Chapter 1 - Introduction to Psychology Flashcards
Primary Areas of Study
Biological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Social Psychology,
Personality Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology
Interdisciplinary Areas of Study
Cognitive development Social development Social cognition Clinical neuroscience Social neuroscience Social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience (SCAN)
Applied Areas of Study
School psychologist Industrial/ organizational Psychology and the lAW Health psychology Sports psychology
“Common Sense” Claims
True under some conditions
BUT can’t be true at the same time
“Birds of a feather flock together” VS “Opposites attract”
Pseudoscientific Claims
Exaggerated claims
Over reliance on anecdotes
Psychobabble
“Proof” instead of eveidence
Major Themes in Psychology
Nature VS. Nurture Debate
Free Will VS. Determinism Debate
Nature VS. Nurture Debate
Behaviors caused by our genes/biology (Nature)
OR by our upbringing/ environmental influences (Nurture)
Free Will VS. Determinism Debate
Behaviors freely select or are caused by factors outside out control.
Free Will- Control over one’s own behaviors, free to choose
Determinism- lack of control over one’s own behaviors determined by other factors
Individual Differences
Explains why each person responds different ways to the same objective situation
Reciprocal Determinism
The fact we mutually influence each other’s behaviors
Native Realism
Belief that we see the world precisely as it is
Empiricism
Premise that knowledge should initially be acquired through observtation
Scientific Theory
An explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world
Hypothesis
Testable prediction
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them.
Belief Perseverance
The tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them
Metaphysical Claims
Assertions about the world that we can’t test
Pseudoscience
Set of claims that seems scientific but isnt
Ad Hoc Immunization Hypothesis
An escape hatch or loophole that defenders use to protect theory from being disproven
Terror Mangement Theory
Awareness of out own inevitable death leaves many w a sense of fear
Emotional Reason Fallacy
The error of using our emotions as guides for evaluating the validity of a claim
Bandwagon Fallacy
The error of assuming that a claim is correct just because many believe it
Not Me Fallacy
The error of believing that we’re immune from errors in thinking that afflict other people
Bias Blind Spot
Most people are unaware of their biases but keenly aware of them in others
Evolutionary Psychology
Applies to Darwin’s Theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior
Basic Research
Examines how the mind works
Applied Research
How we can use basic research to solve real world problems
