypothesis.
 chapter 1

Your turn
An experimenter wants to study the effects
of music on studying. He has some
students study while listening to music and
others study in silence, and then compares
their test scores. What is the independent
variable in this experiment?
1. The students
2. The presence of music while studying
3. The kind of music
4. The test scores
Figure 1.8

Elements of a simple psychological experiment to assess the effects of

music during study on test scores.
 chapter 1

Identify the variable as independent or dependent.

?
Figure 1.4

Operational definitions are used to represent/link concepts with concrete

observations. Do you think the examples given are reasonable operational
definitions of frustration and aggression? Operational definitions vary in
how well they represent concepts. For this reason, many different
experiments may be necessary to draw clear conclusions about
hypothesized relationships in psychology.
 Experimental group group that gets
Experiment Types the drug/ treatment
Control group does not get the drug/
treatment
Single Blind: Only the
subjects have no idea
whether they are in the
experimental or control
group
Double Blind: The subjects
AND the experimenters have
no idea whether the subjects
are in the control or
experimental group
Best type of experiment if properly set up
Experimental Issues
Controls are important for determining causality
the only difference between the experimental and
control groups is the presence or absence of the
IV.
Placebo effects represent changes in behavior that
are related to expectations of a treatment.
placebo effects are controlled by a blind control
group then they dont know if they had treatment
Experimenter bias refers to expectations that
researcher has about outcome of study that could
influence a participants behavior/ results of study.
Ex. Researcher smiles at experimental group but
not control group could lead to cofounding variable
can be controlled using double blind procedures
Non-Experimental Research
Naturalistic observation refers to systematic
recording of behavior in a natural state or
habitat.
e.g. observing apes in the wild
Surveys are instruments designed to sample
attitudes or behaviors.
e.g., asking students at a rally how they feel
about animal rights issues
A case study is an in-depth study of a single
person.
e.g., Freud used the case study method to
study anxiety
The Survey Method
Definition: questionnaires/ interviews to ask
people about their behaviours/ thoughts/
attitudes
Info only useful with representative sample
by random sampling
Representative Sample: Small group that
accurately reflects a larger population
Population: entire group of animals or people belonging to a particular
category (e.g., all married women)

Courtesy Bias: Problem in research; a

tendency to give polite or socially desirable
answers
Figure 1.11

If you were conducting a survey in which a persons height might be an

important variable, the non-random sample would be very unrepresentative.
The random sample, selected using a table of random numbers/ names out
of a hat, better represents the group as a whole.
 Chapter 1: Research

Correlation -- Types of
Correlations
Positive Correlation: as one variable
increases, the other variable also
increases
- e.g. smoking & cancer risk
correlation coefficients such as
+.90, +.50, +.30
Negative correlation: as one variable
increases, the other variable
decreases
- e.g. years of education and risk of Alzheimers disease

expressed by negative correlation

coefficient such as -.90, -.50, -.30
Figure 1.7

FIGURE 1.7 The correlation coefficient tells how strongly two measures are
related. These graphs show a range of relationships between two measures, A
and B. If a correlation is negative, increases in one measure are associated with
decreases in the other. (As B gets larger, A gets smaller.) In a positive
correlation, increases in one measure are associated with increases in the other.
(As B gets larger, A gets larger.) The center-left graph (medium negative
relationship) might result from comparing anxiety level (B) with test scores (A):
Higher anxiety is associated with lower scores. The center graph (no
relationship) would result from plotting a persons shoe size (B) and his or her
IQ (A). The center-right graph (medium positive relationship) could be a plot of
grades in high school (B) and grades in college (A) for a group of students:
Higher grades in high school are associated with higher grades in college.
Interpreting Correlations
Your turn
What kind of correlation is this?
1. Positive
2. Negative
3. No correlation
 Correlation Take Home Line:
Correlation does NOT imply causation!

Just because two variables are correlated it

does not mean that one causes the other.
Correlations help us see the world better by
showing how variables usually co-occur.
Is it possible to create an
experiment to test
whether an apple a day keeps the doctor
away? If so,
what are the operational definitions? describe
the control group.
 Types of Statistics/Analyses
Descriptive Statistics Describing a phenomena
Frequencies How many? How much?
Basic measurements
#s that summarize a set e.g. BP, HR, BMI, IQ, etc.
of research data obtained
from a sample
Interval/ ratio data Inferences about a phenomena
Disproving theories
Inferential Statistics Associations between phenomena
Hypothesis Testing
Correlation
If sample relates to the larger
Confidence Intervals population
Significance Testing e.g. diet and health
Prediction
Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics can be used to summarize
and describe a single variable
Frequencies (counts) & Percentages

Means & Standard Deviations

Use with continuous (interval/ratio) data (diff
b/w ratio & interval scale is ratio has a zero
point. Ex. 0 lbs, 0 km, whereas 0 degrees
Celsius isnt meaningful)
Height, weight, cholesterol, scores on a test
 Frequencies & Percentages
Look at the different ways we can display
frequencies and percentages for this data:

Pie
chart

Table AKA
frequency
distributions
good if
more than
Good if 20
observations
more than
20 Bar
observation
 Distributions
The distribution of scores or values can
also be displayed using Box and
Whiskers Plots and Histograms
 Distributions
The distribution of data often forms a bell
shaped curve.
Many phenomena in life are normally
distributed (age, height, weight, IQ).
Shape of the Learning
Day Intentions
- Notes - I will
- Kahoot understand the
- Notes key points from
unit 2 Research
Methods
-I will understand
the key points
from unit 3
Developmental
Psychology
-I will understand
 Descriptive statistics
Statistical procedures
that organize and
summarize research data

Examples:
mean
median
mode
standard deviation
 Central Tendency
A way of capturing scores that are
representative of a distribution (a measure
of the central tendency) in some way; or
the average score in a distribution/ most
typical scores for a set of research data or
distribution. Include:
Mean (average of scores)
Median (middle score when data is
ordered by size)
Mode (most frequently occurring score in
data)
Mean is preferred measure of central
 Central Tendency: The Mean
The Mean
sometimes called the
arithmetic mean
What most people
mean by average
Sum of a set of
numbers divided by
the number of
numbers in the set
Central Tendency:The
Median
The median is the middle
point in a distribution; it
separates the distribution
into two equal halves
Central Tendency:The
Median
The median is the middle point in
a distribution; it separates the
distribution into two equal halves
if X=[1,2,4,6,9,10,12,14,17]
then 9 is the median

if X=[1,2,4,6,9,10,11,12,14,17]when
written in numeric order
then 9.5 is the median; i.e.,
(9+10)/2
 Central Tendency: The Mode

The mode is the most

frequently occurring number
in a distribution
if X=[1,2,4,6,6,6,8,10,12,14,17]
then _____is the mode

Two bimodal distributions

 Central Tendency: The Mode
The mode is the most
frequently occurring number
in a distribution
if X=[1,2,4,6,6,6,8,10,12,14,17]
then 6 is the mode

Two bimodal distributions

 Distributions
Outliers skew
distributions.
If group has one high
score, the curve has a
positive skew (contains
more low scores)
If a group has a low
outlier, the curve has a
negative skew
(contains more high
scores)
Mean, Median, Mode
 Measures of Dispersion
(aka how spread out the data are)
range, standard deviation, variance
Describe how spread out a distribution of
scores is
High numbers for variance and standard
deviation may mean that scores are all over
the place and do not necessarily fall close
to the mean

In research, means are usually presented along

with standard deviations or standard errors.
 Level of Dispersion
Range spread of the x-values
Standard deviation - a measure of
the variation, or spread, of individual
measurements; a measurement
which indicates how far away from
the middle the individual scores are.
The larger the standard deviation,
the more spread out the scores are.
Variance square of the standard
deviation
Score
Measure of how many
standard deviations
you are from the
mean.
A positive z score
means a number above
the mean.
A negative z score
means a number below
the mean.
0 SD is the 50th percentile
1 SD is the 68th percentile
2 SDs is the 96th percentile
3 SDs is the 99.5th percentile
 Figure 2.16

Which one of these graphs has the largest standard

deviation?.
 Inferential Statistics

The purpose is to discover whether the

finding can be applied to the larger
population from which the sample was
collected.
T-tests, ANOVA or MANOVA
e.g. P-value = .05 for statistical
significance means 5% likely the results
are due to chance.
P is a measure of the likelihood that the
difference between groups results from
a real life diff b/w the 2 groups rather
than from chance alone.
Lower the P value the less likely the
results were due to chance
Choosing the best explanation
Interpretation of results may depend
on how the research was conducted.

Cross-sectional studies
Subjects of different ages
are compared at a single
time.

Longitudinal studies
Subjects are periodically
assessed over a period of
time.
Judging the results importance
Statistical techniques can help determine if results
are really important. Results of research that are
statistically significant may be important or trivial.
Statistical significance does not imply that findings
are really important Thus:

Meta-analysis is a procedure for combining and

analyzing data from many studies to reach an overall
conclusion. It determines how much of the variance
in scores across all studies can be explained by a
particular variable.
 Stanley Milgrams
Obedience
1963 social psychologyStudy
experiment, subjects thought
they were shocking another
person to promote learning
Many subjects delivered high
level shocks and were upset
when they later learned the
true nature of the
experiment
This study and other factors
led to much more stringent
APA research guidelines
 Ethical Issues: Key Points
Respecting the rights of human research
participants involves:
Informed consent is an explanation of a study
and the responsibilities of experimenter and
participant.
Confidentiality of study information must be
maintained.
Debriefing refers to explaining the research
process to the participants at the end of the
study.
Deception can be used ONLY if benefits justify it and
there is no other way to do the study.
Animal research must be justified and must
minimize discomfort and pain.
Kahoot
Psych 12 AP Quiz 2
8 questions