Intro to Psych Flashcards
What is psychology?
Scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior
What are the levels of analysis in psychology?
- Molecular Level - variations in people’s genes
- Neurochemical Level - differences in levels of the brain’s chemical messengers
- Neurological/Physiological Level - differences among people in the size and functioning of brain structures
- Mental Level - Thoughts, feelings
- Behavioral Level - The behaviors that come as cause
What is naive realism?
Error of believing that how we see the world is precisely as it is
Can lead to false beliefs about ourselves and our world.
What is a scientific theory?
Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world that requires empirical evidence.
What is a hypothesis?
Testable prediction derived from a scientific theory.
What is confirmation bias?
Tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them.
Seen often in political sphere.
What is belief perseverance?
Tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them.
Example: Link between autism and vaccines, comes from a fraudulent study.
What is pseudoscience?
Claims that lack empirical support and often use anecdotes as evidence.
Example: Using only this dietary supplement I lost 75 pounds!
What are the six principles of scientific thinking?
- Ruling out rival hypotheses
- Correlation vs. causation
- Falsifiability
- Replicability
- Extraordinary claims
- Ockham’s Razor
What is structuralism?
Psychological approach that uses introspection to identify basic elements or structures of experience, Edward Titchener
What is functionalism?
Focuses on understanding the function of thoughts, feelings, and behavior. William James, influenced by Darwin.
What is behaviorism?
Psychological approach that focuses on observable behavior and empirical methods, Skinner and Watson
What is cognitivism?
Focuses on the role of mental processes in behavior, emphasizing thinking about thinking, Piaget and Neisser
What is psychoanalysis?
Psychological approach that uncovers unconscious psychological processes and the impact of early life experiences, Freud
What is basic research?
Research focused on how the mind works.
What is applied research?
Research that examines how to use basic research to solve real-world problems.
What is the nature vs. nurture debate?
Debate on whether behaviors are attributable mostly to genes (nature) or to rearing environments (nurture).
What is scientific skepticism?
Evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them.
What is a clinical psychologist?
Perform assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders. Conducts research on people with mental disorders
What is counseling psychology?
Work with people experiencing temporary or relatively self-contained life problems
What are school psychologist?
Work with teachers, parents, and c children to remedy student’ behavioral, emotional, and learning difficulties
What is a developmental psychologist?
Conduct research on infants’, children’s, and sometimes adults’ and elderly people’s emotional, physiological, and cognitive processes and how these change with age
What are experimental psychologists?
Use research methods to study memory, language, thinking, and social behaviors of humans
What are biological psychologists?
Examine the physiological bases of behavior in animals and humans (health psychologists)
What is a forensic psychologist?
Some work in prisons, jails, and other settings to assess and diagnose inmates and assist with their rehabilitation and treatment
What are Industrial-Organizational Psychologists?
Work in companies and businesses to help select productive employees, evaluate performance, and examine effects of different working conditions
What is reciprocal determinism?
the fact that we mutually influence each other’s behavior, can make it challenging to isolate the causes of human behavior
What is scientific theory?
An explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world, including the psychological world. Offers an account that ties multiple observations together into one pretty package
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them
What is belief perseverance?
The “don’t confuse me with the facts” effect. No one wants to think they’re wrong, so they are reluctant to give up cherished notions
What are metaphysical claims?
Include assertions about the existence of God, the soul, and the afterlife. These claims differ from scientific claims in that we could never test rhythm using scientific methods
What is pseudoscience?
Lacks the safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance that characterize science
What are signs of pseudoscience?
Overuse of ad hoc immunizing hypothesis
Exaggerated claims
Over Reliance on anecdotes
Absence of connectivity to other research
Lack of review by other scholars or replication by independent labs
Lack of self-correction when contrary evidence is published
Meaningless “psychobabble” that uses fancy scientific-sounding terms that don’t make sense
Talk of “proof” instead of “evidence”
What is patternicity?
Tendency to see patterns in meaningless data
What is terror management theory?
Awareness of our own inevitable death leaves an underlying sense of fear. We cope with these feelings of terror by adopting cultural worldviews that reassure use that our lives possess a broader meaning and purpose
What are logical fallacies?
Traps in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions
What is Emotional Reasoning Fallacy?
“The idea that day care might have negative emotional effects on children gets me really upset, so I refuse to believe it”
What is a Bandwagon Fallacy?
“A lot of people I know believe in astrology, so there’s got to be something to it”
What is a Not Me Fallacy?
“My psychology professor keeps talking about how scientific methods are important for overcoming biases. But these biases don’t apply to me because I am objective”
What are the six principles of scientific thinking?
- Ruling out rival hypotheses
- Correlation vs. causation
- Falsifiability
- Replicability
- Generalizability
- Extraordinary claims
