Chapter 1 Flashcards
The birth of psychology? What happened
December 1879. Wilhelm Wundt & 2 young men created an experimental apparatus. Their machine measured the time lag between people’s hearing a ball hit a platform and their pressing a telegraph key. Wundt was seeking to measure “atoms of the mind”
“Atoms of the mind” are?
The fastest & simplest processes
The new science of psychology became organized into different branches, or schools of thought, each promoted by pioneering thinkers. Two early schools were?
Structuralism and functionalism
What did Wundt’s student, Edward Bradford Titchener do?
He aimed to discover the mind’s structure. He engaged people in self reflective introspection (looking inward), training them to report elements of their experience as they looked at a rose, listened to a metronome, smelled a scent, or tasted a substance. What where their immediate sensations, their images, their feelings? And how did these relate to one another? Alas, introspection proved somewhat unreliable. It required smart verbal people, and its results varied from person to person & experience to experience. As introspection waned, so did structuralism.
Philosopher-psychologist William James thought what?
It would be more fruitful to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings
Consciousness serves a function, it enables us to?
Consider our past, adjust to our present, and plan our future
William james was a?
Functionalist
The early pioneers of most fields, including psychology, were predominantly men. In 1890, over the objections of Harvard’s president, James admitted Mary Whiton Calkins into his graduate seminar. Why was this relevant?
In those years women lacked even the right to vote. When Calkins joined, the other students (all men) dropped out. So James tutored her alone, later she finished all of Harvard’s Ph.D requirements, outscoring all the male students on the qualifying exams. Alas, Harvard denied her the degree she had earned, offering her a degree from Radcliffe College, its undergraduate “sister” school for women. She resisted the unequal treatment & refused the degree. She went on to become a distinguished memory researcher and the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) first female president in 1905
The American Psychological Association’s (APA) first female president
Mary Whiton Calkins
Who is Margaret Floy?
First female psychology Ph.D and became APA’s second female president in 1921, she also wrote the influential book, “The Animal Mind”
What is structuralism?
Early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind
What is functionalism?
Early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish
What event defined the start of scientific psychology?
Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology lab.
Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?
People’s self-reports varied, depending on the experience and the person’s intelligence & verbal ability
_____ used introspection to define the mind’s makeup; ______ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, & flourish
Structuralism; functionalism
In the fields early days, many psychologists shared with the english essayist C.S. Lewis the view that “there is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know more about than we could learn from external observation” That one thing, Lewis said, is ourselves
“We have, so to speak, inside information”. Wundt & Titchener focused on inner sensations, images, & feelings.
John B Watson and later B.F. Skinner dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as?
“The scientific study of observable behavior”. You cannot observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought they said, but you can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond to different situations. Many agreed and the behaviorists became one of psychologies two major forces well into the 1960s
Another major force was Freudian psychology which emphasized the?
Ways our unconscious thought processes and our emotional responses to childhood experiences affect our behavior
As behaviorists rejected the early 1900’s definition of psychology, two other groups rejected the behaviorists definition in the 1960’s. The first, the humanistic psychologists led by Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow Found?
Both Freudian psychology & behaviorism to limiting. Rather than focusing on the meaning of early childhood memories or on the learning of conditioned responses, the humanistic psychologists drew attention to ways that current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential, & the importance of having our needs for love & acceptance satisfied
Cognitive psychology scientifically explores?
How we perceive, process, & remember information, and even why we can get anxious or depressed
Cognitive neuroscience
An interdisciplinary study, it has enriched our understanding of the brain activity underlying mental activity
To encompass psychology’s concern with observable behavior and with inner thoughts and feelings, today we define psychology as?
The science of behavior and mental processes.
- Behavior is anything an organism does- any action we can observe & record. Yelling, smiling, blinking, sweating, talking, and questionnaire marking are all observable behaviors.
- Mental processes are the internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior-sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings
A leading behaviorist, rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior
B.F. Skinner
The controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity’s self-understanding
Sigmund Freud
How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology?
It recaptured the field’s early interest in mental processes and made them legitimate topics for scientific study
What is behaviorism?
The view that psychology 1) should be an objective science that 2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with 1 but not with 2
What is humanistic psychology?
Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
What is the nature nurture issue?
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits & behaviors. Today’s psychological science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
The greek philosopher Plato assumed that?
We inherit character and intelligence and that certain ideas are inborn.
- Aristotle countered that there is nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external world through the senses
Natural selection
From among chance variations, nature selects traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
Nurture works on what nature endows
Our species is biologically endowed with an enormous capacity to learn and adapt
What is contemporary psychology’s position on the nature-nurture debate?
Psychological events often stem from the interaction of nature and nurture, rather than from either of them acting alone
The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction & survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
Natural selection
The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
Levels of analysis
Biopsychosocial approach is
An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, & social cultural levels
- Natural selection of adaptive traits
- Genetic predispositions responding to environment
- Brain mechanisms
- Hormonal influences
These are all what type of influence?
Biological
- Learned fears and other learned expectations
- Emotional responses
- Cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations
These are all what type of influence?
Psychological influence
- Presence of others
- Cultural, societal, and family expectations
- Peer & other group influences
- Compelling models (such as in the media)
These are all what type of influence?
Social-cultural influences
This integrated viewpoint incorporates various levels of analysis and offers a more complete picture of any given behavior or mental process
Biopsychosocial approach
For anger, someone working from ______ perspective might study brain circuits that cause us to be “red in the face” and “hot under the collar”
Neuroscience perspective
For anger, someone working from _______ perspective might analyze how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestors’ genes
Evolutionary
For anger, someone working from the _______ perspective might study how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament
Behavior genetics perspective
For anger, someone working from the ________ perspective might view and outburst as an outlet for unconscious hostility
Psychodynamic perspective
How the body & brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
Neuroscience
How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
Evolutionary
How our genes and our environment influence our individual differences
Behavior genetics
How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
Psychodynamic
How we learn observable responses
Behavior
How we encode, process, store and retrieve information
Cognitive
How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
Social-cultural
For anger, someone working from the _______ perspective might attempt to determine which external stimuli trigger angry or aggressive acts
Behavioral perspective
For anger, someone working from the _______ perspective might study how our interpretation of a situation affects our anger and how our anger affects our thinking
Cognitive
For anger, someone working from the ________ perspective might explore how expressions of anger vary across cultural contexts
Social-cultural
Psychology is united by a common quest
Describing and explaining behavior and the mind underlying it
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
Basic research
Biological psychologists explore
The links between brain and mind
Developmental psychologists study
Our changing abilities from womb to tomb
Cognitive psychologists experiments with
How we perceive, think, and solve problems
Personality psychologists investigate our?
Persistant traits
Social psychologists explore
How we view and affect one another
Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Applied research
Industrial-organizational psychologists use?
Psychology’s concepts & methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale & productivity, design products, and implement systems
What is counseling psychology?
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or relationships) and in achieving greater well-being
What is clinical psychology?
A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
What two types of psychology’s administer and interpret tests, provide counseling and therapy, and sometimes conduct basic and applied research?
Counseling and clinical psychology
What do psychiatrists do?
A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy
What is positive psychology?
The scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive
The psychological analysis of historical characters
Psychohistory
The study and language of thinking
Psycholinguistics
The study of crackpots
Psychoceramics
Helps people cope with educational and life challenges
Counseling psychology
Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders but usually does not provide medical therapy
Clinical psychology
Branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders
Psychiatry
Psychologists use the science of behavior and mental processes to better understand what?
Why people think, feel, act the way they do
What is hindsight bias?
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
Common sense more easily describes?
What has happened than what will happen
What did Dr. Watson say to Sherlock Holmes?
“Anything seems commonplace, once explained”
Who says, “Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.” ?
Philosopher Soren kierkegaard 1813-1855
Why, after friends start dating, do we often feel that we knew they were meant to be together?
We often suffer from hindsight bias-after we’ve learned a situation’s outcome, that outcome seems familiar and therefore obvious.
In our natural eagerness to make sense of our world- what poet Wallace Stevens called our “rage for order” we are prone to?
Perceive patterns
Hindsight bias, overconfidence, and our tendency to perceive patterns in random events often lead us to?
Overestimate our intuition. But scientific inquiry can help us sift reality from illusion
To sift reality from fantasy, sense from nonsense, therefore requires a scientific attitude which is?
Being skeptical but not cynical, open but not gullible
“To believe with certainty,” says a Polish proverb, “We must begin by doubting.” As scientists, psychologists approach the world of behavior with a curious skepticism, persistently asking two questions.
What do you mean? How do you know?
What is humility?
An awareness of our own vulnerability to error and an openness to surprises and new perspectives
Historians of science tells us that three attitudes helped make modern science possible
Curiosity, skepticism, and humility
What is critical thinking?
Smart thinking, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
How does the scientific attitude contribute to critical thinking?
The scientific attitude combines 1) curiosity about the world around us, 2) skepticism toward various claims and ideas, and 3) humility about one’s own understanding. Evaluating evidence, assessing conclusions, and examining our own assumptions are essential parts of critical thinking
Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
Critical thinking
What is a theory?
An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations & predicts behaviors or events
A good theory produces testable predictions called?
Hypotheses
What is a hypothesis?
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
What is the scientific method?
A self-correcting process for asking questions and observing nature’s answers
What are operational definitions?
A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as “what an intelligence test measures”
Our theories can bias our?
Observations
How can our theories bias our observations?
Having theorized that better memory springs from more sleep, we may see what we expect: we may perceive sleepy people’s comments as less insightful. The urge to see what we expect is ever present, both inside and outside the lab, as when people’s views of climate change influence their interpretation of local weather events
As a check on their biases, psychologists report their research with precise?
Operational definitions of procedures and concepts
A theory will be useful if?
1) It organizes a range of self reports and observations and
2) Implies predictions that anyone can use to check the theory or to derive practical applications
Eventually our researched may lead to a revised theory that better organizes & predicts what we know or our research may be replicated by supported by similar findings
We can test our hypothesis and refine our theories using?
Descriptive methods (which describes behaviors, often through case studies, naturalistic observations, or surveys), correlational methods (which associate different factors), and experimental methods (which manipulate factors to discover their effects).
What does a good theory do?
1) It organizes observed facts
2) It implies hypotheses that offer testable predictions, and sometimes practical applications
Why is replication important?
Psychologists watch eagerly for new findings, but they also proceed with caution- by awaiting other investigators repeating the research. Can the finding be confirmed (the result replicated)
What is a case study?
An observable technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
In depth analysis of special individuals
Case studies
Watching and recording individuals’ behavior in their natural setting
Naturalistic observation
Self-reports in which people answer questions about their behavior or attitudes
Surveys and interviews
The starting point of any science is?
Description
Professional psychologists observe and describe people more objectively and systemically through?
1) Case studies
2) Naturalistic observation
3) Surveys and interviews
“Numbers can be numbing, but the plural of _______ is not ________
anecdote
evidence
What is naturalistic observation?
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
What are surveys?
A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group
Individual cases can suggest fruitful ideas. What’s true of all of us can be glimpsed in any one of us. But to discern the general truths that cover individual cases, we must answer questions with?
Other research methods
Cases studies do not enable us to learn about general principles that apply to all of us. Why not?
Case studies involve only one individual, so we can’t know for sure whether the principles observed would apply to a larger population
Like the case study, naturalistic observation does not do what?
Does not explain behavior it describes it
Naturalistic observations offers interesting snapshots of everyday life, but it does so without?
Controlling for all the factors that may influence behavior
What are the advantages and disadvantages of naturalistic observation, such as Mehl and pennebaker used in their study?
Mehl and Pennebaker were able to carefully observe and record naturally occurring behaviors outside the artificiality of the lab. However, outside the lab they were not able to control for all the factors that may have influenced the everyday interactions they were recording
Before accepting survey findings, think critically: consider the sample. The best basis for generalizing is from a?
Representative sample. You cannot compensate for an unrepresentative sample by simply adding more people
What is an unrepresentative sample, and how do researchers avoid it?
It is a survey group that does not represent the population being studied. Random sampling helps researchers form a representative sample because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included
Describing behavior is a first step toward predicting it. Naturalistic observations and surveys often show us that one trait or behavior is related to another. In such cases, we say the two?
Correlate
What is correlation coefficient
A statistical measure
What is a positive correlation?
(between 0 and +1.00) indicates a direct relationship, meaning that two things increase together or decrease together
What is a negative correlation?
(between 0 and -1.00) indicates a inverse relationship: As one thing increases, the other decreases. Negative correlations could go as low as -1.00, which means that, like people on the opposite ends of a teeter-totter, one set of scores goes down precisely as the other goes up
A correlation coefficient helps us to see?
The world more clearly by revealing the extent to which two things relate
All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population)
Population
What is a random sample?
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
What is correlation?
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, & thus of how well either factor predicts the other
What is a correlation coefficient?
A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)
Indicate whether the following statement describes a positive or negative correlation:
1) The more children & youth use various media, the less happy they are with their lives
2) The more sexual content teens see on TV, the more likely they are to have sex
3) The longer children were breast fed, the greater their later academic achievement
4) The more income rose among a sample of poor families, the fewer psychiatric symptoms their children experienced
1) Negative
2) Positive
3) Positive
4) Negative
Length of marriage correlates with hair loss in men. Does this mean that marriage causes men to lose their hair (or that balding men make better husbands)?
In this case, as in many others, a third factor obviously explains the correlation: Golden anniversaries and baldness both accompany aging
Association does not prove?
Causation. Correlation indicates the possibility of a cause- effect relationship but does not prove such
A research method in which in investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors
Experiment
What is the experimental group?
In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
What is the control group?
In an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group & serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment
What is random assignment?
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups
Unlike correlational studies, which uncover naturally occurring relationships, an experiment does what?
Manipulaties a factor to determine its effect
What is a double-blind procedure?
An experimental procedure in which both the research participants & the research staff ore ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment of a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies
What is placebo effect?
Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent
What measure do researchers use to prevent the placebo affect from confusing their results?
Research designed to prevent the placebo effect randomly assigns participants to an experimental group (which receives the real treatment) or to a control group (which receives a placebo). A comparison of results will demonstrate whether the real treatment procedures better results than belief in the treatment
What is the independent variable?
The experimental factor that is manipulated: the variable whose effect is being studies.
What are the confounding variables?
A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
What is the dependent variable?
The outcome factor; the variable that may change is response to manipulations of the independent variable. It can vary depending on what takes place during the experiment
A variable is?
Anything that can vary (infant nutrition, intelligence, TV exposure-anything within the bounds of what is feasible and ethical)
Experiments aim to?
Manipulate an independent variable, measure the dependent variable, and control confounding variables
An experiment has at least 2 different conditions
An experimental condition and a comparison or control condition
Random assignment works to minimize?
Preexisting differences between the groups before any treatment effects occur. In this way, an experiment tests the effect of at least one independent variable on at least one dependent variable
Research method: Descriptive
1) Basic purpose
2) How conducted
3) What is manipulated
4) Weaknesses
1) To observe & record behavior
2) Do case studies, naturalistic observations, or surveys
3) Nothing
4) No control of variables; single cases may be misleading
Research method: Correlational
1) Basic purpose
2) How conducted
3) What is manipulated
4) Weaknesses
1) To detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another
2) Collect data on two or more variables; no manipulation
3) Nothing
4) Does not specify cause & effect
Research method: Experimental
1) Basic purpose
2) How conducted
3) What is manipulated
4) Weaknesses
1) To explore cause & effect
2) Manipulates one or more factors; use random assignment
3) The independent variables
4) Sometimes not feasible; results may not generalize to other contexts; not ethical to manipulate certain variables
How does psychology define culture?
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people & transmitted from one generation to the next
An experiments purpose is not to re-create the exact behaviors of everyday life but to test?
Theoretical principles
Psychological science focuses less on?
Particular behaviors than on seeking general principles that help explain many behaviors
What are the WEIRD cultures?
Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic cultures that contribute most study participants but are only 12 percent of humanity
Researchers report gender differences in?
What we dream, & how we express & detect emotions, & in our risk for alcohol dependence, depression, & eating disorders
Even when specific attitudes & behaviors vary by gender or across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are?
Much the same
The APA ethics code urges researchers to?
1) Obtain human participants informed consent before the experiment
2) Protect them from harm and discomfort
3) Keep information about individual participants confidential
4) Fully debrief people (explain the research afterward)
What is informed consent?
Offering potential participants just enough information about a study to help them decide if they want to participate in the experiment or not
What is debriefing?
After the experiment is over, it is letting the participants know what the experiment was about/for and if there were any deceptions
What is testing effect
It is an enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Can also be referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning
What does SQ3R stand for?
A study method that have 5 steps which are Study, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review
What are some important milestones in psychology’s development?
- Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological lab in 1879 in Germany
- Two early schools were structuralism and functionalism
- Early researchers defined psychology as a “science of mental life”
- In the 1920s, under the influence of John B. Watson & the behaviorists, the fields focused changed to the “scientific study of observable behavior.”
- In the 1960s, the humanistic psychologists & the cognitive psychologists revived interest in the study of mental processes
- Psychology is now defined as the science of behavior and mental processes
What is psychology’s historic big issue?
The nature-nurture issue, which focuses on relative contributions of genes & experience. Today’s science emphasizes the interaction of genes & experiences in specific environments. Charles Darwin’s view that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies is an important principle in contemporary psychology
What are psychology’s level of analysis and related perspectives?
The biopsychosocial approach integrates info from 3 differing but complementary levels of analysis: the biological, psychological, and social-cultural. This approach offers a more complete understanding than could usually be reached by relying on only one of psychology’s current perspectives (neuroscience, evolutionary, behavior genetics, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and social-cultural
In 1879, in psychology’s first experiment, ____________ and his students measured the time lag between hearing a ball hit a platform and pressing a key
Wilhelm Wundt
William James would be considered a(n) __________. Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener would be considered _________.
Functionalist; structuralists
In the early twentieth century, __________ redefined psychology as “the science of observable behavior.”
John B Watson
Nature is to nurture as
Biology is to experience
“Nurture works on what nature endows.” Describe what this means, using your own words
Our environment (nurture) has an influence on us, but that influence is constrained by our biology (nature). Nature and nurture interact. People predisposed to be very tall (nature), for example, are unlikely to become Olympic gymnasts, no matter how hard they work (nurture)
A psychologist treating emotionally troubled adolescents at a local mental health agency is most likely to be a(n)
Clinical psychologist
A mental health professional with a medical degree who can prescribe medication is a?
psychiatrist
As scientists, psychologists
Are willing to ask questions and to reject claims that cannot be verified by research
How can you use your knowledge of the scientific attitude to help you evaluate claims in the media, even if you’re not a scientific expert on the issue
The scientific attitude teaches us to look for evidence instead of relying on our often fallible intuition. In evaluating a claim in the media, look for any signs of empirical evidence, preferably from several studies. Ask the following questions in your analysis: Are claims based on scientific findings? Have several studies replicated the findings and confirmed them? Are any experts cited? If so research their background. Are they affiliated with a credible university, college, or institution? Have they conducted or written about scientific research?
Is correlational research one of the techniques psychologists use to observe and describe behavior?
No
You wish to take an accurate poll in a certain country by questioning people who truly represent the country’s adult pop. Therefore, you need to ensure that you question a ________ sample of the pop.
Representative
knowing that two events are correlated provides?
A basis for prediction
To explain behaviors and clarify cause and effect, psychologists use
Experiments
