History, Approaches, and Methods
What to know
Psychology's roots run from structuralism (Wundt, Titchener: introspection into conscious elements) and functionalism (James: purpose and adaptation) through behaviorism (Watson, Skinner: observable behavior), psychoanalysis (Freud: unconscious conflict), humanism (Rogers, Maslow: growth and self-actualization), and today's cognitive and biological perspectives. Know the major modern approaches-biological, behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic, humanistic, sociocultural, evolutionary-and match each to a typical research question.
Methods
Distinguish descriptive (case study, naturalistic observation, survey), correlational, and experimental designs. Only experiments support causal claims because only they manipulate an independent variable (IV) and randomly assign participants, measuring a dependent variable (DV). Correlation coefficients range −1 to +1; magnitude shows strength, sign shows direction. Correlation does not imply causation-a third variable may explain both.
Traps
Questions love confounding variables, demand characteristics, placebo effects, and experimenter bias. Remember random assignment (to conditions) differs from random selection/sampling (from a population). Reliability means consistency; validity means measuring what you intend. Descriptive statistics summarize (mean, median, mode, standard deviation); inferential statistics test whether results generalize. Ethical standards require informed consent, debriefing, and minimizing harm.
Rule of thumb
Ask: "Did the researcher manipulate something and randomly assign?" If yes, it can be an experiment. If participants were merely measured as they already are, it is correlational-report association, not cause.
Worked example
A study finds coffee drinkers report more anxiety. You cannot conclude coffee causes anxiety; anxious people may drink more coffee, or a third factor (e.g., stressful jobs) may drive both. That is a correlational finding.