Prior To Midterm 1 Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of mind, brain and behaviour
Brain aspect of psychology
Neuroscience
Mind part of psychology
Memory
Behaviour part of psychology
Output
Difficulties of psychology: psychology is multiply ______
Determined
-biological and past experiences
-such as mating
Difficulties of psychology: psychology is _____ together and _____ other areas
Linked, affects
-for example: mental health affects relationships
Difficulties of psychology: ______ differences
Individual
-for example: traits vary and attention varies
Difficulties of psychology: reciprocal _______
Determinism
-the way i affect will affect others
-interacting with environment draws attention (like a chip bowl in a party)
Difficulties of psychology: behaviours is _______ by ______
Shaped by culture
-emic/etic
Emic
Studying perspective of someone IN the culture
Pro and cons of emic
Pro: more unique
Cons: other cultures usually are ignored
Etic
Studying perspective of someone not in culture
Pros and cons of etic
Pro: more effective generalizations
Con: miss subtleties
Levels of analysis
Mind and behaviour
-many different perspectives
Levels of analysis: social and cultural
Relationships
-forming and impact
Levels of analysis: psychology
Mental processes and attention systems
Levels of analysis: biological
Neuroscience
-regions of the brain
Common sense and psychology
-can be conflicting (out of sight out of mine/absence makes the heart grow fonder)
-naive realism
-costumes common sense is correct
Naive realism
The world is exactly how we see it
-example is flat earth ears
Psychology as a science
-minimizes bias
-misses out on emotional aspects
-uses empirical evidence
A scientific theory
Explanation that describes data
-doesn’t account for just one thing
-links together multiple theories
Hypothesis
Direction prediction, and precise
-specific testable prediction derided from a scientific theory
Theory of natural selection is a _____ and fish having long tails as a result of natural selection is _____
Scientific theory, hypothesis
Confirmation bias
The tendency to look for selective into that conforms a hypothesis
-to ignore evidence that disproves
Observation bias
Awareness of bias means individuals can still be influenced
Belief perspectives
Sticking to our initial beliefs, even in light of new evidence
-uncomfortable to deviate
Metaphysical claims
Untestable claims
-like the existence of a god
Psychological pseudoscience
Claims that seem scientific but are not
-testable but not scientific
Warning signs: exaggerated claims (example)
Vitamins being advertised as having all good side effects
-then why is it not everywhere?
Warning signs: over reliance on anecdotes
Advertisements having a lot of people saying “this is amazing”
-biased people
-neglected scientific results like data or graphs
Warning signs: absence to connectivity to other research
Opposes most research
“Vitamin C helps weight loss”
-needs evidence to discount all other evidence
Warning signs: lack of review and no peer review
Not having a group of non associated scientists evaluate the claim
Warning signs: lack of self correction
New evidence that is not considered
-like astrology
Warning signs: psychobabble
Jargon and big words
-attempting to appear smart and impressive
-the idea should speak for itself
Warning signs: talk of proof over evidence
Using the word prove
Why is one drawn to pseudoscience
Patternicity and provides comfort
What does patternicity mean
Humans hate disorder and find sense in the nonsense
-this can be both good and bad
Why does pseudoscience provide comfort
Manages terror, and gives a feeling of control
-for example people fall for fake cancer preventing scams `
Three dangers of pseudoscience
-opportunity cost
-direct harm
-blocks scientific thinking
What is opportunity cost
Prevents opportunity that might have evidential claims
How does pseudoscience block scientific thinking
Easy answers create easier engagement with the process of ignoring scientific claims
What is the antidote of pseudoscience
Having the knowledge of common logical fallacies
Emotional reasoning fallacy
Using emotions instead of evidence to see validity of a claim
Bandwagon fallacy
Assuming a claim is correct just because other people do
Not me fallacy
Thinking we are somehow exempt from certain things
-we are a special case
“I am not prone too”
Scientific scepticism
Helps to protect against fallacies
-need to consciously engage in having an open mind
What is a key part of scientific scepticism
Critical thinking
Six principals of scientific thinking
-ruling out rival hypothesis
-correlation vs causation
-falsifiability
-replicability
-extraordinary claims
-occams razor
Six principals of scientific thinking: ruling out rival hypothesis
Asking, is there some other possibility
Six principals of scientific thinking: Correlation vs causation
Researcher does not measure other variables
-ther could be other factors affecting
-ignoring the third variable
Six principals of scientific thinking: falsifiability
Needs to be testable to be assessed as a valid claim
Six principals of scientific thinking: replicability
In order to be a claim, another scientist must be able to replicate the claim
(In general)
Six principals of scientific thinking: extraordinary claims
The higher the claim, the higher quality of evidence needed for the claim
Six principals of scientific thinking: Occam’s razor
Simpliest explanation should be the truth
Early psychologists were
Philosophers
-not considered a science
Who created the first psychology laboratory
Wundt
Who incorporated introspection, and what is it?
-Wundt
-asking someone a series of questions to evaluate their own cognitive process
What is introspection good for
Past experiences
What is introspection bad for
Things that we are just not consciously aware of
What was the problem with introspection
It created unverifiable and inconsistent data
Structuralism
Study of why certain things take place
-how did you think that
-the structuralism of experience
functionalism
Adapt to circumstances
-what is the purpose of you thinking/feeling that way etc
behaviouralism
Understand why humans do what they do
-we need objective data to make psychology a science
Cognitism
Examine the role of mental processes on behaviour
Psychoanalysis
Uncover the role of unconscious processes and early experiences effect on behaviour/ thought
Modern psychology is very
Diverse
Clinical psychologist
Therapeutic, asses, diagnose and treat mental disorders
Counseling psychologist
Dealing with temporary life problems
School psychologist
Works with parents, teachers, students for behavioural emotional and learning difficulties
Developmental psychologist
How and why people change over time
-research heavy and age focused
Experimental psychologist
Use research methods to study memory, language, thinking and social behaviour
Biological psychologist
Examine bases of behaviour in animals and humans
-research focused
Forensic psychologist
Diagnose inmates and assist with rehabilitation and treatment
Industrial organization psychologist
Work in companies to help with hiring processes, performance evaluation and how the environment affects the employees
Why is psychology more than just common sense
Common sense can be conflicitng, and it would be wrong to assume the world is just how we perceive it (naive realism)
What is science? And how does it safeguard against bias?
Psychology as a science is using empirical data, and weaning out the emotions and ambuiguity
-it safeguards by using empirical data that isn’t necessarily up to debate or opinion
Why do we need good research designs
Protects against bias
Prefrontal lobotomy story and what it taught scientists
-prefrontal lobotomy appeared to be effective treatment for schizophrenia and other mental disorders when in reality was not
-shows that research designs are very important
—-> naive realism and confirmation bias
System 1 thinking
Intuitive, fast, relies on gut feelings
-baring is on autopilot, this is valuable bc people need snap decisions
System one thinking relies on
Heuristics-> which are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb
System 2 thinking
Analytical, slow and relies on careful evaluation
-mental effort
System ___ thinking overrides system ____ thinking
2,1
Scientific method
-not a singular way of doing things
-toolbox of skills, can be applied in specific ways
Random selection
-every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate in a study
Random selection increases
Generalizability
Studying ___ people broadly is better than studying ___ people narrowly
-fewer
-more
Reliability
The consistency of measurement
Validity
The extent to which a measure assess what it claims to measure
Reliability to neccessary for
Validity
But validity is not necessary for
Reliability
Test retest reliability
interrater reliability
The extend to which someone is consistent with their judgments
Openness in science
Ensure findings are replicable and reproducible
The open science movement was created in response to
The replicability crisis in psychology
Replicability crisis
A number of research findings did not replicate
The five responses to the replication crisis by psychologist
-post/share data publically
-replications of own and others work
-preregister research
-publish all sound science not just flashy findings
-less emphasis on findings from single studies
Three major research methods
-descriptive
-correlational
-experimental
Descriptive research methods
Correlational research methods
Experimental research methods
Naturalistic observation
Observing behaviour naturally without trying to manipulate or change it in any way
Advantages of naturalistic observation
-high external validity
-captures natural behaviour
Major disadvantages of naturalistic observation
-low internal validity
-possible reactivity
-possible observer bias
-no control over other variables
External/internal validity
External- wether the findings of a study can be generalized to other participants
Internal- results do not contain bias in population
Reactivity
Observer bias
Researchers expectations or bias influences their findings
Case studies are
In-depth analysis of an individual group, or event
Major advantages of case studies
-allows investigation of rare phenomena
-provides existence proofs
-Good for hypothesis generation
Existence proofs
Evidence of a given psychological phenomenons
Major disadvantages case studies
-cannot determine cause and effect
-generalization may be an issue
-possible observer bias
Self report measures
Researchers use interviews, questioners or surveys to gather specific info about persons behaviours, attitudes and feelings
Questionnaires mostly cover
characteristics of a person
Surveys
Opinions and attitudes of a person
Self report measures advantages
-easy to administer/gather large amounts of data
-cost effective
-assessment of internal processes that observes are not typical aware of
Self report measures disadvantages
-different worded questions can lead to very diff results
-have to assume particepents have enough insights to report accurately
-assume honestly even though they engage in response sets and malingering
Response sets
Bias
-may answer in a way that makes themself feel better (could be more humble or less humble)
Malingering
Purposeful messing with test by answering more extreme
-bad for diagnosis
Rating data
Self report measure where someone else is asked to comment on a persons behaviour
Major advantages of rating data
-gets around malingering and response set bias in self reporting
Major disadvantages of rating data
-halo effect and horns effects
-susceptible to stereotypes
Halo effect
The tendency for one positive charactistic to influence everything to be enhanced of the person
-face card
Horns effect
Tendency for one negative aspect of a character to lower ratings for other characteristics
Correlational designs
Researcher measures different variables to see if there is a relationship between them
-co relation
Advantages of correlational designs
-more flexible and easier to conduct than experiments
Disadvantages of correlational designs
-cannot explain causation
Why can’t a correlational research design show causation
third variable problem
-the idea that exposure to aggressive music causes aggressive or violent behaviour
-missing the connector
Strength of a correlation is measured using
a correlation coefficient
Negative correlation coefficient
Move in opposite directions
-one up one down
Positive correlation coefficient
One goes up other goes up, one goes down other goes down
-same direction
Correlation coefficient
Shows strength of relationship on a scale fo -1 to +1
Zero correlation
There is no relationship
Experimental designs
Random assignment of participants to conditions, and manipulation of at least one independent variable
Independent variable
Variable that an experimenter manipulates
Dependant variable
A variable that experimenter measures
Independent variable influences change in the
Dependent variable
Random assignment
Ensuring each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to the experimental group or the control group
Between subjects designs
-different conditions
-not every participant gets both things
Within subject designs
Every participant gets treatment and control
-measure behaviour before a variable is manipulated and after
Extraneous variables
Variables that aren’t measured but could affect their control
-any variables
Placebo effect
Improvement from the mere expectation of improvement
Nocebo effect
Harm from the mere expectation of harm
Experimenter expectancy effect
Researchers hypothesis leads them to unintentionally bias the outcome of the study
-in line with hypothesis
Demand characteristics
Participants guess as to the purpose of the study and change how they act based on their assumptions
Hawthorne effect
People’s knowledge that they are being studied changes their behaviour s
Researchers must adhere to strict
ethical guidelines and principles
Tuskegee study
Men diagnosed with syphilis
-never given treatment in order to study the natural progression of the disease
Belmont report
Said that researchers should allow people to make decisions about themselves
-be beneficent
-distribute benefits and risks equally to all participants
All North American research colleges and universes have at least one
Research ethics board REB
what do REBs do?
Review planned research, contain members of the institution who have expertise in ethics
-adhere to national guidelines
Research with people must have or provide:
-informed consent
-protection from harm
-freedom from coercion
-risk benefit analysis
-justification of deception
-debriefing participants afterwards
-confidentiality
Research colleges and universities that engage in research with animals must have at least one
Animal research ethics board AREB
AREB’s
-review planned research
-ensure animals are treated humanely
Follow guidelines of CCAC
Statistics
Important part of research
-application of mathematics to describe and analyze data
Descriptive statistics
Numerical characteristics of the nature of the data
-describes data
Two main types of descriptive statistics
-measures of central tendency
-measures of variability
Central tendency
Gives the central score in data sets or where the group tends to cluster
-mean, median, mode
Variability
Measures of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are in a dataset
-range or standard deviation
Inferential statistics
Allow researchers to determine wether we can generalize from a sample to the general public
Inferential statistics also allows researchers to determine if their results are
Likely to have occurred simply due to chance
Statistical significance
Probability that these findings are due to chance
if results is statistically significant —->
The results are very unlikely to have occurred due to chance factors
Practical significance
Has any real world importance
Peer review
Process of quality control fro research before it is published in an academic journal
-review another scientist
Media does not have what compared to academic journals
The same quality control as academic journals
Three things to look out for in media
-sharpening
-leveling
-pseudosymmetry
Correlational design
Examining the extent to which two variables are associated
Experimental designs
allow us to draw cause and effect conclusions
Mean
Average
Median
Middle score (lining up scores selecting middle)
Mode
Most frequent, not average just most frequent
