1.1 What is psychology Flashcards
psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Behavior
includes actions, feelings, and biological states such as sleeping
Mental processes
include problem solving, intelligence, and memory,
Correcting Common Misconceptions About the Field of Psychology
may have the impression that psychology is all about how you feel and how you can feel better. Although a large proportion of psycholo- gists counsel or otherwise treat clients, most of these professionals hold a doctorate degree in psychology
The main goals of psychology and psychological research
● To describe behavior To predict behavior
● To explain behavior To control or change behavior
Scientific Method
the scientific method when testing ideas about behavior.
Outline the steps of the scientific method
- Define and describe the issue to be studied (a prediction)
- Form a testable hypothesis
- Choose an appropriate research strategy.
- Conduct the study to test your hypothesis.
- Analyze the data to support or reject your hypothesis.
A predictive hypothesis
- makes a specific prediction or set of predictions about the relationships among variables.
- description and prediction
- are made when the researcher measures the variables of interest but does not manipulate or control the variables in the study.
causal hypothesis
- specifically states how one variable will influence another variable.
- Tester only
- researcher is able to control or manipulate the main variables in a study
- can only be tested by means of an experiment.
- a researcher must be able to conclude how one variable affects or causes a change in another variable.
Observational
naturalistic studies are predominately used to achieve the goals of description and predic- tion. In their observational study, Campos et al. found that although both mothers and fathers
researchers attempt to minimize reactivity to ensure that they are observing the true behavior of their participants.
Surveys
knowing which behaviors are related to a higher frequency of illness enables a psychologist to predict who is more at risk for physical or mental illness. However, who you ask to complete a survey and how you ask them are critical elements in distinguish- ing good survey research from biased research.
surveys are advantageous in that they allow psychologists to pose a lot of questions to a large sample of people. Accurate information can be gathered in a relatively short period of time.
it can be used only to describe and predict behavior
survey meaning
a research method that asks a large group of people about their attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors
Correlational
The researcher does not control variables but rather measures them to see whether any reliable relationship exists between them.
correlation coefficient— a statistic that tells us how strong the relationship between two factors is.
positive correlation
means that as one variable increases, the other variable also tends to increase; or as one variable decreases, the other variable tends to decrease
negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other variable tends to decrease in what is referred to as an inverse relationship.
Correlational studies
enable research- ers to make predictions about behavior, but they do not allow us to draw cause- and-effect conclusions
experiment
a research method that is used to test causal hypotheses
causal conclusions are limited.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Experiments
- Experiments have sev- eral advantages.
- explaining and changing behavior
- Experiments also have disadvantages
- describing and predicting behavior
Ethical Principles of Psychological Research
psychologists affiliated with universities and colleges in the United States cannot conduct research unless their research proposal has passed review by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) (or human research ethics committees (HRECs) in other countries). The function of the IRB or HREC is to ensure that the research study being proposed conforms to a set of ethical standards or guidelines.
debriefing
the ethical principle that participants be fully informed of the nature of the study after participating in research involving deception
Ethical Principles of Psychological Research include
- Institutional Review Board (IRB)
- informed consent
- confidentiality
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
a committee that reviews research proposals to ensure that ethical standards have been met
informed consent
the ethical principle that research participants be told about various aspects of the study, including any risks, before agreeing to participate
confidentiality
the ethical principle that researchers do not reveal which data were collected from which participant
figures that influenced psychology’s development.
American Margaret Washburn (1871–1939), became the first woman to earn a doctorate in psychology.
seven modern perspectives
- biological,
- evolutionary,
- psychodynamic,
- behavioral,
- sociocultural,
- humanistic,
- cognitive.
biological perspective
look for a physical cause for a particular behavior. psychologists examine genetic, biochemical, and nervous system (brain functioning) relationships to behavior and mental processes.
also a branch of science referred to as neuroscience.
evolutionary perspective.
proposes that natural selection is the process that explains behaviors.
Behaviors that increase your chances of surviving are favored or selected over behaviors that decrease your chances of surviving
psychodynamic perspective
focuses on internal, often unconscious mental processes, motives, and desires or childhood conflicts to explain behavior by Freud
behaviorism
a psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of observable stimuli, responses, and consequences
Behavior is the most important aspect as it can be learned,observed and measured
Watson was influenced Pavlov and Skinner
behaviorism is the product of
Stimulus
Response
stimulus
any object or event that is perceived by our senses
response
an organism’s reaction to a stimulus
behavioral perspective
an approach that focuses on external, environmental influences on behavior
sociocultural perspective
an approach that focuses on societal and cultural factors that may influence behavior
humanistic perspective
an approach that focuses on how an individual’s view of him or herself and the world influences behavior
humanists are Abraham Maslow and Carl Roger✳️
psychologists who adopt a humanistic perspective explain behavior as stemming from your choices and free will
cognitive perspective
an approach that focuses on how mental processes influence behavior
Specialty Areas in Psychology
This diversity stems from the complexity of behavior and the interrelatedness of different areas.
What a developmental psychologist studies, for example, is connected to and may have an impact on the work of social, clinical, and educational psychologists.
women and minorities
women and minority individuals contributed significantly to the field.
Margaret Washburn became the first woman to be awarded a doctorate in psychology in 1894 (Furumoto, 1989)
Mary Calkins (1863–1930) became the first female president of the American Psychological Association in 1905. She studied at Harvard University with William James and performed several studies on the nature of memory.
Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847–1930) studied color vision in the early 1900s. Karen Horney (1885–1952) focused on environmental and cultural factors that influence personality development
(in 1920) and is known as the father of African American psychology for his many contributions to the education of Black people. Francis Sumner
Structuralism
An early psychological perspective concerned with identifying the basic elements of experience
a term coined not by Wundt but by his student Edward Titchener.
Introspection
Observing one’s own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Ignore what his object is, and instead, describe your conscious experience of it.
Wundt’s and Titchener’s research went beyond introspection and structuralism
Psychoanalytic theory
Sigmund Freud’s view that emphasizes the influence of unconscious desires and conflicts on behavior
Libido
Gestalt
To understand consciousness, we must study the whole, not just its component parts.
theory
an explanation of why and how a behavior occurs
critical thinking
thought processes used to evaluate and analyze information and apply it to other situations
functionalism
an early psychological perspective concerned with how behavior helps people adapt to their environment by James
