MIDTERM #1 Flashcards
the professional application of psychological knowledge to the solution of problems associated with human behavior
applied psychology
What is an example of clinical psychology?
treating mental health problems
what is an example of counseling psychology?
therapeutic practices
what is an example of educational psychology?
educational practice and learning
what is an example of occupational psychology?
improving organizations
what is an example of health psychology?
human health behavior problems
what is an example of sports & exercise psychology?
enhancing sport performance
what is an example of forensic psychology?
applications in criminal justice system
what is an example of neuropsychology?
study and function of brain processes
practice whose efficacy has been proven through research using the scientific method
evidence-based practice
what are the 3 characteristics of the scientific approach?
systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and public knowledge
carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations about the natural world
systematic empiricism
questions about the way the world actually is; can be answered by systematically observing it
empirical questions
the publishing of knowledge after scientists ask empirical questions, make systematic observations, and draw conclusions
public knowledge
What must be true about scientific claims?
they must be falsifiable
refers to activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific by their proponents—and may
appear to be scientific at first glance—but are not
pseudoscience
what are the key differences between science and pseudoscience?
pseudoscience might lack:
- systematic empiricism
- public knowledge
pseudoscience does not address empirical questions (not falsifiable)
intuitive beliefs about people’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings
folk psychology
what is the process of scientific research (scientific method)?
1) formulate a research question
2) conduct a study to answer question
3) analyze the data
4) draw conclusions
5) publish results
conducted primarily for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior, without necessarily trying to address any particular practical problem
basic research
conducted primarily to address some practical problem
applied research
Why does psychology rely on science rather than common sense?
People’s intuitions about human behavior (folk psychology) often turn out to be wrong
we tend to focus on cases that confirm our intuitive beliefs and not on cases that disconfirm them
confirmation bias
when there is often not enough evidence to fully evaluate a belief or claim
tolerance for uncertainty
quantity or quality that varies across people
or situations
variable
a definition of the variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured
operational definition
a statistic used to measure the strength of a correlation between quantitative variables
Pearson’s r
a type of study designed specifically to answer the question of whether there is a causal relationship between two variables
experiment
When is an experiment high in internal validity?
when the way it was conducted supports the conclusion that
the independent variable caused any observed differences in the dependent variable
when is an experiment high in external validity?
when the way it was conducted supports generalizing the results to people and situations beyond those actually studied
What 3 conditions must be met before we can make a causal inference?
covariation, time-order relationship, and elimination of plausible alternative causes
How is covariation measured in an experiment?
there is a relationship between the independent and dependent variables
how is a time-order relationship measured in an experiment?
the presumed cause precedes the effect
how is the elimination of plausible alternative causes measured in an experiment?
using control techniques, we rule out other possible causes for the outcome
an extraneous variable that differs on average across
levels of the independent variable
confounding variable
experiments that examine the effects of a variable that is not directly under the researcher’s control (student age or gender) on outcomes such as achievement or performance level
quasi-experimental designs
a list of all the members of the population from which to select the respondents
sampling frame
done in such a way that each individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected for the sample
simple random sampling
the population is divided into different subgroups or “strata” (usually based on demographic characteristics) and then a random sample is taken from each “stratum”
stratified random sampling
larger clusters of individuals are randomly
sampled and then individuals within each cluster are randomly sampled
cluster sampling
occurs when a sample is selected in such a way that it is not representative of the entire population and therefore produces inaccurate results
sampling bias
what are the 4 steps of sampling?
1) define the population
2) obtain a sampling frame
3) select a sample
4) get data from each element
What does IRB stand for?
institutional review board
a committee that is responsible for reviewing research protocols for potential ethical problems
IRB (institutional review board)
what are the general things to be
concerned about when seeking ethics approval?
make sure the risks of the proposed research are minimized, the benefits outweigh the risks, the research is carried out in a fair manner, and the informed consent procedure is adequate
concerned with the application of psychological theories and research to help us understand how teachers and learners behave, perform, think, feel, and relate to each other in various educational settings
educational psychology
What are some aspects of educational psychology/what is studied and improved?
students’ functioning and organization in the classroon
an approach to the study of psychology which focuses entirely on observable events and the behaviors associated with them, without referring to the mind and emotions
behaviourism
What did Pavlov discover with his dog experiment?
classical conditioning
the learning of an association between 2 stimuli, the first of which (the conditioned stimulus) predicts the occurrence of the second (the unconditioned stimulus)
classical conditioning
What did Skinner discover with his rat experiment?
operant conditioning
the learning of a specific behavior or response because that behavior has certain consequences
operant conditioning
How does positive reinforcement work?
you behave in a certain way that results in a reward, and as a result, you are more likely to repeat that behavior
how does negative reinforcement work?
You behave in a certain way that results in the removal of something unpleasant, and as a result you are more likely to repeat that behavior (ex: doing a paper early)
A consequence that follows a behavior so that you do the behavior less often in the future
punishment
a process of reinforcing a series of responses that increasingly resemble the desired final behavior
shaping
when do we use shaping?
when a desired behavior occurs rarely or not at all
What does ABA stand for?
applied behavior analysis
what does ABA (applied behavior analysis) consist of?
- applies behaviorist principles to those with behavioral difficulties
- functional behavior assessment followed by changes to pattern of reinforcement
Who is ABA (applied behavior analysis) usually used with?
children with autism or disruptive class behavior
learning through imitation
observational learning
an instinctive process of learning the features of other members of the same species that occurs shortly after hatching or birth, usually focused on the mother
imprinting
What are the four stages and ages of Piaget’s cognitive theory of development?
Sensorimotor (0-2 yrs)
preoperational (2-6 yrs)
concrete operational (7-12 yrs)
formal operational (12+ yrs)
What are characteristics of the sensorimotor stage of Piaget’s theory?
- direct sensory and motor contact are explored
- object permanence and separation anxiety are developed
What are characteristics of the preoperational stage of Piaget’s theory?
- symbols (words and images) are used to represent objects but the child doesn’t reason logically
- egocentrism
What are characteristics of the concrete operational stage of Piaget’s theory?
- logical thinking
- difficulties with abstract reasoning
What are characteristics of the formal operational stage of Piaget’s theory?
- understanding of abstract concepts
- engagement in systematic logical reasoning and problem solving
a state experienced by a child when encountering new experiences that do not map onto his or her existing schemes
disequilibrium
what are the main points of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory?
- social interaction influences cognitive development
- biological and cultural development do not occur in isolation
- language plays a major role in cognitive development
the distance between what a child can do unaided and what he or she can achieve with the guidance and support of a more competent other
zone of proximal development
the way in which a child’s efforts to master a new or challenging task can be supported in a flexible and contingent way by adults or more competent partners
scaffolding
what plays a central role in mental development?
language
How do teachers play a role in academic motivation?
their expectations can act as self-fulfilling prophecies
How do parents play a role in academic motivation?
parental beliefs and expectations impact self-perceptions and attitudes to learning
How do peers play a role in academic motivation?
- peer interactions influence learning and motivation, emotions, and behavior
- social comparison
- Peer group difficulties can have negative impact on classroom adjustment
what does the information processing theory describe?
cognitive development as changes in processing of information
What is the capacity of sensory memory?
very low
What is the duration for sensory memory?
2-3 seconds or less
What is the capacity of working memory?
limited
what is the duration of working memory?
less than a minute
what is the capacity of long term memory?
unlimited
what is the duration of long term memory?
long (permanently)
How is attention used in sensory memory?
involves active focusing on information
including recall and recognition, the process of remembering information stored in long-term memory
retrieval
repeating information over and over again
rehearsal
forming associations between information one is trying to learn with information already stored in memory
elaboration
memory devices that aid in information retention or retrieval in the human memory
mnemonic devices
What are a few types of mnemonic devices?
- Loci
- Acronyms
- Acrostics
- Songs
Once information is stored in memory it has to be reactivated to keep it there. If not reactivated, this process takes place
decay
a process in which memory is available but has become temporarily unavailable
interference
the subjective feeling that people have of being confident that they know the target word for which they are searching, yet they cannot recall this word
tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
involves attention, rehearsal and repetition and leads to new knowledge or skills that can later be developed into more complex knowledge and skills
deliberate practice
Practice helps students develop expertise in what?
subject matter (it helps to distinguish novices from experts in given subjects)
Taking a test can serve as a learning opportunity, enhancing memory retention to a greater extent than additional studying
the Testing effect
What 2 things is the size of the testing effect modulated by?
test format & feedback
Memory is better for repeated information if repetitions occur spaced over time than if they occur massed, one after another
spacing effect`
the tendency, when learning information in a long list, to more likely recall the first and last items
serial position effect
recalling the first items on a long list
primacy effect
recalling the last items on a long list
recency effect
- importance of humility, freedom from conventional standards of judgment, knowledge of oneself
- the ability to solve problems, to adapt to new environments, to learn from new experiences
intelligence
What categories do Sternberg’s theory of intelligence fall under?
domain-general and qualitative
In Sternberg’s theory, what are the 3 abilities that intelligence is comprised of?
analytic intelligence
creative intelligence
practical intelligence
What categories do Gardner’s theory of intelligence fall under?
domain-specific and qualitative
What is the main point of Gardner’s theory?
argues for existence of several relatively independent human intelligences (ex. linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, naturalist intelligence)
What categories do Spearman’s Single-factor theory fall under?
domain-general and psychometric
what is explained in Spearman’s theory?
General mental ability & general intelligence
the ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience
crystallized intelligence
the ability to find and solve novel, abstract problems
fluid intelligence
used a single number, known as the intelligence quotient (IQ), to represent an individual’s score on the test
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence within a certain age group
intelligence quotient (IQ)
ability to create work that is novel, high in quality and appropriate
creativity
What do you need to do in order to be creative?
- view things in new ways/from a different perspective
- be able to generate new possibilities or alternatives
What does IDEA stand for?
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Who does IDEA protect?
- protects students with at least 1 of 13 qualifying categories of disability who ALSO need specialized support and instruction to benefit from education
What does IDEA do?
Provides a “special education” plan known as IEP which provides…
- specialized instruction
- related supportive services
What is Response to Intervention (RTI)?
Three-tier model to identify students who might have a learning disability
the most compelling evidence for a claim comes from __________________.
converging evidence
correlational designs permit researchers to ___________________.
predict and describe behavior
Paying more attention to observations that support our own thoughts about something is an example of _____________.
confirmation bias
Participants blindly taste Pepsi and Coke in a random order and rate the taste of each on a scale of 1-10. The dependent variable in this experiment is _______.
the ratings of the soda
You are interested in understanding U of M students’ opinions of food options on campus. You survey 100 students in an introductory chemistry course. In this example, college students at U of M are the _________ and the students in the chemistry course are the ________.
population; sample
A ratio scale provides __________.
a true zero
A researcher found that participants made fewer driving errors in a driving simulator after eating chocolate compared to participants who did not eat chocolate. She wonders whether these findings extend to driving a real car on the road. This is an issue of __________.
external validity
Asking participants if they are male or female is a __________ level of measurement.
nominal
EXAM QUESTION: What is true about ethics in research with human participants?
The benefits must outweigh any potential risks
True or False: You do not have to cite ideas that are not your own as long as it’s in your own words
False (ALWAYS cite ideas that aren’t yours)
True or False: Some research is exempt from regulations
True (Research that does not pose confidentiality risks to subjects, observes people in naturalistic settings, or only uses public data is exempt)
True or False: As early as the Victorian era, there was an explicit and established pedagogy.
False (There were apprenticeships and informal learning, but no explicit pedagogy)
Learning through dialogue and asking questions is ___________.
The Socratic Method
Which period had the greatest influence in shaping modern mainstream education?
the Industrial Revolution
Operant conditioning and classical conditioning differ in that operant conditioning involves ______________.
voluntary behaviors
True or False: Once a behavior is conditioned, it’s possible to extinguish the behavior.
True
In Pavlov’s experiments, food causes dogs to drool as a natural response. Food is what kind of stimulus?
unconditioned
Pavlov’s dog drooling is a what type of response?
Conditioned and unconditioned (depends on whether it’s in response to food or the tuning fork)
Reorganizing or restructuring your thoughts when there’s an inconsistency between your pre-existing knowledge and something new you’re trying to learn is the basis of Piaget’s idea of __________.
accommodation
The distance between a child’s actual developmental level and the level of potential development is _________.
zone of proximal development
What is one important idea for Piaget’s idea of constructivism?
learning is an active activity
What is true about long-term memory?
Its capacity is essentially limitless
True or False: it’s only possible to hold 7 +/- 2 numbers in working memory.
False (It’s possible to hold 7 +/- 2 CHUNKS in working memory. If you can group multiple numbers into chunks, it’s possible to hold much, much more than 9 numbers!)
True or False: The effort you spend taking tests can actually have a negative impact on your ability to later recall the information you had to learn for the test.
False
Is memory better when you must retrieve information over and over again without interruption, or is it better when retrieval attempts are spread out over time? Why?
It’s better to spread them out because of the spacing effect.
True or False: Sensory memory doesn’t involve attention.
False (attention is necessary for sensory memory)
True or False: Long-term memory becomes full and can displace contents to “make room” for new contents
False (LTM has an unlimited capacity)
True or False: Because long-term memory is limitless, you have access to everything you’ve learned.
False (connections decay and other information can interfere)
The tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful for solving problems, communication, or entertaining ourselves is ______________.
creativity
__________ proposed the “g” factor for general intelligence.
Spearman
True or False: Crystallized and Fluid intelligence decline with old age.
False (Fluid intelligence does, but crystallized intelligence continues to increase)
True or false: When people believe that intelligence can change with hard work they tend to work harder when faced with challenges.
True
True or False: We have a good understanding of the cause of most learning disabilities.
False (But, we do have research-supported strategies that help students learn despite having a disability)
A researcher measures the IQ of sixty people and then times them on a challenging math test. What type of experiment is this?
correlational design
EXAM QUESTION: What is the diagram below showing? What’s its purpose?
- Response to Intervention/Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
- It’s a three-tiered model that helps identify students who are at risk of learning difficulties
