Chapter 1 Flashcards
Definition of Psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental experience
Science
a way of establishing knowledge based on objective, systematic, and public accumulation of empirical evidence
Scientific Psychology
trying to explain things before the fact
What is objective evidence?
evidence that is testable and falsifiable
What is systematic evidence?
evidence that is thorough (ex: clever Hans)
What is public evidence?
replication with the same results (ex: Mozart effect)
What is precise evidence?
predictions / qualitative vs. quantitative
Hindsight bias:
explaining things after the fact
Who was the first true psychologist?
Wilhelm Wundt
When was the first psychology lab established?
Germany in 1879
What is structuralism?
examined the elements of conscious experience/awareness according to basic structural parts (wundt’s approach)
What is perspective?
a framework of possible causes that are neither right or wrong. the more research the better.
What are the 6 modern perspectives in psychology?
- Biological/Physiological/Neuroscience
- Psychoanalytic or Psychodynamic
- Behavioral or Behaviorist
- Cognitive
- Humanistic
- Social/Cultural
What is biological psychology
everything we think, feel, and do is rooted in biological processes (genetics, evolution, neuroscience)
What is psychoanalytic psychology
all thought and behavior is caused by powerful, unconscious, and irrational influences (behavior is shaped by irrational decisions)
What is behavioral psychology
all organisms change their behavior to adapt to the environment (you are what you’ve learned to be)
What is cognitive psychology
people actively seek out, interpret, and act on information (cognition means thinking, emphasis on the importance of mental processes)
What is humanistic psychology
celebrates the uniqueness of individuals and the belief that people are basically good and want to develop to their full potential (feel good psychology)
What is social psychology
the belief that all societies have norms and expectations of acceptable behavior and the way people are shaped through their interactions with others (ex: social group)
True or False
The perspectives are mutually exclusive from one another.
False
Who established psychoanalytic psychology?
Sigmund Freud
Who established behavioral psychology?
John B. Watson
Who established humanistic psychology?
Abraham Maslow
What is critical thinking?
questioning and evaluating information using well-supported evidence
What is functionalism?
the belief that the mind came into existence over the course of human evolution
Why care about the 6 research methods?
they are the foundation of critical thinking in psychology
What is a variable
an event that can take on different values (quantitative or qualitative)
Independent variables
can either be true or quasi. they are the cause.
Dependent variables
the effect. all research has dependent variables.
True variable:
manipulated by the experimenter to dictate what level or variable a person will have
Quasi variable:
a variable that allows comparison of groups of participants without manipulation (random)
