Chapter 1: Introducing Psychological Science Flashcards
1
Q
Biopsychosocial Model
A
Explaining behaviour as a product of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors
2
Q
Critical Thinking
A
Involves exercising curiosity and skepticism when evaluating the claims of others, and with out own assumptions
3
Q
Falsifiable
A
The hypothesis is precise enough that it could be proven false
4
Q
Hypothesis
A
A testable prediction about processes that can be observed and measured
5
Q
Principle of parsimony
A
The simplest of all competing explanations of a phenomenon should be the one we accept
6
Q
Pseudoscience
A
An idea that is present as science but does not actually utilize basic principles of scientific thinking or procedure
7
Q
Psychology
A
Scientific study of thought, behaviour, and experience and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social and environmental factors
8
Q
Scientific literacy
A
The ability to understand, analyze, and apply scientific information
9
Q
Scientific method
A
A way of learning about the world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions
10
Q
What are the steps to the scientific method
A
- scientific theories generate hypotheses, which are specific and testable predictions
- if the hypothesis is confirmed: a new hypothesis stems from it, and the original theory receives added support
- if hypothesis is rejected: the original hypothesis may be modified and retested, or it may be modified or rejected
11
Q
What questions should be included in the scientific literacy model?
A
- what do we know about the phenomenon
- how can science explain it?
- can we critically evaluate the evidence?
12
Q
Apply the biopsychosocial model to behaviour
A
- how do the brain and biological factors are influential?
- consider how psychological factors such as thinking, learning, and emotion, and memory are relevant
- think about social and cultural factors complete the model
- three factors influence behaviour
13
Q
What are the steps in critical thinking
A
- be curious
- examining evidence
- examining assumptions and biases,
- avoiding emotional thinking
- tolerating ambiguity
- considering alternative viewpoints
14
Q
Analyze the use of the term scientific theory
A
It is an explanation for a broad range of observations, integrating findings into a coherent whole
15
Q
I am an academic psychologist who studies various methods for improving study habits. I also hope to help people increase memory performance and become better students. Which psychologist am I?
A
Cognitive
16
Q
My work focuses on how the presence of other people influences an individual’s acceptance of and willingness to express various stereotypes. Which psychologist am I?
A
Social
17
Q
I have been studying childbearing practices in Guatemala, Canada, and Cambodia all share some common elements, as well as how they differ. Which psychologist am I?
A
Cross cultural
18
Q
I’m interested in behaviours that are genetically influenced to help animals adapt to their changing environments, Which psychologist am I?
A
Evolutionary
19
Q
I help individuals identify problem areas of their lives and ways to correct them, and guide them to live up to their full potential. Which psychologist am I?
A
Humanistic
20
Q
Behaviourism
A
Studying only observable behaviour, with little to no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behaviour
21
Q
Clinical Psychology
A
concentrated on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
22
Q
cognitive psychology
A
Focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language
23
Q
Determinism
A
The belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause and effect relationships
24
Q
Dualism
A
Belief that there are properties of humans that are not material (mind and body are separate)
25
Empiricism
Philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience
26
Functionalism
Study of the purpose and function of behavior and conscious experience
27
Gestalt psychology
An approach emphasizing that psychologists need to focus on the whole of perception and experience, rather than its parts
28
Humanistic Psychology
Focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each person's freedom to act, their rational thought, and belief that humans are fundamentally different from other animals
29
Localization of brain function
The idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics
30
Materialism
The belief that humans and other living beings, are composed exclusively of physical matter
31
Nature and Nurture Relationships
Inquiry into how heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) influence behaviour and mental processes
32
Personality of psychology
Study of how different personality characteristics can influence how we think and act
33
Psychoanalysis psychology
A psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes
34
Psychophysics
The study of relationship between the physical world and mental representation of that world
35
Social psychology
The study of the influence of other people on our behaviour
36
Structuralism
An attempt to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together
37
zeitgeist
Refers to a general beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history
38
How did various philosophical and scientific fields become major influences on behaviour
- determinism, empiricism, and materialism provided the background for the scientific study of human behaviour
39
Who developed psychophysics?
Fechner
40
Who looked for the elements of thought?
Titchener
41
Who's theory is the theory of natural selection?
Darwin
42
Who influenced William James' idea of functionalism?
Darwin
43
Who's idea was functionalism?
William James
44
How are the philosophical ideas of empiricism and determinism are applied to human behaviour?
Psych is based on empiricism and how all knowledge about human behaviour is acquired through sense
- determinism is the philosophical tenet that all events in the world have a physical cause
- helps deny a place of free will
45
Anecdotal evidence
An individual's story or testimony about an observation event that is used to make a claim as evidence
46
Appeal to authority
A belief that an expert's claim even when no supporting data or scientific evidence is presents
47
Appeal to common sense
A claim that appears to be sound, but lacks supporting data or scientific evidence
48
Convenience samples
samples of individuals who are the most readily available
49
Demand characteristics
Inadvertent cues given off by the experimenter or the experimental context that provided info about how participants are expected to behave
50
Double-blind study
A study in which neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the exact treatment for any individual
51
Ecological validity
Results from a lab study can be applied to or repeated in natural environment
52
Falsifiable
Hypothesis is precise enough that it could be proven false
53
Hawthorne effect
Behavior change that occurs as a result of being observed
54
Objective measurements
the measure of an entity or behaviour that, within an allowed margin of error, is consistent across instruments and observers
55
Operational definitions
Statements that describe the procedures (or operations) and specific measures that are used to record observations
56
Placebo Effect
A measurable and experienced improvement in health or behaviour that cannot be attributive to a medication or treatment
57
Population
the group that researchers want to generalize about
58
Random sample
Sampling technique in which every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included
59
Reliability
Consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in time
60
Replications
The process of repeating a study and finding a similar outcome each time
61
Sample
a select group of population members
62
Single-blind study
A study in which participants do not know the truth of the study, or else do not know which type of treatment they are receiving (placebo or drug)
63
Social desirability
Research participants respond in ways that increase the chances that they will be viewed favorably
64
Validity
The degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it claims to measure
65
Variable
The object, concept, or event being measured
66
What are the five characteristics of quality research?
1. measurements are objective, valid, and reliable
2. the research can be generalized
3. it uses techniques that reduce bias
4. the findings are made public
5. Results can be replicated
67
How can bias might influence the outcome of the study?
- demand characteristics affect how participants respond in research studies (they attempt to portray themselves in a positive light,
- researchers can influence the outcomes of their own studies, even unintentionally
68
Between subject design
An experimental design in which we compare the performance of participants who are in different groups
69
Case study
An in depth report about the details of a specific case
70
Confounding Variable
A variable outside the researcher's control that might affect or provide an alternative explanation for the results
71
Control group
The group that does not receive the treatment or stimuli targeting a specific behaviour; this group therefore serves as a baseline to which the experimental group is compared
72
Correlational research
Involves measuring the degree of association between two or more variables
73
Dependent variable
The observation or measurement that is recorded during the experiment and subsequently compared across all groups
74
Experimental group
The group in the experiment that receives the treatment or the stimuli targeting a specific behavior
75
Illusory correlations
Relationships that really exist in the mind, rather than in reality
76
Naturalistic observation
Observations that unobtrusively observe and record behaviour as it occurs in the subject's natural environment
77
Qualitative research
Examining an issue or behavior without performing numerical measurements of the variables
78
Quantitative research
Examining an issue or behavior by using numerical measurements and/or statistics
79
Quasi-experimental research
A research technique in which the two or more groups that are compared are selected based in predetermined characteristics
80
Random assignment
A sampling technique in which every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included
81
Research Design
A set of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested
82
Self-reporting
A method in which responses are provided directly by the people who are being studied, typically through face to face interviews, phone surveys, paper and pencil tests and web based questionnaires
83
Third variable problem
The possibility that a third, unmeasured variable is actually responsible for a well established correlation between two variables
84
Within-subject design
An experimental design in which the same participants respond to all types of stimuli or experience all experimental conditions
85
What does it mean when variables are positively or negatively correlated?
- when two or more variables are positively correlated, they increase or decrease
ex) income and education level are positively correlated
- negatively correlated, if one increases the other decreases
ex) substance abuse may be inversely related to cognitive performance- higher levels of substance abuse are often associated with lower cognitive function
86
How do experiments help demonstrate cause and effect relationships
- experiments rely on randomization and the manipulation of an independent variable to show cause and effect
- at the beginning of an experiment, two or more groups are randomly assigned-a process that helps ensure that the two groups are about equivalent
- researchers manipulate an independent variable. At the end of the study, if one group turns out to be different, that difference is most likely due to the effects of the independent variable
87
What are the pros and cons of descriptive research designs?
- naturally occurring behaviour and providing detailed observations of individuals
88
What are the pros and cons of the correlational research design
- when they are used in descriptive research, we can see how key variables are related
89
What are the pros and cons of experimental research design?
- they can be used to test for cause and effect relationships..
- the laboratory experiments might not generalize to real world situations
90
Debriefing
When researchers explain the true nature of the study, especially the nature of and reason for any deception
91
Deception
misleading or only partially informing participants of the true topic or hypothesis under investigation
92
Informed consent
A potential volunteer must be informed and give consent without pressure
93
Research ethics board (REB)
A committee of researchers and officials at an institution charged with the protection of research participants
94
Why are animals often used in scientific research
- many research questions that affect medical and public health cannot be answered without animal testing
- obvious ethical considerations may not allow such research to be conducted on human subjects
- by working with animal models, scientists can control genetic and environmental variables that cannot be controlled with humans
95
What is the role of using deception in psychological
- often the case that fully disclosing the purpose of a study before people participate in it would render the results useless
- specific details of the study are not provided during informed consent
- when deception is used, researchers must justify that the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs
96
Central tendency
A measure of the central point of a distribution
97
Descriptive Statistics
A set of techniques used to organize, summarize and interpret data
98
Frequency
The number of observations that fall within a certain category or range of scores
99
Hypothesis test
A statistical method of evaluating whether differences among groups are meaningful, or could have been arrived by chance alone
100
Mean
The arithmetic average of a set of numbers
101
Median
The point on the horizontal axis at which 50% of all observations are lower and 50% of all observations are higher
102
Mode
The category with the highest frequency (that is, the category with the most observations)
103
Negatively skewed distribution
A distribution in which the curve has an extended tail to the left of the cluster
104
Normal distribution
A symmetrical distribution with the values clustered around a central, mean value
105
Null hypothesis
Assumes that any differences between groups are due to chance
106
Positively skewed distribution
A distribution in which the long tail is on the right of the cluster
107
Standard deviation
A measure of variability around the mean
108
Statistical significance
The means of the group are farther apart than you would expect them to be by random chance alone
109
Variability
The degree to which scores are dispersed in a distribution
110
How and why do psychologists use significance tests?
- help tell us whether differences between groups or distributions are meaningful
- how much variability there is among individuals within each of the groups will determine whether the averages are the significantly different
- to test whether groups really are different
