exam 1 Flashcards
Psych means
soul
Logos(ology)
the study of a subject
what are the origins of psychology
- philosophy
- physiology: bio
who is the founder of psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt
what is consciousness?
the awareness of immediate experience
what are the two major schools of thought?
- structuralism (Edward Titchener)
- functionalism(William James)
An example of structuralism is
“what” : an apple is red
An example of functionalism is
“why”: an apple is red: the color of the apple
Focus on the unconscious (Sigmund Freud)
thoughts, memories, and desires that are very bellow awareness but influence behavior
what is introspection?
self examination
what is psychoanalytic theory or psychoanalysis?
peoples unconscious behaviors can influence personality, motivation, and mental disorders
what is an example of behaviorism(John B Watson)?
positive reinforcement (a student gets a small treat if they get 100% on their spelling test)
Observational behavior
something you can see like crying or someones leg shaking because they are nervous
what is an example of humanism
the belief that the person creates their own set of ethics
clinical psychology
a field focused on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders
B.F Skinners work was
- he believed that actions are controlled by the environment, not on peoples conscious decisions
- he also believed “free will” or peoples ability to make choices in life is just an illusion
what is the difference between psychologists and psychiatrists?
Psychologists: studying and understanding mental processes, brain function, and behavior
Psychiatrists: mental doctor that diagnosis and treats mental, emotional and behavioral disorders
Cognition
mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge
what is cognitive perspective?
peoples mental processes can influence how they behave
cultural diversity
western psychologist in the 1980s became interested in how culture affects behaviors
evolutionary psychology
behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations
psychology defined today
the science that studies behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie behavior and it is the profession that applies that accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems
what are the seven unifying themes in psychology?
- psychology is empirical
- psychology is theoretically diverse
- psychology evolves in a sociohistorical context
- behavior determined by multiple causes
- behavior shaped by culture
- heredity and environment jointly influence behavior
- experiences are subjective
what is the research enterprise?
the objective process of planning out and conducting a project
what is a hypothesis?
a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables (I predict predict texting will lower GPA)
what is a theory?
interrelated ideas to explain observations
What is an independent variable?
a variable that the researcher controls based on
What is a dependent variable?
the outcome as a result of what was manipulated
what is an extraneous variable
any variables that other than IV that seem likely to influence the DV in a specific study
What is a confounding variable?
two variables that are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effect on the DV
what is a sample bias?
taking a sample(a subgroup) that may not be representative of the population (the entire group in which the sample is taken from)
What are the five steps in a scientific investigation?
- Formulate a testable hypothesis: to create a hypothesis, you must have a theory
- each variable must have an operational definition
-example: how would you operationally define someones weight? Temperature? height? - Select the research method and design the study: researcher must identify the method to use base on the nature of the question under study
- researcher would recruit participants and/or subjects to observe in a systematic way
- participants=people
- subjects=animals - Collect the data: researchers use a variety of data collection techniques
- example= questionnaires - Analyze the data and draw conclusions: researchers use statistics to access the results of the data and determine whether their hypothesis can be supported
- Report the findings: researchers prepare a report that is delivered at a scientific meeting or submitted to a journal for publication
- jornal
- peer review proccess
what are the advantages of the scientific approach?
- clarity and precision (specify exactly what needs to be examined in the hypothesis)
- intolerance of error( scientists are trained to be skeptical; findings are inspected critically for accuracy)
What are research methods?
different approaches to the observation, measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies
- two basic types of research methods: experimental method and correlation/descriptive methods