Midterm 1 Flashcards
Psych basic topics
What is psychology?
Psychology is the science of behavior of mental processes.
who gets a PhD degree?
Psychologists earn a P.H.D degree. A doctor of philosophy which takes 5 - 6 years.
who gets a MD degree?
A psychiatrist earns an MD. Prescribes medication and performs counseling.
who gets a masters degree?
A social worker gets a masters degree. Counsels an connects people with community services.
why do we need psychology?
Better to base your knowledge and decisions on studies of many people, not on the opinions or experiences of a few.
Hindsight Bias
Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one could have foreseen it.
The “I knew it all along phenomenon”
Are psychologists scientists?
Yes, and they use the scientific method.
Scientific method
A self correcting process for asking questions and observing natures answer.
Empiricism
Gain knowledge through senses
Observe, Evidence
Introspection
Knowledge is within us
Hypothesis
A prediction that can be measured
population
The group you’re interested in studying
Sample
Small subset of the population
Representative sample
A representative sample closely matches the population in its percentages of male and female, ethnic groups etc……
If a sample is to small?
The sample is not representative. (results of research would not be trustworthy)
correlation study
correlation: measure of the relationship or association between two variables.
As variable 1 increases what happens to variable 2?
If variables move in the same direction it is a positive correlation.
If variables move in opposite directions it is a negative correlation.
variables can also have no correlation
correlation study
in correlation study, psychologists measure the correlations between two variables trying to control either variable.
correlation and causation
correlation does not mean causation.
Just because two variables are correlated does not mean that one of them caused the other.
Experiments
The only way to determine if one thing causes another is to do an experiment, where the experiment is strictly controlled.
In an experiment, the experimenter manipulates/controls one variable and measures the effect on another variable.
Experiments contain 2 groups
Experimental - receives the treatment
Control - receives no treatment
Independent variable
the variable that the experimenter changes or controls.
Dependent variable
the behavior that shows the effects of the independent variable.
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the university of Leipzig, Germany.
William James
James was a legendary teacher-writer who authored an important 1890 psychology text. Mentored Calkins.
Mary Whiton Calkins
Calkins became a pioneering memory researcher and the first woman to be president of the American psychological Association.
Case Study
An observation in which a person is observed in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.
Subfield of psychology
Neuroscience, Evolutionary, Behavior genetics, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, Social - Cultural
