Definitions Flashcards
1
Q
psychology
A
is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
2
Q
mind
A
private inner experiences of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings.
3
Q
science
A
objective approach to answer questions. based on observable facts, data, and reliable facts.
4
Q
behavior
A
observable, measurable states and actions.
5
Q
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A
scans a brain to determine which parts are active when a person reads a word, sees a face, learns a new skill, or remembers a personal experience.
6
Q
nativism
A
the view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn.
7
Q
philosophical empiricism
A
view that all knowledge is acquired through experience.
8
Q
dualism
A
how mental activity can be reconciled and coordinated with physical behavior.
9
Q
reaction times
A
time it takes to respond to a specific stimulus.
10
Q
consciousness
A
person’s subjective experience of the world and mind.
11
Q
mental processes
A
subjective states. ex: thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, memories, dreams, motives, etc.
12
Q
structuralism
A
studies of the nervous system lead to discoveries that connected brain and behavior. the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind.
13
Q
introspection
A
method that asks people to report on the contents of their subjective experience.
14
Q
functionalism
A
study of the purpose that mental processes serve.
15
Q
natural selection
A
features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be pased on to subsqeuent generations.
16
Q
hysteria
A
temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences.
17
Q
unconscious
A
part of the mind that operates outside of awareness but that influences thoughts, feelings, and actions.
18
Q
psychoanalytic theory
A
an approach that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
19
Q
psychoanalysis
A
focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders. diminished because Freud’s ideas were difficult to test. also emphasized limitations and problems rather than possibilities and potentials.
20
Q
humanistic psychology
A
approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings. pioneered by Maslow and Rogers.
21
Q
clinical psychology
A
the study of psychological disorders and their treatment.
22
Q
behaviorism
A
the study of how the individual responds to the environment and learns observable responses. objectively observable behavior.
23
Q
stimulus
A
sensory inout from the enviornment.
24
Q
response
A
an action or physiological change elicited by a stimulus.
25
reinforcement
the consequences of a behavior determine whether it will be more or less likely to occur again.
26
illusions
errors of perception, memory, or judgement in which subjective experience differs from objective reality.
27
gestalt psychology
psychological approach that emphasizes the active role the mind plays in generating perceptual experience. light experiment
28
cognitive psychology
the study of the mental processes involved in perception, learning, memory, language, reason, and other mental processes. influenced by invention of computers.
29
verbal behavior
by B.F. Skinner; offered behaviorist analysis of language.
30
behavioral neuroscience
an approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes.
31
cognitive neuroscience
field of study that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity.
32
evolutionary psychology
explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection.
33
social psychology
study of the causes and consequences of sociality.
34
cultural psychology
study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members.
35
domatists
best way to understand illness was to develop theories about the body's functions.
36
empiricists
best way to understand illness was to observe sick people.
37
dogmatism
tendency for people to cling to their assumptions.
38
empiricism
belief that accurate knowledge can be acuired through observation.
39
scientific element
procedure for finding truth by using empirical evidence.
40
theory
hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon.
41
hypothesis
falsifiable prediction made by a theory.
42
empirical method
set of rules and techniques for observation.
43
3 things that make humans difficult to study
complexity, variability, and reactivity.
44
methods of observation
allows us to determine what people do.
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methods of explanation
allows us to determine why people do it.
46
operational definition
a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms.
47
instrument
anything that can detect the condition to which an operational definition refers.
48
validity
the goodness with which a concrete event defines a property.
49
reliability
the tendency of an instrument to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing.
50
power
an instrument's ability to detect small magnitudes of the property.
51
demand characteristics
those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects.
52
naturalistic observations
a technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments.
53
ways to avoid demand characteristics
allowing people to respond privately, measuring behaviors that cannot be controlled easily, and keeping people from knowing the true purpose of the observation.
54
what do expectations influence
observations and reality
55
double-blind observation
an observation whose true purpose is hidden from both the observer and the person being observed.
56
variables
properties whose values can vary across individuals or over time.
57
correlation
variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other. positively correlated when "more-is-more" or "less-is-less" relationship and negatively correlated when "less-is-more".
58
natural correlations
the corelations observed in the world around us.
59
third-variable correlation
two variables are correlated only because each is casually related to a third variable.
60
third-variable problem
a caused relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from the naturally occuring correlation between them because of the ever-present possibility of third-variable correlation.
61
experiment
technique for establishing the casual relationship between variables.
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manipulation
changing a variable in order to determine its casual power.
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independent variable
the variable that is manipulated in an experiment.
64
experimental group
group of people who experience a stimulus.
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control group
group of people who do not experience that simulus.
66
dependent variable
variable that is measured.
67
self-selection
problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether they will be included in the experimental or control group.
68
random assignment
procedure that lets chance assign people to the experimental or control group. psychologists do not accept the results of an experiment unless the statistical calculation they perform determines that there is less than a 5% chance they would have found differences between the experimental and control groups if random assignment had failed. these differences would be statistically significant.
69
statistically significant
were unlikely to have been caused by a third variable.
70
internal validity
an attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish casual relationships.
71
external validity
an attribute of an experiment in which variables have been defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way.
72
population
complete collection of people.
73
sample
partial collection of people drawn from a population.
74
case method
procedure for gathering scientific information by studying a single individual.
75
random sampling
technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
76
critical thinking
involves asking ourselves tough questions about whether we have interpreted the evidence in an unbiased way and about whether the evidence tells the whole truth.
77
why do people have trouble thinking critically
tend to see what we expect to see and tend to ignore what we can't see.
78
Nuremberg Code of 1947 and Declaration of Helsinki in 1964
developed by the international community and spelled out rules for the ethical treatment of human subjects.
79
Tuskegee experiment
the U.S. Public Health Service denied treatment to 399 African American men with syphilis so that researchers could observe the progression of the disease.
80
Belmont Report
released by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). Described three principles that all research involving human subjects should follow.
81
1st Principle of the Belmont Report
research should show respect for persons and their right to make decisions for and about themselves without undue influence or coercion.
82
2nd Principle of the Belmont Report
research should be beneficent, which means that it should attempt to maximize benefits and reduce risks to the participant.
83
3rd Principle of the Belmont Report
research should be just, which means that it should distribute benefits and risks equally to all participants without prejudice toward particular individuals or groups.
84
7 principles of psychology
informed consent, freedom from coercion, protection from harm, risk-benefit analysis, deception, debriefing, and confidentiality. study can only be conducted after a institutional review board (IRB) has reviewed and approved it.
85
informed consent
a written agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail.
86
freedom from coercion
psychologists may not coerce participation. coercion not only means physical and psychological coercion, but monetary coercion as well.
87
protection from harm
psychologists must use the safest method to study participants.
88
risk-benefit analysis
must not be asked to accept large risks. psychologist must also demonstrate that small risks are outweighed by the social benefits of the new knowledge gained.
89
deception
psychologists may only use deception when it is justified by the study's scientific, educational, or applied value and when alternative procedures are not feasible.
90
debriefing
must provide a debriefing, which is a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of the study, if a participant is deceived in any way before or during a study
91
confidentiality
private and personal information obtained during a study must be kept confidential.
92
rights involving nonhuman participants
must be supervised by psychologists trained in research methods and experienced in the care of laboratory animals and who are responsible for the animal's comfort, health, and humane treatment. must minimize the discomfort, infection, illness, and pain. may only subject an animal to pain, stree, or privation only when an alternative procedure is unavailable and only when the procedure is justified by the scientific, educational, or applied value of the study. must perform all surgical procedures under anesthesia and must minimize pain during and after the surgery.
93
Obligations of Psychologists
report truthfully on what they did and what they found. must share credit fairly by including co-authors and by mentioning other scientists who have done related work. also must share their data.
94
why do we study psych?
UNinformed insights are often erroneous (hindsight bias, overconfidence) and the science of pysch provied informed conclusions based on carefully examined data
95
psych requires: a scientific attitude
of curiosity, skepticism, humility
96
psych requires: critical thinking
have skepticism and examine the assumptions, values, evidence, and conclusions
97
productive critical thinking
remains open to new ideas, avoids cynicism, tolerates uncertainity, looks for unanswered questions
98
psych vs pseudopsych
psych is based on evidence gathered thru scientific research while pseudopsych (pop psych) is focused on satisifying wants by offering simplistic explanations not based on credible evidence and associated w/ advertising/consumer manipulation
99
guidlines for critical thinking
define terms, examine the evidence, analyze assumptions and biases, avoid emotional reasoning, do not oversimplify, consider other interpretations, tolerate uncertainty
100
scientific method
observe behaviors -\> form a hypothesis -\> test hypothesis -\> analyze and report results -\> evaluate and refine theory (-\> back to form a hypothesis if your data doesn't match)
101
1. a theory explains a phenomenon
- based on observations of behavior and data already collected
- theories can be used to understand and predict behavior
- must be testable!
102
2. hypothesis is required to test a theory
- testable predicted
- once tested, a theory can be accepted, rejected, or revised (most often)
- if rejected, data doesn't support hypothesis (never say prove!!! means that's the only answer to the q)
103
3. hypothesis is tested thru one of many research methods
- desciptive, correlation, experiemental
104
4. after testing, the results are analyzed and reported
analyzed with statistics
105
5. after analyzing the results, the original theory is reevaluated and refined.
new questions asked and new hypotheses tested.
106
descriptive research
describes behavior, does not explain it. includes case study (no conclusions), survey (wording effects and sampling errors), observation (naturalistic and laboratory)
107
correlation research
examines the relationship between variables. positive, negative, or no correlation. does not determine casuation.
108
experimental research
determines causation, which is how one variable affects another. independent and dependent variables. experiments compare randomly assigned groups, which includes experimental groups and control groups (placebos). right to privacy and informed consent, including the use of deception and right to withdraw.
109
animals in research
used in studies that cannot be done on humans for ethical or practical reasons. all animal research is carefully monitored by federal and institutional animal care committees.
