Ch 1: Psychology and Scientific Thinking Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour
Naive Realism
The error of believing that we see the world precisely as it is
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that doesn’t
Belief Perseverance
The tendency to cling to our beliefs despite contrary evidence
Scientific Methodology
Consists of a set of safeguards against belief perseverance and confirmation bias
Pseudoscience
Claims appear scientific but don’t play by the rules of science; lacks the safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance
Drawn to it due to the human mind tending to perceive sense in nonsense
Claims can result in opportunity costs and direct harm as a result of dangerous treatments; can also lead us to think less scientifically about daily life
Scientific Skepticism
Requires us to evaluate all claims with an open mind but to insist on compelling evidence before accepting them
First Scientific Thinking Principle
Ruling out rival hypotheses: Whenever evaluating a psychological claim, ask whether we’ve excluded other plausible explanations for it
Second Scientific Thinking Principle
Correlation vs causation: Remember that a correlational between two things doesn’t demonstrate a causal connection between them
Third Scientific Thinking Principle
Falsifiability: Whenever evaluating a psychological claim, ask whether one could in principle disprove it or whether it’s consistent with any conceivable body of evidence
Fourth Scientific Thinking Principle
Replicability: Ask whether independent investigators have replicated the findings that support this claim; otherwise, the findings might be a one-time-only fluke
Fifth Scientific Thinking Principle
Extraordinary claims: Ask ourselves whether this claim runs counter to many things we know already and, if it does, whether the evidence is as extraordinary as the claim
Sixth Scientific Thinking Principle
Occam’s Razor: Ask ourselves whether the explanation offered is the simplest explanation that accounts for the data or whether simpler explanations can account for the data equally well
First Major Theoretical Framework
Structuralism: Titchener
Uses introspection to identify basic elements or “structures” of experience
Second Major Theoretical Framework
Functionalism: James
To understand the functions or adaptive purposes of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
Third Major Theoretical Framework
Behaviourism: Watson & Skinner
To uncover the general principles of learning that explain all behaviours; focus is largely on observable behaviour
Fourth Major Theoretical Framework
Cognitivism: Piaget & Neisser
To examine the role of mental processes on behaviour
Fifth Major Theoretical Framework
Psychoanalysis: Freud
To uncover the role of unconscious psychological processes and early life experiences in behaviour
Types of Psychologists
Clinical and counselling
School
Industrial/organizational
Forensic
Developmental
Experimental
Biological
Nature-Nurture Debate
Are our behaviours attributable mostly to our genes (nature) or to our rearing environments (nurture) ?
Free Will-Determinism Debate
To what extent are our behaviours freely selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control
The Mind
An emergent property (function) of the brain
Part of the person that thinks and feels, along with the behaviours produced
The Brain
A biological substrate of the mind
Risky Prediction
Forecast that stands a good chance of being wrong
Patternicity
The tendency to detect meaningful patterns in random stimuli
Cognitive Neuroscience
Relatively new field of psychology that examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking
Scientific Theory
Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world
Natural Selection
Principle that organisms that posses adaptions survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other organisms
Cognitive Psychology
School of psychology that proposes that thinking is central to understanding behaviour
Critical Thinking
Set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open-minded and careful fashion
Introspection
Method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences
Terror Management Theory
Theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror we cope with by adopting reassuring cultural world views
Applied Research
Examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems
Basic Research
Research examining how the mind works
Multiply Determined
Caused by many factors
Hypothesis
Testable prediction derived from a scientific theory
Levels of Analysis
Rungs on a ladder of analysis, with lower levels tied more closely to biological influences and higher levels tied most closely to social influences
Ad Hoc Immunizing Hypothesis
Escape hatch or loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification
Evolutionary Psychology
Discipline that applies Darwin’s theory of natural selection to human and animal behaviour
Metaphysical Claim
Assertion about the real world that is not testable
Individual Differences
Variations among people in their thinking, emotion, personality, and behaviour
Emotional Reasoning Fallacy
Using emotions as evidence
Reciprocal Determinism
The mutual influence on one another’s behaviour
Logical Fallacies
Ways of thinking that make intuitive senes but are actually traps that lead to mistaken conclusions
