EXAM 1 Flashcards
Early Psychology (18th century definition)
study of the mind
Psychology (current)
scientific study of human and animal behavior and mental processes
Psychiatry
branch of medicine concerned with psychological disturbances
experimental psychologists
conduct research
Clinical psychologists
evaluate and treat psychological disorders
Counseling psychologists
typically treat less severe problems
School psychologists
improve curriculum, testing
Industrial psychologists
run human resources departments
Willhem Wundt
founded psychology; established 1st research lab at university of leipzig and 1st psychology journal
G. Stanley Hall
Wundt’s student; brought psychology to america; established 1st US research lab at john hopkins university; established APA
Structuralism
task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic tenants and investigate how these elements are related
Functionalism
psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than structure
Edward Titchener
Structuralist; method of introspection: careful, self observation of one’s own conscious experience
William James
Functionalist; consciousness must have a purpose; applied natural selection to human consciousness
Signmund Freud
attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior; Freud’s idea of unconscious suggests people are not in control
Behaviorism
scientific psychology should only study observable behavior
John B. Watson
founder of behaviorism; behavior is governed by the environment
B.F. Skinner
Fundamental principle; asserted that all behavior is governed by external stimuli; determinism
Fundamental principle
organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, and they tend to not repeat responses that lead to neutral or negative responses
Determinism
whatever happens in the world has a cause and the cause is already pre-determined
Humanism
emphasizes unique qualities of human and personal worth. people are rational beings, and will fulfill their potential if given the opportunity
Carl Rogers
Behavior is governed by one’s sense of self
Abraham Maslow
Hierarchy of needs; self actualization, self esteem needs, love and belonging, safety needs, physiological needs
Cognition
refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge; memory, language, reasoning, problem solving
Cognitive neuroscience
physiological brain states directly correlate with mental states
Social Psychology
stimuli depends on how individuals and groups interpret it; wants to understand social behavior, attitudes, prejudice, aggression, attraction, group behavior, and conformity
Evolutionary psychology
examines behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value; natural selection favors behaviors that enhance reproductive success
Positive Psychology
scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning
Positivism
Truth exists and we can know it.
Empiricism
an approach to understanding the world that involves collecting data or making observations.
Independent Variable
condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable
Dependent Variable
variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable; data the researcher collects
Experimental group
receive some special “treatment” in regard to the IV
Control group
receives no treatment
Extraneous variables
any variables other the IV that seem likely to influence the DV in a study
Random Assignment
all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition
Expectancy effects
change in the outcome is due to the subjects expectancy that change should happen
Double-blind study
neither the experimenter nor participant is aware of the group to which participant is assigned
Experimental Research Advantages
conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships between variables; precise control, isolate variables
Experimental Research Disadvantages
Often artificial due to need to control study; doubts arise in terms of applicability to world; can’t be used to explore some research questions
Survey
questionnaires or interviews that gather information about people’s attitudes, beliefs, or behavior
Survey Advantages
Inexpensive; easy to collect data
Survey Disadvantages
tendency to give socially appropriate answers to questions about oneself
Correlational Studies
measure two naturally-occurring things and see if they are related
Positive correlation
2 variables vary systematically in the same direction
negative correlation
2 variables vary systematically in opposite directions
Operation Definition
describes how to control the variable
Third variable problem
two variables could be highly correlated but both could be caused by a third variable
Naturalistic Observation
directly observe and record behavior