Basics of Psychology

There are three major themes, or key perspectives, that occur throughout the field of Psychology. One such theme concerns stability versus change. The question asked is: “To what extent do we remain stable over time, and to what extent do we change?” Psychology addresses changes over time in cognitive abilities, physical functioning, and personality.

A second theme is nature versus nurture. The question asked is: “To what extent are various aspects of our behavior shaped by inherited tendencies and to what extent are they learned?”

The third theme is rationality versus irrationality. Is it human nature for people to act rationally or irrationally in certain situations? Psychologists ask the question, “Why?”

The key perspectives in Psychology that cut across the previously mentioned three themes are as follows:

1. Behavioral perspective focusing on overt behavior;

2.Cognitive processes focusing on memory, thought, and reasoning;

3. Biological perspective focusing on the biological processes that underlie the behavior;

4. Evolutionary perspective focusing on the possible role of evolved psychological mechanisms in human behavior;

5. Developmental perspective focusing on changes in behavior and cognitive processes over a life span;

6. Psychodynamic perspective focusing on the role of hidden and often unconscious processes; and

7. Cultural or multicultural perspective where the focus is on the role of social and cultural factors and especially on the differences between cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual preference, and racial groups.

In summary, the important concept is that human behavior is highly complex and is influenced by many different factors. Therefore, any aspect of behavior can be examined from these many different perspectives.

The knowledge gathered by psychologists rests firmly on the scientific method and not just on common sense. The adoption of the scientific method makes psychology a science. The phrase, scientific method, covers the systematic gathering of data in an objective manner. The four basic rules by which all scientists, and psychologists included, pursue are listed on this slide. They include:

Accuracy: A commitment to gathering and evaluating information in a precise and error-free manor;

Objectivity: A commitment to obtaining and evaluating information free from bias;

Skepticism: A commitment to accepting findings as accurate only after verified many times by many scientists; and

Open-mindedness: A commitment to change one’s views in the face of new evidence.

The next slides will go into further detail of the relationship of Psychology and the scientific method.

When psychologists are asked to evaluate information about human behavior, they employ critical thinking skills. Such thinking examines all claims and assumptions, carefully evaluates existing evidence and cautiously assesses all conclusions. In actual practice critical thinking involves the following guidelines:

Never jump to conclusions;

Keep an open mind;

Always ask how the data was gathered;

Be skeptical and always wonder about why someone is making an argument or offering a conclusion;

Never be persuaded into accepting a view because others accept it; and

Be aware that your own emotions can influence your thinking.

In summary, critical thinking involves considering issues, ideas, or claims before coming to a conclusion and thus avoids blind acceptance of conclusions.

Now that you have learned about the scientific method and its relationship to critical thinking, we will learn about the research methods used in the field of psychology. There are three basic procedures that psychologists use when adding to our knowledge about human behavior. These procedures are: observation, correlation, and experimentation. This slide will discuss the use of observation.

Observation in science is defined as the systematic observation accompanied by careful, accurate measurement. One way in which psychologists use systematic observation is in case studies. A case study is an approach in which one or perhaps a few persons are studied carefully and often over long periods of time. Detailed information is gathered about individuals and is used to develop general principles about behavior. There are several drawbacks to this approach. First, because all humans are unique, it is difficult to draw conclusions that can be generalized to all other persons. Second, there is the problem of the researcher getting emotionally involved and losing his or her scientific objectivity. Another form of systematic observation, and commonly used, is the survey method. Researchers obtain a limited sample of behavior from large numbers of individuals, usually through their responses to questionnaires or surveys. Surveys can also be repeated over long periods of time to track changes. An advantage of this method is information can be gathered quickly and efficiently from many people at once.

However, surveys must meet certain requirements. The first issue is sampling. Are the persons selected representatives of the larger population about which predictions will be made? The second issue is the way in which the survey is worded. Just changing a single word in a question may shift the meaning