Class notes
Psy 101 Lecture Notes
- Course
- Psy 101
- Institution
- Harper College
This is a comprehensive and detailed note for Psy 101.
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PSY101!_______________________________
UNIT 1 —>
WEEK 1.2/1.3!
1. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior are
directly observable, like the amount of time baby cries and how much water a
person drinks from the water bottle. Whereas, mental processes are not directly
observable. Things like thinking, decision making or other emotional and cognitive
related things are not observable. BUT IN PSYCHOLOGY WE LOOK AT BOTH. THE
PROCESS OF PSYCHOLOGY IS SCIENCE WHICH MEANS it uses a scientific method
not because what it studies but because how it studies.
There are many beliefs in the world. How do we know which is right?
- By the SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE AND METHOD.
Scientific attitude :-
- Skepticism "" " " - Empirical evidence" " " - Objectivity!
Doubting and not taking something Actual research based support. Removing as much " "
true just cuz someone told you its " " " " " bias as possible even ""
true." " " " " " " " " tho you can not fully " "
" " " " " " " " " remove it 100%. You " "
" " " " " " " " " can at-least beware of
" " " " " " " " the biases you can " "
" " " " " " " " " remove!
" " " " " " " "" " " " " "
Scientific Method:-
Theory - broad idea, explains observations, predicts observations (use the theory to form a
hypothesis)!
Hypothesis - specific prediction, empirically testable, derived from theory ( educated guess or
a prediction which leads you to design a study to test)!
Research (is a test)!
Observation (create or modify the theory)!
Why are the scientific attitude and scientific method important?
- Our beliefs can be wrong. !
- Confidence does not equal accuracy. Just because you beliefs it’s true that does not always
is true.!
- Popularity of an idea does not equal accuracy doesn’t mea it’s true. !
,- Many cognitive biases. Humans have many cognitive biases and that we simplify the world
and focus on narrow aspects of the world. We usually miss things and misintercept the
world. !
Three types of Happiness Examples/Causes
I think my life is great, am satisfied with my job
Life Satisfaction Good income, achieving one’s goals, high self-esteem
Enjoying life, loving others
Positive feelings Supportive friends, interesting work, extroverted
personality
Few chronic worries, rarely sad or angry
Low Negative feelings Low neuroticism, one’s goals are in harmony, a positive
outlook
!
, WEEK 1.4!
Hedonic (emotional)Treadmill - the fact that we have boost on our happiness level but we
have a tendency to go back where we were. Example Another common example of the
hedonic treadmill occurs"after an individual wins the lottery. At first, the person is
ecstatic to have become a millionaire overnight. After several weeks or months, the
newly-minted millionaire becomes accustomed to her new lifestyle and experiences a
corresponding decrease in happiness.!
Adaptation - the tendency to go back where you started!
Overview of true experiments :
KEY FEATURES
- researcher manipulates causes then measures effects!
- IV = cause and DV = effect (CAUSE = independent variable - EFFECT = dependent variable)
- Random assignments to groups —> groups treated differently on the IV —> groups compared on
outcome(s)!
- Holds others variables constant because it would give clear view of independent variable
STRENGTHS
- allow you to study cause and effect !
- ALL others designs are non—experimental
LIMITATIONS
- some variables can’t / shouldn’t be manipulated!
- Confounds/biases
In true experiments, the more controlled you get the less the results are inclined ti generalize to the real
world.
Correlation - relationship between 2 variables can only be between +1 or -1. It also does not
equal causation.!
Positive Correlation - if value of A increases then predict B increases!
Negative Correlation - if value of A increases then predict B decreases!
No Correlation - if value of A increases can’t then predict B. They just don’t go together in any
systematic way.!
Strength (range -1 or +2)!
- Stronger = closer to +1 or -1!
- Weaker = closer to 0 !
Correlation coefficient - “r” !
Quasi experiments - does to use random assignment!
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