Unit 1: History and Approaches
Key People. ● Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of
Leipzig, Germany in 1879.
● G. Stanley Hall was the first president of the American Psychological Association
(APA)
● Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to earn a PhD and second woman to
become president of the APA.
● Mary Whiton Calkins was the first female president of the APA.
● William James developed the theory of functionalism. Wrote the first psychology
textbook.
● Edward Bradford Titchener developed the theory of structuralism, aiming to
identify the structural elements of the human mind.
● John B. Watson developed the school of thought, behaviorism.
Early Functionalism: School of thought that studies the function and purpose of consciousness on
Approaches behavior.
Structuralism: School of thought that studied the basic elements or structures of
consciousness.
Behaviorism: School of thought that defines psychology as the study of observable behavior.
Gestalt Psychology: Perception of an organized whole instead of pieces. Gestalt psychologists
emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into a meaningful whole.
,Psychological 1. Behavioral Perspective: psychological perspective that studies the influence of
Perspectives observable behaviors. Conditioning. Reinforcement.
2. Psychoanalytic Perspective: psychological perspective that attributes thoughts and
behavior to unconscious motives and conflicts. Psychoanalysts: Sigmund Freud.
3. Humanistic Perspective: psychological perspective that emphasizes a person’s positive
qualities, the capacity for personal growth, and freedom to choose their own destiny.
Humanists: Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow.
4. Cognitive Perspective: psychological perspective that attributes thoughts and
behavior to cognitive processes. Cognitive psychologists: Jean Piaget.
5. Biological Perspective: psychological perspective that attributes thoughts and
behavior to biological processes. Neuroscience. Biopsychology.
6. Evolutionary Perspective: psychological perspective that examines the influence of
evolution on thoughts and behavior. Natural selection. Evolutionary psychologists
(sociobiologists): Charles Darwin.
7. Socio-cultural Perspective: psychological perspective that studies how culture and
social situations influence behavior and cognitive processes.
8. Biopsychosocial Perspective: psychological perspective that studies the biological,
psychological, and social factors on human thought and behavior.
Introspection, the systematic self-observation and analysis of one’s own conscious experience.
Empiricism, knowledge comes from our senses, perception/observation.
Eclectic, use of more than one psychological approach/multiple perspectives.
, Unit 1: Research Methods
Intro to Hindsight bias: one often thinks when they hear a research finding that it is something they
Research have known all along.
Methods Two major kinds of research: applied and basic.
● Applied research: that which has a clear, practical application.
● Basic research: the other kind of research, which does not look at immediate, real
world applications, but explores questions that are of interests to psychologists.
Longitudinal study: a type of research design in which one group of subjects is followed or
observed for an extended period of time (years).
Cross-sectional study: a type of research design in which you collect data from many different
individuals/groups at a single point in time.
Parts of a Hypothesis: expresses a relationship between two variables.
Study Theories: what we derive many hypotheses from, attempt to explain some phenomenon and
allow researchers to generate testable hypotheses with the hope of collecting data that support
the theory.
Independent variable: what is manipulated.
Dependent variable: the variable that the independent variable produces a change in.
● Independent variable → Dependent variable.
● Watching violent TV programs → Peoples change in behavior
The independent variable is manipulated...the dependent variable is measured.
Operational definition: how you explain how you will measure a variable. a carefully worded
statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study.
Intelligence = variable.
Operational definition: the score on a standardized test, (SAT).
Valid research: research that measures what the researcher set out to measure: it is accurate.
Reliable research: research that can be replicated: it is consistent.
Parts of ❏ Participants: subjects in the study.
Research Part ❏ Experimental group: group that receives the treatment.
1 ❏ Control group: group that does not receive the treatment.
❏ Sampling: the process by which participants will be selected.
❏ Population: any group in which participants may be selected from.
❏ Representative: participants selected from one's sample being representative of a
larger population.
❏ Random selection: the idea that everyone from the population has an equal chance of
being selected.
❏ Stratified sampling: one way to increase the likelihood that the random sample will
, be representative of the larger population.
❏ Assignment: process by which participants are put into groups.
❏ Random assignment: participants have an equal chance of being placed in any group.
❏ Sampling error: the extent to which the sample differs from the population.
Parts of Laboratory experiment: conducted in a lab;
Research Part ● a controlled environment
2 Field experiment: conducted out in the world.
● More realistic
Confounding variable: any variable that influences the dependent variable besides the
independent variable.
Participant-relevant confounding variables: there may be a confounding variable associated
with the participants choosing which condition (group) they will be in. Results in differences
between the experimental and control group.
Situation-relevant confounding variables: the confound comes not from the participants
but from the situation in which each condition occurs (one group is in a classroom the other is
in a field setting)
● Experiments and random assignment prevent participant-relevant confounding
variables.
● Placing the control groups into environments as similar as possible prevents
situation-relevant confounding variables.
Group matching: a way to ensure that control groups are equivalent on some criterion.
● E.g; A sample is separated into control groups of people of the same sex. 1. Male 2.
Female.
Parts of Experimenter bias: occurs when the experimenter unconsciously treats participants differently
Research Part based on whether they are in the control or experimental group in order to increase the chance
3 that the data will support their hypothesis.
Sampling bias occurs when some members of a population are systematically more
likely to be selected in a sample than others.
Double-blind procedure: where the experimenter and the participants are both kept "blind" to
which condition (group) the participants are in.
● This procedure prevents experimenter bias; participants and experimenter cannot affect
the outcome of the study.
Single-blind procedure: occurs when the participants are kept “blind” to which condition
(group) they are in.
Demand characteristics: parts of the study reveal the hypothesis/purpose of the study.
Key People. ● Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of
Leipzig, Germany in 1879.
● G. Stanley Hall was the first president of the American Psychological Association
(APA)
● Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to earn a PhD and second woman to
become president of the APA.
● Mary Whiton Calkins was the first female president of the APA.
● William James developed the theory of functionalism. Wrote the first psychology
textbook.
● Edward Bradford Titchener developed the theory of structuralism, aiming to
identify the structural elements of the human mind.
● John B. Watson developed the school of thought, behaviorism.
Early Functionalism: School of thought that studies the function and purpose of consciousness on
Approaches behavior.
Structuralism: School of thought that studied the basic elements or structures of
consciousness.
Behaviorism: School of thought that defines psychology as the study of observable behavior.
Gestalt Psychology: Perception of an organized whole instead of pieces. Gestalt psychologists
emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into a meaningful whole.
,Psychological 1. Behavioral Perspective: psychological perspective that studies the influence of
Perspectives observable behaviors. Conditioning. Reinforcement.
2. Psychoanalytic Perspective: psychological perspective that attributes thoughts and
behavior to unconscious motives and conflicts. Psychoanalysts: Sigmund Freud.
3. Humanistic Perspective: psychological perspective that emphasizes a person’s positive
qualities, the capacity for personal growth, and freedom to choose their own destiny.
Humanists: Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow.
4. Cognitive Perspective: psychological perspective that attributes thoughts and
behavior to cognitive processes. Cognitive psychologists: Jean Piaget.
5. Biological Perspective: psychological perspective that attributes thoughts and
behavior to biological processes. Neuroscience. Biopsychology.
6. Evolutionary Perspective: psychological perspective that examines the influence of
evolution on thoughts and behavior. Natural selection. Evolutionary psychologists
(sociobiologists): Charles Darwin.
7. Socio-cultural Perspective: psychological perspective that studies how culture and
social situations influence behavior and cognitive processes.
8. Biopsychosocial Perspective: psychological perspective that studies the biological,
psychological, and social factors on human thought and behavior.
Introspection, the systematic self-observation and analysis of one’s own conscious experience.
Empiricism, knowledge comes from our senses, perception/observation.
Eclectic, use of more than one psychological approach/multiple perspectives.
, Unit 1: Research Methods
Intro to Hindsight bias: one often thinks when they hear a research finding that it is something they
Research have known all along.
Methods Two major kinds of research: applied and basic.
● Applied research: that which has a clear, practical application.
● Basic research: the other kind of research, which does not look at immediate, real
world applications, but explores questions that are of interests to psychologists.
Longitudinal study: a type of research design in which one group of subjects is followed or
observed for an extended period of time (years).
Cross-sectional study: a type of research design in which you collect data from many different
individuals/groups at a single point in time.
Parts of a Hypothesis: expresses a relationship between two variables.
Study Theories: what we derive many hypotheses from, attempt to explain some phenomenon and
allow researchers to generate testable hypotheses with the hope of collecting data that support
the theory.
Independent variable: what is manipulated.
Dependent variable: the variable that the independent variable produces a change in.
● Independent variable → Dependent variable.
● Watching violent TV programs → Peoples change in behavior
The independent variable is manipulated...the dependent variable is measured.
Operational definition: how you explain how you will measure a variable. a carefully worded
statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study.
Intelligence = variable.
Operational definition: the score on a standardized test, (SAT).
Valid research: research that measures what the researcher set out to measure: it is accurate.
Reliable research: research that can be replicated: it is consistent.
Parts of ❏ Participants: subjects in the study.
Research Part ❏ Experimental group: group that receives the treatment.
1 ❏ Control group: group that does not receive the treatment.
❏ Sampling: the process by which participants will be selected.
❏ Population: any group in which participants may be selected from.
❏ Representative: participants selected from one's sample being representative of a
larger population.
❏ Random selection: the idea that everyone from the population has an equal chance of
being selected.
❏ Stratified sampling: one way to increase the likelihood that the random sample will
, be representative of the larger population.
❏ Assignment: process by which participants are put into groups.
❏ Random assignment: participants have an equal chance of being placed in any group.
❏ Sampling error: the extent to which the sample differs from the population.
Parts of Laboratory experiment: conducted in a lab;
Research Part ● a controlled environment
2 Field experiment: conducted out in the world.
● More realistic
Confounding variable: any variable that influences the dependent variable besides the
independent variable.
Participant-relevant confounding variables: there may be a confounding variable associated
with the participants choosing which condition (group) they will be in. Results in differences
between the experimental and control group.
Situation-relevant confounding variables: the confound comes not from the participants
but from the situation in which each condition occurs (one group is in a classroom the other is
in a field setting)
● Experiments and random assignment prevent participant-relevant confounding
variables.
● Placing the control groups into environments as similar as possible prevents
situation-relevant confounding variables.
Group matching: a way to ensure that control groups are equivalent on some criterion.
● E.g; A sample is separated into control groups of people of the same sex. 1. Male 2.
Female.
Parts of Experimenter bias: occurs when the experimenter unconsciously treats participants differently
Research Part based on whether they are in the control or experimental group in order to increase the chance
3 that the data will support their hypothesis.
Sampling bias occurs when some members of a population are systematically more
likely to be selected in a sample than others.
Double-blind procedure: where the experimenter and the participants are both kept "blind" to
which condition (group) the participants are in.
● This procedure prevents experimenter bias; participants and experimenter cannot affect
the outcome of the study.
Single-blind procedure: occurs when the participants are kept “blind” to which condition
(group) they are in.
Demand characteristics: parts of the study reveal the hypothesis/purpose of the study.
