Psychology’s Roots

-       Wundt

o  first lab, 1879

-       interdisciplinary

-       psychology = scientific study of behavior and mental processes

o  behavior

§    observable

o  mental processes

§    internal experiences

Psychology’s Subfields

-       basic research

o  builds knowledge

§    biological psych

§    cognitive psych

§    social psych

-       applied research

o  solves problems

§    industrial/organizational psych

§    clinical psych

·    vs. psychiatry

Asking/Answering Questions

-       theory

o  organizes facts

o  predicts behavior

o  hypothesis

§    testable prediction

-       data collection

o  methods of description

§    case study

·    detailed history

·    provide information

·    can’t generalize

§    surveys

·    questionnaires

·    self-report

·    problems

o  wording effect

o  lying

o  sampling errors

§    representative sample

§    random sample

§    naturalistic observation

·    watch, record

§    unobtrusive measures

·    not aware of being studied

o  correlation

§    relationship between things

§    help us predict

§    correlation does not equal causation

·    TV violence and aggression

§    illusory correlation

·    relationship when none exists

-       experimentation

o  control things

o  independent variable (IV)

§    thing changed

o  dependent variable (DV)

§    behavior observed

-       experimental group

o  receives IV

-       control group

o  no IV

-       placebo effect

Common Questions

-       Does lab = real life?

o  principles, not specific behaviors

-       Does behavior depend on culture/gender?

-       Is animal experimentation ethical?

-       Is human experimentation ethical?