http://www.gac.edu/~dick/classes/general/gensyl.html

True or False

1. It's a good idea to study in as many different locations (your bedroom or

kitchen, the library, lounges around school, and so forth) as possible, so that studying becomes a habit.

2. If you have a professor who delivers chaotic, hard to follow lectures, there

is little point in attending class. 3. Cramming the night before an exam is an effective method of study. 4. Students who are slow readers in college are generally poor students. 5. In taking lecture notes, you should try to be a "human tape recorder" (that

is, write everything down your professor says). 6. You should never change your answers to multiple-choice questions,

because your first hunch is your best hunch.

The Mind/Body Problem

Psychology (psych + logos), the study of the mind. Can the mind be studied? Can there be a science of the mind?

Rene Descartes (1596-1650). •  Determinism is the assumption that everything that happens has a

cause or determinant in the observable world. Can humans be considered machines?

–  The human mind is capable of free will. Behavior is caused by an individual’s independent decision-making

•  Dualism, the mind is not part of the physical universe. The mind is metaphysical and therefore unknowable.

–  Problem: If the mind is immaterial how does it have a physical affect on the brain, how does it connect to the body? Study of mind stymied.

Monism

Work of physiologists supported this assumption. •  The mind is not immaterial or controlled by the soul but the result

of biological processes occurring within the brain itself. The mind is really the workings of the brain.

•  Franz Joseph Gall 1758 to 1828, demonstrated that mental ability was correlated to brain size, and negatively correlated to damage to the brain

•  Paul Broca 1825 to 1880, discovered that the ability to speak was correlated with specific brain area

•  Herman von Helmholtz 1821 to 1894, demonstrated a communication of our minds with parts of our body was related the distance of the pathway by using the reaction time measures.

Monism

Monism--Psychology adopted monism because it assumed that if the brain is the mind, it can be explained by objective forces in the material world and there is nothing else. •  The brain is the mind and can be known through empirical

investigation of physical processes within it. The assumption of physical causality of mental events (contemporary scientific perspective).

•  What does it mean to be a monist?

The Study of the Conscious Mind Wilhem Wundt (1832-1920). The structure of the mind can

be determined by the composition of its elementary parts . •  Wundt important because he established psychology as a science

and encouraged laboratory work. Educated Edward Tichener who emigrated to America.

•  Structuralism. The mind can be known by through the careful analysis of the elements of conscious experience (Introspection-Edward Tichener).

–  lawn = “Narrow, spiky, green, vertical protrusions of varying length, and width, amassed closely together on a 2 dimensional surface.”

Can we objectively observe our own experience? Can we trust the reports of others observing theirs?

Failed because it could not be measured directly by outside observer, not conscious of all brain activities, too subjective.

The Study of the Conscious Mind

William James (1842-1910). •  Functionalism, the study of the purpose metal processes serve

enabling people to adapt to their environment. Psychology should study the purpose of conscious experience, not its structure.

•  The elements of thought are not important but how the conscious mind aids real world accomplishments, or survival.

Typical questions from a functionalist perspective include: •  How does a person recall the answer to a question? •  How does a person inhibit an undesirable impulse? •  Can a person attend to more than one task at a time?

Moved psychology toward study of mental testing of what the mind can do in the real world and not just in the laboratory.

The Study of the Unconscious Mind

Just when things were going so well…. Sigmund Freud(1856-1939). The main workings of the mind

are unconscious and therefore unaware of itself. •  Psychoanalysis. The mind cannot be known through conscious

experience, alone. •  The unconscious mind exerts great influence our actions, in fact it

is more important in determining our actions than the conscious mind. The unconscious Mind can only be known indirectly by someone who is trained in psychoanalysis.

When Psychology lost its Mind

John Watson(1878-1958). The mind is subjective and unverifiable and therefore unscientific. •  Behaviorism. Contents of the mind cannot be verified by an

independent observer. Proper role of science is to study only that which can be observed-BEHAVIOR.

•  Telephone switchboard. Mind is simply switching station putting together Stimuli with Responses as a consequence of reinforcement. Thinking = talking.

•  Great progress in human experimentation. Animal research. •  Skinner, modern counterpart. Environmental contingencies

explain behavior •  Problems in handling complex thinking and language

The Blackbox Problem

Stimulusà Black Box à Response Jean Piaget and children’s thinking

Psychology - The Study of Mind (cont.)

Modern Psychology--Cognitivism(1960-present). The mind can be studied objectively, and its covert actions are crucial in explaining behavior. •  Complex mental behavior cannot be explained without reference to

activity in the mind. It is possible to study mental processes empirically through inferring the action of mental processes in the mind (brain) to produce behavior.

•  We are moving now more toward explaining structure in the mind by reference to structure of the brain(neuroscience). The original goal for Wundt and his followers.

Recap

Psychology as a science has studied the mind. As a science it has assumed a determinism in the physical world and rejects a metaphysical explanations for the way the mind works.

The history of psychology has involved different methods and assumptions about how the mind might be studied, especially as it involved covert processes in the mind.

Dr. Martin's evil alter ego

Imagine if you can, that I have an alter ego that is evil, whose goal is to confound college students in any way that we can. He especially likes to bring up studies that show strange results but which buttress his beliefs about the human condition. Would there be any way by which you could counteract his intention and come to more realistic understanding of psychology? Is there a way we can evaluate whether his experiments really mean what he says they mean?

The scientific method

Variables Humans show variation in the traits they possess. Variables

•  Single dimensions of traits whose variation can be measured and assigned values are called variables.

•  Physical traits, e.g., height, weight, strength… –  Easy to assign values to physical traits, using lbs,

inches, etc.. •  Psychological traits, e.g., intelligence, aggressiveness,

empathy, … –  Measuring psychological traits and assigning values

more difficult (The Measurement Problem). Scientific thinking begins with the observation that some

variables are related.

Correlated Variables Suggest Relationship

Francis Galton’s invented the Coefficient of Correlation (r) to measure the relationship between two variables.

r ranges from -1.0 to +1.0. •  Small +-.20 •  Moderate +-.50 •  Large +-.80

Positive Correlation - variables change in same direction. •  Length of arms and legs, Money and Friends

Negative Correlation - as one variable gets smaller the other becomes larger. •  Percentage of people using seat belts and deaths on the highway

Which correlation is stronger, -.89 or +.89?

Correlations Positive or negative correlation? •  Hours of study and grades •  Attending class and liking Dr. Martin •  Alcohol use and good driving •  Good looks and dates •  Fraternity membership and boorish behavior •  BO and number of friends •  Watching reality TV and showing gender typed behavior •  Being depressed and thinking positive thoughts •  A psych major and being a fantastic person If events or variables are correlated it suggests the possibility of a

causal relationship. •  Example: People who smoke are more likely to develop lung cancer.

Examples of variables psychologists have studied •  IQ and level of occupation •  Spanking and moral development

The Third Variable Problem

Although variables that are correlated may be causally related it is by no means guaranteed. •  Why is it that in elementary school children large feet are

correlated with reading better (+ correlation.).

There is a positive correlation between sexual satisfaction between husband and wife and marital satisfaction. How would you explain it?

Compatible values

Marital satisfaction Sexual satisfaction

Third Variable Problem

Figure 3.4 Three possible cause-effect relationships Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition in Modules Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers

Correlational Studies

Correlational studies examine the relationship between variables in their natural state. In correlational studies relationships between variables are observed but not manipulated.

1. Naturalistic Observation. Careful observation of behavior in a natural

setting with no intervention. Observation of Olympic athletes receiving medals. Why does the silver medalist smile less than the bronze?

2. Case Studies. In-depth investigation of an individual subject. The case

of Genie, raised without language. 3. Surveys and Inventories. Questionnaires or interviews which gather

specific information about behavior. Survey of American sexual attitudes.

Which Method Would You Use?

Survey, Case Study, or Naturalistic Observation? What is the percentage of parents who believe spanking is a

suitable method of disciplining children? What encourages bullying on the playground? Can feral children who are isolated from all human contact by

their parents (extremely rare), recover to normality? Does marriage make you happy?

The Scientific Method Psychology attempts to provide scientific explanations by

making valid interpretations of the observation of objective, empirical, and reliable phenomena found in the relationship between variables. •  Objective and empirical means the phenomena are found in the

real world and can be observed by all. •  Reliable means that the phenomena are regularly observed in the

same way. •  Valid means it is the most parsimonious explanation for the

relationship.

Testing the Relationship Between Variables: The Scientific Explanation of the GAC 15

Each year the average incoming first year Gustie gains 15 pounds from September through May. My scientific explanation (theory): •  Food often provided in infancy when we are under a state of need by a

person who holds us close and loves us •  Food calms us and makes us feel contented, leading us to associate food

with feeling good about ourselves and being loved •  First year in college is anxiety provoking •  Students try to calm their anxiety by eating because of its past association

with love and security. Therefore they put on weight. Will you accept my explanation that this is true?

•  I have a Ph.D. in psychology, and I have thought long and hard about this. No. However scientists are skeptics, not cynics.

•  Difference between relying on theories of how things work, versus relying on observations of phenomena in real world. How can we test this theory?

How can my theory be tested?

The Measurement Problem

To test the theory we need to know if first term students become heavier and is this related to anxiety? •  The variables, weight and anxiety need to be measured. •  Variables are hypothetical constructs. We need to specify how they are

to be measured by defining a procedure (operational definition). An operational definition describes how we measure a property of a

variable. Operational definitions should be objective, reliable, and valid.

Weight. •  “I have observed first term students for many years, they do become

heavier.” •  Take a photograph of class in September in Fall and Spring and judge of

heavy they are. •  Ask Students their weight in September and then in May. •  Use a weight scale.

Measurement (cont.)

Operational definition measuring hypothetical construct of anxiety more difficult. •  Will you accept my clinical judgment that first term students are

more anxious? •  Ask students if they are anxious? •  Sleeplessness, jitteriness, have them complete anxiety survey,

GSR.

Much more room for argument over whether the variable has been validly measured.

Key Point in Measuring Variables

Measurement of some variables (psychological constructs) more controversial than others. •  Intelligence, autism, low self-esteem, ADHD….

To make progress, reliable, accurate measurement is essential. The ability to measure something well moves scientific study forward.

Will Gingko Biloba make you smarter?

Use of GB Memory test score •  Use every day 95 •  Occasional use 80 •  Never 40

Is there a relationship between these variables, can we conclude:

•  People who use GB have better memories? •  GB causes better memories?

What are the presumed independent and dependent variables? Do we have control over the independent variable?

Main problem with correlational studies is that they do not control the independent variables and allow extraneous variables to have their effects.

Extraneous Variables •  Any variables other than the independent variable that are likely to affect the dependent

variable. Confounding of Variables

•  Occurs when two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out the specific effects of the relationship between variables.

Self selection of subjects allows for confounded variables.

Population vs. Sample

Population is the complete set of people, events, or objects that we wish to measure.

Sample is a subset of the population. The larger the sample the closer it approximates the

population (Law of Large Numbers). How the sample is drawn determines whether or not it is

representative of the population?

Population

Experimental group Control group

Correlational Study

If random sampling occurs it is only within each group

Experimental Study of GB

Two things we would like to do in an experiment: •  control independent variable •  get rid of effects of Extraneous Variables because of self selection

Use of GB Memory test score

•  Use every day 95 •  Occasional use 80 •  Never 40

Experimental studies control the independent variable and the effects of extraneous variables through random assignment. This ensures groups are the same in characteristics, allowing only the independent variable to affect the dependent variable.

Can we conclude: People who use GB have better memories? GB causes better memories?

Population

Representative sample

Experimental group Control group

Random sampling

Random assignment

Experimental Study

Correlational vs. Experimental Studies

•  Subjects in correlational studies are self-selected, and the independent variable is not controlled which may lead to confounding by extraneous variables.

•  Experimental studies control of extraneous variables through random assignment of subjects and ensure true control of the independent variables.

•  Experimental studies can show causal relationships.

Why not always use experimental studies? •  Correlational studies have better ecological validity. •  Some phenomena cannot be studied experimentally.

Correlational or Experimental

•  Dr. Harry Friend declares that a friendship with "man's best friend" makes the difference between life and death for some cardiac patients. In looking for social factors that distinguish between victims and survivors of coronary disease, Dr. Friend discovered that pet ownership makes an important difference. In a pilot study done on 92 cardiac patients one year after their release from a Baltimore hospital, Dr. Friend found that only three people out of a total of 53 who owned pets (including dogs, cats, birds gerbils, and even an iguana) had died during the year, compared with 11, or nearly 1/3 of the 39 who did not have pets. The apparently beneficial effect of pet ownership held true even taking into account a person's age, the severity of the illness, and the companionship of other human beings. Dr. Friend found that pets helped relieve the loneliness of illness even more than contact with other people does, and that the pets' dependence created a need that helped the owner survive.

Correlational or Experimental

•  According to Dr. Jerry Attrick, keeping your mind active will help you ward of Alzheimers disease. Dr. Attrick studied groups of older individuals 65 and older starting in 1994, none of whom showed an indication of having Alzheimer’s disease. He hypothesized that life style differences could have an effect on whether they maintained mental health. To test his hypothesis he surveyed his subjects repeatedly beginning in 1994 on whether they engaged in activities that would keep their minds active e.g.reading the newspaper each day, working crosswords, playing scrabble etc.. He found that those older people who engaged in regular vigorous mental activity were nearly 50 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Attrick’s advice is use it or lose it.

Correlational or Experimental

•  Sex differences have long been a source of controversy in psychological research, but a recent national study shows overwhelming evidence that at least one gender difference, the ability to deal with mathematical thinking, does exist. The study centered on the results of the SAT test taken by the nation's male and female students who plan to attend college. Approximately 50% of high school senior males and females take the exam each year. The results show that males in every part of the nation score above females on the math section of the test. It seems likely that females recognize their limited capacity for mathematical thinking since few females in the survey had chosen math as their college major, and surveys show that it is extremely unlikely that females will earn a Ph.D. in math although they are quite able to excel in other disciplines. I guess this will decide who should handle the family budget.

Subtle Mistakes in Past Research

Sampling Bias exists when a sample is not representative of the population that are making conclusions about. •  Incidence of Alzheimer’s in Nursing homes

Experimenter bias occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained. •  Facilitation with autistics? Running “bright” rats in a maze.

Demand characteristics - Any cues in a study that suggests the purpose of the study or what the researcher hopes to find out. •  Hawthorne effect also known as Rosenthall effect.

Subtle Mistakes (cont.)

Experimenter Bias and Demand Characteristics creates problems in Drug studies. •  Classic Drug Study

–  Exp. Group receives Prozac. Depression lessens. –  Control group receives nothing. No change.

•  Placebo effect - When Subject’s expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake or ineffectual treatment.

•  Single Blind Control –  All participants believe they are being treated, or participants do not know

if they are being treated or not. •  Double Blind Control

–  Both experimenters and participants are unaware of who is being treated

Research in Psychology and Common Sense

Is psychology a restatement of the obvious? Why do psychololgists study what we already know?

Research shows: •  Men are more practical than women when choosing a mate and are less

likely to “fall in love at first sight” than women. •  Women are likely to become more emotionally upset during an argument

with a spouse than are men. •  CEOs of large companies are more likely to develop ulcers from stress

than are the people who have lower status jobs without the responsibility. •  Only children are more likely to be “spoiled” and have more difficulties

getting along with other children and succeeding in school. •  Receiving a large amount of money for a disagreeable task will make the

task seem more positive than if you were paid a small amount of money.

Descriptive Statistics Making sense of Raw Data

4, 3, 2, 0, 3, 1, 3, 4, 0, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 4, 5, 5, 3, 4, 6

Number Frequency •  6 1 •  5 4 •  4 5 •  3 5 •  2 3 •  1 2 •  0 2

Central Score

•  Mean =3.1 •  Mode = 3, 4 •  Median = 3

Dispersion •  Range = 0 to 6

Measures of central tendency

Mean, Mode, and Median

Descriptive Statistics To describe a distribution we need a measure of central

tendency: •  Mode – Most common score. •  Median – Score in the middle of the distribution. •  Mean - The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution.

And a measure of variability •  Range-highest and lowest score •  Standard Deviation - An estimate of the variability of scores

around the mean. –  SD = Sqrt(Sum(Score - Mean)2/N)

Populations of scores

M = 15

SD = 8

SD= 3

Figure 3.10 The normal curve Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition in Modules Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers

The percentage of scores from the mean to +1 SD? To –1 SD? From –1 to +1? The percentage of scores from 1 to 2 SDs? Those with a score less than 2SDs? The percentage with a score greater than 2SDs. -1 SD or below? At the Mean?

64.1%

97.7%

99.8%

The intelligence test used by most psychologists has: •  a mean of 100 •  a standard deviation of 15

Saul has an IQ of 85. How many standard deviations is he away from the mean?

Mary has an IQ of 130. How many standard deviations is she from the mean.

Kirsten has an IQ which is -2 standard deviations from the mean. What is her IQ?

Daniel’s IQ is a +2/3 a standard deviation from the mean. What is his IQ.

Statistics

1. On the first test in political science, John received a score of 75. The mean for the test was 45 and the sd was 15. What was his percentile?

Solution:

•  Compute how many SDs away from mean. 75-45 = 30, 30/15 = +2 SDs

•  Sum percentages contained in normal curve From Bottom to Mean = 50.0% From Mean to +1SD = 34.1% From +1SD to +2SD = 13.6% Percentile = 97.7%

Statistics

2. On the first test in political science, John received a score of 75. The mean for the test was 45 and the sd was 15. On the second test the mean was 50 and the sd was 5. John's score was 65. On which test did he receive a better score?

Solution:

•  The greater the number of SDs from the mean the better the score. •  Compute SDs for 1 and 2

Test 1, 75-45 = 30, 30/15 = +2SDs above Mean Test 2, 65-50 = 15, 15/5 = +3SDs above Mean John did better on test 2.

Statistics

3. On the third test, his score ranked him in the 15th percentile. The mean was 48 and the sd was 7. What was his score?

Solution:

•  On the curve the first point where the percentage of scores would equal 15 is at -1SDs. His score was 41.

Statistics

4. On the fourth test John recovered and received a score 1 1/2 standard deviations above the mean. if his score was 83 and the sd was 9, what was the mean?

Solution:

John's score is 1 1/2 SDs from mean or 13 1/2 points (1.5 X 9 = 13.5). Mean equals John's score - 13.5 points. (83-13.5 = 69.5)

For a psych test in which the mean was 63 and the SD was 3, what percentage of people had a score between 60 and 66?

Joe’s score on the psych test was –1.33 standard deviations from the

mean of 50. The standard deviation was 9. What was his score and approximately how well did Joe do on the test.

-1.33 X 9 = 12 50-12= 38 Approximate percentile rank = 10 percentile.

Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics are used to interpret data, and give us estimates of whether our samples predict populations, from which we can draw conclusions.

Research question: Are there differences in American men

and women in mental rotation OR are their abilities the same? How do we find this out?

One way is to use the sample of men and women who take

the mental rotation test.

510 560

One possibility:

Separate Populations

Abilities are different

We test representative samples to estimate pops.

Second possibility: Populations overlap Same Abilities

Females Males

Males and females

Inferential Statistics

Usually randomization creates samples that are very similar in characteristics to populations, but sometimes your samples are quite different from populations simply because of chance. •  Analogy to tossing a coin 20 times and counting numbers of heads and

tails. In research we want to estimate what is the likelihood that when we

observe samples that suggest that populations are different, it can be the result of sampling error.

When the estimate of that likelihood is very low we say the samples are statistically significantly different from each other. The accepted level of significance is .05, which means that the differences we observe between our samples will occur by chance approximately five chances out of 100. This means that there are good odds that the differences ar real.

Stroop

Control Condition - Mean = 0.35 SD = 0.17 Experimental Condition - Mean = 0.71 SD = 0.55 The t test = -2.17. The t test is insignificant, p > .05.

Drawing Conclusions From Experiments

Conclusions about experiments depends on Internal and External Validity

Internal Validity depends on how well the study was designed and carried out. •  The design allowed the experiment to effectively manipulate the

independent variable •  Participants were randomly assigned to the groups that differed in

the levels of the independent variable •  The measures of the variables were valid, powerful, and reliable. •  Finally, the change in the dependent variable was correlated with

the manipulation of the change in the independent variable. If internal validity strong can you conclude that the

experiment explains a real world phenomena?

Drawing Conclusions (cont.)

External Validity is whether the experiment was representative of the real world phenomena you would like to explain.

Problem: •  Do our operational definitions measure the properties of

hypothetical variables accurately, in terms of how they work in real life situations? Does watching violent TV lead to serious violence in our society?

•  There is causality in our experiment but it may not necessarily be the same causality that works in the real world because of the different context of the experiment.

Theories in Psychology

Theories provide testable hypotheses that can be tested in research. •  What if an experiment is done that tests the theory and the results are right

in line with those predicted by the theory. Does that prove the theory? Science is tough.

•  Theories can only be supported, or disproved by experiments, they cannot be proved.

Not all theories are scientific. To be scientific theories need to generate testable hypotheses in the real world. •  This is the problem with intelligent design it doesn’t generate hypotheses. •  Freud’s psychoanalysis has opposite problem it generates too many

explanations. Parsimony. Theories that are simple are to be preferred over theories that

are complex.

Ethics in Behavioral Science

1. A subject's participation in research should be voluntary and based on informed consent. Subjects should never be coerced into participating in research. They should be informed in advance about any aspects of the study that might be expected to influence their willingness to cooperate. Furthermore, they should be permitted to withdraw from a study at any time if they so desire.

2. Subjects should not be exposed to harmful or dangerous research procedures. This guideline is intended to protect subjects from psychological as well a physical harm. Thus, even stressful procedures that might cause emotional discomfort are largely prohibited. However, procedures that carry a modest risk of moderate mental discomfort may be acceptable.

Ethics in Behavioral Science

3. If an investigation requires some deception of subjects (about matters that do not involve risks), the researcher is required to explain and correct any misunderstandings as soon as possible. The deception must be disclosed to subjects in "debriefing" sessions as soon as it is practical to do so without compromising the goals of the study.

4. Subjects' rights to privacy should never be violated. Information about a subject that might be acquired during a study must be treated as highly confidential and should never be made available to others without the consent of the participant.