Everything Flashcards
Basic Science:
• the pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena for its own sake
Applied Science:
• discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals
The Scientific Method:
- Question: a question about some natural phenomenon that arises
- Hypothesis: an educated guess about some phenomenon; a researcher’s prediction of what the results of a study will be
- Experiment: testing is done to prove or disprove the hypothesis
- Results: Findings from experimentation
- Conclusions: an explanation based on findings from the experiment
- Theory: Once the experiment has been repeated several times and always has resulted in the same conclusion, that conclusion becomes a theory.
Structuralism (Wundt)
- The study of consciousness
- Focuses on the basic elements that make up conscious mental experiences
- How thoughts and feelings are organized and related to each other
Functionalism (James)
- How consciousness functions to help people
* Actions of the conscious mind and the goals or purposes of behaviors
Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer)
- Consciousness is best understood by observing whole experiences rather than breaking it into a cluster of components
- “Whole is greater than sum of its parts”
Humanism (Maslow)
- Focus on human ability, growth, potential and free will
- Positive side of human nature
- Human nature is evolving and self directed
Behaviorism (Skinner & Watson)
- All behavior is learned from the environment (shaped by external factors)
- Behavior is the result of conditioning (repeated rewards & punishment)
- Emphasis on what can be observed and measured objectively—scientific and objective methods of investigation
- Concerned with observable behavior, rather than internal thoughts and feelings
Socio-Cultural
- Society determines behavior
* Cultural settings determine how one behaves
Sample vs. Population
- Instead of experimenting on entire populations, samples are selected, whose results are used to make generalizations about the entire population.
- Samples should be representative of the whole population. To ensure this two methods are used:
Random sample:
everyone has an equal chance of being selected
Stratified sample
individuals are handpicked to ensure that they represent various subgroups of the population such as age group, race, etc.
Qualitative:
limited number of participants; in-depth; ex. Case studies
Quantitative
large number of participants; lots of data; ex. Surveys
Case Study:
• research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants
Longitudinal Study:
• research method in which data is collected about a group of participants over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development
Cross-sectional Study
data is collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared; conclusions show that differences are due to age
Naturalistic Observation:
• research method in which the psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interference
Survey:
• interviews of questionnaires that gather data on a subject’s attitude or beliefs toward something
Experiments:
using the scientific method to test one’s hypothesis
Independent:
the variable the experimenter controls
Dependent:
♣ The variable that changes in relation to the independent variable
Control Group:
Participants not experimented upon
Experimental Group:
Participants experimented upon
Correlation:
Comparing how two factors are related
o Correlation indicates possibilities but does not mean causation
Positive Correlation:
As x increases, y increases
Negative Correlation:
o As x increases, y decreases
No Correlation:
o No relationship between x and y
Self-fulfilling prophecy:
• when the experimenter has expectations about a behavior and unconsciously acts in a way that carries out that behavior.
Single-blinded experiment:
• Participants are unaware of who received the treatment
Double-blinded experiments:
• Both the participants and the experimenter are unaware of who received the treatment.
Placebo Effect:
• a change in a participant’s illness or behavior that is caused by the belief that the treatment will have an effect, rather being caused by the actual treatment itself.
Ethical issues:
• issues that arise when experiments break ethical codes of conduct for proper and responsible behavior
Descriptive Statistics:
o Listing and summarizing data in a practical, efficient way
Distributions of Data
♣ Researchers organize their data in tables and graphs in order to create a rough picture of their data
Frequency Distribution:
♣ the listing and summarizing of data in a practical, efficient way.
Mean
- The average
- Add all values, divide by number of values
- Normal distribution curve or bell-shaped curve (mean at the center, 34.14%, then 13.59%, then 2.15%)
Mode
• The number that occurs the most
Median
• The middle value
Correlation Coefficient
♣ Statistical measure that shows the direction and strength of a relationship between two variables
♣ Coefficient will always fall between -1.0 and 1.0
Inferential Statistics
o Numerical methods used to determine whether research data support a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance.
Statistical Significance:
o when a researcher concludes that their findings are statistically significant, they are stating, at a high level of confidence that their results are not due to chance.
Developmental Psychology
• The study of changes that occur as an individual matures
Grasping reflex:
• an infant’s clinging response to a touch on the palm of his or her hand
Rooting reflex:
• when newborns are touched anywhere near the mouth they will move their head and mouth towards the source of the touch.
Maturation
- Biological growth process
- An infant’s motor development (rolling over -> crawling -> walking)
- Uninfluenced by experience
Language Acquisition
- Imitate speech of family members and learn native language
* Language is a learned behavior
Telegraphic Speech:
• verbal utterances in which words are left out but meaning is clear
Cognitive Development
The construction of thought processes such as thinking, recalling and analyzing
Schemas:
• a conceptual framework a person uses to make sense of the world; mental representations of the world
Assimilation:
o the process of fitting objects and experiences into one’s schemas
Accommodation:
o the process of adjusting one’s schemas to include newly observed events and experiences
Object Permanence:
• things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen or touched
Representational Thought:
• the intellectual ability of a child to picture something in his/her thoughts
The Principle of Conservation:
• a given quantity does not change even when its appearance is changed (think of putting the same quantity of water in different containers)
Stages of Cognitive Development (Piaget):
Sensorimotor Stage
Pre-operational Stage
Concrete Operations
Formal Operations Stage
Sensorimotor Stage (Birth – 2)
♣ Experience the world through senses (looking, touching, hearing)
♣ Develop object permanence around 9 months
Pre-operational Stage (2-7)
♣ Child begins to use mental images or symbols to understand things
♣ Ego-centric view of the world –cannot understand things from others’ perspective
♣ Language acquisition
Concrete Operations (7-11)
♣ Children can think logically but understanding is limited to concrete objects and ideas
♣ No longer egocentric
Formal Operations Stage (11-onward)
♣ Able to solve abstract problems and think about abstract issues
♣ Capable of logic and deductive reasoning
Socialization:
• the process of learning the rules of behavior of the culture within which an individual is born and will live; learning how to live with others and with self
Stages of Psychosocial Development (Erikson)
Trust vs. Mistrust Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt Initiative vs. Guilt Industry vs. Inferiority Identity vs. Role Confusion Intimacy vs. Isolation Generatively vs. Stagnation Ego Integrity vs. Despair
Questions Related to Stages of Psychosocial Development
o Trust vs. mistrust (Early Infancy)
♣ Is my world predictable and supportive?
o Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1-3)
♣ Can I do things myself or must I rely on others?
o Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6)
♣ Am I good or bad?
o Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12)
♣ Am I successful or worthless?
o Identity vs. Role Confusion (Early Teens)
♣ Who am I?
o Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adult)
♣ Should I share my life with someone?
o Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adult)
♣ Will I succeed in life?
o Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Older Adult)
♣ Have I lived a full life?
Stages of Moral Development (Kohlberg)
o Pre-conventional
♣ Main concern is to avoid punishment (ego-centric)
♣ Evaluate acts in terms of consequences, not right & wrong
o Conventional
♣ Focus on what others will think
♣ Follow the rules; obey the law
o Post-conventional
♣ Concerned with what’s fair and just (is the law fair?)
♣ Acceptance of ethical principles that apply to everyone (follow the golden rule)
Parenting Styles:
• Authoritarian o Children have no right to question parental decisions o Parent’s word is law • Authoritative/ Democratic o Children participate in the decision making but parents still have the final say • Permissive o Children have the final say o Parents give in to child’s demands • Uninvolved o Uncommitted to their roles as parents o Distant from their children
Initiation rites
• Ceremonies or rituals in which an individual is admitted to a new status
Physical Development
• Quantities of neurotransmitters change resulting in mood swings or seeking existing experiences
Sexual maturation:
o Girls: wider hips, bigger breast, period
o Boys: broad shoulders, muscles, deeper voice, larger genitals, ejaculation
o Menarche: a girl’s first menstrual period
o Spermarche: period during which males achieve first ejaculation
o Asynchrony: when growth or maturation of bodily parts is uneven
o Correlation between negative body image and low self-esteem/ depression
Sexual attitudes:
o Culture affects sexual attitudes (some cultures encourage it, some discourage it)
o Media & pop culture plays a role
o Fear of negative consequences such as unwanted pregnancies and STDs leads to safe sex or abstinence
Cognitive Development of Adolescents
• Develop adult-like thinking patterns; formal operations (Piaget)
o Comprehension of the hypothetical
o Ability to understand higher level thinking and abstract ideas
Rationalization:
• a process whereby an individual seeks to explain an often unpleasant emotion or behavior in a way that will preserve his or her self-esteem