Chapter 1 - The Science of Psychology Flashcards
science behavior and mental processes
Psychology
concerned with the makeup of the mind
Structuralism
- “Father of Psychology”
- established the first psychology lab
- took structures of chemistry and used that to create the idea of psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
- having an open mind
- identifying inherent biases and assumptions
- distinguish facts from opinions
- reviewing all available evidence before reaching a conclusion
Being a Critical Thinker
- make observations
- form a theory (general explanation)
- create hypothesis (specific statement)
- research and observations
The Scientific Method
explanation that attempts to explain an observation (broad explanation)
Theory
testable prediction (specific explanation)
Hypothesis
defining a circumstance or behavior in such a way so that it can be objectively observed and measured
Operational Definitions
- examines situations as is
- cannot determine cause and effect
- types: case study, survey (population, sample, random sampling)
Research Strategy - Description
investigation of the relationship between 2 variables
- can be positive and negative
- scatter plot
- strength of relationship (closer coefficient is to 1, the stronger the relationship between the 2 variables are)
- DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION
Research Strategy - Correlation
investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent) to observe the effect on some behavior/mental process (dependent)
- control group
- random assignment
- cause and effect
Research Strategy - Experimentation
explores how the human brain and physiology shape and control our behavior
Neuroscience
focuses on studying observable behavior and attributes human behavior to consequences in the environment
Behavioral
focuses on how people think, comprehend, and know the world (and how our ways of thinking about the world influence our behavior)
Cognitive
all individuals naturally strive to grow and develop, and to control their lives and behavior
Humanistic
behavior to be motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which we have little awareness and over which we have little control
Psychodynamic
attempts to explain behavior and mental processes as products of natural selection
Evolutionary
seeks to understand human thought and behavior as products of social rules learned in the cultures to which individuals belong
Sociocultural
concerned with the purpose/role of the psychological elements
Functionalism
emphasized unconscious and childhood experience
Psychoanalysis
the study of how brain activity is linked with psychological processes
Biopsychology
