Chapter 1 Flashcards
Psychology
scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and animals
Cognition
how the mind processes and retains information; “think”
Behavior
refers to almost any activity that can be observed or measured
Introspection
an objective approach to describing one’s mental content; looking within yourself (inward) to observe one’s own psychological processes
John Locke
wrote an essay (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding)
i. Argued that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa (blank slate) on which experiences are written
Birth of psychology
1879
The first psychological laboratory was established by Wilhelm Wundt
Measured time lag
then divided into schools of psych
Structuralism
Founded by Wilhelm Wundt
makeup of conscious:
i. Sensations - sight, taste, smell, etc. (objective = real)
ii. Feelings - emotional responses (subjective = personal; of the mind)
iii. mental images- memories and dreams
Problems: results are personal
Functionalism
•William James
i. Proposed that more adaptive behavior patterns are learned and maintained while less adaptive patterns tend to discontinue
ii. first psych textbook Principals of psych
•turned into evolutionary psychology
Behaviorism
•John B. Watson
•Defines ‘Psychology’ as the objective study of observable behavior and the study of relationships between stimuli and responses, without reference to mental processes
•behaviorism began to overpower introspection,
•stimuli/response/reinforcement
Stimuli
A feature in the environment that is detected and leads to a change in behavior; triggers a response
Response
a movement or observable reaction to a stimulus
Reinforcement
a stimulus that follows a response and increases the frequency of the response
Gestalt Psychology
•Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler
•Emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes (greater than the sum of its parts)
•Insight
Insight
the sudden reorganization of perceptions allowing the sudden solution of a problem
Psychoanalytic Psychology
•Sigmund Freud
•Emphasized the importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior
•contemporary: psychodynamic thinking - the notion that underlying forces of personality determine our thoughts, feelings, and behavior
Humanistic Psychology
•Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
•Says people are motivated by the conscious desire for personal growth
Eclecticism
The process of making your own system by borrowing from two or more perspectives
The Biopsychosocial Perspective
Combines three major facets of an individual
i. Biology
ii. Psychology
iii. Socio-cultural Interactions
Mind and body <———> interactions
influence
The Behavioral Perspective
Focusses on studying observable behavior and the principals of learning
i. Ex: Figuring out what triggers angry responses
The Biological Perspective
•Emphasizes behavior as a product of biological responses… made possible by the nervous system, the brain, hormones, disease, and genes
•Studies the influence of genes on personality traits, psychological health, and various behavior patterns
The Cognitive Perspective
•Focuses on the role of thinking in determining behavior
The Evolutionary Perspective
•Focuses on the evolution of social behavior and mental processes
The Humanistic Perspective
•Views behavior as reflection of self-awareness, including personal goals and internal growth
•Humanists consider personal experiences to be the most important aspect of psychology
The Psychodynamic Perspective
•Views the individual as a product of both conscious and unconscious forces
•Psychodynamic psychologists try to understand what kinds of perception, thinking, and memory go on below our level of awareness
The Sociocultural Perspective
•View behavior as influenced by rules and expectations of social groups or cultures
•Because of this, cultural values vary from society to society
Psychologist vs psychiatrist
•They both focus on mental/behavioral health, but differ on training and treatment approaches
i. Psychologists can develop treatment plans, but CAN NOT prescribe drugs
ii. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe drugs
Hindsight Bias
Viewing an event as more predictable than it really is; “I knew it all along”
Self-fulfilling prophecy
prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction come true
Scientific Method Step 1
- Identify a research question
i. Research questions are best directed at observable behavior, because it can be measured directly
Scientific Method Step 2
- State the hypothesis of the research scenario
i. A prediction about behavior that is tested through research
Scientific Method Step 3
- Testing the hypothesis
i. Use carefully controlled methods of observation
ii. Must be testable; must also be falsifiable (falsifiability)
Scientific Method Step 4
- Analyze results
i. Look for patterns or relationships in the data
Scientific Method Step 5
- Replication
i. For findings to be confirmed, the study must be repeated and the same results must be produced
Meta-Analysis
A procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies
(Non-Experimental Methodology)
Case-study method
A carefully detailed/ in-depth investigation of an individual or small group
(Non-Experimental Methodology)
Naturalistic-Observation
Organisms are observed in their natural environments; “field study”
(Non-Experimental Methodology)
Survey Method
i. A method of scientific investigation in which a large sample of people is questioned abt their attitudes or behavior
ii. Information may not be reliable because people may not be honest in their responses
iii.Wording is very important in surveys…
(Non-Experimental Methodology)
Self-report bias
asking people about their thoughts/feelings/behaviors as opposed to directly observing and measuring them
(a problem in surveys)
Social desirability bias
The tendency for respondents to answer questions in a manner that would be viewed as favorable by others
(a problem in surveys)
Longitudinal method
i. Observing selected participants over a long period of time (usually at periodic intervals)
Cross-Sectional method
i. Instead of following a group over a number of years, researchers select a sample that includes people of different ages and then compare behavior
ii. This information is less reliable
(Non-Experimental Methodology)
Laboratory-Observation
i. Takes place in a laboratory - a place in which theories, techniques, and methods are tested and demonstrated
(May classify as non-experimental or experimental)
A Study or Experiment
i. Takes place using independent variable(s) and random assignment of groups
(Experimental Methodology)
Correlation
a measure of the extent in which two factors vary together, and thus how well either one predicts the other
Correlation Warnings
i. They are not always accurate
ii. Many factors/variables (environmental) contribute to making something happen
iii. Correlation does not prove causation
Variables
measurable factors that change in an experiment; anything that can vary
Experiments can change a variable (cause) and measure how it, it turn, changes another variable (effect)
Independent Variable
a condition in a scientific study that is manipulated so that its effect may be observed
Dependent Variable
a measure of an assumed effect/outcome of an independent variable
Confounding Variable
a factor other than the factor being studied, influencing a study’s results (aka Third Variable)
i. By randomly assigning participants to experimental and control groups, it helps to limit the effects of confounding variables
Directionality Problem
a problem that occurs with two variables, where it is unclear which is cause and which is effect
Experiment
a research method that seeks to observe cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors
i. Subjects are given a treatment and observed carefully to determine if there is a difference in behavior
Operational definition
- a specification of how a particular variable will be quantified and measured
i. Often, operationalization involves taking an abstract/vague concept that can’t be directly measured and finding a measurable way to indirectly indicate it (Ex: Intelligence - define it)
population
An experiment may require the researcher to identify a specific group of interest to be studied
sample
The people/animals being observed / a segment of the population used in a study/experiment
Representation sample
the degree to which a sample reflects a fair/diverse characteristic of the population being studied; aka stratified sample
Convenience sampling
subjects are selected for sample participation because they are the easiest for a researcher to access (proximity/time/expense/willingness factor)
Sampling bias
the sample does not accurately represent the population, thus skewing results
generalized
Random sampling is a way to ensure a representative sample, thus results can be (extended to the population). If results are not random/ representative, they can only be extended to those people or people similar to them
Experimental group
participants receive a treatment (the independent variable) in an experiment
Control group
participants who do not receive the experimental treatments but for whom all other conditions are comparable to those of experimental subjects’ used as a comparison for evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment
Placebo
a bogus treatment that has the appearance of being genuine
Placebo effect
results caused by expectation that the substance or condition is real/active
i. There may be more than one control group in a study
i. One group may receive the bogus fake treatment
ii. Another may receive no treatment at all - to study placebo effect
Single-blind study
participants don’t know whether they are in the control or experimental group
Double-blind study
both participants and experimenters are unaware of who receives the treatment
Better than single-blind; may eliminate experimenter bias
experimenter bias
treating the control and experimental groups differently to increase the chance of getting desired results in study
Qualitative
collects and evaluates descriptive data (such as words) to understand thoughts, feelings, attitudes, etc. (Why? Questions)
Quantitative
collects and evaluates numerical data to understand effect/relationships (how many/much)
Likert Scales
(ie. Strongly agree; agree, neutral, etc.) provide quantitative data about qualitative aspects such as attitudes
Ethics
morality; referring to one’s system of standards for proper/responsible behavior
○ The problem in psychology is that ethical considerations are often central in gathering, accumulating, or discovering information
Harm: should researchers be expected to take steps to protect participants from harm?
Institutional Review
The US federal gov’t has a series of rules and regulations that must be followed in research. Sates, institutions, or independent ethics committees oversee research on human or animal subjects to ensure the research is ‘scientific, ethical, and regulatory’
○ Aka: there are rules and regulations that have to be followed
Confidentiality
Secrecy; Not to be disclosed
Informed consent
the term used to indicate that a person has agreed to participate in research after receiving information abt. The purpose of the study and the nature of the study/treatments
i. Includes info on dangers of study, why study is being done, expectations, etc.
ii. Volunteers are also given the opportunity to drop out of the research project, even after it has begun
Informed assent
term to indicate that a person not competent to give informed consent (under 18 or cognitively-impaired) has agreed to participate in a research study
○ Note: they may not fully understand the consequences of treatment/participation
Confederate
research actor who agrees to participate along with actual test subjects
debriefed
After the study is concluded, subjects are (given full information about a just-completed procedure) – including any deception that may have been used
Descriptive Stats
Summarize/ describe numerical data
○ Measures all the subjects and summary data is certain
Inferential Stats
numerical data that allows one to generalize; estimates based on sample data
Correlation coefficient
a numerical measure of the strength of two variables; falls somewhere between -1 and 1 with 0 being No Correlation
i. A larger sample size helps to ensure that the observed effect did not occur simply due to a sampling error
Replication data also ensures results are accurate (not a fluke
Replication
ensures results are accurate (not a fluke)
Mean
the arithmetic average (sum total of all scores divided by the number of scores)
Median
the midpoint/halfway point in a data set (50th percentile)
Mode
the most frequently occurring score or scores in a data set
Skewed
a representation of scores that is lopsided due to a few way-outs scores
Regression toward the mean
As more data is collected, the chance that random factors could influence the data is reduced
Range
the difference between the lowest and highest scores in a distribution
Standard deviation
the amount of variation in relation to the mean score
Normal Curve
bell-shaped curve that represents a normal distribution of scores
i. 68%; 95%; 99.7%
