Psychology applied to modern life adjustment in the 21st century, 11e chapter 1

The Scientific Approach, continued• Advantages of the scientific approach: 1.Clarity and precision – empiricism demands that scientists state exactly what they are referring to in their

Chapter 1 Adjusting to Modern Life

The Paradox of Progress

• What Is the “Paradox of Progress”?

– Today, we enjoy more technological

advances, more leisure time and choices than ever before

– However, we are not happier In fact, our perceived quality of life seems to be

worse

• Why is this so?

The Paradox of Progress, continued

• Possible explanations:

– Traditional sources of emotional security,

such as family, community, and religion, have been lost

– We are overwhelmed by rapid cultural

change

– Mental demands of modern life have

become too complex

– Excessive materialism has weakened social ties, makes us insecure and undermines our sense of well-being

The Search for Direction,

• The greatest challenge of modern life may be our search for meaning in life or a sense of

direction

• In desperation, people turn to many ineffective and/or self-destructive sources for

enlightenment (e.g., radio personalities, cults)

• One of the most prominent sources is self-help books

• But, how valuable are they?

The Search for Direction, continued

• The value of self-help books

– Excellent self-help books do exist However,

many are not effective

• Their message is too vague to be useful

• They are not based on solid, scientific research

• They don’t provide explicit directions for changing behavior

• They encourage a narcissistic

(self-centered) approach to life

The Search for Direction, continued

• What to look for in a good self-help book:

1.Clarity in communication

2.Books that are realistic, that don’t promise too much change too soon

3.Books by authors with good credentials

4.Books with a theoretical or research basis

5.Books that provide detailed, explicit directions about how to alter your behavior

6.Books that focus on a particular kind of

problem or behavior

The Psychology of Adjustment,

• Psychology is “the science that studies

behavior and the physiological and mental

processes that underlie it, and it is the

profession that applies the accumulated

knowledge of this science to practical

problems”

• Adjustment is “the psychological processes

through which people manage or cope with the demands and challenges of everyday life”

The Scientific Approach

• Empiricism is “the premise that knowledge

should be acquired through observation”

• Thus, the conclusions of scientific psychology are based on careful, systemic observation rather than speculation or “common sense”

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Advantages of the scientific approach:

1.Clarity and precision – empiricism demands that scientists state exactly what they are referring to in their hypothesis

2.Relative intolerance for error

• Scientists’ ideas are subjected to empirical tests

• Their ideas and research are scrutinized

by other scientists

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Experimental research: looking for causes

– The experiment is “a research method in

which the investigator manipulates one (independent) variable under carefully controlled conditions, and observes whether any changes occur in a second (dependent) variable as a result”

The Scientific Approach, continued

• An independent variable – “is a condition or

event that an experimenter varies in order to

see its impact on another variable”

– It is the variable the researcher manipulates

in the experiment

• The dependent variable – “is the variable that

is thought to be affected by the manipulations of the independent variable”

– It is usually a measurement of behavior

• See Schachter’s (1959) study in Figure 1.2

Figure 1.2 The basic elements of an experiment This

diagram provides an overview of the key features of the experimental method, as illustrated by Schachter’s study of anxiety and affiliation The logic of the experiment rests on treating the experimental and control groups alike except for the manipulation of the independent variable.

The Scientific Approach, continued

• The experimental group – “consists of the

subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable”

– In Schachter’s (1959) study, the

experimental group was told the shocks would be painful

• The control group – “consists of similar

subjects who do not receive the special

treatment given to the experimental group”

– In Schachter’s (1959) study, the control

group was told the shocks would not be

painful

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Determining cause and effect in experiments

– If the experimental and control groups are

alike in every way except for the treatment from the independent variable (whether shock

will be painful), and

– if a difference in the dependent variable is

found (e.g., desire to affiliate), then

– the difference in their response must be due

to the independent variable (e.g., fear of the

painful shock)

The Scientific Approach, continued

• The advantage of using experiments is that

– precise control allows cause and effect

conclusions to be drawn

• The disadvantage of using experiments is that

– there are some variables of interest that

cannot, for ethical reasons, be manipulated

in an experiment

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Correlational Research: Looking for Links

– A correlation exists when two variables are

related to each other

– A correlation coefficient is “a numerical

index of the degree of relationship that exists between two variables”

– It provides two pieces of information:

1 How strongly related two variables are.

2 The direction (positive or negative) of the

relationship

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Positive Correlations – “indicate that two

variables covary in the same direction”.

– High scores on variable x are related to high scores on variable y, and low scores on

variable x are related to low scores on variable y.

• Negative Correlations – “indicate that two

variables covary in the opposite direction”.

– High scores on variable x are related to low scores on variable y (see Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 Positive and negative correlations Variables are positively correlated if they tend to increase

and decrease together and are negatively correlated if one variable tends to increase when the other

decreases Hence, the terms positive correlation and negative correlation refer to the direction of the

relationship between two variables.

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Strength of the correlation is indicated by the

size of the correlation coefficient

• Correlation coefficients can range from 0 to +1.00 (if positive) and from 0 to -1.00 (if

negative)

• Coefficients near 0 indicate there is no

association between variables

• Coefficients near either +1.00 or -1.00,

indicate strong associations (see Figure 1.4)

Figure 1.4 Interpreting correlation coefficients The magnitude of a correlation coefficient indicates the

strength of the relationship between two variables The closer a correlation is to either +1.00 or -1.00, the

stronger the relationship between the variables The square of a correlation, which is called the coefficient of determination, is an index of the correlation’s strength and predictive power This graph shows how the

coefficient of determination and predictive power goes up as the magnitude of a correlation increases.

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Common methods of finding correlations

between variables

– Naturalistic observation – “careful

observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects”

– Case studies – “in-depth investigation of

an individual participant”

– Surveys – “structured questionnaires

designed to solicit information about specific aspects of participants’ behavior”

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Advantages of using correlations

– They allow us to explore variables not

suitable for/or ethical to manipulate in experimental research

• (e.g., the effect of psychological trauma

on males versus females)

– Thus, correlations allow investigation of a broader array of psychological phenomena than is possible in experimental research

The Scientific Approach, continued

• Disadvantages of using correlations

– Correlations only tell us that two variables

are related, not how the two variables are

related

• x could be causing changes in y,

• y could be causing changes in x, or

• z, a third variable, could be causing changes in x and y (see Figure 1.6).

– Thus, we cannot determine cause and effect from correlations alone

Figure 1.6 Possible causal relations between correlated variables When two variables are correlated,

there are several possible explanations It could be that x causes y, that y causes x, or that a third variable,

z, causes changes in both x and y As the correlation between relationship satisfaction and sexual

satisfaction illustrates, the correlation itself does not provide the answer This conundrum is sometimes referred to as the “third variable problem.”

The Roots of Happiness, continued

• What makes people happy?

• What is not very important.

1 Money – the correlation between income and happiness is very weak (.13) in U.S

2 Age –accounts for less than 1% of variation in reported happiness

3 Gender –also accounts for less than 1%

of variation in reported happiness

The Roots of Happiness, continued

Variables that are not important, continued

4 Parenthood – good and bad aspects of parenthood offset each other

5 Intelligence – there is no association between IQ and happiness

6 Physical attractiveness – attractive people enjoy many advantages in society, but the relationship with happiness is very weak

The Roots of Happiness, continued

• What has a moderate impact?

1.Health – health and happiness have a

positive correlation of 32

2.Social activity – people who are satisfied

with their friendships and are socially active report above-average levels of happiness

3.Religion – people with sincere religious

convictions are more likely to be happy

4.Culture – more affluent nations are more

likely to be happy

The Roots of Happiness, continued

• What is very important?

1.Love and marriage – across cultures, for

men and women, married people are happier than people who are single or divorced

2.Work – job satisfaction is strongly related to happiness

3.Genetics and personality – extraversion (or

positive emotionality) is an inherited trait that

is a strong predictor of happiness

The Roots of Happiness, continued

• Conclusions regarding roots of happiness

1.Subjective feelings of happiness are more important than objective measures

2. Happiness is relative

– We evaluate our happiness relative to

what others around us have, and

– We evaluate our happiness relative to our own expectations

3.It is hard for people to predict what will make them happy

The Roots of Happiness, continued

Conclusions, continued

4.People adapt to their own circumstances

– Happiness is affected by hedonic adaptation This occurs when “the mental

scale that people use to judge the pleasantness-unpleasantness of their experiences shifts so that their neutral point, or baseline for comparison, is changed”