Chapter 2 (final) Flashcards
what is rationalism
the view that reason and logical argument, but not experience, is most important for how we acquire knowledge
what did Hermann Ebbinghaus’ textbook signify
signified a revolution in psychology as a science— questions from philosophers had been asked for a long time, but how they answered relied on the process of rationalism
who thought concluded that thoughts/perceptions/emotions were from the heart
Aristotle
how did aristotle conclude that thoughts/perceptions/emotions were from the heart
used rationalism to
according to aristotle, why was the hear the primary organ
the heart is in the middle of our body, connected by blood to all other organs, the beating of the heart is affected by emotional state… so it made sense
what was the brain classified as according to aristotle
brain as classified as a secondary organ and was thought to cool down the body, whereas the heart would warm it
define theories
rational explanations to describe and predict future behaviour
what is the scientific method
common approach in which researchers methodologically answer questions;
what are the steps to the scientific method
identify the problem gather information generate a hypothesis design and conduct experiments analyze data and formulate conclusions restart process (at hypothesis)
what is the best definition of a hypothesis
The predicted outcome of an experiment
Which of the following is not a part of the scientific method? identify problem theory hypothesis data analysis and conclusion
theory
Using the scientific method, in what stage does a scientist ‘test’ their hypothesis? Identify the problem hypothesis Design and conduct experiments Data analysis and conclusions
Design and conduct experiments
what does Naturalistic observation allows us to do
better understand behaviour exactly as it happens in the real world
what is ecologically valid
type of description of behaviour is called ecologically valid— the observations are a product of genuine reactions
what is important to do in naturalistic observation
important to stay as unobtrusive as possible (aka people don’t know they are being watched; in relation to the “dropped my wallet” prank)
what is the hawthorn effect
animals tend to react differently when they are being watched
this “reactivity” is called the Hawthorne effect
What does the word ‘Hawthorne’ refer to?
A factory called Hawthorne Works Electric Company
In the Hawthorne study, what was one change that was mentioned?
The amount of lighting in the work environment
Damon Brown’s work found that the change in the working environment was not the important factor. Rather, it was simply that they were being observed. Which step in the scientific method does this address?
Data analysis
In some instances, naturalistic observation might also be the only way to observe behaviour, give an example of this
like in the case of natural disasters— or any other condition that would be deemed unethical to conduct in a controlled setting
what are some disadvantages of naturalistic observation
some disadvantages; researchers lack control of the environment and many different factor that can affect behaviour
like; in the wallet-dropping prank, we saw some people take the wallet, but we are unsure of why. What were the circumstances leading up to that? How are we sure they even saw the person drop it?
what is interrater reliability
ensuring the validity of the data they collect (e.g. comparing with other researchers)
what is participant observation—
research method in which a group researcher becomes part of the group under investigation
what is participant observation used
sometimes it’s the only way to gain access to a group (e.g. the only way to understand doomsday cults is to pose as new cult members)
what are the benefits of participant observation
being part of the group can provide a more enriching experience and afford greater access to the daily life and activities of group members
what are limits to participant observation
Having the observer immersed in the experience can increase reactivity, as their mere presence may inherently change behaviour (remember the Hawthorne Effect?). As the observer spends time with and interacts with group members, he or she could become biased and “see” only those things that fit the initial hypothesis
what experiment did David Rosenhan run
professor at Stanford University, skeptical of the diagnostic abilities of clinicians and questioned the accuracy of diagnostic techniques, doubted whether clinicians could reliably distinguish the sane from the insane; this led to a three-year investigation
he had healthy researchers did intake interviews with many hospital’s psychiatrists and used the words such as “empty” “hollow” and “thud” (which on their own are meaningless, but when used in the interview they were all admitted to the psychiatric ward), once inside, they would take notes and observe the doings inside the ward they would act normally once inside the ward
staff of hospitals did not see that they were actually sane, but the patients often suspected they were and accused them of “faking” it
From the David Rosenhan video, under what diagnosis were his pseudopatients discharged from the hospital?
Schizophrenia in remission
what is a case study
an in-depth analysis of a unique circumstance or individual
who is henry molaison
perfect example of how case study can be used to gain insight
as young boy, Henry started to experience mild seizures after falling off his bike and hitting his head (bicycle helmets were rarely used in the 1930s). While manageable at first, his seizures became progressively worse as he aged and could not be treated by conventional means. By the time Henry reached his late 20s, he could no longer live a normal life because of the frequency and severity of his seizure attacks. On the advice of his neurosurgeon, his last resort was bilateral ablation (surgical damage) to his ventral medial temporal lobes (which includes the hippocampus, and the entorhinal cortex), as this brain tissue was believed to be the point of origin of Henry’s seizures
what are the limitations of a case study
hard to generalize the findings from a unique case into a broader conclusion
what are surveys
efficient way to quickly collect information and gather an understanding of the current state of people’s opinions or attitudes
what is a population
every single member of a group
what is a sample
smaller subset of the population (because you cant survey the entire population)
sure has to have wide demographics
