Chapter 1 Flashcards
Definition of Psychology
The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. Has multiple levels of analysis.
Multiply determined
Almost all actions are produced by many factors
Individual differences
How people differ from each other in thinking, emotion, personality, and behavior
Naive realism
The belief that we see the world exactly how it is- believing is seeing
Science
A systematic approach to evidence, consisting of a set of attitudes and skills designed to prevent us from fooling ourselves
Empiricism
The premise that knowledge should initially be acquired through observation
Scientific theory
An explanation for a large number of findings in the world. Good ones go beyond explaining existing data and generate testable predictions regarding new data
Hypothesis
A testable prediction
Confirmation bias
The tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them
Belief persistence
The tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them
Metaphysical claim
An assertion about the world that we cannot test
Pseudoscience
It lacks the safeguards against confirmation bias and belief persistence that science has, lacks peer review, lacks self-correction, and uses the word proof a lot
Patternicity
Our tendency to detect meaningful patterns in random stimuli
Terror management theory
Our awareness of our own inevitable death leaves us with underlying fear, so we adopt beliefs that reassure us that our lives possess a broader meaning and purpose
Logical fallacies
Traps in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions
