AS and A2 PSYCHOLOGY TERMS Flashcards
Age of witness
Accuracy of witnessing an event may be influenced by the age of the witness - especially elderly and children may not witness as accurately as a focused, working professional adult, say.
Aggression
Intentional or unintentional harm directed towards others
Aim of a research project
What is the reason for carrying out a project, experiment or survey (research in general)? An indication and what the research intends to investigate or find.
Antidepressant
Pharmaceutical drugs used to treat mood disorders especially depression
Antipsychotics
Pharmaceutical drugs used to treat psychotic disorders such as symptoms of hallucinations and disturbed thinking.
Anxiety
A physical tension when feeling stressed. Anxiety can affect mental abilities such as logical coherence or witnessing an event.
Anxiolytic
Pharmaceutical drugs used to treat anxiety - e.g., benzodiazepines act as a sedative – slowing down the body’s functions – and are used for both sleeping problems and anxiety.
They work by increasing the effect of a brain chemical called GABA (gamma amino butyric acid). GABA reduces brain activity in the areas of the brain responsible for:
rational thought memory emotions essential functions, such as breathing The main effects of benzodiazepines are: sedation reduced anxiety muscle relaxation CRITIQUE Benzodiazepines are very effective in the short term but they may stop working if you take them continuously for more than a few months. This is because your brain adjusts to their effect, and may be hypersensitive to natural brain chemicals when they are stopped.
Attachment
The emotional bond between two people, especially between a child and primary care giver (or elderly parent and child when the roles reverse!)
Explain aversion therapy from a behaviorist point of view.
BEHAVIOURISM: a therapy used to create a new stimulus-response bond to suppress or alter undesirable behaviour.
How is data arranged on a BAR CHART?
Vertical (y) axis shows the variable SCORE.
Horizontal (x) axis shows the variables that were MEASURED.
Behavioural approach / behaviourism
An approach or school of thought that sees abnormal (and normal) behaviour as learned through conditioning processes.
Behaviourism rejects free will and is deterministic such that if X conditions occur, Y behaviour will (or probably will) happen.
What is a behavioural category?
When observing participants, psychologists categorise people’s behaviour into categories such as ‘passive to authority’ or ‘aggressive to peer group’ or ‘distracted’, etc.
What are benzodiazepines
Pharmaceutical drugs used to control stress be acting on neurotransmitters.
Biological approach
An approach or school of thought that sees psychological problems and issues as a result of physiological origins and symptoms - accordingly, treatment focuses on bio-chemistry or altering physiological conditions.
The mind IS the brain according to this school.
E.g., depression is seen as a chemical imbalance, hence biochemical drugs may be used or surgery.
Blank slate or ‘tabula rasa’
The notion that we are born without knowledge or any characteristics, personality, or behaviour dispositions. Usually referred to by behaviourists.
Implication - exposure to events in life creates your personality.
What did John Bowlby do?
Attachment theorist: Bowlby applied the principles of imprinting of the care-giver to human infants. Early impressions of this relationship are then evaluated for, e.g., relationship issues later in life.
What is a case study?
Investigation of a single participant/patient rather than a study of many people - useful for reviewing extraordinary issues or problems.
Define classical conditioning
Behaviourist theory (PAVLOV!)
We learn from the associations we make between two events - e.g., bell rings, we get food => salivation;
e.g., go to a pub with smoking friends => take out a cigarette.
e.g, enter headmaster’s office => stress :)
Cognitive approach
An approach or school of though in psychology that focuses on abnormal behaviour (or any kind of behaviour) as resulting from ‘faulty’ thinking.
Treatment - challenge people’s thinking or help them to rethink their view of the world or issues.
CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
An approach or school of thought within the Cognitive Approach: CBT seeks to identify errors or distortions in thinking and to help people see things differently so they may in turn act/behave differently.
What is a ‘cognitive interview’ for witnesses?
Techniques used to help witnesses recall events or experiences (e.g., the police may use these to help recall stressful events).
What is a ‘cognitive triad’?
A term used by Aaron Beck (1976) argues that depressed people think negatively about THEMSELVES, the WORLD, and the FUTURE.
What is the ‘computer analogy’?
A cognitive approach to seeing the brain/mind as a computer. This is an analogy that divides our brain into the ‘hard drive’ (or hard wired parts) and the ‘applications’ (software) that we learn.
Other analogies - ‘our operating system’ to describe how we react/choose.
What is a ‘condition’ in research methods?
Condition describes different manipulations of the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
(IV: the variable that the research alters, e.g., temperature in a room in which ppts are answering questions…)
What is a ‘confounding variable’?
A variable that interferes with research which may then skew results.
Imagine studying two variables - maths scores and listening to Baroque versus Hip-Hop but some ppts drink coke while answering (coke is a stimulant): that would be confounding. And annoying :)
ALSO: confounding variables are likely to occur when a researcher cannot randomly assign ppts to groups.
What does ‘content analysis’ mean?
A method of removing data from newspapers, magazines, internet sites, interviews, broadcasts.
Researchers may look for common patterns in word use, say; responses to forum comments; activity on social media (same person replying lots in the middle of the night…)
Describe ‘correlation’
This is a statistical technique used to explore whether two variables RELATE in some way or other. Researcher uses DEPENDENT and INDEPENDENT VARIABLES (and tries to keep it to two only)
Positive correlations increase together (e.g., fitness and time in the gym)
Negative correlations - one increases while the other variable decreases (maths scores vs alcohol units)
What is a ‘correlation coefficient’?
A statistic describing the correlation that may exist between two variables.
+1 = perfectly positive (x goes up same rate as y goes up)
-1 = perfectly negative (x goes up at the same rate as y goes down)
0 = no correlation
Researchers speak of ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ correlations depending on the number.
0.0 to 0.3 is weak,
0.3 to 0.7 is moderate,
above 0.7 is strong.
What is a ‘co-variable’?
aka ‘covariate’
Used in correlation research: reviewing how data may correlate that are not set up by the researcher (i.e., no dependent or independent variables) but to see if one set of data has a relationship with another.
E.g., urbanisation vs depression.
The covariate/covariable may explain a psychological issue. So, “A high level of urbanisation is associated with increased risk of psychosis and depression for both women and men.”
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/urbanisation-and-incidence-of-psychosis-and-depression/AF3FDF51E9DA192097BEF153D9A02148
What is ‘debriefing’?
It relates to ethics and how experiments are done: to avoid unnecessary harm following a psychological experiment, the ppts have the experiment explained to them afterwards.
What is ‘deception’?
Relates to ethics: intentional misleading of ppts to secure a better experiment
What are demand characteristics?
When ppts latch onto how they think the researchers want them to answer/behave (usually from clues in the experiment outline)
*see ‘deception’ and why that may have a use!
What is a ‘dependent variable’?
This is what the researcher is keen to measure. The data produced depend on changes to the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE.
E.g, how do test scores (DV) change if the lighting in the room is changed (IV).
Describe a ‘directional hypothesis’ (or ‘one tailed hypothesis’)
Given a hypothesis (what a researcher expects to find), a directional hypothesis predicts a particular relationship that may be discovered.
E.g., Eating protein and fats before a test may improve test results (positive correlation)
Smoking cigarettes may be negatively correlated with male fertility (more smoking, less sperm)
Describe distress
Negative stress (as opposed to eustress, or good stress) caused by STRESSORS creating a feeling that we cannot cope.
What is dream analysis and what school of thought (approach) uses it?
The content of people’s dreams is said to have meaning, often emanating from the subconscious - in dreams repressed thoughts or feelings may be expressed.
Used by the psychodynamic school.
What is palliative care?
Use of treatment or interventions to suppress an abnormal behaviour or stress. (Compare with curative care)
What is curative care?
Use of treatment or interventions to cure an abnormal behaviour or stress. (Compare with palliative care).
What are ethical guidelines to a psychologist?
The boundaries within which researchers tend to work (or should work) to avoid breaching ppts rights or dignity.
Key concepts used to define the boundaries include:
consent (get if possible)
deception (avoid if possible)
debriefing (if possible)
right to withdraw (to be respected)
confidentiality (if appropriate must be respected)
protection from harm (if appropriate)
considerations regarding minors and mentally incapacitated
Note some key ethical issues to consider
consent (get if possible)
deception (avoid if possible)
debriefing (if possible)
right to withdraw (to be respected)
confidentiality (if appropriate must be respected)
protection from harm (if appropriate)
considerations regarding minors and mentally incapacitated
consideration of long term consequences of a trial/experiment (ppt harm, psychological harm, stress)
use of data previously gained through unethical experiments (should it be used?)
What is even sampling?
Recording clearly defined behaviours as they are observed.
Briefly explain the theory of evolution
Species develop and adapt to their environmental conditions over time. Over a long period mutations from adaptation may be passed genetically to form a new species. The mechanism is through sexual reproduction.
What does ‘experimental design’ mean?
The process of designing an experiment and how participants are allocated to the different conditions (or IV levels) in an experiment.
- experiment group with control group?
- how many ppts
- use of same or different ppts when changing conditions (independent variables)
- REPEATED MEASURES aka “within groups” (same ppts partake in each IV condition change)
- INDEPENDENT MEASURES aka “between groups” (different ppts in each IV condition)
- COUNTERBALANCE (each group does both conditions in a different order)
- MATCHED PAIRS (each IV condition uses different but similar ppts - same gender, age, profession…)
Describe external RELIABILITY
The extent to which something is consistent over repeated occasions.
compare with external validity
Describe external VALIDITY
aka ‘ecological validity’
How well does an experiment relate to real world?
What are EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES?
Factors or conditions that may be affecting an experiment - preferably these are to be avoided or minimised in lab experiments.
(E.g., external noises affecting ppts concentration)
Describe ‘eye witness testimony’
A person’s report on being in or observing an event such as an accident or crime.
What is a ‘field experiment’?
Research that manipulates variables in a natural (real world) situation. Kinds of variables: building used contrived external noise visual environment (colours in room) no. of confederates in a location
What is free association and which approach is it associated with?
Free association is a method where a therapist attempts to access the subconscious through providing the client with pictures or words underlined the client to freely associate other ideas or memories accordingly. It is used in psychodynamic theory.
What is free will?
Free well, or volition, stands for our ability to make our own choices freely, which means that what we choose is not determined by other conditions. It is opposed to DETERMINISM, which asserts that our choices are illusory.
What are hormones?
Hormones are chemical messages released into the bloodstream by the endocrine system that then travel to different organs around the body and have an effect. For example, when adrenaline is released the heart beats faster and blood pressure rises for the familar flight or fright response.
What is an hypothesis?
Hypothesis is a formalised statement of the aims of a research project. It is set out as a statement predicting what may be discovered. It can be directional (that is a positive or negative correlation as expected) or non-directional (the researcher does not know what kind of correlation is to be expected).
Explain independent groups design
This is also known as experimental design in which participants are allocated to different groups, each group does something slightly different in the experiment on the performance of the groups is then analysed.
What is an independent variable
The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated in an experiment. For example the temperature in the room, or the number of participants in a group study.
What are individual differences to a psychologist?
These are the things that make everybody different from one another, such as personality. It is a useful concept to use when examining statistical research, which may ignore individual differences between the participants. this may mean that an element of the psychological story is missing.
What is internal reliability?
This refers to an experiment being consistent with the question being asked.
Also - the extent to which a study rules out or makes unlikely alternative explanations.
So if we were examining students’ ability to work under time constraints, we would want to rule out confounding variables such as the use of caffeine stimulants, say.
Other explanations to a study are called ‘threats’!
What is internal validity?
This refers to whether the researcher has measured what they intended to do.
How confident is the researcher in finding a cause and effect?
Has the researcher removed extraneous or confounding variables?
Did the research have an effect on the results?
Example: As part of a stress experiment, people are shown photos of war atrocities. After the study, they are asked how the pictures made them feel, and they respond that the pictures were very upsetting. In this study, the photos have good internal validity as stress producers.
What is inter-rater reliability?
Checking whether two or more observations of the same event are consistent or not.
Name two types of interview
Structured or unstructured. Structured interviews follow a similar pattern each time, well unstructured allow the conversation to flow in an open ended manner. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.
What is the investigator effect?
It is when a researcher unintentionally encourages a participant to behave in a certain way. This thereby nullifies the reliability of the research.
Why do psychologists use laboratory experiments?
Because there they can control the independent variable is better. Typically for psychologist this is a quiet room where external noise and light distractions can be minimised.
What is a legitimate authority?
Somebody having a social status that means other people may obey them more readily. E.g. police officers but also doctors or scientists..
Briefly explain localisation of brain function.
This is a theory that particular areas of the brain are specialised for certain functions or tasks, such as memory visualisation, and analytical thinking.
What are matched pairs in research?
This is the use of different but similar participants in research - for instance keeping the same number of specific ages, professions, religion, race, profiles et cetera
Define the mean in statistics.
The main is a measure of central tendency - often referred to as the average. But recall that there are two other averages, for median and the mode.
What is a measure of dispersion?
The measure of dispersion reflects how to spread out the dates are around a central tendency, such as the mean.
What is the median?
A measure of central tendency - The middle value in a range of data.
What did Stanley Milgram research?
Milgram (1963) was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person. He was interested in why so many people had committed atrocities in the Nazi regime.
Briefly explain mindfulness (and which approach uses it)
From the POSITIVE APPROACH.
Idea is to develop a sense of the ‘here and now’, to raise a person’s consciousness and awareness of the present - and hence their focus.
Explain ‘misleading information’
The use of information to encourage WITNESSES to recall events that did not happen or that did not happen in real sequence. Also known as ‘priming’ the mind or ‘leading questions’.
“Now you recall the red car that was speeding down the road…’
RED and SPEEDING are telling the ppt two things which may not be correct.
Better: Did you witness a car coming down the road? What colour was it? How fast was it travelling?
What is a ‘mode’ in statistics?
A measure of central tendency - the most common frequency.
There can be more than one mode:
E.g. ‘bimodal’ (two modes)
multimodal (many modes)
Describe ‘natural experiment’
More of a survey than an experiment because the researchers do not control or cannot control any IVs (independent variables); instead they observe and take data. If a comparison is desired than a review of behaviour before and after an event may be useful (e.g., how does a by-pass affect town life), or pursue LONGITUDINAL studies - following ppts over a long period of time.
Describe ‘natural selection’
The main mechanism in the theory of EVOLUTION: the weak or non-adaptive members of a species do not thrive and do not reproduce, while the stronger and more adaptive do - these pass their genes onto the next generation (or teach their offspring how to survive better).
What is naturalistic observation?
Observing the behaviour of people in their natural environment. That is outside of laboratories or psychology departments!
What is a negative correlation?
A correlation that shows one variable rising while the other falls.
e.g, rising temperature and ability to focus.
What is neuroscience?
The scientific study of the brain and nervous system. Typically used by the biological approach, which assumes that the brain is the mind and the mind is the brain.
What is a neurotransmitter?
This is a chemical that transmits signals between neurons In the brain, such as dopamine and serotonin. Imbalances may cause abnormal feelings or behaviour.
Explain nominal data
NOMinal data is NAMED data which can be separated into discrete categories which do not overlap.
A common example of nominal data is gender; male and female.
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
This is a hypothesis for which the researcher does not have a precise prediction. The researcher may be looking for a difference or correlation but does not know which way it will go. Also known as a two tailed hypothesis
What is a non-participant observation
This is when a researcher remains outside and unobserved during an experiment for observation.
