Introduction to Psychology: Key Concepts, Methods, and Historical Foundations

Week 1: Intro to Psychology

Psychology: Definition and Scope

Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour, thought, perception, emotion, and experience, influenced by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors.

• Behaviour: Observable actions of individuals.

• Thought: Internal cognitive processes.

• Emotion: Feelings that influence behaviour and cognition.

• Experience: The subjective interpretation of events.

Scientific Method in Psychology

The scientific method involves making observations, developing theories, and using theories to make predictions about behaviour and mental processes.

• Theory: An explanation for a broad range of observations, generating new hypotheses and integrating findings into a coherent whole.

• Hypothesis: A testable and falsifiable prediction derived from a theory.

• Exercise: Improving Memory: Example of a hypothesis that can be tested.

• Pseudoscience: Ideas presented as science but lacking the principles of scientific thinking or procedure.

• Self-correcting: Science advances through testing and experiments, refining theories over time.

Biopsychosocial Model

This model explains behaviour as a product of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

• Biological: Involves brain structures, chemicals, hormones, and other external substances affecting behaviour.

• Psychological: Involves memories, emotions, and personalities, shaping responses to people and situations.

• Sociocultural: Family, peers, ethnicity, and culture influence behaviour (e.g., conformity, peer pressure).

Scientific Literacy

Scientific literacy is the ability to analyze and apply scientific information critically.

• Gathering knowledge about the world.

• Explaining using scientific terms and concepts.

• Using critical thinking to evaluate evidence and look for bias.

• Applying information to improve theories and address real-world issues.

Philosophical and Scientific Origins

• Empiricism: Philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience.

Major Historical Influences on Psychology

Influences from the Ancients

• Ancient Greeks believed bodily fluids (humors) influenced health and personality.

• Galen of Pergamon: Four temperaments linked to humors:

  • Sanguine (blood): Ambitious, energetic, charismatic.

  • Choleric (yellow bile): Ambitious, energetic, slightly aggressive.

  • Melancholic (black bile): Independent, perfectionist, introverted.

  • Phlegmatic (phlegm): Relaxed, peaceful, quiet.

• Zeitgeist: The general set of beliefs of a specific culture at a specific time in history.

• Materialism: Belief that humans and other living beings are composed of exclusively physical matter.

Influences from Physics

• Fechner: Studied how physical energy (light, sound) relates to psychological experience.

Influences from Evolutionary Theory

• Darwin: Natural selection; genetically inherited traits that are successful for survival and reproduction are passed on.

• Behaviour, emotion, and social bonds help ensure survival.

Influences from Medicine

• Clinical Psychology: Focuses on diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.

• Localization of brain function: Certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality traits.

Diagnoses and Treatments

Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalysis: Psychological approach explaining behaviour and personality through the unconscious brain.

• Unconscious mind contains memories from childhood influencing adult behaviour.

• Used hypnosis and medical ideas to treat mental disorders.

Influence of Social Sciences

• Developed statistical methods for measuring human traits.

• Nature vs. Nurture: Heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) influence behaviour and mental processes.

• Epigenetics: Intergenerational trauma can change genetic code.

Structuralism: The Beginnings of Psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt: Established psychology as an independent scientific field; first lab; used introspection.

• Edward Titchener: Structuralism - analyzed conscious experience by breaking it into basic elements.

Functionalism: The Beginnings of Psychology

• William James: Functionalism - study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience.

• Evolutionary psychology: Interprets and explains modern behaviour in terms of our ancestors.

Influence of Behaviourism

• Ivan Pavlov: Dogs learned association with specific tech; classical conditioning.

• B.F. Skinner: Radical behaviourism - how organisms respond to rewards and punishments.

• Watson: Emphasized environmental influences; "blank slate" theory.

Social and Cultural Influences

• Social psychology: How other people influence our behaviour.

• Personality psychology: How different personality characteristics influence thinking and action.

• Kurt Lewin: Behaviour is a function of environment; can be predicted through understanding context.

Cognitive Revolution

• Gestalt psychology: Approach in which the whole experience is looked at, not just individual parts.

• Cognitive psychology: Focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language.

• Humanistic psychology: Focuses on the unique aspects of every human; emphasizes free will and personal growth.

• Carl Rogers: Developed Person-Centered Therapy.

Neuroscience: Brain and Behaviour

• Donald Hebb: Hebb's Law - cells that fire together wire together; memory is related to cellular activity.

• Wilder Penfield: Mapped out brain function using electrical stimulation.

• Intergenerational Trauma: Transmission of negative social and emotional consequences from one generation to the next.

The Neuroimaging Explosion

• Functional Resonance Imaging (fMRI): Detects activity in the brain and creates three-dimensional images.

• Cognitive Neuroscience: Studies mechanisms for cognitive behaviour such as memory, emotion, and decision making.

• Social Neuroscience: Studies social behaviour from relationships using fMRI.

Psychology in the Real World

• Positive Psychology: Promotes self-acceptance and relationships with others.

• Applied Psychology: Uses scientific methods to solve practical problems.

• Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Ensures a fair work environment for all.

• Human Factor Psychologists: Ensures interactions with technology are efficient and safe.

Week 2: Research Methods

Objectivity

• Objective measurements: Consistent across instruments and observers.

• Variable: Object, event, or concept being controlled, manipulated, or measured.

• Operational definitions: Statements describing procedures or operations used to record observations.

Validity and Reliability

• Validity: Degree to which an instrument measures what it claims to measure.

• Reliability: Consistency and stability of measurement across time and observers.

• Test-retest: Scores similar from one session to another.

• Alternate-forms: Scores similar on different versions of the test.

Generalizability of Results

• Generalizability: Extent to which results apply to other situations, individuals, or events.

• Population: Group researchers want to generalize about.

• Sample: Subset of population members.

• Random sample: Every individual has the same chance of being included.

Bias

• Demand characteristics: Unintentional cues from the researcher that influence behaviour.

• Hawthorne Effect: Subjects alter behaviour because they know they are being observed.

• Social desirability: Subjects respond in ways they think will be viewed favourably.

Reducing Bias

• Single-blind study: Participants do not know the purpose of the study or treatment.

• Double-blind study: Neither subject nor experimenter knows the exact treatment for any individual.

Characteristics of Good Research

• Peer review: Research is evaluated by experts before publication.

• Replication: Repeating a study and finding similar outcomes.

Characteristics of Poor Research

• Lack of falsifiable hypothesis.

• Anecdotal evidence.

• Bias.

• Appeal to authority.

• Appeal to common sense.

Research Designs

• Descriptive research: Describes characteristics of a population or phenomenon.

  • Quantitative: Statistics-based.

  • Qualitative: Participant interview oriented.

  • Mixed methods: Combines quantitative and qualitative.

  • Case study: In-depth report about a specific case.

  • Naturalistic observation: Unobtrusively observe and record behaviour in natural environment.

  • Self-reporting: Participants provide responses directly (e.g., surveys, interviews).

  • Correlational research: Measures degree of association between two or more variables.

    • Direction: Positive (both increase/decrease together), Negative (one increases, other decreases).

    • Magnitude: Strength of relationship.

  • Third variable problem: Unmeasured variable may be responsible for relationship.

• Experimental Method:

  • Random assignment: Technique for dividing samples into groups randomly.

  • Confounding variable: Variable outside researchers' control that may affect results.

Variables and Experimental Design

• Between-subjects design: Comparing performance across participants in different groups.

• Experimental group: Receives treatment/stimuli.

• Control group: Does not receive treatment/stimuli.

• Within-subjects design: Same participants respond to all types of stimuli/experimental conditions.

• Quasi-experimental method: Groups compared are selected based on predetermined characteristics, not random assignment.

Ethics in Research

• Research ethics board (REB): Committee charged with protection of human research participants.

• Informed consent: Participants must be informed and give consent.

• Deception: Misleading or partially informing participants of the true purpose; must be justified.

• Debriefing: Researchers explain the nature of the study after participation.

Statistical Primer

• Descriptive statistics: Techniques to organize, summarize, and interpret data.

• Frequency: Number of observations within a range of scores.

• Normal distribution: Symmetrical bell curve centered around a mean value.

• Skewed distribution: Asymmetrical distribution with a large cluster of scores on one side.

Key Table: Types of Research Designs

Design Type	Main Purpose	Example
Descriptive	Describe characteristics or behaviours	Survey of study habits
Correlational	Measure association between variables	Relationship between sleep and grades
Experimental	Test cause-effect by manipulating variables	Effect of caffeine on memory
Quasi-experimental	Compare groups based on existing characteristics	Comparing test scores by age group

Key Equations and Concepts

• Correlation coefficient: Measures strength and direction of relationship between variables. $r = \frac{\sum (x_i - \bar{x})(y_i - \bar{y})}{\sqrt{\sum (x_i - \bar{x})^2 \sum (y_i - \bar{y})^2}}$

• Normal distribution: Bell curve equation. $f(x) = \frac{1}{\sigma \sqrt{2\pi}} e^{-\frac{(x-\mu)^2}{2\sigma^2}}$

Additional info: Some explanations and examples have been expanded for clarity and completeness based on standard introductory psychology curriculum.