Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is psychology
- the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour
3 levels of analysis
- social and cultural influences
- psychological
- biological
Social and cultural Influences
- social or behaviour level
- involoves relating to other and personal relationship
psychological
- mental of neurological level
- involves thoughts, feeling, and emotions
Biological
- molecular or neurochemical level
- involves molecules and brain structure
Why is psychology difficult to study
- multiply determined
- rarely independent
- individual differences
- reciprocal determinism
- behaviour is often shaped by culture
Naive realism
- people are prone
- we believe the world is exactly. how we see it
reciprocal determinism
- people often influence each other
Example: stimulus enhancement (not eating unless other people eat)
Emic approach
- study culture from the perspective of someone who grew up in the culture
- allows for a better understanding of the unique characteristics of the culture
Etic approach
- study the culture from the perspective of an outsider
- allows to view culture from a broader approach
Why is common sense not enough
naive realism
Empirical evidence
- gained through experience and observation
- objective
WHY? –> minimize bias
Scientific theory
- is an explanation for a larger number of findings in the natural world. Offers an account that ties multiple factors into one package
- testable
Hypothesis
- specific (directional), testable prediction derived from a scientific theory
Misconceptions of scientific theories
- a theory only explains only specific event
- a theory is an educated guess
Observer bias
- possible to influence the interpretation of results
- can occur even if aware of own bias
Confirmation bias
- tendency to selectively look for information that conforms to our hypotheses and overlook information that argues against it
- Example: Lord, Ross, and Shepard, 1979
Belief preservation
- is the tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even in light of new evidence
- Example: Ross, Lepper, & Hubbard 1975
Metaphysics claims
- are assertions about the world that cannot be tested
- outside the relm of science
Example: belief in god
Pseudoscience
- is a set of claims that seem scientific, but are not
- important in todays digital world
- safeguards against conformation bias and belief preservation
Warning signs of Pseudoscience
- exaggerated claims
- over reliance on anecdotes
- absence of connectivity ot other research
- lack of review by other scholars
- lack of self-correction’
-psychobabble (big words) - evidence
Why are we drawn to pseudoscience
- patternicity
- provides confort (terrormanagement)
antidote against pseudosciene
logical fallacies
Emotional reasoining fallacy
- error of using our emotions for evaluating the validity of a claim
EXAMPLE: “ the idea that daycare might have a negative emotional efffects on children gets me really upset, so I refuse to believe it”
Bandwagon fallacy
- error of assumin gthat a claim is correct because many people believe it
EXAMPLE: “lots of people I know believe in astrology, so there’s got to be something to it”
either-or fallacy
- error of framing a question as though we can answer it in only one of two extreme ways
not me fallacy
- error of believing were immmune to errors in thinking that afflict other people
appeal to authority fallacy
- Error of accepting a claim merely because an authority figure endorses it
genetic fallacy
- error of confusing the correctness of a belief with its origins or genesis
-EXAMPLE “Freud’s views about personality development can’t be right because Freuds thinking was shaped by sexist views popular at the time
Argument from antiquity fallacy
- error of assuming a beleif must be valid just because its been around for a long time
Argument from adverse consequences fallacy
- error of confusing the validity of data with its real-world consequences
appeal to ignorance fallacy
- error of assuing that a claim must be true because no one has shown it to be false
Naturalistic fallacy
- error of inferring a moral judgement from a scientific fact
Hasty generalization fallacy
- error of drawing a conclusion on the basis of insufficent evidence
circular reasoning fallacy
- error of basing a claim on the same claim reworded in slightly diffrent terms
Dangers of Pseudoscience
- oppertunity cost (effects)
- direct harm (dealth)
- blocks scientific thinking
Scientific skepticism
- the approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind, but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them as true
what is a core aspect of scientific thinking
- critical thinking
Six principles of scientific thinking
- ruling out rival hypotheses
- correction vs. causation
- falsifiability
- replicability
- extraordinary claims
- occam’s razor
Wilhelm Wundt
1879
- developed the first true laboratory of psychology in Leipzig, Germany
- pioneered the technique of introspection to study mental processes
Early Psychology
- did not exsit, early psychologists held position in philosophy
Structuralism leading figure
E.B. Titchener
Structuralism Goal
- use introspection to identify basic element or structures of experience
structuralism lasting figures
- emphasis on the importance of systemic observation to study conscious experience
Functionalism leading figure
William james
Functionalism goal
- understanding the functions or adaptive purposes of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
Functionalism lasting influences
- evolution and adaptation has shaped human thought and behaviour. cognitive process exist for a reason
Behaviourism leading figures
BF Skinner & John B Watson
Behaviourism goal
- to uncover the general principles of learning that explains all behaviours. Focus is primarily on observable behaviours
Behaviourism lasting influences
- creating influential models of human and animal learning
- strong focus on the need for objective research and data
Cognitivism leading figures
- Jean Piagat & Ulric Neisser
Cognitivism goal
- to examine the role of mental processes on behaviour
cognitivism lasting influence
- significant impact on the study of many areas of psychology, such as language, problem solving, concept formation, intelligence, memory, and psychotherapy
- has uncovered many basic processes that allow for comple human ability
Psychoanalysis leading figure
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalysis Goal
- to uncover the role of unconscious psychological processes and early experiences on behaviour/thought
psychoanalysis lasting figure
- led to the understanding that many of our mental processes happen outside of our conscious awareness
- pioneered non-physical treatment for psychological disorders
Counselling psychologist
- work with people experiencing temporary or relatively self-contained life problems, like marital conflicts, sexual difficulties, occupational stressors, or career uncertainty
- work in councilling centres, hospitals, or private practice
School psychologists
- work with teachers, parents, and children to remedy students behavioral, emotional, and learning difficulties
Developmental psychologists
- study how and why people change over time
- conduct research on infants, children, and sometimes adults and elderly peoples emotional, physiological, and cognitive process and how these change with age
experiemental phychlogists
- use research methods to study memory, language, thinking, and social behavious of humans
- work primarily in research settings
Biological Psychologists
- examine the physiological bases of behaviour in animals and humans
– most work in research settings
Forensic Psychologist
- work in prisons, jails, and other settings to asses and diagnose inmates and assist with their rehabilitation and treatment
- others conduct research on eyewitness testimony or jury decision making
- typically hold degrees in clinical or counselling psychology
Industrial Organizational psychologists
- work in companies and businesses to help select productive employees, evaluate performances, and examine the effects of diffrent working or living conditions on peoples behaviours
- design equipment to maximize employee performance and minimize accidents
Nature-Nurture
- are behaviours mostly due to our genes (nature) or our environment (nurture)
Free will vs. determinism
- to what extent are our behaviour freely selected (free will) rather than caused factors outside our control (determinism)
Application of psychological research examples
- changing the color of fire trucks
- the addition of third brake light in the middle of the rear windshield of vehicles
- effective commercial messages
- sequential line-ups of suspects for crimes
Naive realism
- we see the world precisely how it is
do opposites attract
- no
ad hoc immunization theory
- escape hatch or loophole that defenders of theory use to protect it from falsification
Fasification
- capiable of being disproved
Patternicity
- tendancy to see patterns in meaningless data
EXAMPLE: seeing animal shapes in clouds, face on mars
terror management theory
- awarness of own inevitable dealth leaves us with an underlying sense of terror
mortality science
- extent to which thoughts of dealth are foremost in our minds
scientific scepticism
- approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind by insisting on persuasive evidence before excepting it
critical thinking
- set of skills for evaluating all claims with an open minded and carful fashion
levels on analysis
- rungs on a ladder
- lower levels closely tied to biological influences
- higher levels tied to social influences
how to evaluate media
- peer reviewed
- refrences
- controlled scientific studies
- extreme claims
- was it recently updated
applied research
- research examining how we can use basic research to solve real world problems
basic research
- research examining how the mind works
