Module One Flashcards
psychology
A science in which behavioural and other evidence is used to understand the internal processes leading people to behave as they do.
pg. 3
Factors that impact behaviour
- specific stimuli
- recent + previous life experiences
- genetics
- physiologiocal + cognitive systems
- social + cultural environment
- personal characteristics
pg. 4
hindsight bias
the tendency to be wise after the event using the benefit of hindsight
pg. 7
Causes: Possible that some prefer order and predictiability (Roese&Vohs2012); not really bias at all but adaptive lifestyle changes (Hedden 2019)
What does “WEIRD” stand for?
Western
Educated
Industrialized
Rich
Democratic
pg. 7
culture
The values, beliefs, and practices shared by members of a given society that impact their ability to have a successful life in the area.
pg. 8
individualistic cultures
Typically found in Western societies in which the focus is on personal responsibility rather than group needs.
pg. 8
collectivistic cultures
Usually found in Far East societies in which the focus is on group solidarity rather than individual responsibility.
pg. 7
meta-analysis
Analysis in which the findings from many studies are combined statistically to obtain an overall picture.
pg. 10
Origins of Psychology
- spans from over 2000 years ago-present day
- most advances made in the last 150 years
- Gustav Fechner (1801-1887) investiagted using a purely scientific approach based on experimental method
- Wihelm Wundt (1832-1920) estb. world’s 1st psych. lab in Leipzig, Germany (1879) helping psych be seen as a scientific discipline
Chp. 2
Five Modern Perspectives of Psychology
Current trends in psychology
Scientific methods used within psychology
- experimental method
- observational studies
- correlational studies
- cross sectional & longitudinal studies
- case studies & interviews
pg. 54
Research methods used within psychology
introspection
careful examination and description of one’s own conscious mental thoughts and states
pg. 20
cognitive psychology
concerned with internal mental processes and how these processes influence our behaviour
pg. 21
sometimes lacks ecological validity
cognitive neuropsychology
research on brain damaged patients designed to increase our understanding of cognition in healthly individuals
pg. 22
cognitive neuroscience
approach designed to understand human cognition by combining information from behaviour and brain activity
pg. 22
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
technique providing detailed and accurate information conerning activation in brain areas while a cognitive task is being performed
pg. 22
ecological validity
the extent to which research findings generalize to everyday settings
pg. 23
Behaviourism
- exaggerated the importance of environmental factors
- de-emphasized the role of genetic factors and internal factors (personality, intelligence, goals, etc)
- scientific discipline
pg. 21
Developmental psychology
- studies childhood
- Wilhelm Preyer (1841-1897) biologist documented his son’s language development in his son
- Freud (1856-1897) arugued that we can only understand origins of mental disorders in adults by considering their childhoods
pg. 23/24
biological approach
- inspired by Charles Darwin
- led to comparative psychology
- allowed development of theories based on biological perspectives
- inspired the nature vs nurture debate
- led to the study of individual differences, personality, and intelligence
- increased understanding of the causes of mental disorders
- drug therapy has proven effective for some mental disorders due to physological understanding
pg. 25
classical conditoning
basic form of learning in which simple responses are associated with a new or conditioned stimulus
pg. 28
unconditioned reflex
well-established association between an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response
pg. 28
unconditioned response
well-established reaction to a given unconditioned stimulus in an unconditioned reflex
pg. 28
unconditioned stimulus
stimulus that produces a well-established unconditioned response in an unconditioned reflex
pg. 28
conditioned reflex
a new association between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus produced as a result of classical conditioning
pg. 28
conditioned stimulus
a neutral stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus to produce classical conditioning
pg. 29
conditioned response
new response produced as a result of classical conditioning
pg. 29
extinction
- classical conditioning, the elimination of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned response
- operant conditioning: elimination of a response when not followed by reinforcement
pg. 29; pg 34
spontaneous recovery
the re-emergence of conditioned responses over time following extinction
pg. 30
blocking effect
absence of a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus if another conditioned stimulus already predicts onset of the unconditioned stimulus
pg. 30
phobias
excessive fears of certain objects/places leading to avoidance of those objects/places
pg. 31
exposure therapy
form of treatment in which phobic patients are exposed to stimuli or situations they fear greatly
pg. 31
operant conditioning
form of learning where an individual’s responses are controlled by their consquences
pg.32
law of effect
the probability of a response being produced is increased if followed by a reward but decreased if followed by a punishment
pg. 32
primary reinforcers
rewarding stimuli essential for survival (water, food)
pg. 32
secondary reinforcers
stimuli that are rewarding b/c they have repeatedly been associated w/ primary reinforcers (money, praise)
pg. 32
shaping
form of operant conditioning where behaviour is changed slowly in the desired direction by requiring responses to resemble increasiningly the desired response for reward to be given
pg. 33
equipotentiality
notion that any response can be conditioned in any stimulus situation
pg. 34
contingency management
rewards or reinforcers are provided for positive behavioural changes
pg. 35
means-ends relationship
the knowledge that a given action in a given situation will produce a certain outcome
pg. 35
positive punishment
form of operant conditioning in which the probability of a response is reduced by following it with an unpleasant/aversive stimuli
pg. 36
negative punishment
form of operant conditioning in which the probability of a response is reduced by following it with the removal of a positive reinforcer
pg. 36
time-out technique
form of a negative punishment in which undesirable behaviour is reduced by removing the individual from the situation in which they have been aggressive
pg. 36
avoidance learning
form of operant conditioning where an appropriate avoidance response prevents presentation of an unpleasant/aversive stimulus
pg. 37
negative reinforcers
unpleasant/aversive stimuli that strengthen responses preventing those stimuli from being presented
pg. 37
observational learning
learning based on watching the behaviour of others and copying behaviour that is rewarded
pg. 38
Hypotheses
predictions concerning the effects of some factor(s) on behaviour based based on a given theory
pg. 46
experimental hypothesis
prediction as to what will happen in a given experiment; typically involves predicting the effect of an independent variable and is often theory based
pg. 46
independent variable
some aspect of the experimental situation manipulated by the experimenter to test a given experimental hypothesis
pg. 46
null hypothesis
prediction that the variable (manipulated by the experimenter) will have no effect on the dependent varible (some measure of behaviour)
pg. 46
experimental method
method involving control over the experimental situation (esp. the independent variable); hopes to show the dependent variable causes certain effects on behaviour; take into acct the limitations and confounding variables
pg. 47
confounding variable
variables not of interest to the experimenter erroneously manipulated along with the independent variable
pg. 47
sample
the participants actually used in a study drawn from some larger population
pg. 48
population
a large collection of individuals from whom the sample used in the study is drawn
pg. 48
representative sample
sample of participants selected to be typical or representative of the population from which it is drawn
pg. 48
random sampling
selecting the individuals for a sample from a population using some random process
pg. 48
quota sampling
selecting a sample from the population so that those selected are similar to it in certain respects
pg. 48
oppurtunity sampling
selecting a sample of participants simply because they happen to be available
pg. 48
independent design
an experimental design in which each group consists of different participants
pg. 49
matched participants design
experimental design in which the participants in two groups are matched in terms of some relevant factors
pg. 49
repeated measures design
an experimental design in which each participant appears in both groups
pg. 49
random assignment
allocating participants to groups at random
pg. 49
counterbalancing
this is used with the repeated measures desig: each condition is equally likely to be used first or second
pg. 49
experimenter effect
influences of the experimenter’s behaviour on that of the participants in an experiment because of the expectations of the experimenter
pg. 50
demand characteristics
cues used by participants to work out what the experiment is about
pg. 50
implacable experimenter
typical lab situation in which the experimenter’s behaviour is uninfluenced by the partcipant’s behaviour
pg. 51
inter-observer reliability
the extent of agreement between two observers rating the behaviour of the partcipants
pg. 54
cross sectional method
different groups are all studied at the same time
pg. 54
longitudinal method
one group of participants is tested repeatedly over a relatively long period of time
pg. 54
correlation
an association between two dependent variables or responses produced by the participants
pg. 55
case study
the intensive studt of one or a few individuals
pg. 56
distinctiveness
memory traces distinct or different from other memory traces stored in long-term memory
pg. 458
von Restorff effect
the finding that a to-be-remembered item distinctively different from other list items is especially likely to be remembered
pg. 459
The aspect of the experimental situation manipulated by the experimenter to test a hypothesis is, most generally, referred to as which type of variable?
Independent
practice test
If a research study is being conducted to determine if intermittent fasting is effective for weight loss in African American women, which of the following would African American women be considered?
the population
practice test
transfer-appropriate processing
the notion that long-term memory will be greatest when processing at the time of retrieval is very similar to processing at the time of learning
pg. 460
mnemonics
numerous methods or systems used by learners to enhance their long-term memory for information
pg. 461
method of loci
memory technique in which to-be-rememebered items are associated with locations well-known to the learner
pg. 461
story method
technique for improving memory in which a story is generated that includes all the to-be-remembered words or other items in the correct order
pg. 462
long-term working memory
used to store relevant information rapidly in long-term memory and to access it through retrieval structures in working memory
pg. 463
testing effect
the finding that long-term memory is enhanced when some of the learning period is devoted to retrieving the to-be-remembered information rather than restudying
pg. 464
distrubuted-practice effect
long-term memory for learning material is superior when it is distrubuted over time rather than massed
pg. 466
metamemory
knowledge and beliefs about one’s own memory and about one’s ability to regulate its functioning
pg. 468
implementation intentions
action plans designed to achieve some goal based on specific information concerning where, when, and how the goal will be achieved
pg. 471
