Exam 1 Flashcards
Psychological science
Study through research of mind brain and behavior
Nature vs nurture
Are psych characteristics biologically innate or acquired (scientists today say both)
Functionalism
Approach to psych concerned with adaptive function of mind
Structuralism
Studying parts of consciousness
Behaviorism
Study of environmental influences on behavior
William James
Principles of Psychology, functionalism, stream of consciousness
George A. Miller
Father of psychology, Introspection
Critical thinking
Systematically questioning and evaluating Information using good evidence to come to a conclusion
Confirmation Bias
Downplaying evidence that doesn’t match what they already believe
EEG
measures changes in electrical activity
fMRI
Measures tiny changes in blood flow to show activity in brain
Correlational studies
Describes and predicts natural relations between two variables
Third variable problem
Correlation between two variables can be explained by third, unaccounted for, variable
Confound
Anything effecting dependent variable that unintentionally varies between experimental conditions of the study
Scientific method
- Pose question
- Research topic
- Form hypothesis
- Design study
- Conduct study
- Analyze data
- Report results
P-Hacking
Running many statistics until works for your study
HARKing
Hypothesizing after results are known
Descriptive research
Observing behavior to DESCRIBE it. Cannot provide explanations
Observational
Observing behavior either via participation or naturalistic
Inferential statistics
Estimates how likely effects are due to chance as opposed to true differences in population
Case study
Method involving intensive study of unusual person or organization, cannot tell causation
Belmont Report
- respect for autonomy
- beneficence: risks vs benefit
- justice: represents population as whole
Random sample vs convenience sample
Every member of population is equally likely vs whoever can
Construct validity
Extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to
Internal validity
Degree to which effects are observed
External validity
Degree to which findings can be generalized
Debriefing
Informing participants of goal of study
Central tendencies
Measuring typical response (mean, median, mode)
Operational definition
Definitions that qualifies and quantifies a variable so it can be understood objectively
