Chpt 1-3 Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Naive Realism

A

Belief that we see the world precisely as it is, moreover, trusting our intuitive perceptions of the world and ourselves

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2
Q

Etic

A

The approach of studying of human behaviour of a culture from the perspective of an outsider.

  • Can view the culture from a broader perspective of other cultures
  • can unintentionally impose perspectives from other cultures
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3
Q

Emic

A

Studying the behavior of a culture from an inside perspective of someone who is part of the culture

  • helpful for understanding the unique characteristics of a culture
  • can overlook similarities of characteristics with other cultures
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4
Q

Individual Differences

A

The difference in emotions, behavior, and personality that makes it difficult to pinpoint exact causations of a persons reaction

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5
Q

Reciprocal Determination

A

Influence of others changing an individuals behavior

  • makes it difficult to find the causation of a certain behavior
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6
Q

Multiply Determined

A

Multiple factors that can produce/influence human action

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7
Q

Falsifiable

A

A claim that is capable of being disproven and is testable.

  • A theory that accounts for every conceivable outcome- in effect explains nothing
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8
Q

Social Psychology

A

Examines the effect on other people’s behaviours and attitudes

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9
Q

Cognitive Psychology

A

Examines the thinking processes, and is perceived as the central understanding of behaviour.

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10
Q

Occam’s Razor

A

If two explanations account equally well for a theory, the simplest theory should be selected over more complex claims.

  • “Shaving off” complicated explanations
  • Remember KISS: keep it simple and stupid
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11
Q

Introspection

A

A technique used by Wilhelm Wundt that required trained observers to reflect carefully and report on their mental experiences

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12
Q

Structuralism

A

Founded by Edward Bradford Titcher, and aimed to identify basic structures of psychological experiences.

  • Strived to create a comprehensive map of the elements of consciousness

Issues with structuralism:

  1. Introspectionists debated over subjective reports
  2. German psychologist Oswald Kulpe displayed that individuals tasked with specific problems, engaged with imageless thought. Therefore, they were unable to report what came to mind due to their thinking being unaccompanied by conscious expirience
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12
Q

Functionalism

A

Founder of Functionalism, William James proposed an understanding of adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics (e.g. thoughts feelings, and behaviours)

  • concentrated more on “why”
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13
Q

Natural Selection

A

A popular belief of functionalists; was that Darwin’s evolutionary theory also applied to psychological characteristics.

  • Characteristics evolved because they increased the chances of an organism’s fitness
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14
Q

Behaviourism

A

Influenced by John B. Watson, and focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking at observable behavior.

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15
Q

Cognitive Neuroscience

A

Examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking

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16
Q

Psychoanalysis

A

Founded by Freud, concentrates on the internal psychological processes we’re unaware of

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17
Q

Evolutionary Psychology

A

Applies Darwin’s theory of natural selection to human and animal behaviour

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18
Q

Basic Research

A

Examines how the mind works

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19
Q

Applied Research

A

Examines how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems

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20
Q

Belief Perseverance

A

The tendency to stick to initial beliefs when evidence contradicts them

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21
Q

Pseudoscience

A

A set of claims that seem scientific, but isn’t. In particular, pseudoscience lacks, the safeguard against confirmation, bias and belief perseverance that characterize science.

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22
Q

Patternicity

A

The human tendency to see patterns and meaningless data

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23
Q

Scientific Theory

A

Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world.

  • Offers an account tied to multiple findings together
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24
Q

Hypothesis

A

Testable theory derived from scientific theory

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25
Q

Confirmation Bias

A

Seeking out evidence that supports the hypothesis and denying evidence disproving it

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26
Q

Metaphysical Claims

A

Untestable assertion about the world
e.g. existence of god, afterlife, souls etc.

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27
Q

Pseudoscience

A

Set of claims that falsely present to be scientific, it lacks safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance that characterize science.

Signs of pseudoscience include:

  • Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis
  • Exaggerated claims
  • Overreliance on anecdotes
  • Absence of connection to other research
  • Lack of scholarly review
  • Lack of self-correction to contrary evidence
  • Finding comfort in beliefs by offering sense of control
  • Psychobabble
  • Proof instead of evidence
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28
Q

Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis

A

Used in pseudoscience to protect their theory by using loopholes/escapes

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29
Q

Terror Management Theory

A

Theory proposing awareness of death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror.

As a response, we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews.

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30
Q

Bias Blind Spot

A

Most people are unaware of their own biases but keenly aware of others

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31
Q

Dangers of Pseudoscience

A
  • Opportunity Cost:
    Can lead people to forgo opportunities to seek effective treatment
  • Direct Harm
  • Inability to think scientifically as citizens:
    Society’s scientific thinking skills are erased
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32
Q

Scientific Skepticism

A

Evaluating all claims with an open mind while insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them

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33
Q

Correlation-causation Fallacy

A

Error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must cause the other

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34
Q

Falsifiable

A

Capable of being disproven

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35
Q

Risky Prediction

A

Forecast that stands a good chance of being wrong

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36
Q

Evaluating Claims

A
  1. Ruling out Rival Hypothesis
  2. Correlation vs. Causation
  3. Falsifiability
  4. Replicability
  5. Occam’s Razor
  6. Extraordinary Claims
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37
Q

Prefrontal Lobotomy

A

Surgical procedure, severing fibres connecting the frontal lobes of the brain from the underlying thalamus

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38
Q

Heuristic

A

Mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps us streamline thinking and make sense of the world

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39
Q

Reliability

A

Consistency of a measurement

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40
Q

Test-retest Reliability

A

Reliable questionnaires that yield similar scores

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41
Q

Interrater Reliability

A

Extent to which different people who conduct an interview, or make observations, agree on the characteristics they’re measuring.

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42
Q

Validity

A

Extent to which a measure assesses what it purports to measure

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43
Q

Naturalistic Observation

A

Watching behaviour in real-world settings without manipulation of factors

  • Advantages of external validity, the extent to which we can generalize our findings to real-world settings
  • Disadvantage is it is low internal validity because we cannot manipulate variables
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44
Q

External Validity

A

Extent we can generalize to real-world settings

45
Q

Internal Validity

A

Extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences.

A well-conducted lab experiment is high in internal validity because we can manipulate the key variables

46
Q

Case Study

A

Research design that examines one person or a small number of people in-depth, often over an extended period.

  • Offers valuable insights that researchers can follow up and test in systematic investigations
  • Used in rare/unusual phenomena that aren’t easy to replicate in the laboratory
  • Can lead to misleading or wrong conclusions when not carefully conducted
47
Q

Existence of proof

A

Demonstration that a given psychological phenomenon can occur

  • Often associated with case studies
48
Q

Malingering

A

The tendency to make ourselves psychologically disturbed with the aim of achieving a clear personal goal.

49
Q

Halo Effect

A

A shortcoming of self-report measures, when ratings of one positive characteristic influence the ratings of other positive characteristics.

50
Q

Horns Effect

A

Converse of the halo effect, when a negative trait influences the rating of other negative traits.

51
Q

Correlation Design

A

Research design examining the extent two variables are associated.

  • Allow us to determine predictions of the future
  • Correlations can be
    POSITIVE: One variable changes and the other follows the same direction (both go down)
    ZERO: Variables don’t go together (comparing math and singing ability)
    NEGATIVE: One value changes and the other goes in the opposite direction (one goes up one goes down)
52
Q

Illusory Correlation

A

Perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exist

53
Q

Between-subject Design

A

Research design when one group of participants will randomly be assigned to receive some level of independent variable while the other will be assigned to the control condition.

53
Q

Random Assignment

A

Experimenter randomly sorts participants into an experimental or control group

54
Q

Experiment

A

Consists of:
1. Random Assignment of participants to conditions
2. Manipulation of an independent variable

55
Q

Within-subject Design

A

Research design when participants act as their own control group.

Researchers will take a measurement before the independent variable manipulation and then measure the same participant after the independent variable manipulation.

55
Q

Experimental Group vs. Control Group

A

Experimental: receives manipulation
Control: doesn’t receive manipulation

56
Q

Independent Variable

A

Variable experimenter manipulates

57
Q

Dependent Variable

A

Variable experimenter measures to compare the effect

58
Q

Operational Definition

A

A working definition of what a researcher is measuring

58
Q

Confounding Variable

A

A variable that differs between the experimental and control groups, other than the independent variable

59
Q

Placebo Effect

A

Improvement resulting from expectations only

60
Q

Nocebo Effect

A

Harm resulting from the expectation of harm

61
Q

Experimenter Expectancy Effect (Rosenthal Effect)

A

Phenomenon in which researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study

62
Q

Double-blind

A

When neither researchers nor participants are aware of who’s in the experimental or control group

63
Q

Demand Characteristics

A

Cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researchers’ hypotheses

64
Q

Informed Consent

A

Informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate

65
Q

Descriptive Statistics

A

numerical characterizations that describe data

66
Q

Central Tendency

A

Measure of the “central” scores in a dataset, or where the group tends to cluster
- mean
- mode
- median

67
Q

Mean
Median
Mode

A

mean: average; a measure of central tendency (generally best statistic to report bell-shaped or “normal” distribution)

median: middle score in a dataset; a measure of central tendency

Mode: most frequent score in a dataset; a measure of central tendency

68
Q

Variability

A

Measure of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are

69
Q

Range

A

Difference between highest and lowest scores

70
Q

Standard Deviation

A

Measure of variability that takes into account how far each data point is from the mean

71
Q

Inferential Statistics

A

Allows us to determine how confident we are that we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population

72
Q

Statistical Significance

A

When probability of finding was 5 in 100, the finding was considered a chance

  • p < 0.05 means probability it is due to chance alone is 5 in 100
  • less than 5 in 100 means finding is s
73
Q

Meta-analysis

A

Statistical method that helps researchers interpret large bodies of psychological literature

74
Q

Sharpen and Levelling

A

Sharpening: tendency to exaggerate the central message of a study

Levelling: tendency to minimize the central details of a study

75
Q

Pseudosymmetry

A

Misleading balanced media coverage

76
Q

Use of Deception

A
  1. researchers can’t perform the study without it
  2. deception doesn’t negatively impact the rights of participants
  3. research does not involve a medical or therapeutic intervention
77
Q

Base Rate

A

How common a behaviour or characteristic is in general characteristics

78
Q

Reproducibility

A

The ability to review and reanalyze the data from a study and find the exact same results

  • repeating the same statistical analysis on already collected data
79
Q

Phrenology

A

Popular theory in the 1800s, assessing bumps on the brain and attributed personality and intellectual characteristics

80
Q

Astrocyte

A

Most Abundant glial cell

Often found in blood-brain barrier; shields blood vessels that protect against infection, and therefore important because of how difficult it is to replicate neurons.

  • critical for thought, memory, and immune system
  • closely communicates with neuron
  • increases neuron transmission accuracy
  • blood flow control
  • embryo development
81
Q

Oligodendrocytes

A

Glial cell that promotes new connections in neurons and aids healing by releasing certain chemicals.

  • Assists in myelination
82
Q

Glutamate and GABBA

A

Glutamate:
Most common excitatory neurotransmitter, assisting neurons communication.

  • May contribute to schizophrenia

GABBA:
Inhibits neurons, decreasing neural activity, and critical in memory, learning, and sleep.

83
Q

Acetylcholine

A

Neurotransmitter that is critical in arousal, selective memory, and sleep. Neurons connected to muscles release acetylcholine to trigger movement.

  • In Alzheimer’s, neurons containing acetylcholine are damaged.
84
Q

Monoaimes

A

Norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin are monoamine’s because they contain only one amino acid.

Dopamine: Contributes with motivation, can cause Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia

Norepinephrine and serotonin: activate/deactivate certain brain regions, can be used for depression treatment

85
Q

Neuropeptides

A

Short strings of amino acids in the NS that similarly act to neurotransmitters but with specialized jobs.

Endorphins: A type of neuropeptide critical for pain reduction

86
Q

Primary ways of changing the ways of Neural Development

A
  1. Pruning: shortening axons and the death of neurons contributing to more efficient function and organization, moreover, increasing communication rates
  2. Myelination: improves speed of transmission
  3. Growth of dendrites and axons
  4. Synaptogenesis: the formation of new synapses
87
Q

Agonist Drugs and Antagonistic Drugs

A

Agonist: increase or mimic neurotransmitters

Antagonistic: block/decrease effect of neurotransmitters

88
Q

Potentiation

A

Changes in the brain can result from the the strengthening of existing synaptic connections, neurotransmitters released during synapses produce a stronger and more prolonged response from neighboring neurons.

89
Q

Adult Neurogenesis

A

Creation of new neurons in the adult brain.

90
Q

Basal Ganglia

A

Structures deep inside the cortex that controls movement, motor planning, and skill & habit

Sends sensory info to motor cortex

91
Q

Cortex

A

Composed of:
- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Temporal lobe
- Occipital lobe

92
Q

Limbic System

A

Composed of:
- Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Amygdala
- Hippocampus

93
Q

Brain Stem

A

Composed of:
- Pons
- Midbrain
- Medulla

94
Q

Lateralization

A

Although each brain hemisphere controls a different function, it works closely together

95
Q

Left Hemisphere Vs Right Hemisphere

A

Left:
Speech comprehension
Speech production
Phenology
Syntax
Reading/Writing
Making facial expressions
Decision Making

Right:
Simple speech
Simple writing
Tone of voice
Perceptional grouping
Face perception

96
Q

Central Sulcus

A

Between motor and somatosensory cortex, dividing frontal lobe

97
Q

Broca’s Area

A

Formation of speech, on left hemisphere

98
Q

Wernicke’s Area

A

Interprets spoken language and written language, on left hemisphere

99
Q

Lateral Fissure

A

Separates Tempral lobe

100
Q

Thalamas

A

Gateway from sense organs to the primary sensory cortex

100
Q

Amygdala

A

Limbic system that modulates our attention, perception, and memories based on how we feel

100
Q

Hippocampus

A

Crucial role in memory

100
Q

Reticular Activating System

A

Connects with forebrain and cerebral cortex, plays a key role in arousal and damage

101
Q

Oxytocin

A

Hormone responsible for reproductive functions

  • In the brain, oxytocin receptors are linked to the dopamine system
101
Q

Cortisol and Adrenaline

A

The sympathetic NS signals the adrenal glands to release these hormones

Adrenaline:
- triggers contraction of heart and blood vessels to allow more oxygen throughout body

  • breaks down fatty acids for energy
  • breaks down glycogen
  • opens pupils

Cortisol:
- regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular function

101
Q

Selective Placement

A

A cofound in adoptive studies, adoption agencies often place children in similar homes to their backgrounds, making it difficult to differentiate between biological and environmental differences.

102
Q

Cerebral Ventricles

A

Protects the brain and spinal cord with its fluid filled pockets where cerebrospinal fluid runs through