Chapter 1 Flashcards
Introducing Psychology
research psychologists
use scientific methods to create new knowledge about the causes of behaviour
psychologist-practitioners
use existing research to enhance the everyday lives of others
data
any info collected thru formal observation or measurement
hindsight bias
the tendency to think that we could have predicted smth that has already occurred that we probably couldn’t have been able to predict
empirical methods
include the processes of collecting and organizing data and drawing conclusions about those data
scientific method
set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that scientists use to conduct empirical research
values
personal statements
facts
objective statements determined to be accurate thru empirical study
levels of explanation
perspectives used to understand behaviour; lower levels are tied to biological influences, middle to abilities and characteristics of individuals, highest to social groups, organizations, and cultures
individual differences
variations among ppl on physical or psychological dimensions
the most important questions in psych
- nature vs nurture
- free will vs determinism
- accuracy vs inaccuracy
- conscious vs unconscious processing
- differences vs similarities
heritability of the characteristic
proportion of the observed differences of characteristics among ppl that’s due to genetics
Plato
argued on the nature side that certain kinds of knowledge are innate
Aristotle
argued on the nurture side, believing that each child is born an empty slate and that knowledge is acquired
René Descartes
considered the issue of free will, arguing in its favour, believed in innate natural abilities, introduced the principle of dualism
principle of dualism
the mind is fundamentally diff from the mechanical body
Wilhelm Wundt
began the field of structuralism, whose goal was to create a periodic table of elements of sensation
structuralism
school of psych whose goal was to identify the basic elements or structures of psychological experience, used introspection
introspection
asking participants to describe what they experience as they work on mental tasks
Edward Bradford Titchener
Wundt’s student that identified over 40k sensations, marking the beginning of psych as a science that demonstrated that mental events could be quantified
William James
founded the school of functionalism
functionalism
aims to understand why animals and humans have developed particular psychological aspects, influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection
natural selection
physical characteristics evolved bc they were useful or functional
evolutionary psychology
born from functionalism, it applies the Darwinian theory to human and animal behaviour, operating on the assumption that many human psychological systems serve key adaptive functions
fitness
extent to which having a given characteristic helps the individual survive and reproduce at a higher rate than members without it; fitter organisms pass on genes more successfully
psychodynamic psychology
founded by Sigmund Freud as an approach to understanding human behaviour that focuses on the role of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories
psychoanalysis
process of talk therapy and dream analysis that reveals these explorations
behaviourism
school of psych based on the premise that it’s not possible to objectively study the mind, therefore psychologists should focus their attention to studying behaviour; argues that the human mind is a black box into which stimuli are sent and from which responses are received
John B Watson
first behaviourist, influenced by Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov
discovered that dogs would salivate at the sound of a tone that was associated with food due to conditioning
Burrhus Frederick Skinner
expanded the principles of behaviourism by using the ideas of stimulus and response to train animals
cognitive psychology
field that studies mental processes, including perception, thinking, memory, and judgement
Hermann Ebbinghaus
studied the ability of ppl to remember lists of words under diff conditions
Sir Frederic Bartlett
studied the cognitive and social processes of remembering
Jean Piaget
introduced the idea that our memory is influenced by what we already know in the cognitive-developmental stage model
neuroimaging
use of various techniques to provide pics of structure and function of the living brain, used to diagnose brain disease and view info processing
social-cultural psychology
study of how social situations and cultures in which ppl find themselves influence thinking and behaviour, concerned with how ppl perceive themselves and others, and how ppl influence each other’s behaviour
conformity
process of changing our beliefs and behaviours to be similar to those of the ppl we care about
social norms
ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by group members and are perceived to be appropriate
culture
common set of social norms shared by the ppl who live in a distinct region, thus influencing every aspect of life
individualism
valuing the self and one’s independence from others
collectivism
focus on developing harmonious social relationships with others
paradigm
prevailing model that presents a generally accepted approach to the whole field during a particular era
spacing effect
animals and humans more easily remember or learn material when studying in several shorter study periods over a longer period of time, rather than studying at once for a long period of time
metacognition
ability to adequately assess our own knowledge
