Lecture Notes: Introduction to Psychology

Overview

• Authors: Jorden A. Cummings and Lee Sanders
• Purpose: To provide an introduction to psychology using a combination of original content and materials from open educational resources (OERs).
• Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Key Topics

Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology

• Definition: Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior.
• Popular Media Influence: Shows like Dr. Phil highlight psychologists' roles in personal advice and forensic psychology in crime dramas.
• Fields of Work: Psychologists work in research, counseling, therapy, schools, and businesses.
• Research Methods: Observation, questionnaires, interviews, and laboratory studies.

1.1 Psychology as a Science

• Intuition vs. Science: Intuition is insufficient for understanding behavior; scientific research helps differentiate between values and facts.
• Empirical Methods: Use of scientific method to study behavior, emphasizing empirical data collection.
• Levels of Explanation: Biological, interpersonal, and cultural influences on behavior.

Chapter 2: Major Perspectives

• Historical Perspectives: Biological, psychodynamic, behaviorist, humanistic, cognitive, and evolutionary psychology.
• Development of Psychology: Transition from philosophical to scientific discipline.
• Major Schools: Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviorism, Psychodynamic, Cognitive, Social-Cultural.

2.1 Biological Psychology

• Focus: Understanding behavior through biological factors like genetics and neurobiology.
• Research Methods: Introspection, experimentation.

2.2 Psychodynamic Psychology

• Key Concepts: Unconscious processes, influence of childhood experiences.
• Key Figures: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung.

2.3 Behaviorist Psychology

• Focus: Observable behavior, reinforcement, and conditioning.
• Key Figures: Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner.

Chapter 3: Psychological Science & Research

• Research Types: Basic research (fundamental questions) and applied research (real-world issues).
• Research Designs: Descriptive, correlational, and experimental.
• Ethical Research: Informed consent, minimizing harm, and debriefing.

3.1 Scientific Method

• Importance: Empirical, objective procedures to collect, analyze, and interpret data.
• Research Hypotheses: Specific predictions that can be tested empirically.

3.2 Ethical Research Foundations

• Moral Principles: Weighing risks vs. benefits, acting with integrity, seeking justice, respecting rights.
• Framework for Ethics: Involves research participants, scientific community, and society.

Chapter 4: Genetics and Evolution

• Nature vs. Nurture: Ongoing debate about the influence of genetics vs. environment on behavior.
• Behavioral Genetics: Study of genetic and environmental influences on behaviors.
• Evolutionary Psychology: Examines how natural selection has shaped behavior and cognitive processes.

4.1 Nature-Nurture Question

• Behavioral Genetics: Uses methods like twin studies and adoption studies to separate genetic from environmental influences.
• Heritability Coefficient: Measures the degree of genetic influence on behavior.

Key Lessons and Takeaways

• Psychology is a diverse and multifaceted field that integrates various perspectives to understand behavior.
• Scientific methods and ethical guidelines are essential for conducting credible and responsible research.
• The nature-nurture debate remains central to psychological inquiry, highlighting complex interactions between genetics and environment.

Overall Conclusion: Psychology provides a comprehensive framework for understanding human behavior through scientific research and diverse theoretical perspectives.