Introduction Flashcards
What are the influences in psychology?
Behaviourism: reward/punishment impact, behaviour can be reinforced
Gestalt: important to look at the whole picture rather than specific aspects e.g. desires/needs not just rewards and punishments
Historical context: influenced by social events e.g. Nazi Germany
What is a theory?
System of ideas that can explain certain aspects of human thoughts, behaviours and emotions. It can’t be proven, it can be strengthened by empirical findings but it can never be the only true explanation.
What is qualitative and quantitative data?
Qualitative: collection of information in naturalistic setting e.g. observations, interviews.
Quantitative: collection of numerical data. Examples: surveys and experiments
What is reliability?
reproducibility or consistency of measurements
what is validity?
extent to which it actually measures what it is intended to
What are the issues in social psychology research?
replication crisis where lots of replicated studies find different results to the original study.
what is basic research?
focuses on fundamental questions about people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours. e.g. what makes us help others? what causes us to like/dislike?
what is applied research?
e.g. health, business, law
applies basic research to problems or issues, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life.
what are the cultural issues?
There are many universals in social psych, but there are differences between cultures not all of them have the same rules and norms. Culture exerts a big influence on how people react/perceive the world
individualist cultures: uniqueness, expression of ones own views
collectivist cultures: being aware of others own views, belonging
what are the ethical issues?
respect for human participants, informed consent, minimal deception and debriefing
