Exam 1 Flashcards
what are the roots of the word “psychology?”
psyche (breath, spirit, soul) and logos (study of)
what two fields did early psychology develop out of?
philosophy (questions about the mind) and physiology (questions about the brain)
what is the definition of psychology?
the scientific study of both behavior and mind
what is scientific study?
knowledge discovered through empirical observation
what is behavior?
any kind of observable action
what is the mind?
conscious experience - sensations, perceptions, thoughts, emotions
what is dualism?
the mind and body are separate entities (Descartes)
who was the thinker behind dualism?
Descartes
where do clinical psychologists work?
clinical and academic settings
what do clinical psychologists do?
assess, diagnose, and treat psychological problems
what do applied psychologists do?
extending psychological principles to practical problems in the world
where do applied psychologists work?
private industry, schools, academic settings
what do research psychologists do?
conduct research to discover the basic principlies of behavior and mind
where do research psychologists work?
academic settings and private industry
what is the nativism vs. empiricism debate?
- nurture vs. nature (learning from environment)
- it’s a mix of both, not either or
what is natural selection?
traits which improve likelihood of survival are more likely to be passed down through generations (Darwin)
who was the thinker behind natural selection?
Charles Darwin
who was Wilhelm Wundt?
- father of modern psychology
- advocated for using scientific method
- studied immediate conscious experience
what is structuralism?
study of structure of mind by breaking it into elementary parts (sensations + feelings)
who were the thinkers behind structuralism?
Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
how was structuralism studied?
self reports - experience sensations and then describe them (perception)
what is functionalism?
- interested in purpose of a process rather than its components
- what is adaptive value of a certain mental process
- individual differences and applied uses of psychology
who were the functionalist thinkers?
William James and James Rowland Angell
who is Mary Whiton Calkins?
- 1st woman to have a research lab and be APA President
- study of self (as an adaptation to environment)
- student of William James’ (functionalist)
what is behaviorism?
- focused only on observable behavior
- nurture > nature - anyone can be trained into anything
who were the behaviorist thinkers?
John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner
what was John B. Watson’s claim?
- that he could take a dozen healthy infants and turn them into anything (doctor, lawyer, artists, thief, etc.)
what is psychoanalysis?
- focused on influence of the unconscious mind
- free association, dream analysis, exploration of unconscious mind
- unmet unconscious desires = distress
- negative, sex-focused, dark
who was the thinker behind psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud
what is humanism?
- focused on positive aspects of human condition and capacity for change
- unconditional positive regard for clients / client-centered therapy
- direct response to Freud’s pessimism
who were the thinkers behind humanism?
Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Martin Seligman
what is the eclectic approach of modern clinical practice?
selecting and adopting info from many different theories
what is the cognitive revolution?
shift away from behaviorism toward mental states and internal processes
what influenced the cognitive revolution?
computers and technology
what is the 3 parts of the cognitive triangle?
- thoughts
- feelings
- behaviors
what is evolutionary psychology?
thoughts and behaviors are molded by pressures of evolution
who was Lev Vygotsky?
- highlighted interaction between people, cultures, and learning
- experiential learning
- noted influence of society, culture, context (nurture)
who was the thinker behind experiential learning?
Lev Vygotsky
what can cultures be based upon?
- gender
- race/ethnicity
- nationality
- affinities
what are collectivist communities?
focused on what’s best for community
what are individualist communities?
focused on self
what is the scientific method?
multistep technique that generates empirical knowledge
what is empirical knowledge?
knowledge derived from systematic observations of the world
what are the steps of the scientific method?
- observe
- detect regularities
- generate hypothesis
- observe
what is the operational definition of observations?
the specific measurement of an observation (ex. score on an IQ test)
what are the detailed steps of the scientific method?
- research question
- literature review
- form hypothesis
- design study
- conduct study
- analyze data
- report results
what is a theory?
- model of interconnected ideas/concepts that explain what is observed and makes predictions about future events
- based on empirical evidence
what is a hypothesis?
a specific, testable prediciton that is more narrow than the theory it is based upon
what are the 3 types of psych research designs?
- descriptive
- correlational
- experimental
what is a variable?
something in the world that can vary and that a researcher can manupulate, measure, or both
what is descriptive research?
research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically
what are case studies?
a descriptive research method that involves the intensive examination of an unusual person or organization
describe the case study of Phineas Gage
- metal rod went through head
- still able to function and talk but had personality changes
- showed that different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions/parts of who we are
what are the 2 types of observational studies?
- participant observation
- naturalistic observation
what is participant observation?
- a type of desciptive study in which the researcher is involved in the situation
- ex. researcher enters cult as cult member
- can influence results/external validity
what is external validitiy
can results expand outside of the particular setting in which they were observed
what is naturalistic observation?
a type of descriptive study in which researcher is a passive observer, separated from situation and making no attempt to change/alter ongoing behavior
what is reactivity?
- Hawthorne effect
- knowledge that one is being observed alters behavior
what is observer bias?
systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer’s expectations
what are psychological tests?
designed to measure differences among people
what are correlational studies?
research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world without the researcher attempting to alter them or assign causation
what is zero correlation?
- value = 0
- one variable is not predictably related to the other
what is positive correlation?
- value = 0-1
- two variables move in the same direction
what is negative correlation?
- value = -1-0
- two variables move in opposite directions
what is a strong correlation?
- strong = 0.5
- very strong = 0.8
what is the directionality problem?
researchers find a relationship between two variables but cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other
what is the third variable problem?
when a researcher cannot directly manipulate variables, they cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable isn’t the actual cause of the differences in variables of interest
what is an experiment?
a research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables
what is an independent variable?
variable that is manipulated
what is a dependent variable?
variable that is measured
how are variables defined?
- operationally
- qualified and quantified
what is the experimental group?
participants in an experiment who receive the treatment
what is a control group?
participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or who receive an intervention unrelated to the independent variable being investigated
what is a confounding variable?
anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study
what does random sampling do?
diversifies sample and increases likelihood of generalizability
what does random assignment do?
balances out known and unknown factors, increasing likelihood of equivalent groups
what is the difference between random sampling and random assignment?
random sampling applies to how you select participants from a population, random assignment applies to how you place participants into groups
what is selection bias?
unintended differences between participants in different groups
what are institutional review boards?
groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure it meets standards for physical and emotional well-being
what is informed consent?
people who volunteer for psych research have the right to know what will happen to them during the course of the study
who cannot provide informed consent?
- people under the age of 18
- dependent adults
what must be done if deception is used during a study?
participants must be given a careful debriefing
what is confidentiality?
personal, identifying info about participants cannot be shared with others
what is anonymity?
researchers don’t collect personal, identifying info
what is construct validity?
do variables measure what they are supposed to measure