Chapter 1 - The Science of Psychology Flashcards
What are the 5 methods of knowing?
- Intuition - Gathering information and making decisions based on feelings and current knowledge.
- Authority - Gathering information from trusted figures.
- Rationalism - Gathering information through logic and reasoning.
- Empiricism - Gathering information through observation and personal experience.
- Scientific Method - A structure of data collection and experimentation used to answer empirical questions.
What is science
The systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
What is psychology?
A science that observes an aspect of the natural world, specifically human behavior.
What are empirical questions?
Questions about the way the world actually is and, therefore, can be answered by systematically observing it.
What is pseudoscience?
Activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific, but are not.
A set of beliefs or activities can be said to be pseudoscientific if
(a) its adherents claim or imply that it is scientific but
(b) it lacks one or more of the three features of science.
Why should we concern ourselves with pseudoscience?
- Learning about pseudoscience helps us to recognize what ISNT science, thus making what IS science clearer.
- Pseudoscience is widespread and has practical effects on daily living.
- Pseudosciences falsely claim to explain some aspect of human behavior and mental processes.
What are the 3 main goals of science?
- Describe
- Predict
- Explain
What are the two types of research in Psychology?
- Basic: Researching primarily for the sake of understanding human behavior better without addressing any particular problem.
-Applied: Researching primarily to address some practical problem.
What is folk psychology?
intuitive beliefs about peoples behavior, thoughts, or feelings.
How can so many of our intuitive beliefs be so wrong?
- One [reason] is that forming detailed and accurate beliefs requires powers of observation, memory, and analysis to an extent that we do not naturally possess.
- We tend to rely on mental shortcuts (what psychologists refer to as heuristics) in forming and maintaining our beliefs.
- We tend to focus on cases that confirm our intuitive beliefs and not on cases that dis-confirm them. This is called confirmation bias.
What is skepticism?
An attitude of critical thinking.
Being skeptical does not mean being cynical or distrustful, nor does it mean questioning every belief or claim one comes across (which would be impossible anyway).
Instead, it means pausing to consider alternatives and to search for evidence—especially systematically collected empirical evidence—when there is enough at stake to justify doing so.
What is another trait that scientists develop when faced with a lack of information?
Because there is often not enough evidence to fully evaluate a belief or claim, scientists also cultivate a tolerance for uncertainty. They accept that there are many things that they simply do not know.
What is clinical psychology?
the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems. Let us use the termclinical practicebroadly to refer to the activities of clinical and counseling psychologists, school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, and others who work with people individually or in small groups to identify and help address their psychological problems.
What is an empirically supported treatment?
An empirically supported treatment is one that has been studied scientifically and shown to result in greater improvement than no treatment, a placebo, or some alternative treatment. These include many forms of psychotherapy, which can be as effective as standard drug therapies.
