How do Psychologists think and answer questions?

-​ Biological
-​ Cognitive
-​ Developmental
-​ Social and Personality
-​ Mental and Physical Health
All of these are based on science.

What is psychology?
-​ The scientific study of the mind and behavior
-​ Emphasis on empiricism
- observable behavior and experimentation
-​ The focus is on the human experience but can extend further.

Education in Psychology
-​ Critical thinking skills
-​ Detection of bias
-​ Communication skills

History of Psychology: The highlight reel

Wilhelm Wundt
-​ Physiologist
-​ Brought the scientific method from the natural sciences to psychology
-​ First Psychology lab (1879)
-​ Structuralist

Sigmund Freud
-​ Brought attention to the significance of childhood experiences' impact on caregivers
-​ Legacy still impacts psychotherapy today

Lilian Gilbreth
-​ Pioneer of I/O (industrial-organizational) psychology, engineering psychology, and
ergonomics
-​ Innovated:
- Refrigerator shelving
- Pedal trash cans
- Fridge butter compartments

Maslow’s (questionable) Hierarchy of Needs

Self-actualization, Self-esteem, Love and belonging, safety and security
Kenneth and Mamie Phipps Clark
-​ Doll study
-​ First psychological research to be cited in a Supreme Court case
- changed the course of history

8/27/24

Industrial-organizational psychology: the scientific study of human behavior at work in

organizations
3 goals of making work more effective, efficient, and enjoyable.

Industrial Psychology
-​ Studies job characteristics, applicants characteristics, and how they match to the job
-​ Focuses on hiring and maintaining employees
-​ Issues of legality
-​ Employee selection and evaluation.

Organizational Psychology
-​ Studies interactions between people working in organizations and productivity

Hawthorne Effects
-​ The increase in performance of individuals who are noticed, watched, and paid attention
to by researchers or supervisors.

Human Factors
-​ Studies human-machine interaction in the workplace
-​ Concerned with researching and designing machines that fit human requirements and
enhance safety
- Physical and cognitive interactions
- Task analysis
- Cognitive engineering

Personnel Selection
-​ The process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual to extend an
offer of employment
- involves administering tests to predict the future of the profession

Cross-Culture Implications: Adverse Impact

-​ Adverse impact: discrimination in terms of unequal outcomes across different groups of
people
- Can be purposeful or coincidental
- U.S. Organizations cannot discriminate based on:
- sex, age, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, disability
Bona-Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQs)
-​ BFOQ: rare exceptions to discrimination laws regarding essential job behaviors
- to be a catholic priest you have to be catholic

Types of Selection Tests:

-​ Structured interviews
-​ Work samples
-​ Cognitive abilities test
-​ Integrity tests
-​ Interests and values
-​ Personality tests

8/30/24

How do psychologists think and answer questions?

-​ Scientific knowledge is empirical
-​ Consume research with a skeptical lens
-​ Beware of bias and logical fallacies
-​ Consider multiple perspectives and alternative explanations

Logical Fallacy: any kind of error in reasoning that renders an argument involved.

The scientific method

-​ Hypotheses must be falsifiable
-​ Capable of being shown to be incorrect

Limitations of research
-​ What is truth
-​ Meaning is constructed based on your own understanding of our world experiences and
events in our lives
-​ Epistemology
-​ How we know what we know
-​ Many scientific inquiries are approached from the researcher's gaze
-​ Knowledge can be constructed by anyone, not just academics.

Case Studies
-​ Observational research focusing on one individual or a few people
-​ Usually unique circumstances
-​ Allos deeper understanding of the individuals and the particular phenomena at hand
-​ Limited generalizability
-​ Cannot extend findings to the general public usually.
Naturalistic observation
-​ Observing behavior in its natural setting
-​ Certain phenomena may only occur in its natural context
-​ Generally has strong validity and generalizability
-​ Can be difficult to control
-​ May be prone to observer bias
-​ Inter-rater reliability is important

Surveys
-​ Contains a list of questions or items
-​ Utilizes a sample of participants
-​ Derived from a population
-​ The goal is to generalize findings from the sample to the population
-​ The sample should be representative of the population
-​ Participants may not always be accurate/truthful with their responses
-​ Social desirability
-​ Random Response

Archival Research
-​ Uses existing records or data to identify patterns or interesting phenomena
-​ No direct interaction with participants
-​ Generally requires little investment
-​ Research questions must be tailored to the information that is available

Longitudinal Research
-​ Tests the same sample of participants over an extended period of time
-​ How people change over time
-​ Greater investment
-​ High attrition rates

Cross-Sectional Research
-​ Compares multiple segments of a population at a single time
-​ Less investment
-​ More common

Correlational Research
-​ Examines the relationship between 2 or more variables
-​ Does not imply causality
-​ Beware of confounding variables
-​ Correlation coefficient
-​ Strength and direction of the relationship
-​ Ranges from -1 to 1
-​ Denoted by r
-​ Correlation does not cause causation
Correlational Research
-​ Positive correlation
-​ Both variables are moving in the same direction
-​ Negative correlation
-​ Both variables move in opposite directions
-​ The sign of the correlation indicates the direction of a relationship, not the strength

Experimental Research
-​ Most contain an experimental and control group
-​ Experimental conditions receive treatment or manipulation
-​ The control group does not receive the treatment or manipulation
-​ Operational Definitions
-​ A description of how variables will be measured
-​ Must be specific

09/03

Psychological Research Part 2:

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

-​ Recruited poor, rural, black men in 1932
-​ Participants with syphilis were not informed of their disease.
-​ Participants were prevented from receiving medical treatment.
Ethical Principles- Aspirational goals

Research Ethics
-​ Institutional Review Board
- Review proposals for research involving human participants
- Evaluate adherence to ethical guidelines

-​ Informed Consent
- Informing research participants about what a study entails
- Description of any risk
- Specifies voluntary participation and confidentiality

-​ Deception
- Purposely misleading participants to preserve the integrity of a study

Peer Review
-​ Promotes quality of control
-​ Ensures that a study has sufficient rationale
-​ Evaluates the design of the study to identify flaws and any potential ethical issues
-​ Consider if the conclusions are reasonable
9/17/24

The endocrine system:

-​ Consists of glands and structures that produce hormones
-​ Hormones- chemical messengers that are released into the bloodstream by endocrine
glands
-​ Pituitary gland
-​ Thyroid
-​ Adrenal gland
-​ Pancreas
-​ Gonads

Structures of the Nervous System

-​ Central nervous system
- Brain and spinal cord
- Peripheral nervous system
- connects CNS to the rest of the body

Nervous system
-​ Autonomic nervous system
- Sympathetic nervous system
- fight or flight
- Parasympathetic nervous system
- returns the body back to normal

Sensation
-​ Occurs when our sensory receptors detect stimuli
-​ Involves no interpretation
-​ Just noticeable difference (JND) threshold
-​ Minimum difference in stimuli required to detect a change or a difference between stimuli

Perception
-​ The way sensory information is interpreted, organized, and consciously experienced.
-​ How we interpret or make sense of sensory stimuli
-​ We all have individual experiences of perception
- sensation is a more standard process
- Perception is influenced by
- expectations
- experiences
-moods
-cultural norms
- beliefs
- values-
-Biases
-motivation
- context

Perceptual Processing
-​ Bottom-up
- perception is built from sensory input
- Not goal-oriented and does not use our expectations
- Top-Down
- Perception is influenced by our interpretation of our sensations based on knowledge,
experiences, and thoughts
- Based on expectations from our previous knowledge about the world.

Gestalt Principles
-​ Perception is more than simply the sum of available sensory inputs
-​ The brain organizes sensory information in predictable ways

Cells of the Nervous System

Glial Cells
-​ Support neurons
-​ Provide insulation, transport nutrients, and waste, aid communication between neurons
Neurons
-​ Interconnected information processors
-​ Receives, processes, and transmits electrochemical information.
09/20/24

What can we learn about learning from psychological science?

Memory
-​ The set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different
periods.
Encoding -> storage -> retrieval

Parts of the brain that are involved in memory

Amygdala
-​ Regulates emotions, such as fear and aggression
-​ Involved in fear and fear memories
-​ Processes emotional information important in encoding memories at a deeper level and
memory consolidation

Flashbulb memory
-​ A record of an atypical and unusual event that has very strong emotional associations
-​ An apparent recollection of an important emotional event
-​ Related to arousal theory

Hippocampus
-​ Associated with explicit memory, recognition, and spatial memory
-​ Projects information to cortical regions that give memories meaning and connect them
with other memories
-​ Involved in memory consolidation
Explicit memory is like something you learned in school
Recognition would be like recognizing a face or something about a person

Cerebellum
-​ Plays a role in processing procedural memories
-​ Also motor learning and classical conditioning

Prefrontal Cortex
-​ Appears to be involved in remembering semantic tasks
-​ Encoding is associated with left frontal activity
-​ Retrieval of information is associated with the right frontal activity

Problems with Memory

Amnesia
-​ The loss of long-term memory that occurs after some kind of trauma
-​ Anterograde amnesia- inability to remember new information after the point of trauma
-​ Retrograde amnesia- loss of memory (partial or complete) for events that occurred prior
to the trauma
09/24/24

Memory
Encoding
The input of information into the memory system
-​ Organization and construction
-​ Connecting new concepts to existing ones
Automatic Processing: encoding details without conscious awareness
Effortful Processing: encoding information that requires conscious effort
-​ Attaching meaning supports better encoding \

10/08/2024

Big Question: Who am I? And how did I get to be this way?

Psychopathology
-​ The study of psychological disorders, including their symptoms, etiology (causes), and
treatment

Psychological Disorders
-​ No single consensus
-​ Key features:
- Atypical
- Deviation from cultural expectations
- Harmful Dysfunction
- Problems in day-to-day living or personal distress
- American Psychiatric Association (APA) definition:
- Significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

-​ DSM-5 is the classification system used by most mental health professionals
-​ Categories and describes each disorder
- Diagnostic Features
- Diagnostic Criteria
- Prevalence
- Risk Factors
Language
-​ Above all else, people are people first
-​ Humanizing language is a must
-​ We do not define people based on a diagnosis
-​ We empathize with their personhood
-​ People have many identities and characteristics

Diagnosing
-​ Culture and context must be considered
-​ Diagnosing informs treatment
-​ A person’s diagnosis can shape their self-perceptions
- Also their relationships with others
- Diagnosing is complex
- An obvious diagnosis is not always apparent
- Comorbidity: having more than one diagnosis at one time

Models of Psychological Disorders

-​ Biological Model: views psychological disorders as being related to genetics, chemical
imbalances, or brain abnormalities
-​ Diathesis Stress Model: individuals with a predisposition for a psychological disorder are
more likely to develop that disorder when faced with stress
- Diathesis + Stress = Development of a disorder
-​ Problems in Living: abnormal behavior is conceptualized as deviations from social norms
rather than as an illness

Generalized Anxiety Disorders

-​ A relatively continuous state of excessive and uncontrollable worry and apprehension
-​ Symptoms occur more days than not for at least 6 months
-​ Symptoms are accompanied by any three of the following symptoms
- Restlessness, Difficulty concentrating, Being easily fatigued, muscle tension,
irritability, and sleep difficulties
-​ Affects about 5.7% of the U.S. Population during their lifetime
-​ Comorbid with mood disorders and other anxiety disorders

Specific Phobias
-​ Involves excessive, distressing, and persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object or
situation
-​ Common Phobias- Acrophobia, Aerophobia, Arachnophobia, Claustrophobia
-​ Agoraphobia ( a separate anxiety disorder)
- Characterized by intense fear, anxiety, and avoidance of situations in which it might
be difficult to escape or receive help.
Social Anxiety
-​ Characterized by extreme and persistent fear or anxiety and avoidance of social
situations in which the person could potentially be evaluated negatively by others,
-​ Safety Behaviors- mental or behavioral act that reduce anxiety in social situations by
reducing the chance of negative social outcomes

Panic Disorder
-​ A recurrent and unexpected panic attack, along with at least one month of persistent
concern about additional panic attacks, warry over the consequences of the attacks, or
self-defeating changes in behavior related to the attacks.
-​ Panic Attack- a per

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

-​ Involves thoughts and urges that are intrusive and unwanted (obsessions) and/or the
need to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsive)
-​ Obsessions- persistent, unintentional, and unwanted thoughts and urges that are highly
intrusive, unpleasant, and distressing
-​ Common Obsessions- concerns about germs and contamination
-​ Compulsions- repetitive and ritualistic arts, typically carried out primarily as a means to
minimize the distress that obsessions trigger or to reduce the likelihood of a feared event

10/11/24

Common symptoms of PTsd

Each other these fall within one of the four categories of symptoms
Intrusive and distressing memories of the event
Flashbacks- states during which individuals relived these event and behaves as if it were
occurring at that moment
Avoidance of stimuli connected to the event
Persistently negative emotional states feelings of detachment from others
Irritability
Proneness toward outbursts
Exaggerated startle response

Adjustment disorder
Emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor occurring within three
months of the onset of the stressor
Distress that is out of proportion to the severity or intensity of the stressor
Commonly depression or anxiety

Major depression disorder

Marked by persistent feelings of sadness and despair OR a loss of interest in previous sources
of pleasure
Not all people with MDD feel sad
Anhedonia: inability to experience pleasure
Significant weight loss or weight gain fatigue sleep difficulties feeling of worthlessness
concentration difficulties irritability and thoughts of death or suicide

Mood disorders and neurotransmitters

Mood disorders often involve imbalance of serotonin and norepinephrine
Many medications designed to treat mood disorders woke by altering neurotransmitters activity
in the synapse

988 suicide hotline

Bipolar disorder
Marked by the presence of depression and mania
Mania: periods of elevated mood and euphoria

Schizophrenia
Marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech, and deterioration of
adaptive behavior
Delusions: irrational beliefs that are out of touch with reality
Hallucinations: sensory perceptions that occur in the absence of mind
Disturbed emotions
Disorganized thinking
Deteriorations of adaptive behavior
Positive symptoms: hallucinations delusions unusual behaviors
Negative symptoms: flattened emotions, social withdrawal, poverty of speech

10/22/24

Big Question: What can we learn about learning from psychological science? How can we
change behavior, including our own?

What is learning?
-​ Helps organisms adapt to their environment
-​ A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience
-​ It can be conscious or unconscious
-​ Associative learning
- Making connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the
environment.
Classical conditioning
-​ Ivan Pavlov
- Russian physiologist
- Studied salivary responses in dogs
-​ Process by which we learn to associate stimuli and consequently to anticipate an event
- Unconscious processes
-​ Two types of responses
- Unconditioned
- Conditioned

Classical conditioning
-​ Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
- Stimulus that elicits an automatic response
-​ Unconditioned Response (UCR)
- The behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus
-​ Neutral Stimulus (NS)
- Stimulus that doesn't naturally elicit a response
- NS is paired with UCR
- Acqustition
-​ The initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and
an unconditioned stimulus
- Usually this requires there to be a very short time interval between the NS and
the UCS and for the pairing to repeated multiple times

Spontaneous recovery- the rerun of a previously extinguished conditioned response

following recovery

Stimulus discrimination - when an organism learns to responds differently to various

stimuli that are similar

Stimulus generalization- when an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to

stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.
-​ if an individual learns to dislike a specific spider, they will usually then dislike all
spiders
-​ Plays a major role in trauma symptoms

Habituation- learning to not respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change
-​ as a stimulus repeated, we learn not to focus our attention on it.

Higher Order Conditioning

-​ An established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus
-​ Eventually, the new stimulus also elicits the conditioned response, without the initial
conditioned stimulus being present
Behaviorism
-​ John B Watson.
-​ Believed that all behavior could be studied as a stimulus-response reaction
-​ Viewed emotion as behavior
-​ Therefore, emotions can be conditioned

Little Albert
-​ presented baby Albert with neutral stimuli
-​ Paired stimuli with loud sound to elicit a startle response
-​ Albert then became fearful of original stimuli
-​ Fear is generalized to similar-looking stimuli.

Operant conditioning
-​ BF Skinner
-​ Conducted experiments with rats and pigeons
-​ Thorndikes law of effect
-​ Associative learning occurs through reinforcement and punishment
-​ Pleasant consequences increase a behavior while negative consequences decrease it

Reinforcement
-​ Positive reinforcement- something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior
-​ Negative reinforcement- something that is removed to increase the likelihood of a
behavior
Punishment
-​ positive- something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior
-​ Negative- something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

Which option is best ?

-​ reinforcement encourages us to reach target behaviors
-​ Can support a positive upward spiral towards more target behaviors
-​ Possible implications of positive punishment
-​ Modeled aggression
-​ Aboidant behavior
-​ Teaches someone what not to do rather than what they should do

Shaping
-​ rewarding successive approximations of a target behavior
-​ Complex behavior is broken into smaller peices.
-​ Steps
1.​ Reinforce an response that resembles the desired behavior
2.​ Then reinforce the response that more closely resembles the desired behaviors
3.​ Then begin to reinforce the response that even more closely resembles the desire
behavior
4.​ Continue to do this until only the desired behavior is present
Reinforcers
-​ primary vs secondary reinforcers
-​ Whether or not the reward contains innate reinforcing qualities
-​ Secondary reinforcers become associated with a primary reinforcer
-​ Continuous vs partial reinforcement
-​ Whether the reward is consistent or intermittent
Fixed- the amount of time between reinforcements is set and unchanging
Variable- reins delivered at unpredictable time intervals
Interval- reinforcement is delivered after a predictable amount of responses
Ratio-

Latent learning
-​ Edward c tolman proposed that there is a cognitive aspect to learning
-​ Hidden learning
-​ Cognitive map- a mental licture of the layout an environment
-​ Latent learning- learning that occurs but is not observing on behavior until there is a
reason to demonstrate it.

Social learning theory

-​ proposed by Albert bandits
-​ Beloved that overeating learning involved more than imitation
-​ Steps in modeling process
1.​ Attention: focuses on the behavior
2.​ Retention: remember what you observed
3.​ Reproduction: be able to perform the. Savior
4.​ Motivation: must want to copy the behavior

Bobo doll experiment

-​ bandura studied modeling of aggressive and violent behaviors
-​ Children observed adults act aggressively towards a bobo doll
-​ The children were then the opportunity to play with the doll
-​ If the child had seen the adult punished they were less likely to act aggressively towards
the doll.
-​ If the child had seen the adult get praised or ignored, the child would be more likely to
imitate the adult.

Social learning theory terminology

●​ Vicarious reinforcement- process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making
the observer more likely to imitate the models behavior
●​ Vicarious punishment- process where the observer sees the model punished, making
the observer less likely to imitate the behavior