CrashCourse Psychology: 2 Videos Review

Introduction to Psychology Video Review

Psychology as a science has progressed from being perceived as the study of the soul to a more widely inclusive definition of behavioral and mental science. The former definition is Latin and was spurred partly by the Aristotle school of thought, claiming that human consciousness resided in the heart and not in the mind. As a science, psychology deals with how an individual’s subconscious is influenced by the environment and biology, affecting the behavioral patterns and mental processes that make up an individual. Many scholars have laid the foundations necessary to form modern-day psychological tenets, and their schools of thought have contributed to our current understanding of why human beings act the way they do.

The Chinese were the first documented people to use personality, intelligence, and psychological methods in choosing public officials about 2000 years ago. The first description of mental illnesses and the first psych ward was opened by Muhammad Al-Razi (CrashCourse, 2014). However, schools of thought concerned with establishing psychology as science started with Sigmund Freud, who argued that the brain could be reduced to structures, similar to how matter can be broken down in the physical sciences. He proposed that the answer lay in patient’s introspection when exposed to abstract, subjective notions like watching a sunset; arguably, this reasoning failed to get credence as the inner thoughts cannot be discovered through feelings.

It was not until Sigmund Freud proposed his theory of Psychoanalysis that the modern-day psychological viewpoint started to emerge. He proposed that the unconscious motives in the human mind shaped our personality; consequently, this theory laid the foundation for other theories, including behaviorism, psychodynamics, humanist psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, among other sciences that attempt to demystify human actions. The psychological tenets available today have been built for scholarly work spanning many years and comprehensive research into the subject.

Even though the face of psychology has changed over the years, the methods used to collect and analyze data draw psychologists closer to unveiling the secrets held by our minds. Science has come a long way, and many influencers have helped shape modern-day psychology. Although there can never be a simple answer to complex minds, the quest to discover how the unconscious affects feelings, thoughts, and personality will always necessitate the relevance of psychology as a science.

Research and Experimentation Video Review

In psychological research, there is a need to apply scientific methods to avoid bias while formulating theories. Some of the bias includes hindsight (where false intuition occurs through reinforcement) and false assumptions, whereby a certain probability of an event gives meaning. The types of research available while formulating a hypothesis include operationalization and experimentation methods, which aid in creating a replicable psychology theory.

In Psychology, a case study is a type of research method fixated on an individual. They are good at formulating a question, although they contain over-generalized data when used in isolation (CrashCourse, 2014). In the Natural observation method, the behavioral traits of the test subject are observed in the natural environment; in this kind of research method, there are good behavior descriptors, but the data gained is limited in explaining the patterns observed. Finally, surveys and interviews are used as a research method; this method is good at data collection, but a slight and subtle word change can influence the final outcome.

Operationalization involves the stages that are needed to perform the research and experimentation method in psychology research. The first step involves posing a question and turning it into a measurable test subject. Secondly, there needs to be a testable prediction that reports the research within a narrowed scope; this is called a hypothesis. Finally, the hypothesis needs to be experimented upon, and the results checked for replicability.

Within the experimentation phase, the relationship between a certain behavior or trait (independent variable) in a control group is checked for correlation against another with other traits (dependent variables). The investigator can then isolate the different effects by manipulating the independent variable while keeping all other dependent variables constant. The correlation shows the possibility of cause and effect but can’t prove their relationship. The replication of the same experiment by other independent researchers helps strengthen the theory’s acceptability as a predictor of the interaction between the independent and dependent variables. Scientific methods application in psychological research enables the determination of the truth in a certain theory. Therefore, scientific research methods and experimentation is a crucial steps in formulating a psychology theory.

References

CrashCourse. (2014, February 3). Intro to Psychology – Crash Course Psychology #1. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4pMVb0R6M&index=1&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOPRKzVLY0jJY-uHOH9KVU6

CrashCourse. (2014, February 10). Psychological Research – Crash Course Psychology #2. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFV71QPvX2I&index=2&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOPRKzVLY0jJY-uHOH9KVU6