Franzoi, Chapter 1; Dr. Newbill

Essentials of Psychology, Sixth Edition
© 2018 BVT Publishing. All rights reserved.
S-1
Chapter 1:
Psychology as a Science
(Shutterstock)

S-2
Learning Objectives(Slide 1 of 2)
• Describe what psychology is.
• Identify the major milestones in the
history of psychology.
• Compare and contrast the
contemporary psychological
perspectives.
• Describe the various areas of
specialization for research and
applied psychologists.

S-3
Learning Objectives(Slide 2 of 2)
• Explain the stages in the research
process.
• Describe what a theory and a
hypothesis are.
• Summarize how psychologists use
observational research.
• Describe correlational and
experimental research.

S-4
1.1a What Is Psychology?
• Psychology is the scientific study of
mental processes and behavior:
• Psyche (mind)
• Logos (study)
• Psychology is not psychiatry

S-5
1.1b How Did Psychology
Begin?
The early pioneers:
• Wilhelm Wundt
• Structuralism- beginning of psychology
to identify structural components of the
mind
• William James
• First major US psychologist
• Functionalism- how the mind helps
people survive, adapt, and function

S-6
1.1b How Did Psychology
Begin?
The early pioneers:
• Sigmund Freud
• Psychiatrist who developed psychoanalysis
and changed how people view therapy and
the unconscious mind
• Impossible to see how the mind works
• John Watson
• Founder of Behaviorism
• Study of observable behavior
• Little Albert experiment

S-7
1.1c How About Women and
Minorities?
Women and minorities faced discrimination, but they also made
significant contributions:
• Mary Calkins
• Enrolled at Harvard for no Credit
• Established one of the first psych labs in US
• Margaret Washburn
• First woman to receive PhD in Psych 1894
• Kenneth and Mamie Clark
• Found that segregation harmed the self-esteem of Black children
• Brown vs. Board of Education
• George Sanchez
• Found biases in intelligence test toward Mexican-American
children
• Now more women in the psychology field than men, except in
power postitions

S-8
1.2 Current Psychology
The contemporary perspectives:
• Psychoanalytic
• Unconscious processes
• Early interactions with parents and environment
are often causes of problems later in life
• Tripart theory of psyche
• Id (pleasure principle)
• Ego (reality principle, defense mechanisms)
• Superego (ideal self, conscience)
• Dream analysis
• Therapist is all-knowing

S-9
• Behaviorist
• Classical and operant conditioning
• Pavlov’s dog
• Humans are solely the result of their
enviroment
• Humanistic and positive psychology
• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
• Humans are inherently good and need
unconditional positive regard, and free will
• Positive psychology: strength-base
perspective rather than illness-based

S-10
• Cognitive psychology
• How does the mind organizes,
processes, and interprets information
and experiences
• Memory, language, intelligence
• Neuroscience
• How the nervous system and endocrine
system operate
• Evolutionary psychology
• Sociocultural

S-11
• Evolutionary psychology
• Based on Darwinian theory
• Psychological traits evolve and adapt over
time with generations
• Example: fear
• Sociocultural
• Social and cultural factors are intertwined
with psychological development
• Example: SES

S-12
1.2f Collectivist and Individualist
Cultures
Collectivist Cultures:
• Identity is given by one’s group.
• Conformity is valued.
• Personal and group goals are consistent;
group goals have priority.
Individualist Cultures:
• Identity is achieved by one’s own striving.
• Independence is valued.
• Personal and group goals are often
inconsistent; personal goals have priority.

S-13
1.2g Research Psychologists
There are many areas of specialization:
• Neuroscience
• The brain and genetics
• Developmental psychology
• The life span
• Experimental psychology
• sensation, perception, memory, etc.
• Comparative psychology
• Comparing behaviors of between and among species
• Cognitive psychology
• Problem-solving, memory, reasoning, language, et.
• Personality psychology
• How and why people behave, think or feel
• Social psychology
• How people and culture influence each other

S-14
1.2g Applied Psychologists
Four major applied specialties:
• Clinical psychology
• Diagnoses and treatment of disorders
• Counseling psychology
• Individual, family, career, social skills,
etc.
• Industrial/organizational psychology
• Behaviors of employees
• Educational and school psychology

S-15
1.3a What Are Scientific
Methods?
A set of procedures to gather, analyze, and
interpret information:
• Sample
• Population
• Random selection
• Critical thinking
• The process of deciding what to believe and
how to act based on careful evaluation of the
evidence

S-16
1.3b Stages in the Research
Process
(BVT Publishing)

S-17
1.3b The Theory-Hypothesis
Relationship
(BVT Publishing)
Theory: An organized system
of ideas that seeks to explain
why two or more events are
related
Hypothesis: An educated
guess or prediction about the
nature of things based upon a
theory

S-18
1.3b How Do Psychologists
Collect Data?
Three basic techniques of data
collection:
• Self-reports
• Surveys, interviews
• Direct observations
• Archival information
• Existing documented information
(government data, court records, etc.)

S-19
1.3b How Do Psychologists
Analyze Data?
Two kinds of statistics:
• Descriptive
• Summarize and describe behaviors of
sample in study
• Inferential
• Infer if there is a difference between
sample and larger population (statistical
significance)

S-20
1.3c Methods of Observational
Research
Description is the primary goal of the
following:
• Naturalistic observation
• Participant observation
• Researcher becomes part of group being
studied
• Case study
• Single subject

S-21
1.3d What is Correlational
Research?
This involves assessing the nature of the
relationship between two or more variables:
• Using surveys
• The correlation coefficient
• -1.00 to +1.00
• 0.00 is no relationship (r)
• ±.60 strong, ±.30 moderate, ±.10 low
• Allows researcher to predict Y from X
• Correlation is NOT causation
• Cannot determine mechanism of change
• Confounding vairables

S-22
1.3d Graphing the Relationship
Between Variable X and
Variable Y(Slide 1 of 2)
(BVT Publishing)

S-23
1.3d Graphing the Relationship
Between Variable X and
Variable Y(Slide 2 of 2)
(BVT Publishing)

S-24
Spurious Correlations:
True or False?
(BVT Publishing)

S-25
1.3d How Do Psychologists
Establish Causation?
Experimental research determines cause-effect
relationships:
• Independent variable (IV)
• Manipulated by researcher
• Dependent variable (DV)
• Measured variable, dependent upon IV
• Random assignment
• Experimental condition
• Participants exposed to IV
• Control condition
• Not exposed to IV

S-26
1.3e The Basic Elements in an
Experiment (BOBO DOLL)
(BVT Publishing)

S-27
Chapter Summary
• Psychology is a science with a rich
history.
• There are many current psychological
perspectives and areas of
specialization within the field.
• Psychologists use scientific methods to
study behavior and mental processing.

Franzoi, Chapter 1; Dr. Newbill

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