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1. Introduction to Psychology
Psychological Foundations

2. What is Psychology?
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior

3. The Earliest Schools of Psychology
School of
Psychology
Description
Historically
Important
People
Structuralism
Focused on
understanding the
conscious experience
through introspection
Wilhelm
Wundt
Functionalism
Emphasized how
mental activities
helped an organism
adapt to its
environment
William
James

4. The History of Psychology: Freud and
Psychoanalytic Theory
• Late 1800s, early 1900s
• Focus on the unconscious and on childhood
experiences
• Theory of personality
• Interaction between id, ego, superego
• Theory of development
• Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital stages
• Today, controversial but still influential

5. The History of Psychology: Gestalt Theory
• Early 1900s
• Examined perception
• Explores the idea that although a sensory
experience can be broken down into
individual parts, how those parts relate to
each other as a whole is often what the
individual responds to in perception
The “invisible” triangle
you see here is an
example of gestalt
perception.

6. The History of Psychology: Behaviorism
• Early to mid-1900s
• Focuses on observing and controlling
behavior
• Conditioning
• Reinforcement and punishment
• Modified versions of the operant
conditioning chamber, or Skinner box,
are still widely used in research
settings today

7. The History of Psychology: Humanism
• 1950s
• Focuses on the potential for
good that is innate to all
humans
• Emphasizes the whole person
and views people as able to
take the lead in their own
therapy
• Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers

8. The History of Psychology: Cognitive Psychology
• Mid-1900s
• Accepts the use of the scientific method and
generally rejects introspection as a valid
method of investigation
• Acknowledges the existence of internal
mental states, unlike behaviorist psychology
• Major areas of research include perception,
memory, categorization, knowledge
representation, numerical cognition,
language, and thinking

9. Early Schools of Psychology: Still Active and
Advanced Beyond Early Ideas
School of Psychology Description Earliest Period
Historically
Important People
Psychodynamic
Psychology
Focuses on the role of
the unconscious and
childhood experiences
in affecting conscious
behavior.
Very late 19th to Early
20th Century
Sigmund Freud, Erik
Erikson
Behaviorism
Focuses on observing
and controlling behavior
through what is
observable. Puts an
emphasis on learning
and conditioning.
Early 20th Century
Ivan Pavlov, John B.
Watson, B. F. Skinner
Cognitive Psychology
Focuses not just on
behavior, but on on
mental processes and
internal mental states.
1920s
Ulric Neisser, Noam
Chomsky, Jean Piaget,
Lev Vygotsky
Humanistic Psychology
Emphasizes the
potential for good that
is innate to all humans
and rejects that
psychology should focus
on problems and
disorders.
1950s
Abraham Maslow, Carl
Rogers

10. The Five Psychological Domains

11. The Biological Domain
• Biopsychology: Explores how our biology influences behavior. The fields of
behavioral neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology
are all subfields of biological psychology.
• Evolutionary psychology: Explores how human behavior evolved.
• Sensation and perception: Research is interdisciplinary, but there is a focus
on the physiological aspects of sensory systems, as well as in the
psychological experience of sensory information.

12. The Cognitive Domain
• Focuses on thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
• Studies language, cognition, memory, intelligence, and more

13. The Developmental Domain
• Includes behavioral psychology and learning/conditioning
• Classical and operant conditioning
• Developmental Psychology is the scientific study of development across a
lifespan
• Stages and milestones of development

14. The Social and Personality Psychology Domain
• Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence
of others
• Personality psychology is the study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors
that make each individual unique
• A personality trait is a consistent pattern of thought and behavior

15. Five Factor
Model of
Personality

16. The Mental and Physical Health Domain
• Abnormal psychology focuses on
abnormal thoughts and behaviors
• Clinical psychology focuses on the
diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders and other
problematic patterns of behavior
• Health psychology focuses on how
health is affected by the interaction of
biological, psychological, and
sociocultural factors

17. Other Sub-fields in Psychology
Industrial-Organizational psychology applies psychological theories, principles,
and research findings in industrial and organizational settings.
Forensic psychology applies the science and practice of psychology to the
justice system.
Sport and exercise psychology focuses on the interactions between mental
and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other
activities

18. Why Study Psychology?
• Learn critical thinking and
communication skills
• Develop an understanding of the
complex factors that shape human
behavior
• Useful in all fields of work
• Opens doors to a variety of career
paths

19. How would psychology be helpful in each of
these careers?
Table 1. Top Occupations Employing Graduates with a BA in Psychology (Fogg,
Harrington, Harrington, & Shatkin, 2012)
Ranking Occupation
1
Mid- and top-level management (executive,
administrator)
2 Sales
3 Social work
4 Other management positions
5 Human resources (personnel, training)
6 Other administrative positions
7 Insurance, real estate, business
8 Marketing and sales
9 Healthcare (nurse, pharmacist, therapist)
10 Finance (accountant, auditor)

20. Quick Review
• What is psychology?
• Summarize the history of psychology
• Describe the early schools of psychology
• What are the approaches, fields, and subfields of contemporary
psychology?
• What major concepts are part of each field?
• Why is studying psychology valuable?
• What possible career paths are there in psychology?

21. Introduction to Psychology
Psychological Research

22. The Scientific Method
The Scientific Method ensures that results are empirical, or grounded in
objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again,
regardless of who is observing.

23. The Process of
Scientific Research

24. Hypothesis or Theory?
• Hypothesis: (plural: hypotheses) tentative and testable statement about the
relationship between two or more variables
• Theory: well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for
observed phenomena

25. Theories and Hypotheses in the Scientific Method

26. Key Components of the Scientific Method
• Fairness: implies that all data must be considered when evaluating a
hypothesis
• Falsifiable: It should be possible to disprove a theory or hypothesis by
experimental results
• Predictability: implies that a theory should enable us to make predictions
about future events
• Verifiability: an experiment must be replicable by another researcher

27. Ethics in Research with Human Participants
Any research institution that receives federal support for research involving
human participants must have access to an institutional review board (IRB), a
committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews
proposals for research involving human participants to ensure that the
participants are not harmed.

28. Informed Consent
• An IRB will require informed consent from all participants.
• A research participant must understand what to expect during an
experiment, any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and
then give written consent to participate.
• In some cases researchers may use deception or purposely mislead
experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment.
In these cases participants are debriefed, or told the truth after the
experiment.

29. Ethics in Animal Research
Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee (IACUC): a group of
administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and
community members that reviews
proposals for research involving animals to
ensure that research animals are treated
humanely and inspects research facilities

30. Categories of Psychological Research
• Descriptive research: research studies that do not
test specific relationships between variables; they
are used to describe general or specific behaviors
and attributes that are observed and measured
• Correlational research: tests whether a
relationship exists between two or more variables
• Experimental research: tests a hypothesis to
determine cause and effect relationships

31. Common Types of Descriptive Research
• Clinical or case study: observational research
study focusing on one or a few people
• Naturalistic observation: observation of behavior
in its natural setting
• Survey: list of questions to be answered by
research participants allowing researchers to
collect data from a large number of people.
Surveys use a sample, or representative group, to
learn more about a population

32. Other types of Descriptive Research
• Archival research: method of research using past
records or data sets to answer various research
questions, or to search for interesting patterns or
relationships
• Cross-sectional research: compares multiple
segments of a population at a single time
• Longitudinal research: studies in which the same
group of individuals is surveyed or measured
repeatedly over an extended period of time

33. Issues with Descriptive Research
• It may not be possible to generalize, or infer that
the results for a sample apply to the larger
population
• Observer bias is when observations may be
skewed to align with observer expectations
• One way to assess observers is inter-rater reliability,
a measure of agreement among observers on
how they record and classify a particular event
• It cannot test relationships between variables or
cause and effect

34. Correlational Research
Correlation means that there is a relationship
between two or more variables. We can measure
correlation by calculating the correlation
coefficient, a number from -1 to +1 that indicates
the strength and direction of the relationship
between variables.

35. Limits of Correlational Research
• Correlation does not prove cause and effect!
• Some other factor, a confounding variable, could
be causing the systematic movement in our
variables of interest

36. Experimental Design: Participants
• Basic design involves two groups: experimental group and
the control group
• Random samples ensure that the groups represent the
larger population researchers are studying
• Random assignment to control or experimental groups
prevents differences between the two groups other than
the independent variable being tested

37. Operational Definition
A clear operational definition or description of how
we will measure our variables is important so people
can understand the results and the experiment can
be replicated

38. Independent and Dependent Variables

39. Preventing Bias in Experiments
Double blind studies where researchers and
participants do not know which group received the
treatment prevent experimenter bias and control
for the placebo effect in participants
The placebo effect is the influence of people’s
expectations or beliefs on their experience in a
given situation

40. Reliability and Validity
Reliability: consistency and reproducibility of a
given result
Validity: accuracy of a given result in measuring
what it is designed to measure

41. Distributional Thinking
• Data vary. More specifically, values of a variable
vary
• Analyzing the pattern of variation, called
the distribution of the variable, often reveals
insights
• It is important to look beyond averages and
medians

42. Statistical Significance
• A result is statistically significant if it
is unlikely to arise by chance alone
• This probability is referred to as
a p-value
• The p-value tells you how often a
random process would give a
result at least as extreme as what
was found in the actual study,
assuming there was nothing other
than random chance at play

43. Generalizability and Cause and Effect
Random sampling is necessary to generalize results
from our sample to a larger population, and
random assignment is key to drawing cause-and-
effect conclusions. With both kinds of randomness,
probability models help us assess how much
random variation we can expect in our results, in
order to determine whether our results could
happen by chance alone and to estimate a margin
of error.

44. The Structure of a Psychology Research Article
The American Psychological Association (APA)
creates guidelines for how articles are structured
which include:
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method
• Results
• Discussion

45. Abstract
• The concise summary of the article
• Summarizes the most important features of the
manuscript, providing the reader with a global first
impression on the article
• Generally just one paragraph that explains the
experiment as well as a short synopsis of the results

46. Introduction
• Provides background information about the origin
and purpose of performing the experiment or
study
• Reviews previous research and presents existing
theories on the topic

47. Method
• Covers the methodologies used to investigate the
research question, including the identification
of participants, procedures, and materials as well
as a description of the actual procedure
• Should be sufficiently detailed to allow for
replication

48. Results
• The results section presents key findings of the
research, including reference to indicators of
statistical significance

49. Discussion
• Provides an interpretation of the findings, states
their significance for current research, and derives
implications for theory and practice
• Alternative interpretations for findings are also
provided, particularly when it is not possible to
conclude for the directionality of the effects
• Authors also acknowledge the strengths and
limitations/weaknesses of the study and offer
concrete directions about for future research

50. Practice Question
• You read a news article that says that a person’s
sex causes them to have better spatial memory
• Using what you have learned about research
design, how should you evaluate the claim?
• What questions should you ask?

51. Quick Review
• What is the scientific method?
• How does the scientific method apply to psychology?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of descriptive, experimental, and
correlational research?
• What are the basic elements of a statistical investigation?

52. Introduction to Psychology
Biopsychology

53. Cells in the Nervous System
• Glial cells provide
physical and
metabolic support
to neurons,
including neuronal
insulation and
communication,
and nutrient and
waste transport
• Neurons (right) act
as interconnected
information
processors

54. Neuron Structure

55. Neuron Structure: Synapses, Neurotransmitters,
and Receptors
• The synapse is the space
between two neurons
and site of
communication
• Neurotransmitters are
chemical messengers
that bind to receptors on
the next neuron
• Receptors, proteins on
the cell surface where
neurotransmitters attach,
vary in shape, with
different shapes
“matching” different
neurotransmitters

56. How Neurons Communicate: Resting Potential
At resting potential, Na+ is more highly concentrated outside the cell
in the extracellular fluid, whereas K+ is more highly concentrated
near the membrane in the cytoplasm or intracellular fluid. Other
molecules, such as chloride ions and negatively charged proteins
(brown squares), contribute to a positive net charge in the
extracellular fluid and a negative net charge in the intracellular fluid.

57. How Neurons Communicate: Action Potential
During the action
potential, the
electrical charge
across the
membrane
changes
dramatically

58. How Neurons Communicate: Reuptake
Reuptake involves
moving a
neurotransmitter
from the synapse
back into the axon
terminal from
which it was
released

59. Psychoactive Drugs
• Psychoactive drugs correct neurotransmitter
imbalances
• Agonists mimic a neurotransmitter at the receptor
site and, thus, strengthen its effects
• Antagonists block the normal activity of a
neurotransmitter at the receptor

60. The Nervous System
• The central nervous
system (CNS)
consists of the brain
and spinal cord
• The peripheral
nervous
system (PNS) is
comprised of the
somatic and
autonomic nervous
systems

61. Central and Peripheral Nervous System

62. The Peripheral Nervous System
• The somatic nervous system transmits sensory and
motor signals to and from the central nervous
system
• The autonomic nervous system controls the
function of our organs and glands, and can be
divided into the sympathetic and
parasympathetic divisions
• Sympathetic activation prepares us for fight or
flight
• Parasympathetic activation is associated with
normal functioning under relaxed conditions

63. PNS: the
Autonomic
Nervous
System

64. The Endocrine System
• The endocrine system consists of a series of glands
that produce chemical substances known
as hormones
• Hormones regulate behaviors such as aggression,
mating, and parenting of individuals
• Hormones influence behavior, and behavior can
sometimes influence hormone concentrations
• The study of psychology and the endocrine
system is called behavioral endocrinology

65. The Parts of the Endocrine System

66. The Brain: Lateralization
• Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the
body
• There is some specialization of function, especially
language
• The two hemispheres are connected by a thick
band of neural fibers known as the corpus
callosum, that allows the two hemispheres to
communicate with each other

67. The Brain: Plasticity
The brain’s ability to change, adapt, and
reorganize itself is called brain plasticity

68. Forebrain, Midbrain, and Hindbrain

69. Forebrain: The Lobes of the Brain
The forebrain is divided into four lobes.

70. Forebrain: The Frontal Lobe
• Contains the motor cortex (below) involved in
planning and coordinating movement
• Contains the prefrontal cortex responsible for
higher-level cognitive functioning
• Contains Broca’s area essential for language
production

71. Forebrain: The Parietal Lobe
• Contains
the somatosensory
cortex which
processes sensory
information
• Organized
topographically,
which means that
spatial relationships
that exist in the body
are maintained on
the surface of the
somatosensory cortex

72. Forebrain: The Temporal Lobe
• Contains the auditory cortex which processes
auditory information and Wernicke’s area (below)
which is important for speech comprehension
• Also associated with memory and emotion

73. Forebrain: The Occipital Lobe
• Contains the primary visual cortex, which
interprets visual information
• Organized retinotopically, which means there is a
close relationship between the position of an
object in a person’s visual field and the position of
that object’s representation on the cortex

74. Forebrain: Thalamus
The thalamus
serves as the
relay center of
the brain where
most senses are
routed for
processing

75. Forebrain: The Limbic System
• Amygdala: structure involved in
our experience of emotion and
tying emotional meaning to our
memories
• Hippocampus: structure
associated with learning and
memory
• Hypothalamus: structure that
regulates sexual motivation and
behavior and a number of
homeostatic processes; serves as
an interface between the
nervous system and the
endocrine system

76. Midbrain
• The substantia nigra (Latin for
“black substance”) and
the ventral tegmental area
(VTA) contain cell bodies
that produce the
neurotransmitter dopamine,
and are critical for
movement.
• The reticular formation is
centered in the midbrain and
is important in regulating the
sleep/wake cycle, arousal,
alertness, and motor activity.

77. Hindbrain
• The medulla controls the automatic processes of
the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing,
blood pressure, and heart rate
• The pons connects the brain and spinal cord
• The cerebellum controls balance, coordination,
movement, and motor skills

78. Brain Imaging Techniques
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan
• Electroencephalography (EEG)
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

79. Nature or Nurture?
Do your genetics and biology dictate your
personality and behavior, or is it your environment
and how you were raised?
Tools to explore this debate:
• Adoption study
• Twin studies
• Quantitative genetics

80. Human Genetics
The theory of evolution by natural selection says
that organisms that are better suited for their
environment will survive and reproduce
Genetic variety contributes to a species’
adaptation to its environment
• Mutation: sudden, permanent change in a gene

81. Gene Environment Interactions
• The range of reaction: genes set
definite limits on potential, and
environment determines how
much of that potential is
achieved
• Genetic environmental
correlation
• Our genes influence our
environment, and our
environment influences the
expression of our genes
• Epigenetics studies how the same
gene can lead to different results

82. The Epigenome
• The human genome is the DNA instructions for
building the proteins that carry out a variety of
functions in a cell
• The epigenome is made up of chemical
compounds and proteins that attach to DNA and
turn genes on or off, controlling the production of
proteins in particular cells
• The epigenome can be altered through various
experiences and environments