psychology

Definitions

Epistomology: the study of knowledge
Tabula vasa: blank slate
Systematic research: done according to a fixed plan; methodical and deliberate.
Operational definition: how a concept is measured, observed, and assigned a value and quantified.
Correlational coefficient: statistical measure which shows the strength of a relationship between two variables.

Intro

the scientific field that studies behavior & mental processes. Empirical evidence.
1880s: psychology developed from philosophy (logical, rational arguments), asking how knowledge is possible.
Kant: argued that humans are born with innate knowledge.
Locke: argued it is reasonable to assume knowledge is possible through senses.
Properties of physical world -> properties of our experiences of reality
1920s-50s:
Watson: argues conciousness does not = physchology. Claims we can observe behavior (empircal, scientific evidence), not conciousness.
1960s: advancement in methods; inferences can be made.
Subfields
i. Clinical:
Patient/therapist, origin and treatment of mental disorders. Practice.
ii. Counseling:
Everday problems (e.g. marriage counseling).
iii. School & Educational:
Dealing w/kids (up to highschool). Disruptive behavior, failing, etc. Effective studying    & teaching.
iv. Developmental:
Systematic changes that occur in mental processes/behavior over time (child -> elder;    milestones). Research field.
v. Social:
The way people influence eachother. Prejudices.
vi. Personality:
The way people are consistent in their behavior. Research field.
vii. Experimental:
Cognition, decision making, learning, physiological. Research & practice.
viii. Industrial/Organizational (IO):
Workplace, organization of environment, efficient workflow. Culture of organization,    communication.

Perspectives and their takes on depression & attraction
i. Biological perspective: biological basis of behavior; nervous system & endocrine system.
Depression: Serotonin levels (neurotransmitter) affects mood. Rather than not making enough, they do not stay in the synaptic cleft long enough to be picked up by the next neuron.
Attraction: Ovulatory cycles -> evolutionary push for reproduction.

ii. Psychodynamic perspective: unconcious determinants (Freud).
Depression: Anger (towards others, e.g. parents) turned inwards.
Attraction: Displaced incestuous desires (oedipus complex). Sensual.

iii. Cognitive perspective: attribution (cause of behavior) style. Thought patterns.
Depression: Blaming failures (contrary, winnings) on self (or others).
Attraction: Beliefs about love (soulmate theory, work it out theory).

iv. Behavioral perspective: understanding behavior as learned through rewards, punishments, and classical conditioning (Pavlov). Reaction to a stimulus; reinforcement. Observable evidence.
Depression: Learned helplessness.
Attraction: Classical conditioning.

v. Humanistic approach: response to psychodynamic & behavioral perspectives. Everyone has their own motivations, leading to potential and growth.
Depression: Blocked growth (e.g. being in the wrong environment).
Attraction: Positive qualities of desired mates.

vi. Sociocultural perspective: context of culture & environment.
Depression: Variations in depression rates. Expectations (e.g. gender roles).
Attraction: Cultural variations in love.

Methods

Research Methods
Scientific approach to gaining knowledge: systematic (deciding what, who, etc. you are looking at beforehand; planned steps) observation. Rules and procedures for asking & answering questions, differentiating scientific knowledge from everyday knowledge = reliable knowledge.

Public (findings and methods) & repeatable; allows for criticism and public discourse.
Cumulative; big picture broken into multiple pieces / questions / studies.

Methods
Correlational studies: relationship between 2 or more variables (anything which has >1 value; e.g. age).
If 2 variables are related, knowing the value of 1 variable can tell the value of the other.
Operational (procedures by which we assign a value to x; how we go about it) definitions of values. Helps in finding how to assign a value to abstract ideas (e.g. anxiety, happiness).

Operational definition vs What people tell you
Surveys (self report), examining public records, etc.
Flaws: Errors, participants lying (intentionally or unintentionally), mistakes in records, limitations, etc.
Assigning tests/questionaires to find values (e.g. personality test to determine anxiety levels).

Correlations
No correlation: Knowing 1 value does not give information on the other; independent.
Positive correlation: Increase/decrease in 1 variable leads to an increase/decrease of the other. Positive line slope: /
0 . . . . . 1
Negative correlation: Increase in 1 variable leads to a decrease in the other (or vice versa). Negative line slope: \
-1 . . . . 0
Spurious correlation: Looks like a correlation, but isn't.
Correlational coefficient: Correlations do not tell us about causation (what causes what).

Possibilities: must follow logic.
A may cause B / B may cause A / Some third factor may affect both A & B seperately

Experimetnal studies
Allow us to make strong inferences on cause & effect relationships by controlling (manipulating) one variable and seeing what happens to the other.
Requirements for a good experiment:
i. Random assignment to groups
ii. Only variation in the experiment is the independent variable, everything else must be the same; controlled environment and experience.

Ethics
IRB: Instiutional Review Board
Consists of researches, students, the public, and judge the ethics of the study. Independent of the researcher.

Ethical issues arise in the treatment of participants.
Must assess risk for harm, get informed consent, offer debriefing (option to recieve an overview of details on the study afterwards). Participants have the right to terminate participation without penalty (still recieve e.g. money, course credit, etc. despite not finishing study), preventing participants from feeling "trapped" in the study. Confidentiality & privacy.

Case study: Milgram's Experiment on Obedience to Authority
Participants became distressed at administrating (fake) electrical shocks, showing the need for an ethical examination for the field.