Exam 1 Flashcards
1920s definition of psychology
the science of mental life
1920s-1960s definition of psychology
the science of observable behavior
1960s-present definition of psychology
observable behavior and inner thoughts
literal definition of psychology
“soul” + study
definition of behavior
observable actions
definition of the mind
subjective experience
experimental psychologists
conduct experiments to further theories
applied psychologists
apply theories to solve real world problems
psychiatrist
medical doctor that treats mental disorders with medicine and talk therapy
clinical psychologist
PhD or PsyD who treats mental disorders with different types of therapy
counseling psychologist
phD, EdD or masters who historically gave vocational advice
school psychology
education, how to teach, school environment
sports psychology
teams, motivation, coach interaction, rehab
cognitive psyschology
how we process information and make judgments about out environment
developmental psychology
how thoughts and behavior develop from birth to death
industrial/organizational psychology
work settings, leadership, morale
learning and memory psychology
conditioning (rewards and punishment), animal work, memory processes
psychobiology
how the mind and physical body work together
quantitative psychology
mathematical theories of thought and behavior (statistics)
social psychology
relationships, stereotypes and prejudice, attitudes, groups, self
marketing/consumer behavior psychology
purchasing decisions, brand loyalty, decision choice set
hindsight bias
believing that you would’ve predicted the outcome before it happened; “I knew it”
fatal attractions
opposites attract initially but eventually become repulsing
socrates
thought the mind and body were separate. the mind continues after death
aristotle
thought the mind and body were not separable
phrenology
the idea that different brain areas account fro personality changes. growth in one area led to a personality change
free will vs. determinism
how much of our behavior is controlled by our choices vs natural laws and the environment
mind body problem
how much do the mind and body affect each other
stability vs change
how much can I change before I’m not myself anymore?
nature vs nurture
are peoples’ personality traits mostly influenced by genetics or environment? (Jim twins example)
file drawer effect
papers without significant findings don’t get published
goals of psychology research
description, causal analysis, theory building, application
where do research ideas come from?
observation, personal experience, existing data and theories
hypothesis
testable relation between 2 constructs. can’t prove it to be true, only false. becomes a theory as it becomes more complex and is supported by more data
theory
organized set of principles used to describe observations
focus of observational research
description; observe people in their natural environment and record measurements of behavior
focus of correlational research
prediction; observing the relationship between 2+ variables
focus of experimental research
causal relationships
pros of observational research
nice, easy place to start
pros of correlational research
can study issues that would otherwise be unethical or impossible. efficient and allows researchers to collect more into and test more relations
pros of experimental research
can establish causal relationships
cons of observational research
hard to implement and observe discreetly. hard to quantify and determine what counts. open to bias
cons of correlational research
can’t establish a causal relationship
cons of experimental research
hard to implement because of ethics
archival analysis
observing pre-existing data for observational research. it may or may not be helpful
correlation coefficient
statistic that shows the strength and direction of a correlation (pearson’s R)
random assignment
each participant in the study has an equal likelihood of being assigned to any group. required in experimental research in order to declare causality
statistical significance
results are statistically significant is the p value is less than 0.05 (5%). there is 5% of less chance that the results were due to chance
replication
getting multiple p values less than 0.05 means there it’s extremely unlikely the data is due to chance. increases the evidence to reject the null hypothesis
type 1 error
false positive
type 2 error
false negative
Experimental design steps
specify problem/hypothesis, form operational definition, collect data, analyze data, form theory
tuskegee syphilis study
extremely unethical study that harmed patients and manipulated them into joining without informed consent. result was creation of ethics board and guidelines
APA ethical guidelines for research
informed consent, debriefing, weighing costs and benefits of the research
guidelines for research on humans
protection of rights and well-being, informed consent, justification for deception if used, right to withdraw, protection from psychical and psychological harm, confidentiality, debriefing participants at the end
biological psychology
the study of the brain, nervous system, and genetics, and how they relate to behavior and mental processes
nervous system
electrochemical communication network between the brain/spinal cord and all organs, muscles, and glands
peripheral nervous system
nerves that go from spinal cord to rest of body
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord
somatic nervous system
part of peripheral NS that transmits signals from sensory organs to the CNS and from the CNS to skeletal muscles
autonomic nervous system
part of peripheral NS that connects the CNS to smooth muscles, organs, and glands
parasympathetic nervous system
part of the autonomic NS that maintains homeostasis; calming