psych unit 1 Flashcards
define psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
what is behavior
any action that other people can observe or measure such as laughing, heart rate
what are cognitive activites
private, unobservable mental processes such as sensation and thought
what is a psychological construct
a theoretical concept that enables people to discuss abstract things that cant be measured such as emotion, motivation, perception
what are the 4 main goals of psychology
- observe/describe behavior
- explain behavior
- predict behavior
- control behavior
what is a survey? adv/dis?
asking questions of randomly sampled people in a specific group
adv: fast way to collect a large amount of data
dis: volunteer bias, poorly worded questions
what is a case study? adv/dis?
an in-depth investigation of an individual or a small group, can go on for many years
adv: unique situations can be studied to find new information
dis: small sample size, hard or unethical to replicate
what is naturalistic observation? adv/dis?
study of behavior in natural situations, without the observer controlling anything
adv: can be replicated, shows behavior in “real life”
dis: biased researchers, small sample size
what is an experiment? adv/dis?
study in a controlled environment with independent and dependent variables
adv: can create specific situations, can easily control other variables, only way to prove causation
dis: easy to become unethical
what is the scientific method?
observation -> define problem -> propose hypothesis -> gather evidence/test hypothesis -> either reject hyp and try again or retain hyp as a theory
what were the 6 main schools of thought in old psychology?
structuralism, functionalism, psychodynamicism, gestaltism, behaviorism, humanism
what is structuralism? who is associated with it?
analyzing how simpler thoughts and sensations fit into larger systems/structures, wilhelm wundt and ed titchener
what is functionalism? who is associated with it?
study the purpose of rational thoughts and human capabilities, william james
what is psychodynamicism? who is associated with it?
study of human functions based on aggression and sex drive, proved false by more modern psychologists, SIGMA FREUD
what is gestaltism? who is associated with it?
human mind is greater than the sum of its parts, religion and morals are part of us, immanual kant and max wertheimer
what is behaviorism? who is associated with it?
study of observable behavior, mainly learning and reinforcement, BF skinner and ivan pavlov
what is humanism? who is associated with it?
study of individual human needs from water to fulfillment, abe maslow and carl rogers
what are ethics?
standards/guidelines for keeping experiments from harming participants
what are the ethical guidelines for human experimentation?
confidentiality: records kept private
informed consent: aware that they are participating, can opt out
free from harm: cant be harmed unnecessarily, mentally or physically
debriefing: all info revealed at end of experiment
what are the ethical guidelines for animal experimentation?
can only be used if there is no alternative, and if the potential benefits for humans outweigh the harm to the animal (ex. testing cancer cure medicine).
what is an ethical guideline used in all experiments?
all evidence must be presented, even if it contradicts the hypothesis
who is the father of psychology? why?
VVilhelm VVundt is widely considered to be the first psychologist to distinguish it as a proper science, like chem or bio. Also formed the first lab for psychological studies in 1879.
what are the 6 modern perspectives of psychology?
biological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, sociocultural, behavioral
what is the difference between correlation and causation (give example)
correlation shows that 2 things are connected, not the same as one thing causing another, ex. as ice cream consumption increases, so does drowning. 2 things are correlated, but ice cream does not cause ppl to drown, both things are caused by warm weather.
what is the biological perspective in modern psychology?
study of how biology (genes, hormones, nervous system) influences personality
what is the evolutionary perspective in modern psychology?
study of the evolution of behavior and mental processes (survival of the fittest -chuck darwin)
what is the cognitive perspective in modern psychology?
study of the influence of personal values and perceptions on behavior
what is the humanistic perspective in modern psychology?
study of human self-fulfillment and free will, view people as fundamentally good
what is the behavioral perspective in modern psychology?
study of the effects of experience on behaviors, as well as how people learn behaviors from other people
what is the sociocultural perspective in modern psychology?
study of the influence of gender, race, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior
