Sept.

13th/16
PSCYH 1000
Dr. Barata Office hours: Tues. 1-3pm
What Psychologists Do:
- Therapy (private, hospital, clinic, etc.)
- Testing (IQ testing in schools)
- Basic research (around basic phobias)
- Applied Research (military, government)
Ex. Of work: Simple phobia, psychopathy
Psychopathy back-bounce:
- Trying to teach empathy and emotional behavior to psychopaths has
rebounded and actually taught these people to manipulate others
emotions and lie better
- Some psychopathy workers have given up on teaching empathy and
instead are working to test for it and keep them in jail longer
*Training for Psychology and Psychiatry are very different
- Emphasis on medicine vs. research
- Many people may see both
What is Psychology?
- The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Scientific:
- Answer questions based on observable facts, data, and established
methods
- Work with people and ask them questions
- Observe childrens behavior
- Should be able to base research on these observable things
Behavior:
- Observable actions (see, hear, etc.)
Mental Processes:
- Thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, motivations, dreams,
subjective experiences
- i.e. Things that are still going on but are not as observable
Perspectives on Behavior:
- Perspectives matter!
- Who you are and the experiences you have create the perspectives
you have
- Stretch your perspective, try to see someone elses, that is critical
thinking

- Different vantage points for analyzing behavior and its causes

- Many different perspectives in psychology
Main Perspectives in Psych:
- Biological (brain and areas of the brain, how we communicate and
develop)
- Cognitive (how we think affects how we behave, and vice versa)
- Behavioral
- Sociocultural (environment where we grow up, our culture, affects our
behavior
All of these bring different info to the puzzle to help our understanding
e.x treatment for depression
What about common sense?
- Important but cant rely on it from a scientific discipline
- Must be systematic with our observations and conclusions
- Opposites attract
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder
- Cant judge a book by its cover
- Etc
Why Cant We Use Common Sense?
- Maybe the situation doesnt conform to something that can be
observed with common sense
Fallacies:
- Confirmation Bias: confirming what we think we already know and
come up with an incorrect answer
- Availability Heuristic: what we bring to mind easier is consequently the
right answer
- Intuitive Physics: despite daily experiences, we do get things wrong
Using Riddles to Exemplify Scientific Thinking:
- Yes/No questions yield useful data (Think hypotheses later)
- It is often important to view a problem from more than one perspective
- Prior assumptions concerning data can be dangerous
- Details that do not fit expected patterns are often crucial
- Persistence is key
- By expecting complicated answers, simple ones may be over looked
The Scientific Method:
- Guides how scientists should collect and analyze data
- System designed to help scientific process remain as accurate and
objective as possible
- Helps develop theory (explains, organizes, predicts)
- Is a cycle

Experiments: The Logic of Cause and

Effect
- Researcher manipulates one variable
- Determines whether this variable produces change in another
b=variable
- Attempts to control for other factors
- Seeks to establish a cause and effect relationship
Experimental Research Definitions:
Independent variable:
- the variable that is manipulated
Dependent variable:
- the variable that is measured
Two Basic Experimental Designs:
- Different participants in each condition (between subjects design_
o Experimental group (receives manipulation)
o Control group (does not receive manipulation)
o E.x. landlord discrimination survey
- The same participants in all conditions (within subjects design)
o All participants receive both experimental and then control
situation (usually at diff times)
o E.x. sample A and B
Extraneous Variables
- Any variable other than the independent variable that can have an
effect on the dependent variable
- What if the two groups are not treated alike?
Confounding of Variables

- A fatal flaw in experimentation

- i.e. time of day, accent, man/woman, manners, slow/fast speaker