The Science of

Psychology
Chapter 1

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (

c) 2005 Prentice Hall
What is Psychology?

 Psychology is the study of behavior

and mental processes

 Includes the study of both humans

and animals

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Fields of Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Physiological Psychology
 Experimental Psychology
 Personality Psychology
 Clinical and Counseling Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Developmental
Psychology
 Study of physical and mental growth
from birth to old age
 Subfields
– Child psychology
– Adolescent psychology
– Life-span psychology

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Physiological Psychology

 Investigates the biological basis of

human behavior
– Neurotransmitters
– Effects of drugs on the nervous system
– Development of the nervous system
– Gender differences in brain structure and
function

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Experimental Psychology
 Perform experiments on basic
psychological processes
– Learning
– Memory
– Sensation and perception
– Cognition
– Motivation
– Emotion

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Personality Psychology

 Study of how people differ from one

another on traits such as
– Anxiety
– Sociability
– Self-esteem
– Need for achievement
– Aggressiveness

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Clinical and Counseling
Psychology
 Clinical psychologists are concerned
with diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders
 Counseling psychologists deal with
“normal” problems, such as stress
caused by career change or marital
problems

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Social Psychology
 Study of how people influence one
another
 Topics include:
– First impressions
– Interpersonal attraction
– Attitude formation
– Prejudice
– Behavior in a group
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Industrial and
Organizational Psychology
 Study of psychological principles in
industry and business
 Examples
– Selecting and training personnel
– Productivity improvement
– Working conditions
– Impact of automation on workers

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Enduring Issues in
Psychology
 Person–Situation
– Is behavior caused by factors inside the person
or outside?
 Nature-Nurture
– Is a person the product of genetics (nature) or
simply the sum of their experiences (nurture)?
 Stability–Change
– Are behavior patterns learned in childhood
permanent or do people change over time?
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Enduring Issues in
Psychology
 Diversity-Universality
– How are people similar to others and how
are they unique?
 Mind–Body
– What is the relationship between the
mind and the body?

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Psychology As Science

 Psychologists use the scientific method

 Steps to the scientific method
– Collect data
– Generate a theory to explain the data
– Produce a testable hypothesis
– Systematically test the hypothesis

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Growth of Psychology

 The "New Psychology": A Science of

the Mind

 Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford

Titchener: Voluntarism and
structuralism
– Search for the basic units of experience

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Growth of Psychology
 William James: Functionalism
– Studied how humans use perception to
function in our environment

 Sigmund Freud: Psychodynamic

psychology
– Behavior results from forces at work
within the individual, often at an
unconscious level
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Growth of Psychology
 John B. Watson: Behaviorism
– Studied only observable behaviors
– Expanded upon the work of Pavlov

 B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism revisited

– Expanded behaviorism
– Viewed the mind as a “black box” that
was irrelevant
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Cognitive Revolution

 The precursors to cognitive

psychology:
– Gestalt psychology
 Study of how we perceive objects as whole
patterns
– Humanistic psychology
 Emphasizes realization of full potential
 Recognizes importance of love, self esteem,
belonging, and self-actualization
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Rise of Cognitive
Psychology
 Study of mental processes
– Thinking
– Learning
– Feeling
– Remembering
– Decision making

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
New Directions in
Psychology
 Evolutionary psychology
– Studies tha adaptive value of behaviors
and mental processes
 Positive psychology
– Study of the subjective feelings of
happiness and well-being
– Focus is on positive attitude

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Multiple Perspectives

 There is no single right answer

 Several perspectives can provide

insight into behavior

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Where Are The Women?

 Women have made important

contributions despite discrimination
 Christine Ladd-Franklin
– Completed requirements for Ph.D. in
1880s
– Became a leading theorist in color vision

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Where Are The Women?
 Mary Whiton Calkins
– First woman president of APA in 1905
– Developed theory of self-psychology and
a technique for studying verbal learning
 Margaret Floy Washburn
– First woman in America to receive a Ph.D.
in psychology
– Became head of psychology at Vassar
College
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Where Are The Women?

 In recent years, the number of women

with Ph.D.s has increased dramatically

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Human Diversity In
Psychology
 Psychology has begun to focus
attention on issues of diversity

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Gender Issues

 Defined as the psychological and social

meanings attached to being
biologically male or female
 Gender stereotypes
– Limited view of people based on gender
– For example, “Only men can be police
officers”

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Gender Issues

 Feminist psychology
– Study of the psychology of women
– Argue that
 Much research is based on all-male samples,
thus does not
 Reports of gender differences focus too much
on extremes and ignore similarities
 Psychologists only study what they consider
to be important
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Gender Issues

 Sexual orientation
– Gender to which one is sexually attracted

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Race and Ethnicity Issues

 Race is a subpopulation defined by

identifiable characteristic, e.g., skin
color or facial features
 Ethnicity is a common cultural
heritage, such as religion, language, or
ancestry

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Culture Issues

 Tangible goods and values, attitudes,

behaviors, and beliefs that are passed
on from generation to generation
 Psychology must take cultural
differences into account, e.g., the
difference between individualistic and
collectivist societies

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Naturalistic Observation
– Systematic observation in natural setting
– The main drawback is observer bias

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Case Studies
– Detailed description and analysis of one
or a few people
– Prominent in psychology
– Observer bias is a problem
– Unable to make generalizations past
person being studied

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Surveys
– Questionnaires or interviews, such as
polls prior to an election
– Can generate a lot of information for a
fairly low cost
– Questions must be constructed carefully
so as to not elicit socially appropriate
answers

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Correlational Research
– Research technique based on the
naturally occurring relationship between
two or more variables
– Often used to make predictions, such as
the relation between SAT scores and
school success
– Cannot be used to determine cause and
effect
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Experimental Research
– The only research method that can be
used to determine cause and effect
– Often called the experimental method

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Components of an
Experiment
 Participants or subjects
 Independent variable (IV)
– Cause (what you are studying)
– This is the variable that is manipulated by the
experimenter
 Dependent variable (DV)
– Effect (result of experiment)
– This is the variable that is measured by the
experimenter
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Components of an
Experiment
 Experimental group
– Receives treatment
 Control group
– Does not receive treatment, but is the
same in every other way

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Multimethod Research
– Studies often combine several methods

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
The Importance of
Sampling in Research
 Sample
– Small representative subset of a larger
population
 Random sample
– Every subject had equal chance of being
selected
 Representative sample
– Characteristics of participants correspond to
larger population
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Ethics in Research on
Humans
 Participants must be informed of
nature of research
 Informed consent should be
documented
 Risks and limits on confidentiality must
be explained

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Ethics in Research on
Humans
 If participation is a course requirement
in an academic setting, alternative
activities must be offered
 Deception cannot be used about
aspects of research that would affect
participant's willingness to participate
 Deception about the goals of research
used only when absolutely necessary
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Ethics in Research on
Animals
 Psychologists using animals must
ensure “appropriate consideration of
the animal’s comfort, health, and
human treatment”
 Animals must not be exposed to pain,
stress, or privation when alternative
procedures are available

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall
Careers in Psychology
 Academic and Applied Psychology
– Faculty positions
– Research facilities
 Clinical Settings
– Licensed social workers
– Counseling psychologists
– Clinical psychologists
– Psychiatrists
– Psychoanalysts
Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c
) 2005 Prentice Hall
Licenses in Psychology

 Psychologists - Ph.D., Psy.D.

 Psychiatrists - M.D.
 Psychoanalysts - M.D. or Ph.D.
 Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW
 Marriage Family Therapists - M.A.

Psychology: An Introduction 12/e - Charles G. Morris & Albert A. Maisto (c

) 2005 Prentice Hall