CH1 - Introduction

CHAPTER 1
the science of psychology
psychology
fourth edition
Psychology, Fourth Edition Copyright ©2015, 2012, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Saundra K. Ciccarelli • J. Noland White All rights reserved.
Chapter 1 Learning Objective Menu
• LO 1.1 Definition and goals of psychology
• LO 1.2 Structuralism and functionalism
• LO 1.3 Early Gestalt, psychoanalysis, and behaviorism
• LO 1.4 Modern perspectives
• LO 1.5 Skinner, Maslow, and Rogers
• LO 1.6 Psychiatrist, psychologist, and other professionals
• LO 1.7 Psychology is a science; steps in scientific method
• LO 1.8 Naturalistic and laboratory settings
• LO 1.9 Case studies and surveys
• LO 1.10 Correlational technique
• LO 1.11 Experimental approach and terms
• LO 1.12 Placebo and the experimenter effects
• LO 1.13 Conducting a real experiment
What is Psychology?
• Psychology - scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
– Behavior - outward or overt actions and
reactions.
– Mental processes - internal, covert activity
of our minds.
• Why psychology is science?
– Prevent possible biases from leading to
faulty observations
– Precise and careful measurement
Menu
ISLAMIC OVERVIEW
• What is absent in the definition of psychology?
• Soul. Because it influences behaviour and
mental processes. We need hidayah in our
behaviour and mental processes.
• We should use Allah’s revelation (Qur’an and
Hadith) and Allah’s creation (e.g. psychology) to
gain it
• Alternative Islamic-scientific definition: the
scientific study of the manifestation of the soul in
the form of behaviours and mental processes.
Psychology’s Four Goals
1. Description
– What is happening?
2. Explanation
– Why is it happening?
– Theory - general explanation of a set of
observations or facts.
– What is the difference between theory and fact?
3. Prediction
– Will it happen again?
4. Control
– How can it be changed? Menu
Unscientific “psychologists”
• Those who practice/apply psychology
unscientifically
• Psychics, mediums, palmistry, astrology
• “Bomoh,” your grandmother
• 1st year psychology students who think they
are qualified to practice psychology
• Pop psychology and self-help motivators e.g.
NLP, Mid-brain activation, Numerology,
Hypnotherapy, etc.
Careers in the Field
• Basic (Theoretical) Psychology

• Aim: To enhance our understanding of
behaviour and mental processes
• Applied (Practical) Psychology
• Aim: To solve problem related to
behaviour and mental processes
Basic psychology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Biological psychology (Physiological psychology,
Biopsychology)
• Cognitive Psychology
• Comparative Psychology (Animal Behaviour)
• Cultural Psychology (Cross-cultural psychology) and
Psychology of Gender
• Developmental Psychology
• Experimental Psychology
• Personality Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Psychological Statistics & Psychometrics
Applied Psychology
 Clinical Psychology (Psychotherapy)
 Consumer Psychology (including Psychology of
Advertising)
 Counselling Psychology
 Educational Psychology
 Engineering Psychology (Ergonomic, Human
Factors)
 Environmental Psychology (including
Architectural Psychology)
 Forensic Psychology (Legal Psychology,
Criminological Psychology)
 Health Psychology
 Industrial/Organizational Psychology
(Occupational Psychology, Work Psychology,
Business Psychology, Managerial Psychology)
 Political Psychology (including Peace
Psychology, Military Psychology)
 Sport Psychology (including Exercise
Psychology)
Other emerging areas
• Aviation Psychology
• Economic Psychology
• Family Psychology
• Musical Psychology
• Psychology of Religion
• Space Psychology
• Traffic Psychology
Who are these people?
• Psychiatrist
– medical doctor who has specialized in the
diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disorders
• Psychiatric social worker
– social worker with some training in therapy
methods who focuses on the environmental
conditions that can have an impact on mental
disorders, such as poverty, overcrowding,
stress, and drug abuse
Structuralism
• Structuralism - focused on structure or basic
elements of the mind.
• Wilhelm Wundt’s psychology laboratory
– Germany in 1879
– Developed the technique of objective
introspection – process of objectively
examining and measuring one’s thoughts
and mental activities.
• Edward Titchener
– Wundt’s student; brought structuralism to America.
Menu
Functionalism
• Functionalism - how the mind allows

people to adapt, live, work, and play.
• Proposed by William James.
Menu
Gestalt Psychology
• Gestalt – “good figure” psychology.
• Started with Wertheimer, who
studied sensation and perception.
• Gestalt ideas are now part of the
study of cognitive psychology, a
field focusing not only on
perception but also on learning,
memory, thought processes, and
problem solving.
Menu
Psychoanalysis
• Psychoanalysis - the theory and therapy
based on the work of Sigmund Freud.
• Freud’s patients suffered from nervous
disorders with no found physical cause.
– Freud proposed that there is an unconscious
(unaware) mind into which we push, or repress, all
of our threatening urges and desires.
– He believed that these repressed urges, in trying
to surface, created nervous disorders.
– Freud stressed the importance of early childhood
experiences. Menu
Behaviorism
• Behaviorism - the science of behavior that
focuses on observable behavior only.
– Must be directly seen and measured.
• Proposed by John B. Watson.
– Based much from work of Ivan Pavlov who
demonstrated that a reflex could be conditioned
(learned).
– Watson believed that phobias were learned.

 Case of “Little Albert” – taught to fear a white rat.
Menu
Seven Modern Perspectives
1. Psychodynamic perspective -
modern version of psychoanalysis.
– More focused on the development of a
sense of self and the discovery of other
motivations behind a person’s behavior
than sexual motivations.
2. Behavioral perspective – B. F.
Skinner studied operant
conditioning of voluntary behavior.
– Behaviorism became a major force in
the twentieth century.
– Skinner introduced the concept of
reinforcement to behaviorism.
Menu
3. Humanistic perspective
– Owes far more to the early roots of
psychology in the field of philosophy.
– Humanists held the view that people
have free will, the freedom to choose
their own destiny.
– Early founders:
 Abraham Maslow
 Carl Rogers
– Emphasized the human potential, the
ability of each person to become the
best person he or she could be.
 Self-actualization - achieving one’s full
potential or actual self.
Menu
4. Biopsychological perspective -
attributes human and animal
behavior to biological events
occurring in the body, such as
genetic influences, hormones, and
the activity of the nervous system.
5. Cognitive perspective - focuses on
memory, intelligence, perception,
problem solving, and learning.
Menu
6. Sociocultural perspective - focuses
on the relationship between social
behavior and culture.
7. Evolutionary perspective - focuses
on the biological bases of universal
mental characteristics that all
humans share.
Menu
Psychology and the Scientific Method
• Scientific method - system of gathering data
so that bias and error in measurement are
reduced.
• Steps in the Scientific Method:
1. Perceive the question.
2. Form a hypothesis – tentative explanation of a
phenomenon based on observations.
3. Test the hypothesis.
4. Draw conclusions.
5. Report your results so that others can try to replicate -
repeat the study or experiment to see if the same
results will be obtained in an effort to demonstrate
reliability of results. Menu
The Scientific Method
Menu
Descriptive Methods
• Naturalistic observation – watching animals
or humans behave in their normal
environment.
• Major Advantage:
– Realistic picture of behavior.
• Disadvantages:
– Observer effect - tendency of people or animals
to behave differently from normal when they
know they are being observed.
 Participant observation - a naturalistic observation
in which the observer becomes a participant in the
group being observed (to reduce observer effect).
– Observer bias - tendency of observers to see
what they expect to see.
 Blind observers – people who do not know what
the research question is (to reduce observer bias).
– Each naturalistic setting is unique and
observations may not hold. Menu
Descriptive Methods
• Laboratory observation – watching animals
or humans behave in a laboratory setting.
• Advantages:
– Control over environment.
– Allows use of specialized equipment.
• Disadvantage:
– Artificial situation that may result in artificial
behavior.
• Descriptive methods lead to the formation

of testable hypotheses.
Menu
Observational study of:
• E.g. children at the playground
• E.g. athletes at the stadium
• E.g. buyers at the supermarket
• E.g. animal at the jungle
• If you observe them in the lab, it is called
laboratory observations
Descriptive Methods
• Case study - study of one individual in

great detail.
– Advantage: tremendous amount of detail.
– Disadvantage: cannot apply to others.
– Famous case study: Phineas Gage.
Menu
Case-study of:
• E.g. a brain-injured patient
• E.g. a patient with genetically-based
disorder
• E.g. a genius who produce extraordinary
work
• E.g. a person who underwent a traumatic
event
Descriptive Methods
• Surveys – researchers will ask a series of questions
about the topic under study.
• Given to a representative sample - randomly selected
sample of subjects from a larger population of
subjects.
 Population - the entire group of people or animals in which the
researcher is interested.
• Advantages:
– Data from large numbers of people.
– Study covert behaviors.
• Disadvantages:
– Have to ensure representative sample (or results not
meaningful).
– People are not always accurate (courtesy bias). Menu
Survey of:
• E.g. attitudes towards the environment
• E.g. attitudes towards a political party
• E.g. attitudes towards gender, race,
religion
• E.g. attitudes towards psychologists
Random Sampling from
Population
INFERENCE
POPULATION
SAMPLE
Saundra K. Ciccarelli • J. Noland White Menu
All rights reserved.
Finding Relationships
• Correlation - a measure of the relationship
between two variables.
– Variable - anything that can change or vary.
– Measures of two variables go into a mathematical
formula and produce a correlation coefficient (r),
which represents two things:
 direction of the relationship.
 strength of the relationship.
– Knowing the value of one variable allows
researchers to predict the value of the other
variable.
Menu
Finding Relationships
• Correlation coefficient ranges from –1.00 to +1.00.
• Closer to 1.00 or -1.00, the stronger the relationship
between the variables.
– No correlation = 0.0.
– Perfect correlation = -1.00 OR +1.00.
• Positive correlation – variables are related in the same
direction.
– As one increases, the other increases; as one decreases, the
other decreases.
• Negative correlation – variables are related in opposite
direction.
– As one increases, the other decreases.
• CORRELATION DOES NOT PROVE CAUSATION!!!
Menu
Menu
Menu
Correlation does NOT prove causation
Menu
The Experiment
• Experiment - a deliberate manipulation of a
variable to see if corresponding changes in
behavior result, allowing the determination of
cause-and-effect relationships. Definition:
Aggressive
play
• Operational definition - definition of a variable of
interest that allows it to be directly measured.
IV: Violent
• Independent variable (IV) - variable in an TV
experiment that is manipulated by the
experimenter.
• Dependent variable (DV) - variable in an

DV:
experiment that represents the measurable Aggressive
response or behavior of the subjects in the play
experiment.
Menu
The Experiment Exp
Group:
Watch
• Experimental group - subjects in an experiment TV
who are subjected to the independent variable. Control
Group:
• Control group - subjects in an experiment who No TV
are not subjected to the independent variable
and who may receive a placebo treatment
(controls for confounding variables).
• Random assignment - process of assigning

subjects to the experimental or control groups
randomly, so that each subject has an equal
chance of being in either group.
– Controls for confounding (extraneous, interfering)
variables.
Menu
Random Assignment
Experimental Group
SAMPLE Test for Differences
Control Group
Confounding Variables
Experimental Group
SAMPLE Are differences due to manipulation

or confounding variable (mood)?
Control Group
No Confounding Variables
Experimental Group
SAMPLE Differences due to manipulation,

not an extraneous variable because
mood randomly determined.
Control Group
The Experiment
Menu
The Experiment
• Placebo effect - the phenomenon in which the
expectations of the participants in a study can
influence their behavior.
– Single-blind study- subjects do not know if they are in the
experimental or the control group (reduces placebo effect).
• Experimenter effect - tendency of the experimenter’s
expectations for a study to unintentionally influence
the results of the study.
– Double-blind study - neither the experimenter nor the subjects
knows if the subjects are in the experimental or control group
(reduces placebo effect and experimenter effect).
• Quasi-experimental designs - not considered true
experiments because of the inability to randomly
assign participants to the experimental and control
groups (for example, if age is the variable of interest).
Menu
Example of a Real Experiment
• Hypothesis: extrinsic (external) reward
would reduce creativity.
• Independent variable – two different sets of
instructions.
• Dependent variable – creativity on art
project as judged by raters blind to the
group assignment.
• Experimental group – instructed to make
project to compete for an award (prizes).
• Control group – instructed to make project
for fun; prizes would be raffled off.
• Results supported hypothesis: those
competing for extrinsic reward were less
creative.
Menu
END OF CHAPTER 1
Practice Questions
LO
1.1
Psychology is defined most accurately as the scientific
study of
1. The human mind.

2. Behavior.
3. Conscious and unconscious mental states.
4. Behavior and mental processes.
47
LO
1.1
Psychology is defined most accurately as the scientific
study of
1. The human mind.

2. Behavior.
3. Conscious and unconscious mental states.
4. Behavior and mental processes. (p. 4)
48
LO
1.1
Which of the following goals of psychology is most
concerned with using psychological knowledge to help
bring about desirable behavioral outcomes?
1. Description
2. Explanation
3. Prediction
4. Control
5. Correction
49
LO
1.1
Which of the following goals of psychology is most
concerned with using psychological knowledge to help
bring about desirable behavioral outcomes?
1. Description
2. Explanation
3. Prediction
4. Control (p. 5)
5. Correction
50
LO
1.5
A psychologist determines that children who are exposed
to violent television are more likely to be physically
aggressive in the future than children who are not exposed
to violent television. This psychologist has met the goal of:
1. Description
2. Explanation
3. Prediction
4. Control
5. Introspection
51
LO
1.5
A psychologist determines that children who are exposed
to violent television are more likely to be physically
aggressive in the future than children who are not exposed
to violent television. This psychologist has met the goal of:
1. Description
2. Explanation
3. Prediction (p. 5)
4. Control
5. Introspection
52
LO
1.2
You read in the newspaper that the oldest living person in
the world was born in 1879. This strikes you as a
coincidence because that is the year in which historians tell
us that
1. Experimental psychology was born.

2. Wilhelm Wundt was born.
3. Psychologists defined the soul.
4. The behaviorist movement began.
53
LO
1.2
You read in the newspaper that the oldest living person in
the world was born in 1879. This strikes you as a
coincidence because that is the year in which historians tell
us that
1. Experimental psychology was born (p. 6).

2. Wilhelm Wundt was born.
3. Psychologists defined the soul.
4. The behaviorist movement began.
54
LO
1.2
The first field of psychology, which studied how people
adapt to the world and its surroundings, was called:
1. Behaviorism
2. Structuralism
3. Psychoanalysis
4. Functionalism
5. Gestalt psychology
55
LO
1.2
The first field of psychology, which studied how people
adapt to the world and its surroundings, was called:
1. Behaviorism
2. Structuralism
3. Psychoanalysis
4. Functionalism (p. 7)
5. Gestalt psychology
56
LO
1.2
Perhaps the greatest contribution of the American
psychologist William James was
1. Establishing psychology as a laboratory science.

2. “Fine-tuning" the method of introspection.
3. Developing the first modern intelligence test.
4. Arousing interest in the subject matter of psychology.
57
LO
1.2
Perhaps the greatest contribution of the American
psychologist William James was
1. Establishing psychology as a laboratory science.

2. “Fine-tuning" the method of introspection.
3. Developing the first modern intelligence test.
4. Arousing interest in the subject matter of
psychology. (p. 7)
58
LO
1.3
The field of psychology that believes that human
experience CANNOT be studied appropriately by breaking
down the experience into its smaller component parts is
called:
1. Gestalt
2. Structuralism
3. Psychoanalysis
4. Behaviorism
5. Introspection
59
LO
1.3
The field of psychology that believes that human
experience CANNOT be studied appropriately by breaking
down the experience into its smaller component parts is
called:
1. Gestalt (p. 9)
2. Structuralism
3. Psychoanalysis
4. Behaviorism
5. Introspection
60
LO
1.3
The idea that human behavior is influenced by unconscious
forces that are outside of a person’s awareness
(particularly sexual and aggressive forces) is advocated by
which perspective of psychology:
1. Behaviorism
2. Structuralism
3. Humanism
4. Cognitive psychology
5. Psychoanalysis
61
LO
1.3
The idea that human behavior is influenced by unconscious
forces that are outside of a person’s awareness
(particularly sexual and aggressive forces) is advocated by
which perspective of psychology:
1. Behaviorism
2. Structuralism
3. Humanism
4. Cognitive psychology
5. Psychoanalysis (p. 10)
62
LO
1.4
A researcher who believes that all humans are innately
good and have free will is concerned with assessing the
factors that lead a person to develop to their fullest
potential. This researcher is most likely what type of
psychologist?
1. Behaviorist
2. Humanist
3. Psychoanalyst
4. Biopsychologist
5. Cognitive psychologist
63
LO
1.4
A researcher who believes that all humans are innately
good and have free will is concerned with assessing the
factors that lead a person to develop to their fullest
potential. This researcher is most likely what type of
psychologist?
1. Behaviorist
2. Humanist (p. 14)
3. Psychoanalyst
4. Biopsychologist
5. Cognitive psychologist
64
LO
1.6
When psychologists carry out research, they should do
all
of the following to ensure the integrity of their results
EXCEPT:
1. Search for information in favor of their hypothesis

2. Search for information that disproves their
hypothesis
3. Replicate the results of previous studies
4. Analyze data using statistical or mathematical
methods
5. Draw conclusions about their findings
65
LO
1.6
When psychologists carry out research, they should do
all
of the following to ensure the integrity of their results
EXCEPT:
1. Search for information in favor of their

hypothesis (pp. 20-21)
2. Search for information that disproves their
hypothesis
3. Replicate the results of previous studies
4. Analyze data using statistical or mathematical
methods
5. Draw conclusions about their findings
66
LO
1.7
One criticism of many research methods, such as
experiments, is their artificiality in trying to capture behavior
as it might occur in the real world. One method that can be
used to overcome this by recording behavior as it occurs
in real time is called:
1. An experiment.
2. Correlation.
3. A survey.
4. Naturalistic observation.
5. A case study.
67
LO
1.7
One criticism of many research methods, such as
experiments, is their artificiality in trying to capture behavior
as it might occur in the real world. One method that can be
used to overcome this by recording behavior as it occurs
in real time is called:
1. An experiment.
2. Correlation.
3. A survey.
4. Naturalistic observation. (p. 23)
5. A case study.
68
LO
1.8
An activist stops people at a shopping mall and asks them

questions about their attitudes toward gun control.
Which research technique is being used?
1. Survey
2. Experiment
3. Case study
4. Naturalistic observation
69
LO
1.8
An activist stops people at a shopping mall and asks them

questions about their attitudes toward gun control.
Which research technique is being used?
1. Survey (p. 24)

2. Experiment
3. Case study
70
LO
1.9
Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses
the strongest relationship between levels of stress and
likelihood of cancer?
1. -.79
2. .60
3. .32
4. .10
5. -.90
71
LO
1.9
Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses
the strongest relationship between levels of stress and
likelihood of cancer?
1. -.79
2. .60
3. .32
4. .10
5. -.90 (p. 27)
72
LO
1.9
What is the only research method that can be used to draw
a cause and effect relationship between two variables?
1. Correlation
2. Case study
3. Experiment
5. Survey
73
LO
1.9
What is the only research method that can be used to draw
a cause and effect relationship between two variables?
1. Correlation
2. Case study
3. Experiment (p. 29)
5. Survey
74
LO
1.10
A researcher examines the effects of marijuana on
cognitive functioning. He assigns adults who receive less
than 5 hours of sleep per night to the experimental
condition, and adults who receive 8 hours of sleep or more
per night to the control condition, and concludes that
marijuana does lower cognitive functioning. Sleep is:
1. An independent variable.
2. A dependent variable.
3. A confounding variable.
4. The experimental group.
5. The control group.
75
LO
1.10
A researcher examines the effects of marijuana on
cognitive functioning. He assigns adults who receive less
than 5 hours of sleep per night to the experimental
condition, and adults who receive 8 hours of sleep or more
per night to the control condition, and concludes that
marijuana does lower cognitive functioning. Sleep is:
1. An independent variable.
2. A dependent variable.
3. A confounding variable. (p. 30)
4. The experimental group.
5. The control group.
76
LO
1.10
A researcher is interested in studying the effects of music
on academic performance in college students in the United
States. To make sure that the researcher gets a
representative sample of the population she wants to study,
she must:
1. Randomly assign students to experimental and control

groups.
2. Control for observer bias.
3. Engage in random assignment.
4. Control for the observer effect.
5. Use blind observers to collect data.
77
LO
1.10
A researcher is interested in studying the effects of music
on academic performance in college students in the United
States. To make sure that the researcher gets a
representative sample of the population she wants to study,
she must:
1. Randomly assign students to experimental and control

groups.
2. Control for observer bias.
3. Engage in random assignment. (p. 30)
4. Control for the observer effect.
5. Use blind observers to collect data.
78
LO
1.10
Which provides a baseline measure of behavior for

comparing whether or not the independent variable
had an effect on the dependent variable?
1. An experimental group
2. A control group
3. A random sample
4. A randomly assigned group
5. A double-blind researcher
79
LO
1.10
Which provides a baseline measure of behavior for

comparing whether or not the independent variable
had an effect on the dependent variable?
1. An experimental group
2. A control group (p. 30)
3. A random sample
4. A randomly assigned group
5. A double-blind researcher
80
LO
1.11
A single blind study is one in which:
1. The subject does not know to which group he or she

has been assigned.
2. The experimenter does not know to which group the
subject has been assigned.
3. Both the researcher and experimenter do not know to
which group the subject has been assigned.
4. The researcher does not know the experimental
hypothesis.
5. Only one group of subjects does not know to which
group they have been assigned.
81
LO
1.11
A single blind study is one in which:
1. The subject does not know to which group he or

she has been assigned. (p. 32)
2. The experimenter does not know to which group the
subject has been assigned.
3. Both the researcher and experimenter do not know to
which group the subject has been assigned.
4. The researcher does not know the experimental
hypothesis.
5. Only one group of subjects does not know to which
group they have been assigned.
82

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CH1 - Introduction

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CHAPTER 1

the science of psychology

• Basic (Theoretical) Psychology

• Functionalism - how the mind allows

– Watson believed that phobias were learned.

• Descriptive methods lead to the formation

• Case study - study of one individual in

• Dependent variable (DV) - variable in an

• Random assignment - process of assigning

SAMPLE Test for Differences

SAMPLE Are differences due to manipulation

SAMPLE Differences due to manipulation,

1. The human mind.

1. The human mind.

1. Experimental psychology was born.

1. Experimental psychology was born (p. 6).

1. Establishing psychology as a laboratory science.

1. Establishing psychology as a laboratory science.

1. Search for information in favor of their hypothesis

1. Search for information in favor of their

An activist stops people at a shopping mall and asks them

An activist stops people at a shopping mall and asks them

1. Survey (p. 24)

1. Randomly assign students to experimental and control

1. Randomly assign students to experimental and control

Which provides a baseline measure of behavior for

Which provides a baseline measure of behavior for

1. The subject does not know to which group he or she

1. The subject does not know to which group he or

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