Chapter 1: Psychology as a Science Flashcards

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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
Q

how did Socrates influence psychology? (not in textbook)

A

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)

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26
Q

gustav theodor fechner

A

published elements of psychophysics which showed how physical events (lights and sounds) stimulate psychological sensations and perceptions.

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27
Q

Wilhelm wundt

A

established the first psychological laboratory, he founded structuralism

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28
Q

structuralism

A

breaks conscious experiences into objective sensations, subjective feelings, and mental images

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29
Q

belief

A

mind functions by combining objective and subjective elements of experience

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30
Q

William James

A

he founded functionalism and was influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution.

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31
Q

functionalism

A

focused on behavior, mind, or consciousness. basically, how our experience helps us function more adaptively in our environments

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32
Q

john broadus Watson

A

founded behaviorism, believed that if psychology were to be a natural science it must limit itself to observable measurable events

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33
Q

behaviorism

A

school of psychology that focuses on learning observable behavior

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34
Q

B.F. Skinner

A

He believed that organisms learn ot behave in certain ways because they have been reinforced for doing

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35
Q

reinforcement

A

stimulus that follows a response and increases the frequency of the response

36
Q

Gestalt psychology

A

the school of psychology that emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns

37
Q

psychoanalysis

A

the school of psychology that emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior (sigmund freud)

38
Q

theory of personality

A

proposes that people’s lives are influenced by unconscious ideas

39
Q

method of psychotherapy

A

helps patients gain insight, seeks socially acceptable ways to express wishes and gratifies needs

40
Q

biological perspective

A

seeking the relationships between the brain hormones, heredity, and evolution, as well as behavior and mental processes.

41
Q

cognitive perspective

A

looks at mental processes to understand human nature, and studies those things that are referred to as the mind.

42
Q

Humanism

A

stress on human capacity for self-fulfillment, roles of consciousness, self-awareness, and decision making

43
Q

existentialism

A

stresses on free choice and holds people responsible for the choices made

44
Q

psychodynamic perspective

A

doesnt answer

45
Q

neoanalysts

A

contemporary psychologists who follow theories derived from freud, focus more on conscious choice and self-direction than unconscious processes

46
Q

behaviorist view (perspectives on learning)

A

learning occurs through learning histories, situations, and rewards and not through conscious choice

47
Q

social cognitive theorists (perspectives on learning)

A

Believe that people modify and create their environment, cognition plays a key role, and people engage in intentional learning through observation

48
Q

sociocultural perspective

A

focuses on the influence of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes

49
Q

ethnicity (one of the sociocultural perspectives)

A

members of an ethnic group share cultural heritage, race, language, or history

50
Q

gender (one of the sociocultural perspectives)

A

refers to masculinity and femininity, involves cultural expectations and social roles

51
Q

scientific method

A

an organized way of using experience and testing ideas to expand and refine knowledge.

52
Q

hypothesis

A

a statement about behavior or mental processes that is testable through research.

53
Q

correlations

A

an association or a relationship among variables, as we might find between height and weight, etc.

54
Q

selection factor

A

a source of bias that may occur in research findings when participants are allowed to choose a certain treatment in a scientific study.

55
Q

sample

A

a part of a population

56
Q

population

A

a complete group of interest to researchers, from which a sample is drawn

57
Q

random sample (method of research)

A

a sample drawn so that each member of population has an equal chance of being selected

58
Q

stratified sample (method of research)

A

a sample drawn so that identified subgroups in the population are represented proportionately in the sample

59
Q

volunteer bias

A

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
Q

case study (method of observation)

A

gather information about individuals or small groups obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and psychological tests

61
Q

survey (method of observation)

A

a large sample of people answer questions about their attitudes or behavior

62
Q

naturalistic observation (method of observation)

A

organisms are observed in their natural environments

63
Q

correlational method

A

a mathematical method of determining whether one variable increases or decreases as another variable increases or decreases

64
Q

correlation coefficient

A

a number between 1 and -1 that expresses the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

65
Q

experiment

A

a scientific method that seeks to confirm cause-effect relationships introducing independent variable and observing their effects on dependent variables

66
Q

independent variable

A

a conditon that is manipulated so that its effects may be observed

67
Q

dependent variable

A

a measure of assumed effect of an independent variable

68
Q

experimental groups

A

in experiments, groups whose members obtain the treatment

69
Q

control groups

A

groups whose members do not obtain the treatment, the conditions are held constant

70
Q

placebos

A

a fake treatment that appears to be genuine

71
Q

double-blind studies

A

a study in which neither the subjects nor the observers know who has received the treatment

72
Q

blind (experimental terminology)

A

unaware of whether or not one has received a treatment

73
Q

informed consent

A

a participant’s agreement to participate in research after receiving information about the purposes of the study and the nature of the treatments

74
Q

critical thinking

A

a way of evaluating the claims and comments of the people that involved skepticism and examination of evidence

75
Q

according to the APA’s ethical standards, psychologists may use deception when:

A

-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
Q

can animals be used in experiments

A

ues when research cannot be carried out with humans

77
Q

animals may be harmed when

A

there is no alternative and when benefits of the research justify the harm

78
Q

1st principle of critical thinking

A

be skeptical: keep an open ming

79
Q

2nd principle of critical thinking

A

insist on evidence: don’t trust an opinion

80
Q

3rd principle of critical thinking

A

examine definitions of terms

81
Q

4th principle of critical thinking

A

examine the assumptions or premises of arguements

82
Q

5th principle of critical thinking

A

be cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence

83
Q

6th principle of critical thinking

A

be skeptical of anecdotes

84
Q

7th principle of critical thinking

A

consider alternative interpretations of research evidence: make connections, correlations

85
Q

8th principle of critical thinking

A

do not oversimplify

86
Q

9th principle of critical thinking

A

do not overgeneralize

87
Q

10th principle of critical thinking

A

apply critical thinking to all areas of life