Chapter 1: What is Psychology? Flashcards
Vocab study for chapter 1
What is psychology?
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
What is the difference between pseudo-psychology and psychology?
Pseudo-psychology is psychological information or conclusions that sound scientific but that have not been systematically tested using the scientific method. In contrast, psychology is has all findings tested using the scientific method.
Define structuralism:
Structuralism is an early psychological perspective concerned with identifying the basic elements of experience. This form of thought was made by Wilhelm Wundt, but the name was coined by Wundt’s student Edward Titchener.
Gestalt Psychology is:
An early psychological approach that emphasized how our minds organize sensory stimuli to produce the perception of a whole form.
Functionalism:
An early psychological perspective concerned with how behavior helps people adapt to their environment.
Psychoanalytic Theory:
Sigmund Freud’s view that emphasizes the influence of unconscious desires and conflicts on behavior.
Behaviorism
A psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of observable responses and behavior.
Stimulus vs Response
A stimulus is any object or event that is perceived by our senses. A response is an organism’s reaction to a stimulus.
Humanism
Perspective that emphasizes the personal growth and potential of humans.
Cognitive Psychology
The study of the mental processes such as reasoning and problem solving.
Positive Psychology
The study of factors that contribute to happiness, positive emotions, and well being.
Biological Perspective
Approach that focuses on physical causes of behavior.
Neuroscience
A field that investigates the relationships between the nervous system and behavior/mental processes.
Evolutionary Perspective
Approach that focuses on how evolution and natural selection influence behavior
Cognitive Perspective
Approach that focuses on how mental processes influence behavior.
Psycho-dynamic Approach
Approach that focuses on internal unconscious mental processes, motives, and desires that might explain behavior.
Behavioral Perspective
Approach that focuses on external, environmental influences on behavior.
Sociocultural Perspective
Approach that focuses on societal and cultural factors that may influence behavior.
Humanistic Perspective
Approach that focuses on how an individual’s view of self and the world influences behavior.
Eclectic Approach
Approach that integrates and combines several perspectives when explaining behavior.
Prediction
An expected outcome of how variables will relate
Hypothesis
An educated guess.
Predictive Hypothesis
An educated guess about the relationship among variables.
Casual Hypothesis
An educated guess about how one variable will influence another variable.
Population of Interest
The entire universe of animals or people that could be studied
Sample
The portion of the population of interest that is selected for a study.
Naturalistic Observation
Observing behavior in the environment in which the behavior typically occurs.
Case Study
An in-depth observation of one participant
Generalizability
How well a researcher’s findings apply to other individuals and situations.
Survey
A research method that asks a large group of people about their attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors.
Correlation
The relationship between two or more variables.
Positive Correlation
A relationship in which increases in one variable correspond to increases in a second variable
Negative Correlation
A relationship in which increases in one variable correspond to decreases in a second variable.
Experiment
A research method that is used to test casual hypotheses.
Independent Variable
The variable in an experiment that is manipulated.
Dependent Variable
The variable in an experiment that measures any effect of the manipulation.
Experimental group
The group of participants who receive the manipulation that is being tested.
Control Group
The group of participants who DO NOT receive the manipulation that is being tested.
Placebo Effect
A measurable change in a participants’ behavior due to the expectation or belief that a treatment will have certain effects.
Double-Blind Study
An experiment in which neither the experimenters nor the participants know to which group (experimental or control) participants have been assigned.
Confounding Variable
Any factor other than the independent variable that affects the dependent measure.
Random Assignment
Method of assigning participants in which they have an equal chance of being placed in any group or condition of the study.
Quasi-Experiment
A research study that is not a true experiment because participants are not randomly assigned to the different conditions.
Institutional Review Board
A committee that reviews research proposals to ensure that ethical standards have been met.
Informed Consent
Ethical principle that research participants be told about various aspects of the study, including any risks, before agreeing to participate.
Confidentiality
Ethical principle that researchers do not reveal which data were collected from which participant
Debriefing
Ethical principle that after participating in an experiment involving deception participants be fully informed of the nature of the study.
