Welcome to Psyc 210: Physiological Psychology

Understanding Science:

Rule 1:
Don’t Be a Homer
My World of Science Hell

Rule 2: Don’t Be That Guy

Science is the Pursuit of Truth
How Scientists Find Truth:
The Scientific Method
 The Scientific Method or “Empirical”
Method uses these Empirical Terms:
Operational Definition:
A definition of a variable that allows it to be concretely measured.
•A variable is an Abstract Concept

•It must be translated into a Concrete Form

•so it can be measured
•and studied empirically

•Helps to successfully communicate ideas to others

•Often a variety of measures are used

“Stress” “Circulating Cortisol”

 Experimental Variables

Independent Variable:
•What the experimenter manipulates
•The “cause” of the experiment
•It is “independent” of all other variables

Dependent Variable:
•What the experimenter measures
•The “effect” of the experiment
•It “depends” on the Independent Variable
 Scientific Approaches of
Physiological Psychology
•Somatic Intervention
•alter body (soma) and then record behavior changes

Example: Cannabis exposure and driving ability

•Behavioral Intervention
•alter behavior and then record body (brain) changes

Example: Reduced male dormitory room size and stress levels

•Correlation
•determine the relationship between body measures and behavioral measures

Example: Relationship between daily time spent on phone and GPA

Physiological
Psychology
Levels of
Investigation

•Social: (e.g., Face Masks)

•Individual: (e.g., COVID)

•System: (e.g., Gut Bacteria)

•Cellular: (e.g., Parkinson’s)

•Molecular: (e.g., PTSD)

And Now A Tip for You on How to
Succeed in This Class
How Memory Works:

Step 2

Step 1 Step 3

Retrieval