Chapter 1 and 2 Flashcards
What is Psych
The scientific study of the mind and behaviour.
What defines scientific study
Gathering and evaluating empirical evidence to answer other questions and test ideas of the world.
Define empirical evidence
Evidence gained through experience and observation.
The 5 questions associated with critical thinking
- What is the claim exactly?
- Are there other explanations possible/probable?
- What empirical tests have been done, what is the quality of tests?
- Is the source trustworthy?
- What is the evidence and how good is it?
Biopsychology
The study of the body as an explanation of behaviour. Hormones, how the brain processes, genes
Developmental psych
Examines humans physical, psychological, social development across entire lifespan.
- how different parenting styles effect children.
- impulse control.
Experimental psych
Brain processes like basic learning, sensations, perception, and motivation to explain behaviour.
- most experiments done on non-humans
Industrial-organization psych
Behaviour in the workplace. Job motivation, stress, job satisfaction, etc.
Personality psych
Focus on personality traits. Are there core traits?
Social psych
How people think of others, how people act around a group vs alone, think/behave towards others.
Cognitive psych
Deeper mental processing to explain behaviour. Memory, problem solving, creativity.
Clinical psych
the cure of psychological issues. Depression, PTSD.
The 4 goals of psych
- Describe behaviour
- Explain and understand behaviour
- Predict behaviour
- Influence and control behaviour
Basic science
Quest for knowledge solely for its own sake.
Applied science
Designed to solve specific, practical problems.
What are the levels of analysis?
Biological
Environmental
Psychological
Monism
Mind=body
Dualism
Mind does not equal body, fundamentally different.
Structuralism & person
Mind is studied by looking at the parts instead of the whole.
Wilhelm Wundt
Functionalism & person
Studying the mind by looking a the whole instead of the parts.
William James
Psychodynamic & person
Looking at the unconscious level of the mind to understand behaviour. Uses psychoanalysis.
Sigmund Feud
Behavioural & person
Overt, observable behaviour no thoughts or feelings involved.
John B. Watson (Father of Behaviouralism)
Radical Behaviouralism & person
Absolutely no thoughts or feelings. “Free will is an illusion.”
B.F Skinner
Cognitive behaviouralism & person
Deep mental processes to explain behaviour. Thoughts and feelings are involved in this study. Problem solving, creativity, decision making. Learning and our environment govern our behaviour.
Albert Bandura
Socio-cultural & people
The way cultural background and social presence governs behaviour. Culture- norms, expectations, traditions. Social- how you behave around groups, alone, implied, actual, imagined presence.
Mamie and Kenneth Clark
Humanistic & people
Being the best version of yourself, free will, personal growth, self-esteem, self-actualization. Directly opposes psychodynamic/behaviouralism.
Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers
Biological & person
Genetics, hormones, bodily functions, evolution. Behavioural neuroscience.
Karl Lashley- lesions to the brain
5 steps to scientific process
- Generate hypothesis/prediction- something testable.
- Develop method being used (design the study)
- Get data
- Analyze data, draw conclusion.
- Report findings, build body of knowledge.
What is a theory
Much broader form of information. It explains general, broad range of observations. Generates new predictions and hypothesis. Can never tell the truth/actualize.
A good theory has these 3 things
- Incorporates existing facts and observations into a single, broad framework.
- Generates new, testable hypothesis/predictions
- Follows Law of Parsimony
Operational definition
How you are going to test something.
Defines variable in terms of specific procedures used to measure (or produce) it.
4 ways to measure variables and the disadvantages
- Psychological measure (personality test)
- social desirability bias - Self-report measure or report by others (IQ, questionnaire)
social desirability bias, interview bias - Physiological measure (heart rate, blood pressure)
- do not always know what they mean/the link - Measure of overt behaviour (directly observable)
- observer effect
3 ways to do descriptive research
- Case study (in depth analysis of one person/group of people)
- Naturalistic observation (researchers observe in natural environment)
- Survey research including questionnaires, interviews,
What is a representative sample
A representation of the population, reflecting important characteristics.
What is random sampling
Every member of the population has a chance of being selected.
What is stratified random sampling
Dividing the population into smaller groups then organized into shared characteristics.
What are the two problems with correlations?
Directionality problem- uncertain which variable influences the other.
Third variable problem- variables may be caused by another, 3rd variable.
Define the experimental method
One or more variables is manipulated to determine if it influences the other variables. This is the only method that allows for conclusions of causes.
What is between subjects design
Some participants exposed to full I.V other in the control group.
What is within-subjects design
Participants are exposed to all levels of the I.V
50% of the time driving with no phone, 50% of the time driving with phone
What is random assignment
Each participant has an equal chance of being in control or experimental group. Thing tends to balance out differences.
What is counterbalancing
The order of conditions is varied.
What is internal validity
How well the experiment support clear, casual conclusions.
What is external validity
How well replication of the experiment performs on different types of populations.
5 research ethic principals
- Must protect and promote welfare of participants
- Must avoid doing harm to participants
- Must not carry out any studies unless probable benefit is greater than risk
- Must ensure privacy and confidentiality
- Must provide informed consent
