Psych 10 (Batch 1) Flashcards
Lectures 1-3
What is psychology?
The scientific study of mind and behavior
What is structuralism?
It attempted to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements
What is functionalism?
the study of the purpose and function of behaviors and mental processes
What is behaviorism?
Study only observable behavior.
What is the origin of cognitive psychology?
In the 1950’s and 1960’s cognitive psychologists posited that mental processes should play a larger role in understanding human behavior
What is the psychoanalytic theory?
It attempts to explain how behavior and personality are
influenced by unconscious processes.
What is cross-cultural psychology?
It is a field that draws comparisons about individual and group behaviors across cultures
What does WEIRD stand for?
Psychology is…
W: Western
E: Educated
I: Industrialized
R: Rich
D: Democratic
How was the localization of brain function studied?
Using phrenology
Who was Phineas Gage?
He got a tamping rod in the skull causing damage to the frontal lobe. It caused marked personality changes.
Wilhelm Wundt - what school of thought?
Structuralism
Edward Titchener - What school of thought?
Structuralism
Sigmund Freud - What school of thought?
Psychoanalytic theory
Why do we even need to use scientific methods to study people, isn’t psychology just studying the obvious?
- The media can misinterpret/oversimplify things
- Some things that seem obvious are still worthy of scientific study
What happens with hindsight bias?
- Belief that an outcome was foreseeable after it
has occurred (“knew it all along” effect) - Findings seem obvious once we know them,
were once controversial
Why do we need to use scientific
methods to study psychology?
It helps reduce bias
What are the steps to testing a hypothesis?
-1: Formulate a testable hypothesis
-2: Select the research method and design the study
-3: Collect the Data
-4: Analyze the data and draw conclusions
-5: Report the findings
When do you use correlational designs?
To measure how closely two factors/variables vary
together, or how well you can predict a change in one
variable from observing a change in the other variable
What’s positive correlation?
Both variables either increase or decrease together
What’s negative correlation?
One variable increases when the other decreases
What’s zero correlation?
One variable is not predictably related to the other
What are some benefits/limitations to correlational design?
Benefits:
-Can sometimes be a more ethical approach
-Establishing relationships/making predictions
Limitations:
-Correlation cannot infer causation
-Issues with directionality & potential 3rd variable
What’s random assignment?
Assigning participants randomly to experimental conditions (or levels of the IV)
What are some benefits/drawbacks to experimental designs?
Benefits:
-CAN infer causation
-Precise control over variables can eliminate alternative explanations
Drawbacks:
-May be impractical or unethical to address certain types of research questions using an experimental design
-Highly controlled lab settings can make generalization of findings to the real world more difficult
What happens with experimental design?
The investigator systematically manipulates a variable (IV) under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable (DV) as a result
What makes a good theory?
-Falsifiable
-If findings support the hypothesis then confidence in the theory grows
What makes a good hypothesis?
-Specific
-Testable
Define operational (in context of operationalizing variables).
A description of a property in concrete measurable terms
What type of evidence was embraced by structuralists but rejected by behaviorists?
introspection
Who was the first person to open an experimental psychology lab?
Willhelm Wundt
William James - which school of thought?
Functionalism
Which school of psychological thought utilized introspection?
structuralism
