Midterm1 Flashcards
Define Psychology
the scientific study of both behaviour and mind
Define Behaviour
Any kind of observable action, including words, gestures,responses,and biological activity
What is research/experimental psychology?
psychologists who are studying people (or animals) to try and determine basic human characteristics (influences on behaviour)
What is applied psychology?
therapists and other psychologists who are using the knowledge gained through research to make a difference in the real world
What is Dualism?
mind and body are two separate categories (two distinct entities)
Body - functions like a machine
Mind - not something made of “ordinary matter”
Who was Rene Descartes?
Dualism
How does a Clinical Psychologist differ from a Counsellor and Psychiatrist?
A clinical psychologist has a masters and Ph.D. in clinical psych.
A councillor has a masters in counselling.
A psychiatrist has a M.D.
Who was Wilhelm Wundt?
Mounted a campaign to make psych an independent study. Established the first psychological journal, considered the founder of psych.
When and Where was the first psychology laboratory discovered?
1879-University of Leipzig (Germany)
What is Cognitive Psychology
Studies higher mental processes.
What is personality psychology
Studies behaviour that shows personality.
What is Developmental psychology
Psych across the lifespan
What is Behavioural Psychology
Study of the connection between our minds and our behaviours
What is Social Psychology
Studies genetic factors in psych
What is Comparative Psychology?
study of animals in order to find out about humans.
What is Health Psychology?
Studies how psych contributes to physical health and treatment/prevention of illness
What is Clinical Psychology?
Branch of psychology that studies diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems
What is Structuralism?
examining the structure of the mind (i.e. ideas, sensations, etc.)
What is Functionalism?
stresses the biological significance (i.e. function) of natural processes, including behaviours
What is Behaviourism?
focuses solely upon observable behaviours and the relationship between the environment (the organism’s situation) and behaviours. Strict behaviourists will not speculate on non-observable parts of the organism (i.e. thoughts, emotions, dreams, motives, etc.)
Who discovered Structuralism
Edward Titchener
Who discovered Functionalism
William James
Who discovered Behaviourism
B.F. Skinner (John B. Watson expanded on it)
What are some characteristics of early Psychological Theories?
Tended to be “Grand Theories” - they attempted to provide a universal account of the fundamental psychological processes and characteristics of the human species
What is Animism?
The belief that animals, people, and inanimate objects are inhabited by spirits
What is Rationalism?
he pursuit of truth through reason
What is Empiricism?
pursuit of truth through observation and experience
What is Materialism?
reality can only be understood by examining the physical world
Who was Aristotle?
Animism, theory of memory
Who was Sigmund Freud?
reated people with mental health issues, and developed psychoanalysis. Also looked at his own anxieties for research.
What was Carl Rogers theory?
theory of personality about reliability and constructiveness, people might achieve a balance between their real self and ideal self.
What are the 3 types of Research Methods?
1.Scientific Approach
2.Descriptive/Correlational Studies
3.Experimental Research
What is a Theory?
a set of statements designed to explain a set of results and is more encompassing than a hypothesis
What is a Hypothesis?
a statement of what you think should happened in your experiment
What are the 3 goals of the using the scientific method?
1.Measyrement and Description
2.Understanding and Prediction
3.Application and Control
What are the steps in an investigation?
1.Identify the problem
2,Gather information
3.Generate a hypothesis
4.Design and conduct experiment
5.Analyze data and formulate conclusions
6.Restart the process
What is reliability?
The repeatability of an experiment
What is validity?
refers to the credibility or believability of the research.
What are correlational studies?
used to look for relationships between variables. There are three possible results of a correlational study: a positive correlation, a negative correlation, and no correlation.
What are experimental studies?
a study in which a treatment, procedure, or program is intentionally introduced and a result or outcome is observed.
What are variables?
What is the Independent Variable?
in an experimental design, this is the variable that is actively manipulated by the researcher.
What is the Dependent Variable?
in an experimental design, this is the variable that is measured. The value of the dependent variable is usually considered to be dependent upon the independent variable.
What is an operational definition?
define concepts and labels by the way they are measured.
what is the Experimental Group?
a group of participants who are exposed to some manipulation (the independent variable is manipulated).
What is the Control Group?
a comparison group (the independent variable is not manipulated).
What are descriptive statistics?
used to summarize and make understandable a group of numbers collected in a study.
What are inferential statistics?
used to draw conclusions that are based on the numbers actually collected in the research (but go beyond these numbers) - asking if the data is “meaningful” (statistically significant).
What is the mean?
average of the numbers
What is the mode?
he value that occurs most often
What is the median?
the middle number
What are the measures of Central Tendency?
the mode, the median and the mean
What is range?
The lowest and highest value
What is standard deviation?
a quantity calculated to indicate the extent of deviation for a group as a whole.
What does it mean if r=0?
There is no relation between the two variables, ex. scatterplot
What does it mean if r=1 or -1?
There is a perfect relation (almost never happens).
If r is negative which direction will the line go?
Up to the left
If r is positive which direction will the line go?
Up to the right
What is statistical significance determined by?
is determined by the outcome of statistical analyses performed on the data from a study
What does statistical significance claim?
is the claim that an observed relation or difference between two variables is probably not due to chance
What are naturalistic observations?
a research tool in which a subject is observed in its natural habitat without any manipulation by the observer.
What are case studies?
an account of an activity, event or problem that contains a real or hypothetical situation and includes the complexities you would encounter in the workplace. Case studies are used to help you see how the complexities of real life influence decisions.
