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Psychology IB > 1.1 What is psychology? > Flashcards

1.1 What is psychology? Flashcards

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1
Q

What is psychology?

A

Scientific study of human behaviour, cognitive processing and attitudes

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2
Q

What is the mind?

A

The mind is defined as the part of us that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives and judges

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3
Q

What is behaviour?

A

Behaviour is the coordinated responses of whole living organisms to internal and/or external stimuli (external observable processes)

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4
Q

What are examples of behaviour?

A

Can include gestures, facial expressions, verbal responses or endocrine reactions

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5
Q

What are mental processes?

A

(internal patterns of information processing) can influence behaviour
A result of both internal and environmental factors

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6
Q

What are cognitive processes?

A

explain how the mind works

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7
Q

what are examples of cognitive processes?

A

Processes include; memory, perception, attention, decision-making and thinking/reasoning

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8
Q

What is physiology?

A

Physiology - refers to our biological system, particularly the role of our brain and nervous system, hormones and genetics in behaviour

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9
Q

What are attitudes?

A

Attitudes - feelings of liking or disliking towards an object, person or idea
Can affect behaviour in both a positive and negative way

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10
Q

What are emotions?

A

Emotions - combination of psychological and cognitive processes

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11
Q

What 3 main approaches are used in psychology?

A

biological
cognitive
sociocultural

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12
Q

What does the biological approach focus on?

A

focuses on physiology, e.g genetics

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13
Q

What does the cognitive approache focus on?

A

focuses on mental processes e.g memory, thinking or perception

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14
Q

What does the sociocultural approach focus on?

A

focuses on how environment and culture affect behaviour

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15
Q

What is a theory?

A

an explanation for a psychological phenomenon

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16
Q

What can theories be used for?

A

Used to summarise, organise and explain observations

Make predictions on human behaviour

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17
Q

What are theories built on?

A

Built on concepts (hypothetical constructs) which scientists need to develop tools to measure them

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18
Q

What 7 characteristics does a good theory need?

A 
Testable
Evidence
Application
Concepts
Unbiased
Predictive
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19
Q

What does it mean if a theory is testable?

A

needs to be able to be proved wrong and able to test the validity
If not able to do so, theory deemed unfalsifiable

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20
Q

What type of evidence can be used to prove/disprove theories?

A 
Anecdotal data (personal experiences) can support or challenge the theory
In order to test theories, empirical evidence is used

May be in the form of an experiment, observation, interviews or case studies
Must be replicated

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21
Q

What is empirical evidence?

A

information acquired by observation or experimentation

22
Q

What does it mean if a theory is applicable?

A

high heuristic validity (has a lot of application)

Can be applied to many different situations and be used to explain them

23
Q

What does it mean if a theory uses concepts well?

A

important that test is designed to do what it’s supposed to do and agreed upon by many psychologists

24
Q

Are all concepts measured easily?

A

There are many concepts which can be problematic to measure: stress, anxiety, love, level of trust, self efficacy, intelligence

25
Q

What does it mean if a theory is biased?

A

biased to one age range, gender, western culture or a certain class of people

Goals of researcher may also bias outcomes to prove their point

26
Q

What is reductionism?

A

describing a complex phenomenon in terms of simple explanations or singular variables

27
Q

What does it mean if a theory is predictive?

A

predicts behaviour / not able to predict an individual’s behaviour but a trend in population

28
Q

What are artefacts and when may they be formed?

A

If experiments are not carefully controlled they can produce artefacts, results that are associated with the effect of unforeseen factors

29
Q

What is quantitative data?

A

in the form of numbers

Aims to arrive at numerically expressed laws that characterise the behaviour of large groups of individuals

30
Q

What does quatitative research use?

A

Research operates with variables (something that can take on varying values) any characteristic that is objectively registered and quantified

31
Q

What needs to be done to internal characteristics (e.g emotions) before they can be measured?

A

Internal characteristics need to be operationalised first

32
Q

What is a construct?

A

Construct is a theoretically defined variable e.g violence, attention, love

33
Q

Can constructs be directly observed?

A

NO

34
Q

What is operationlisation and why is it needed?

A

Operationalization of a construct means expressing it in terms of observable behaviour

i.e creating a method to measure a construct

35
Q

What are 3 types of quantitative data?

A
  1. experimental study
  2. correlational study
  3. descriptive study
36
Q

What variables do experimental studies have?

A

includes one independent and one dependent variable and other important variables are controlled

37
Q

Can the IV be manipulated in experimental studies?

A

IV is manipulated by researcher and DV is measured

38
Q

Can causation be inferred in an experimental study?

A

YES

Iv manipulated is cause and effect inference and leads to dv changing

39
Q

What are correlational studies and how are conclusions formed?

A

no variables are manipulated and a conclusion is formed on data

40
Q

Can causation be inferred from correlational studies?

A

NO

41
Q

What are descriptive studies? How are they approached?

A

relationships between variables are not investigated - variables approached separately

42
Q

What are descriptive studies used for?

A

Used to get a broad idea (e.g questionnaire) before diving into specifics

43
Q

What is qualitative data?

A

data comes in the form of texts, interview transcripts or observational notes
in depth study of particular phenomenon

44
Q

What type of data is collected for qualitative data?

A

Makes use of data collection such as interviews or observations

45
Q

What are examples of qualitative research methods?

A 
observation, 
interview,
 focus group, 
case study, 
content analysis
46
Q

What characteristics are used to describe a research study and make a judgment of its quality?

A
  • sampling
  • credibility
  • generalisability
  • bias
47
Q

What is sampling?

A

process of finding and recruiting individuals for the study

48
Q

What is a sample?

A

Sample is group of individuals taking part in the project

49
Q

What is credibility?

A

degree to which results of the study can be trusted to reflect the reality

50
Q

What is generalisability?

A

the extent to which results of the study can be applied beyond the sample and the settings used in the study itself

Psychology IB (8 decks)

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