1. To describe how people behave
2. To understand the causes of these behaviors
3. To predict behavior (TEXT)
4. To Influence behavior
5. To apply research on psychological knowledge to real world phenomena

1. Objectivity- Base evaluation of research on what's observed and not preconcieved notions.
2. Accuracy- Gather data from lab and real world in systematic and precise ways
3. Healthy Skepticism- Take a catious view of findings until data can be replicated

• Basic Research- Conducted to Obtain Knowledge for it's own sake. (Increases ones knowledge base).
• Applied Research- Conducted to solve specific problems.

-Go hand in hand

-Both are important

• Mind-body dualism- The belief that the mind is a spiratual entity not subject to physical laws that govern the body
• British empericism- all ideas and knowledge are gined empirically. (through senses).
• Structuralism- The analysis of the mind in terms of basic elements.
• Functionalism- study the functions of consciousness rather than its structure

Perspectives:

The Biological Perspective

• focus- brain, genetic backround.
• - psychology of behavior
• - anything to do with biology and the bodily processes
• - Dualism vs. Monism

Perspectives:

The Biological Perspective

(Evolutionary Psychology)

• Natural selection- "survival of the fittest
  • Those traits that enhanced survival and reproduction will be passed away
• basic premise- evolution is important in the development of human behavior

Perspectives:

The Biological Perspective

(Sociobiology)

• contraversal
• Proposes complex social behaviors are "hard wired" as further products of evolution

Perspectives:

The Biological Perspective

(Behavior Genetics)

• To what extent are behaviors related to genetic predispositions?
• (Ex. Twin Studies) Identical vs. Fraternal
• Study twins together vs. apart

• The human is controlled by inner forces and conflicts
• early childhood expierienes and unresoved conflicts
• Unconsious
• Free association- a technique to help probe the unconciuos. People speak freely without disruption
• defense mechanisms- behaviors the indivisual exibits when insticts begin to surface to decrease anxiety

• the human as a reactor to the environment
• Learning and conditioning
• behaviors are shaped by environment

• Free will, and make choices on behaviors
• Self based on how you view yourself
• all people are herently and striving toward self-actualization
• problem when frustrated from achieving this

• The human as a thinker
• similar to early roots of Psychology.
• (Part of Structuralism and Functionism)
• More recently- Thoughts, beliefs, information processing
• Behaviors are a product of your thoughts, beliefs, and schemes

Psychology's Intellectual roots (Cont.)

Dualism vs. Monism

• Dualism- mind/body are seperate. (Physical vs. Mental)
• Monism- mind/body are unified whole. (interact closely)

• the human as social being embedded in a culture
• Individualism- emphasis on individual, personal achievement, goals
• Collectivism- emphasis is on group & group welfare and goal

• In an Individualistic culture people view romantic love as a requirement for marriage
• In Collectivistic cultures concern for the extended family plays a larger role in marriage decisions

• Nature- original causes of behavior. (genetics, biology)
• Nurture- present learned causes of behavior. (environment expierence more accepted)

• Originations- related to evolved characteristics that have survival value. (Nature aspect of behavior)
• Present- Learned factor that determine whether or not behavior will occur

• Curiosity- Observe real world phenomena & become curious about causes, consequenses, co-occuring factors
• skepticism- remain skeptical of any & all explanations until they can be tested
• open mindedness- Be willing to entertain a number of explanations or possible results. (dont become over invested in anyone

1. Observation & Formation of questions.
2. Form hypothesis: tentative statements about variables
3. test hypothesis: collect data- conduct research
4. analyze data
5. further research & building of theories
6. develop new hypothesis from theory- begin cycle again

• Hyposthesis- A narrower statement focused on specific factors. (may help us eventually to form a theory)
• Theories- A set of formal statements about reations among events of variables

• Incoporates existing knowledge within a broad framework
• Is it testable?
• the predictions of the theory are supported by the findings of new research
• it confirms the law of pharsimony

• Independent Var.- Variable you manipulate to see its effect on something else
• Dependent Var.- The "Something else" your interested in. (the outcome variable)

Variable- Any characteristic whose failure is free to vary

• Variables  that effect outcomes but were not manipulated or controlled by the expierementer
• control for existing variables
  • hold conditions constant exept for the manipulation
    • expiriental vs. control group
• control for individual difference
  • need to use random selection of subjects for groups

• measure rather than manipulates variables
  • direction
    • positive- A=UP and B= DOWN
    • Negative- A=UP and B=DOWN
• Strength- ranges from 1.0-(-1.0)
• higher number, the more stregnth correlation the two thing have

• Intense detailed analysis  of an indivisual or single group

  ---

• Pros- Detailed ultimate knowledge of person
  • allow to study rare phenomena (can lead to future research
• Cons- Cannot generalize findings
  • cannot establish cause/ effect

Naturalistic Observations

• Directly observe behavior in a natural setting

  ---

• Pros- gets at real world behaviors
• Cons- Demand characteristics.(observers can affect subjects behavior)
  • observer bias

Surveys

• Information gathered via questionaires or interviews

  ---

• Pros- convenient
  • gets large number data points quickly
• Cons- response bias
• bias in sampling

Ethics in Human research

(Informed consent)

• before people agree to participate in research they should be informed of the following
  • purose and procedures
  • potential benefits and well as risks
  • right to decline participation
  • whether it will be confidential

When subjects in a study do not know they are being

• Decption can be used but te benefits must outweight the costs

Validity

(Internal vs. External)

• Validity- Accuracy

  ---

• Internal- degree to which you have measures exactly what you set out to measure
• external- Extent to whic your findings can be generate outside of your study conditions

  ---

• Investly related ( as the value for one increases the value for the other decreases)

• Concordance- rate at which identical teins share a behavioral trait
• discordance- when twins do not share a trait
• Heritability coeficient- extent to when variations in behaviors are attributed to gentics

• sensory- typically afferent> conveys info from brain to the periphery. (ex. muscles, glands)
• Motor- typically efferent> conveys info from brain to the preiphery
• Interneurons- connect neurons and allow them to communicate

• axon- which conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands.
• glial cells- surround neurons and hold them in place. Manufacture neurons and absorb toxins
• myelin shealth- fatty covering of some neurons, protects the axon and facilitates the conduction of the signal
• synapse- microscopic gap bewteen neurons
  • site of communication between neurons
  • chemical are released into synapse
• Acetylcholine- A neurotransmitter involved in muscle activity and memory, to illistrate the diversity of neurotransmitter
• Serotania- Inhibitory or excitatory, underlying transmitter underlying pleasure and pain
• Dopamine- Exicitory- involved in volentory movement

neurotransmitters

(excitatory vs. Inhibitory)

• Excitatory-causes stimulation of a neuron> can result in a firing of a neuron
• inhibitory- makes it harder for a neuron to fire> makes it harder for it to reach threshold

• ACH- memory & learning
• dopamine- psychotic behaviors and depression and pleasure states
• Norepinephrin- depression and arousal states
• Serotonin- depression, pain perception
• Endorphins- pain perception, euphorie well-being

• Sympathetic emergency reponse- fight or flight response
• Parasymphathetic- Opposite effect of Sympathetic

1. Neuron is stimulated- Usually by a neurotransmitter. (change from resting potential)
2. If stimulated sufficently- reaches "Action Potential Threshold"
3. Generates an "action potential"- an electrical current conducted down the axon.
   • "All or none Law"- neuron either reaches threshold and fires or not
4. Refractory period- brief period during which not likely to fire

• Central Nervous System (CNS) - Brain and spinal cord
  • Spinal reflexes- Do not directly involve the brain
  • Monosynaptic
• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
  • All exept the brain & Spinal cord
    • Subdivisions of PNS
      • Somatic- info to skeletal musles; striated muscles; "voluntary"
      • Auonomic- info. to "automatic" processes such as heart rate, blood presure; smooth muscle functions "involuntary"

• Left- Verbal, math, logic, sign language
  • associated with joy, hapiness
• Right- Spatial reasoning, artistic creative, music, imagery
  • anger and sadness

• Brain-3lbs
• Corpus callosum- connects 2 brain hemispheres
• Three main brain sections
  • Hind brain- top of spinal cord
  • Mid brain- above te hind brain and surrounding
  • forebrain (Cerebrum)- Above all others, most complex and large
    • Hypthalemus- motivation, sexual behaviors, eating, sleeping

The brains abilty to modify itself

• Nueral reorganzation- When lose function, extends dendrites to cover damaged areas
  • facilitated by stimulation & expierence
• Neurogenius- generation of new nuerons

• immune systems cells have NT receptor sites- Brain can communicate with your immune system
• Immune cells can produce NT's & hormones- immune system an communicate within the brain
• Both afferent and efferent connections

Threats to the validity of research

(Internal Validity)

Internal validity- represents the degree to which an expieriement supports clear causal conclusions

• If an expierement is conducted properly , we are confident that it wa the independent variable that caused the differences. This would be high internal validity
• other way around it would be low