Chapter 1 Flashcards
Psychology is the scientific study of _______ and the mind.
Behaviour
True or Fales?
Psychologists make inferences about mental processes by studying observable responses.
True
An _________-__________ psychologist studies people in the work place?
Industrial-Organizational
Most ________ psychologists diagnose and treat people with psychological disorders, but some also conduct research.
Clinical
Cognitive psychology specializes in the study of ________ processes.
Mental
True or false: Psychology is the scientific study of mental illness and psychological abnormality.
False
________ is the systematic study of the natural world.
Science
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the mind. The term ______ refers to actions and responses that can be observed and measured directly. Thoughts and feelings must be inferred from directly observable responses and these are referred to as ______.
behaviours, mental processes
The best way to understand how children interact with each other at different ages is to
collect empirical data
Cognitive psychology maintains that the human mind works in the same way as a(n) _____.
informational processor
Unlike in scientific observations, once our beliefs are established, we often fail to test them further because of our ________ bias.
conformation
_______ _______ is the study and treatment of mental disorders.
clinical psychology
Adopting a(n) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ approach allows psychologists to take concrete steps to avoid or minimize biases and problems that can lead to inaccurate conclusions.
unbiased or empirical
Which of the following subtypes of psychology specializes in the study of mental processes?
cognitive psych
Science can only answer
_________ questions about the natural world.
testable
________ is a process that involves systematically gathering and evaluating empirical evidence to answer questions and test beliefs about the natural world.
Science
Empirical evidence is evidence gained through
experience and observation
Why are scientific observations preferred over our own experiences and everyday observations to explain human behaviour?
Our own experiences may be atypical and not representative of what most people experience.
When Marie reads an online article for a health supplement that claims to treat depression and anxiety she wonders who wrote the article and what evidence there is to support to claim. Marie is displaying
___________ thinking.
critical
How do psychologists use the scientific approach to avoid or minimize biases that can lead to inaccurate conclusions? (name two ways)
- They use instruments such as questionnaires, videos etc… to objectively record a response
- They observe several people + several different scientists can participate
- They use stats
- Use a highly controlled environment
- Publish their findings to make them subject to be challenged by other scientists
One limitation of _____ is that is that is can only be used to answer testable questions about the natural world.
Science
______ is the systematic study of the natural world.
Science
______ _______ involves taking an active role in understanding the world around you rather than merely receiving information.
critical thinking
Pseudoscience appears to look credible but is not supported by ______ ______.
empirical evidence
What is applied research?
the use of scientific knowledge for the development of intervention programs
For specific practical problems.
________ is a process that involves systematically gathering and evaluating empirical evidence to answer questions and test beliefs about the natural world.
Science
The levels of analysis approach takes into account a person’s ________, _______ and _________.
Biological, environmental and psychological levels.
is a field that incorporates the astrology, graphology, rumpology, and is dressed up to look like science despite its lack of credible scientific evidence.
pseudoscience
One of the central goals of psychology is to predict
human and animal behaviour
The environmental level of behavioural analysis emphasizes the effects of ______ when considering the causes of human behaviour.
culture and environment
What is basic research in psychology?
The search for knowledge purely for its own sake.
What level of analysis relates to thoughts, feelings and motives?
Psychological
One of the central goals of psychology is to _____ behaviour to enhance _____.
describe; prediction
What level of analysis is a researcher studying the effect of genes on brain development using?
Biological
The ________ level of analysis calls attention to the influence of specific stimuli around an individual.
environmental
A researcher studying a topic purely for the sake of knowledge is conducting
basic research
Dwelling on negative thoughts can stimulate the release of stress hormones which is an example of
mind-body interractions
Which of the following are topics studied by researchers interested in nature-nurture interactions?
The effects of enriched versus deprived environments
Which ONE of the following is the BEST description of the current psychological position on nature vs. nurture?
they both influence eachother
Developmental, social, cognitive and biological are all examples of psychology’s
perspectives
The relations between mental processes in the brain and the functioning of other bodily systems have traditionally been called
mind-body interactions
Rene Descartes held a belief known as
mind-body dualism
Descartes believed that the mind is
a spiritual entity and not subject to the physical laws that govern the body
Perspectives on human behaviour often change as
existing beliefs are challenged
Thomas Hobbes advocated for a view known as
monoism
~ The idea the the mind and body are one, mind is NOT a spiritual entity
______ _______ held that all ides and knowledge are gained through the senses,
British empiricism
Why is the year 1879 an important year for the science of psychology?
it marked the emergence of psychology as a science, and Wundt established an experimental lab.
Dualism implies that no amount of research on the physical body could ever hope to unravel the mysteries of the nonphysical mind.
true
Wundt and Titchener’s approach, the analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements, became known as
structuralism
The belief that the mind and body act as “one” was advocated by
Thomas Hobbes
Which method of study was used to understand sensations, which were believed to be the basic elements of consciousness?
Introspection
~ the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes.
The school of thought that held that psychology should study the functions of consciousness rather than its structure was
functionalism
Who established the first experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879?
Wundt
Who influenced structuralism?
Wundt and Titchener
What did William James advocate for?
Functionalism
In Wilhelm Wundt’s laboratory in the 1800s, a structuralist graduate assistant is asked to “look within” and describe what he was tasting. The best description of this is
Introspection
What is psychoanalysis and who came up with is?
Sigmund Freud
The analysis of internal (unconscious) psychological forces
______ was a perspective that held that psychology should study the purposes of consciousness rather than the structure of consciousness.
functionalism
The ______ perspective searches for the causes of behaviour within the inner workings of the self and emphasizes unconscious processes.
psychodynamic
What is free association and who came up with it?
Freud
randomly expressing thoughts that come to mind to get some view of the subconscious.
During a therapy session, June has remembered that she was molested as a young girl by an uncle. Prior to this session, she had no recollection of the event. June’s experience is an example of
a person confronting an internal, unconscious conflict
Repression is a defence mechanism that prevents us from remembering what?
unpleasant feelings and memories
Freud’s theory can be seen as beneficial, even if it is untestable, because
it lead to research on mental disorders
What does the Behavioral Perspective focus on?
the environments in governing our actions.
Freud thought that the role of unconscious defence mechanisms was
to cope with anxiety
What perspective has its roots in the philosophical school of British empiricism.
behavioural
Ivan Pavlov discovered how _____ occurs when events are associated with each other while he was conducting research using _____.
learning; dogs
Who was the founder of behaviourism and said that people are the products of their learning experiences?
Watson
True or false: A behaviourist believes that the proper subject of psychology is not observable behaviour but the inner states, like motives or feelings, that lead to behaviours.
False
Which perspective is MOST closely associated with the term tabula rasa?
Behavioral
Means “blank slate”
Early behaviourists include _____, ______, and ______
Watson, Pavlov and Skinner
Manipulating the environmental factors to decrease problem behaviours or increase positive behaviours is a technique called
behaviour modification
Who was the founder of behaviourism and said that people are the products of their learning experiences?
Watson
Cognitive behaviourism proposed the following influences on behaviour
our thoughts
learning experiences
the environment
our expectations
Cognitive Behaviourism differed from the original behaviourist approach in that it included
experiences that affected thoughts and expectations, which could then influence behaviour
the central tenets of cognitive behaviourism are both thought and behaviour.
Which concept did Maslow create that addressed a person’s fullest potential?
Self-actualization
who is associated with cognitive behaviourism?
Albert Bandura
what perspective emphasizes free will and personal growth.
humanist
what theorists was a central figure in the humanistic perspective?
Abraham Maslow
Cognitive behaviourism proposed the following influences on behaviour
our thoughts
the environment
learning experiences
our expectations
Not separating the sensory parts of an experience from the whole experience is an example of
Gestalt psychology
The study of memory and attention was inspired by the invention of the
computer
Interest in cognitive processes became of increased interest to scientists when they were designing displays for pilots fighting in
WWII
The sociocultural perspective maintains that
the human is a social being embedded in a culture
Noam Chomsky argued that
children are biologically “preprogrammed” to learn language
explain Individualism
stresses individual goals and the rights of the individual person.
explain collectivism
Focuses on group goals, what is best for the collective group, and personal relationships
Which type of culture emphasizes a person’s individual goals being focused on satisfying their cultural group’s needs first?
collectivist
Behavioural neuroscience is also called
physiological psychology
Karl Lashley’s research on rats, along with his measurement of surgically produced lesions, has led to
a better understanding of how to study the functions of different regions of the brain
The field that studies the relationship between how a person acts and that person’s biological inheritance is
behaviour genetics
Who greatly influenced behavioural neuroscience with his research on rats?
Karl Lashley
Which group of individuals is MOST important to the study of behaviour genetics?
Twins
A pioneering theory describing connections between nerve cells that eventually led to the discovery of neurotransmitters was made by which of the following researchers?
Donald O. Hebb
How did Darwin’s theory of evolution influence the field of psychology?
Evolutionary theory emphasised biological adaptation to the environment.
What is sociobiology?
holds that complex social behaviours are built into the human species as products of evolution.
A person’s psychology is related to the theory of evolution by his or her
biology
What is the field of evolutionary psych
a growing discipline that seeks to explain how evolution shaped modern human behaviour.
According to evolutionary theory, survival of the human species most relies upon
adaptations to new environments
Which of the following is the largest individual psychological organization in the world?
- American Psychological Society
- International Union of Psychological Science
- American Medical Association
- American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The field of psychology is best served if its focus is on
empirical observation
Is the need for understanding the role of cultural factors in behavior increasing, decreasing or staying the same?
increasing
What theory is David Buss associated with?
Evelutionairy
