Chpt 1-3 Terms Flashcards
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
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
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
4
Q
Individual Differences
A
The difference in emotions, behavior, and personality that makes it difficult to pinpoint exact causations of a persons reaction
5
Q
Reciprocal Determination
A
Influence of others changing an individuals behavior
- makes it difficult to find the causation of a certain behavior
6
Q
Multiply Determined
A
Multiple factors that can produce/influence human action
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
8
Q
Social Psychology
A
Examines the effect on other people’s behaviours and attitudes
9
Q
Cognitive Psychology
A
Examines the thinking processes, and is perceived as the central understanding of behaviour.
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
11
Q
Introspection
A
A technique used by Wilhelm Wundt that required trained observers to reflect carefully and report on their mental experiences
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:
- Introspectionists debated over subjective reports
- 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
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”
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
14
Q
Behaviourism
A
Influenced by John B. Watson, and focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking at observable behavior.
15
Q
Cognitive Neuroscience
A
Examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking
16
Q
Psychoanalysis
A
Founded by Freud, concentrates on the internal psychological processes we’re unaware of
17
Q
Evolutionary Psychology
A
Applies Darwin’s theory of natural selection to human and animal behaviour
18
Q
Basic Research
A
Examines how the mind works
19
Q
Applied Research
A
Examines how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems
20
Q
Belief Perseverance
A
The tendency to stick to initial beliefs when evidence contradicts them
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.
22
Q
Patternicity
A
The human tendency to see patterns and meaningless data
23
Q
Scientific Theory
A
Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world.
- Offers an account tied to multiple findings together
24
Hypothesis
Testable theory derived from scientific theory
25
Confirmation Bias
Seeking out evidence that supports the hypothesis and denying evidence disproving it
26
Metaphysical Claims
Untestable assertion about the world
e.g. existence of god, afterlife, souls etc.
27
Pseudoscience
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
28
Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis
Used in pseudoscience to protect their theory by using loopholes/escapes
29
Terror Management Theory
Theory proposing awareness of death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror.
As a response, we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews.
30
Bias Blind Spot
Most people are unaware of their own biases but keenly aware of others
31
Dangers of Pseudoscience
- 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
32
Scientific Skepticism
Evaluating all claims with an open mind while insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them
33
Correlation-causation Fallacy
Error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must cause the other
34
Falsifiable
Capable of being disproven
35
Risky Prediction
Forecast that stands a good chance of being wrong
36
Evaluating Claims
1. Ruling out Rival Hypothesis
2. Correlation vs. Causation
3. Falsifiability
4. Replicability
5. Occam's Razor
6. Extraordinary Claims
37
Prefrontal Lobotomy
Surgical procedure, severing fibres connecting the frontal lobes of the brain from the underlying thalamus
38
Heuristic
Mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps us streamline thinking and make sense of the world
39
Reliability
Consistency of a measurement
40
Test-retest Reliability
Reliable questionnaires that yield similar scores
41
Interrater Reliability
Extent to which different people who conduct an interview, or make observations, agree on the characteristics they're measuring.
42
Validity
Extent to which a measure assesses what it purports to measure
43
Naturalistic Observation
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
44
External Validity
Extent we can generalize to real-world settings
45
Internal Validity
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
Case Study
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
Existence of proof
Demonstration that a given psychological phenomenon can occur
- Often associated with case studies
48
Malingering
The tendency to make ourselves psychologically disturbed with the aim of achieving a clear personal goal.
49
Halo Effect
A shortcoming of self-report measures, when ratings of one positive characteristic influence the ratings of other positive characteristics.
50
Horns Effect
Converse of the halo effect, when a negative trait influences the rating of other negative traits.
51
Correlation Design
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
Illusory Correlation
Perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exist
53
Between-subject Design
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
Random Assignment
Experimenter randomly sorts participants into an experimental or control group
54
Experiment
Consists of:
1. Random Assignment of participants to conditions
2. Manipulation of an independent variable
55
Within-subject Design
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
Experimental Group vs. Control Group
Experimental: receives manipulation
Control: doesn't receive manipulation
56
Independent Variable
Variable experimenter manipulates
57
Dependent Variable
Variable experimenter measures to compare the effect
58
Operational Definition
A working definition of what a researcher is measuring
58
Confounding Variable
A variable that differs between the experimental and control groups, other than the independent variable
59
Placebo Effect
Improvement resulting from expectations only
60
Nocebo Effect
Harm resulting from the expectation of harm
61
Experimenter Expectancy Effect (Rosenthal Effect)
Phenomenon in which researchers' hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study
62
Double-blind
When neither researchers nor participants are aware of who's in the experimental or control group
63
Demand Characteristics
Cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researchers' hypotheses
64
Informed Consent
Informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate
65
Descriptive Statistics
numerical characterizations that describe data
66
Central Tendency
Measure of the "central" scores in a dataset, or where the group tends to cluster
- mean
- mode
- median
67
Mean
Median
Mode
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
Variability
Measure of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are
69
Range
Difference between highest and lowest scores
70
Standard Deviation
Measure of variability that takes into account how far each data point is from the mean
71
Inferential Statistics
Allows us to determine how confident we are that we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population
72
Statistical Significance
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
Meta-analysis
Statistical method that helps researchers interpret large bodies of psychological literature
74
Sharpen and Levelling
Sharpening: tendency to exaggerate the central message of a study
Levelling: tendency to minimize the central details of a study
75
Pseudosymmetry
Misleading balanced media coverage
76
Use of Deception
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
Base Rate
How common a behaviour or characteristic is in general characteristics
78
Reproducibility
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
Phrenology
Popular theory in the 1800s, assessing bumps on the brain and attributed personality and intellectual characteristics
80
Astrocyte
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
Oligodendrocytes
Glial cell that promotes new connections in neurons and aids healing by releasing certain chemicals.
- Assists in myelination
82
Glutamate and GABBA
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
Acetylcholine
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
Monoaimes
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
Neuropeptides
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
Primary ways of changing the ways of Neural Development
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
Agonist Drugs and Antagonistic Drugs
Agonist: increase or mimic neurotransmitters
Antagonistic: block/decrease effect of neurotransmitters
88
Potentiation
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
Adult Neurogenesis
Creation of new neurons in the adult brain.
90
Basal Ganglia
Structures deep inside the cortex that controls movement, motor planning, and skill & habit
Sends sensory info to motor cortex
91
Cortex
Composed of:
- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Temporal lobe
- Occipital lobe
92
Limbic System
Composed of:
- Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Amygdala
- Hippocampus
93
Brain Stem
Composed of:
- Pons
- Midbrain
- Medulla
94
Lateralization
Although each brain hemisphere controls a different function, it works closely together
95
Left Hemisphere Vs Right Hemisphere
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
Central Sulcus
Between motor and somatosensory cortex, dividing frontal lobe
97
Broca's Area
Formation of speech, on left hemisphere
98
Wernicke's Area
Interprets spoken language and written language, on left hemisphere
99
Lateral Fissure
Separates Tempral lobe
100
Thalamas
Gateway from sense organs to the primary sensory cortex
100
Amygdala
Limbic system that modulates our attention, perception, and memories based on how we feel
100
Hippocampus
Crucial role in memory
100
Reticular Activating System
Connects with forebrain and cerebral cortex, plays a key role in arousal and damage
101
Oxytocin
Hormone responsible for reproductive functions
- In the brain, oxytocin receptors are linked to the dopamine system
101
Cortisol and Adrenaline
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
Selective Placement
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
Cerebral Ventricles
Protects the brain and spinal cord with its fluid filled pockets where cerebrospinal fluid runs through
