midterm 1 (chapter 1-4) Flashcards
goals of psychology?
- ) describe how people behave
- )explain and understand the causes of said behavior
- )to predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions
- )influence and control behavior through knowledge to enhance human welfare.
basic research vs. applied research
basic: the quest for knowledge for its own sake.
applied: designed to solve specific problems.
3 levels of analysis?
biological: Behaviour and its causes.
psychological: Thoughts feelings and motives.
environmental: Past and current physical/social environment to which were exposed.
Mind-body dualism
The belief is that the mind is a spiritual entity and is not subject to physical laws that govern the body.
Monism
Mind and body are one and that the mind isn’t a separate spiritual entity.
British empiricism
All ideas and knowledge are gained empirically through what a man can observe and experience.
Structuralism
analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements.
Functionalism
searches for the cause of behavior within the inner workings of our personality.
psychoanalysis
analysis of internal primary and unconscious psychological forces.
Critical thinking
Taking an active role in understanding the world around you. Ask questions about claims of a new fact. (what claim, who made it, what evidence)
repression
defence mechanism, keeping unwanted thoughts and feelings down.
behaviorism
Behaviorism: environmental control of behavior through learning
Cognitive Behaviorism: suggest the environment affects thoughts and influences us.
natural selection
inherited traits that allow the next generation to survive better.
nature v nurture
nature: genetic inheritance
Nurture: exposure, experiences, and learning
Psychodynamic perspective
emphasizes unconscious psychological processes and search for the cause of behaviour with the inner workings of our personality.
Behavioural perspective
states all behavior is learned through interaction with the environment through conditioning. (external environment/stimuli in governing our actions)
Humanistic perspective
emphasizes personal freedom and self-actualization the reaching of ones individual potential (humans have their own fate in their own hands.)
Cognitive perspective
how mental processes affect behavior (humans = problem solvers+ info processors)
sociocultural perspective
The social environment affects behaviour, feelings, and emotions
biological perspective
brain processes regulate behaviour, feelings and emotions.
Wundt
1879 first psych laboratory @university of leipzig
Abraham Maslow
proposed inborn force towards self-actualization
Carl Rogers
Identified key aspects of psychotherapy.
Rene Descartes
the belief of mind-body dualism proposed mind-body interactions through the pineal gland.
John b Watson
forwarded school of behaviorism
Sigmund Freud
Founded psychoanalysis
William James
Leader of functionalism
Steps involved in scientific process
- ) identify- question of interest
- ) gather info and form hypothesis
- ) test hypothesis by conducting research
- ) Analyze data draw conclusions and report
- ) Build a body of knowledge
Hindsight reasoning
Explaining results after the fact, flawed because it perceives past events as more predictable than they actually were.
Independent/dependent variable
dependent: variable being tested and measured in experiment its dependent on the independent variable.
independent: manipulated variable assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent.
Understanding through prediction control and theory building
Understanding the causes of given behaviour we can predict the conditions under which that behaviour will occur.
variable
characteristics of a given organism that can differ, defines a variable in terms of procedures to measure or produce it.
social desirability bias
tend to respond in a socially acceptable manner rather than how subject truly feels
obtrusive measures
recording behaviour in a way that participants are unaware
archival measures
records or documents that already exist
measuring of overt behavior
recording directly measurable and observable behavior. ex.reaction time.
psychological tests
tests to measure variables; personality, intelligence, neuropsychological, how well they perform tasks
psychological measures
also, record physiological responses to assess what subjects are experiencing; heart rate, blood pressure.
descriptive research
seeks to identify how humans and animals behave in natural settings.
Case study
in-depth analysis of a single group, person, or event. the researcher hopes to find principles of behavior
naturalistic observations
the researcher observes behavior in a natural setting and avoids anything that would influence the subjects.
Survey research
Administering questions or interviews to many people.
population
all individuals you wish to survey
sample
a subset of individuals drawn from the population
representative sample
accurately reflects populations characteristics
random sample
each member has equal chance of being picked
Correlation Research
- )measures X variable
- )measures second variable Y
- )determines if X and Y are related
correlation vs causation
correlation doesn’t equal causation always must consider that x caused y, y caused x or they influenced each other or that there was a third variable that influenced them. positive correlation is when x and y change in the same direction, negative correlation is when x changes in one direction and y changes in the opposite direction.
Scatter plots
graph commonly used to examine correlation date each pair of scores is one point; establishes relations found in lab to generalize, can discover associations, and some questions cant be studied with experiments but can be with correlation methods.
experiments:
- )manipulates 1 or more variable
- )measures whether this manipulation influences variable
- ) attempts to control extraneous factors that might influence outcome of experiment
experimental/control
experimental: group that receives treatment
control: group that isn’t exposed to treatment
experimental designs
between groups design: each experimental group is composed of different participants.
repeated measures: each participant in experiment is exposed to all conditions.
counterbalance
procedure in which order of conditions is varied so that no condition has an overall advantage.
internal validity
degree to which an experiment produces clear causal conclusions, high when no confounding variables.
external validity
degree which the results can be generalized to an entire population. To determine external validity the experiment is replicated to determine whether results are replicated
confounding variables
intertwining of independent variables with another, preventing participants to differentiate which variable is responsible for changes of behaviour.
placebo
inactive inert non pharmaceutical substance that patient believes to be helpful
placebo effects
change in behaviour that occurs because of the expectation or belief that one is receiving a treatment
experimenter expectancy effects
unintentional way an experimenter influences the subjects to behave in a way that confirms hypothesis
double blind procedure
mitigates experimenter expectancy effects by keeping experimenter and participants unaware of research condition each has been applied.
cross cultural replication
repeating a study tot see whether findings can be generalized across different cultures.
repeated measures
subjects measured 2+ times on dependent variable
demand characteristics
subject believing that they need to report a higher or lower number.
single blind study
only researcher knows which treatment is being applied to participants
Ethical standards
- must be approved by the tri council policy for ethical conduct for researching humans
- avoid harming participants
- protect/promote welfare
- ensure consent is given without coercion
- complete disclosure must be given
- informed consent must be given which persons involved with study must be informed of all possible risks
neurons
building block of nervous system, generate electricity, and release chemicals
dendrites
branching fivers that extend from the soma of a neuron and receive messages from adjacent neurons.
axon
extension from 1 side of the neuron cell body that conducts nerve impulses to other neurons muscles or glands.
glial cells
surround neuron and hold them in place, as well as manufacture and transport proteins
blood brain barrier
specialized timing of cells in the brains blood vessels that screen out foreign substances while nutrients pass through neurons
electrical activity of neurons
- ) neuron has electrical resting potential due to positive and negative charged ions in and out of cells
- ) when stimulated ions flow in and out of cell it reverses the electrical charge of resting potential producing action potential or nerve impulse.
- ) original distribution of ions is restored and neuron is again at rest and capable of being activated.
action potential
nerve impulse resulting from depolarization of axons cell membrane