Ch.1 Reading quiz Flashcards
psychology is the science of the _ and _
mind and behavior
objective evidence
evidence not influenced by an observers feeling or interpretations
The mind is defined as
the mental events the brain creates such as thinking and feeling
to learn about the brain we work ___
backwards
examples of outward signs people display that we can observe
facial expressions and size of pupils
behavior is defined as
observable acts of a person either alone or in a group
physical movements can be___
both voluntary and involuntary
The 3 levels on analysis
1) the brain
2) the person
3) the group
level of analysis: the brain
-focuses on the activity of the brain and the structure and properties of the organ itself
-ex. brain cells and their connections, hormones, and genes
level of analysis: the person
-mental events, contents, and functions
-2 groups
1) mental contents : knowledge, beliefs, and desires
2) mental processes: consists of sets of operations that work together to carry out a function: attention, perception, and memory
level of analysis: the group
-focuses on the ways groups of people share a mind and behavior
-groups affect an individuals mind and behavior
-how the entire group forms a culture
the physical world
-all our mental events and behaviors take place and are influenced by a specific physical environment
events at different levels are constantly ___ and trigger each other
interacting
Psychology has borrowed a lot of theories form what?
philosophy
human knowledge comes from__
experience of the world
the ways we interpret information from our senses…
operation of perception, memory, and problem solving
Wilhelm Wundt
-founder of psychology
-work let to structuralism
structuralism
-the first school of thought
-describes the rules that determine how sensations or feelings occur at the same time
-primary research tool is introspection
introspection
-looking within or mental imaging
functionalism
-addresses levels of person and group
-influenced by Charles Darwin’s idea of adaptations
-applied his ideas to mental characteristics
-Ex. paying attention can aid in survival
Gestalt Psychology (GP)
-an approach to understand mental events that focus on the idea that “the whole is more important that the parts”
-mental processes influence mental contents
(GP) a lot of our thoughts come from what we ___
perceive
Psychodynamic Theory (PT)
-Sigmund Freud is father of theory
-the mind is several different components, some components are unconscious
-relies on subjective interpretations
psychodynamic is defined as
the continual push and pull interaction among conscious and unconscious forces
subjective interpretations
-what people say and do
-impossible to test
Behavioralism
-the power of environment
-concentrates on understanding observable behavior
-focuses of how a specific stimulus evokes a specific response ( called stimulus- response associations)
-level of the person
-key is reinforcement
stimulus- response associations
-focuses of how a specific stimulus evokes a specific response
reinforcement
- a reward or desirable consequence after responding to something in a particular way
humanistic psychology
-school of psychology
-assumes people have positive values, free will, and creativity
-all individuals have unique experiences
-client rather than patient
The cognitive revolution
-gave birth to cognitive psychology
-characterizes the nature of human information processing
-used a computer as a model for the way the mind works
-the mind is like software (store data) and the brain is the hardware (the machine itself)
Evolutionary psychology
-certain cognitive strategies and goals are so important that natural selection has built them into our brain
-Darwin’s theory of natural selection
natural selections has given us goas and strategies such as…
lying and deceiving others
Psychology today
-mix of different sorts of psychology
clinical and counseling psychology (CP)
-trained to provide therapy and to administer and interpret tests
-helps patients overcome destructive behaviors and replace them with healthy ones
psychotherapy is the process of…
helping people learn to change so they can cope with troublesome thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
counseling psychologist
-trained to help people with issues that naturally arise during the course of life
psychiatrist
has special training in mental disorders
social workers
-use psychotherapy to help families or help clients to sue the social system in their communities
psychiatric nurse
-provides therapy and works with medical doctors to monitor and administer medications
academic psychology
-focuses on teaching and conducting research
applied psychologists
-use principles, findings, and theories of psych to improve products and procedures
social psychologist
teaches how people think and feel about themselves and other people and how groups function
personality psychologist
researches and teaches individual differences in preferences and inclinations
physiological psychologist
researches and teaches the nature of the brain and brain-body interactions
human factors psychologist
-improve products
industrial/ organizations psycholigist
applies psychology in the workplace
sport psychologist
-improve athletic performance
educational or school psychologist
applies psychology to improve cognitive, emotional, and social development of schoolchildren
Margaret Floy Washburn
-first woman to become president of the American psychological association
the scientific method is a way to …
gather facts that will lead to the formulation and validation of a theory
the scientific method (SM) has how many steps?
6 ( orphans quizzed hotdogs, thus twenty toppled)
SM step 1
(observing events)
-begins with objectively and systematically observing events
-a lot of data gained and compared
SM step 2
(question)
-finding a question to answer
-can come from many sources
SM step 3
(hypothesis)
-educated guess and idea that might explain a set of observations
variable
-an aspect of a situation that can vary or change and is measurable
SM step 4
(testing hypothesis)
-to test a hypothesis scientists make 2 types of observations
1)directs addresses the object of study and measures how many times something happens
2)indirectly addresses the object of study as the nature of thoughts and feelings
operational definition
-definition of a concept that specifies how its measured or manipulated
SM step 5
(theory)
-focuses on the underlying reasons why certain relationships may exist in data
theory
concepts or principles that explain a set of research
SM step 6
(testing a theory)
-each time a theory makes a correct prediction the theory is supported and each time it fails the theory is weakened
prediction is…
-a hypothesis that follows from a theory which is confirmed if the theory is correct
all steps of the scientific method…
1)systematic observation
2)formulate a question to guide the investigation
3)hypothesis to form relationship between variables
4)test hypothesis
5)have a theory to explain relationship
6)test the theory
naturalistic observation
-collect data from real world settings as they naturally occur
case studies
-scientific study that focuses on a single participant and their psychological characteristic
Surveys
-a set of questions that people are asked
-inexpensive way to collect a lot of data
-must be carefully worded as to not lead them a certain way
correlation research
-study the relationships between variables
-ex. height and weight
-correlation number
correlation number
-ranges from -1 to 1 which indicates how closely related 2 variables are
-the higher the number (- or +) the more they are related
experimental research
-relies on experiments
-independent and dependent variable
-examines the link between the 2 variables
independent variable
-the variable changed or varied
dependent variable
-the variable unchanged and only observed
-depends on the independent
an effect is…
the difference between the value of the dependent that arises from the changes in the IV
experimental vs control group
-experimental: receives complete procedure
-control: same as experimental except the independent is not manipulated
-random assignment
-assign participants randomly
-E or C
-quasi experimental group
-similar to experimental but participants are not randomly assigned to groups
-conditions are often selected not created (real world)
Meta analysis
-statistical technique that allows researchers to combine results from different studies on the same topic to discover a relationship
sample
group that is drawn from a larger population and is measured or observed
population
-entire set of relevant people or animals
-always have variation
-samples drawn will never be the same
reliability
-means consistency
validity
-valid of it is what it claims to be
Bias
-when conscious or unconscious beliefs, expectations, or habits alter how participants respond or how a researcher sets up the study
-influences outcomes
response bais
-tendency to respond in a particular way regardless of their actual knowledge or beliefs
sampling bias
-occurs when participants are not chosen at random but instead are chosen so that an attribute is either overrepresented or underrepresented
experimenter expectancy effects
-occurs when and experimenters expectations lead them to treat participants in a way which encourages them to produce a result
-ex. Hans the horse
