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Psychology Unit 1 > Chapter 1: Psychology as a Science > Flashcards

Chapter 1: Psychology as a Science Flashcards

1
Q

psychology definition

A

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. it covers the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning and memory, intelligence, language, thought, growth and development, personality, stress and health, psychological disorations, sexual behavior, and behavior in social settings.

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2
Q

what do psychologists seek

A

to understand the factors that influence behavior and apply this knowledge for the public good.

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3
Q

theory definition

A

theories propose reasons for relationships among events, as in the perception of a threat can arouse feelings of anxiety, they allow us to derive explanations and predictions.

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4
Q

what is pure research?

A

has no immediate application to personal or social problems and has therefore been characterized as research for its own sake.

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5
Q

what is applied research?

A

research designed to fin solutions to specific personal or social problems

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6
Q

clinical psychologists

A

they help people with psychological disorders adjust to the demands of life. they help clients resolve problems and change bad behavior.

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7
Q

counseling psychologists

A

helps clients with adjustment problems for example helping clients who have trouble making academic decisions.

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8
Q

school psychologists

A

identify and assist students who have problems that interfere with learning

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9
Q

educational psychologists

A

focus on course planning and instructional methods for a school system rather than on individual children.

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10
Q
A
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11
Q

personality psychologists

A

identify and measure human traits and determine influences on human thought processes, feelings, and behavior.

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12
Q

social psychologists

A

study the nature and causes of individual’s thought, feelings, and behavior in social situations.

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13
Q

environmental psychologists

A

study the ways that people and the environment influence one another

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14
Q

experimental psychologists

A

specialize in basic processes such as the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning and memory, though, motivation, and emotion

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15
Q

industrial psychologists

A

fucos on the relationships between people and work

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16
Q

organizational psychologists

A

study the behavior of people in organizations such as businesses

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17
Q

human factors psychologists

A

make technical systems such as automobile dashboards and computer keyboards more user-friendly.

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18
Q

consumer psychologists

A

study the behavior of shoppers in an effort to predict and influence their behavior.

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19
Q

health psychologists

A

study the effects of stress on health problems such as headaches, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

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20
Q

forensic psychologists

A

apply psychology to the criminal justice system

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21
Q

sport psychologists

A

help athletes concentrate on their performance and not on the crowd

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22
Q

How did Aristotle influence psychology

A

He argued that human behavior is subject to rules and laws, explored the nature of cause and effect, pointed out that people differ from other living things in their capacity for rational thought, declared that people are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain, etc.

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23
Q

how did Democritus influence psychology?

A

He suggested that we could think of behavior in terms of a body and a mind, external stimuli influence behavior, suggested that we should rely on rational thought and introspection, and pointed out that people affect one another

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24
Q

introspections

A

careful examination of one’s own thoughts and emotions

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25
how did Socrates influence psychology? (not in textbook)
he focused on ethics and morals, the behavior of the individual in society and the formation of patterns of behavior, and attitudes and morals. He also made the Socratic method (answering a question with a question)
26
gustav theodor fechner
published elements of psychophysics which showed how physical events (lights and sounds) stimulate psychological sensations and perceptions.
27
Wilhelm wundt
established the first psychological laboratory, he founded structuralism
28
structuralism
breaks conscious experiences into objective sensations, subjective feelings, and mental images
29
belief
mind functions by combining objective and subjective elements of experience
30
William James
he founded functionalism and was influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution.
31
functionalism
focused on behavior, mind, or consciousness. basically, how our experience helps us function more adaptively in our environments
32
john broadus Watson
founded behaviorism, believed that if psychology were to be a natural science it must limit itself to observable measurable events
33
behaviorism
school of psychology that focuses on learning observable behavior
34
B.F. Skinner
He believed that organisms learn ot behave in certain ways because they have been reinforced for doing
35
reinforcement
stimulus that follows a response and increases the frequency of the response
36
Gestalt psychology
the school of psychology that emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns
37
psychoanalysis
the school of psychology that emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior (sigmund freud)
38
theory of personality
proposes that people's lives are influenced by unconscious ideas
39
method of psychotherapy
helps patients gain insight, seeks socially acceptable ways to express wishes and gratifies needs
40
biological perspective
seeking the relationships between the brain hormones, heredity, and evolution, as well as behavior and mental processes.
41
cognitive perspective
looks at mental processes to understand human nature, and studies those things that are referred to as the mind.
42
Humanism
stress on human capacity for self-fulfillment, roles of consciousness, self-awareness, and decision making
43
existentialism
stresses on free choice and holds people responsible for the choices made
44
psychodynamic perspective
doesnt answer
45
neoanalysts
contemporary psychologists who follow theories derived from freud, focus more on conscious choice and self-direction than unconscious processes
46
behaviorist view (perspectives on learning)
learning occurs through learning histories, situations, and rewards and not through conscious choice
47
social cognitive theorists (perspectives on learning)
Believe that people modify and create their environment, cognition plays a key role, and people engage in intentional learning through observation
48
sociocultural perspective
focuses on the influence of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes
49
ethnicity (one of the sociocultural perspectives)
members of an ethnic group share cultural heritage, race, language, or history
50
gender (one of the sociocultural perspectives)
refers to masculinity and femininity, involves cultural expectations and social roles
51
scientific method
an organized way of using experience and testing ideas to expand and refine knowledge.
52
hypothesis
a statement about behavior or mental processes that is testable through research.
53
correlations
an association or a relationship among variables, as we might find between height and weight, etc.
54
selection factor
a source of bias that may occur in research findings when participants are allowed to choose a certain treatment in a scientific study.
55
sample
a part of a population
56
population
a complete group of interest to researchers, from which a sample is drawn
57
random sample (method of research)
a sample drawn so that each member of population has an equal chance of being selected
58
stratified sample (method of research)
a sample drawn so that identified subgroups in the population are represented proportionately in the sample
59
volunteer bias
a source of bias or error in research reflecting the prospect that people who offer to participate in research studies differ systematically from people who do not
60
case study (method of observation)
gather information about individuals or small groups obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and psychological tests
61
survey (method of observation)
a large sample of people answer questions about their attitudes or behavior
62
naturalistic observation (method of observation)
organisms are observed in their natural environments
63
correlational method
a mathematical method of determining whether one variable increases or decreases as another variable increases or decreases
64
correlation coefficient
a number between 1 and -1 that expresses the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
65
experiment
a scientific method that seeks to confirm cause-effect relationships introducing independent variable and observing their effects on dependent variables
66
independent variable
a conditon that is manipulated so that its effects may be observed
67
dependent variable
a measure of assumed effect of an independent variable
68
experimental groups
in experiments, groups whose members obtain the treatment
69
control groups
groups whose members do not obtain the treatment, the conditions are held constant
70
placebos
a fake treatment that appears to be genuine
71
double-blind studies
a study in which neither the subjects nor the observers know who has received the treatment
72
blind (experimental terminology)
unaware of whether or not one has received a treatment
73
informed consent
a participant's agreement to participate in research after receiving information about the purposes of the study and the nature of the treatments
74
critical thinking
a way of evaluating the claims and comments of the people that involved skepticism and examination of evidence
75
according to the APA's ethical standards, psychologists may use deception when:
-They believe the benefits of the research outweigh its harm -They believed the individuals might have been willing to participate if they had understood the benefits of the research -participants are debriefed later
76
can animals be used in experiments
ues when research cannot be carried out with humans
77
animals may be harmed when
there is no alternative and when benefits of the research justify the harm
78
1st principle of critical thinking
be skeptical: keep an open ming
79
2nd principle of critical thinking
insist on evidence: don't trust an opinion
80
3rd principle of critical thinking
examine definitions of terms
81
4th principle of critical thinking
examine the assumptions or premises of arguements
82
5th principle of critical thinking
be cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence
83
6th principle of critical thinking
be skeptical of anecdotes
84
7th principle of critical thinking
consider alternative interpretations of research evidence: make connections, correlations
85
8th principle of critical thinking
do not oversimplify
86
9th principle of critical thinking
do not overgeneralize
87
10th principle of critical thinking
apply critical thinking to all areas of life

Psychology Unit 1 (3 decks)

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