Psycho 104 - Ch. 1 Flashcards
what is basic research? what is applied research?
basic research is research done for own curiosity
applied research is research that is done to possibly benefit society or mankind
what are 7 main themes of psychology?
- psychology is empircal –> knowledge is acquired through observation
- Psychology is theoretically diverse –> driven by theories because theories put observations and ideas together and attempt to explain them
- psychology evolves in a sociohistorical context –> it is influenced by trends, issues and values in society
- behaviour is determined by multiple causes
- behaviour is shaped by cultural heritage –> shaped by our customs, beliefs, values and norms across generations
- Heredity and environment jointly influence behaviour
- people’s experience of the world is highly subjective (based/influenced by personal feelings, tastes and opinions)
What are 4 goals of psychology?
- to describe how peple and other animals behave
- to explain and understand the causes of these behaviors
- to predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions (MAKING A HYPOTHESIS BEFORE EXPERIMENTING)
- to influence or control behaviour through knowledge and control of its causes to enhance human and animal welfare (AKA PREFORMING EXPERIMENTS ON HUMANS AND ANIMALS WHILE MAKING SURE THAT IT IS ETHICALLY CORRECT)
what is naive realism?
its the belief that we see reality as it is (without bias)
What is conformation Bias?
when our beliefs shape our perception of the world (we have a bias when looking at everything because of our beliefs)
What is scientific theory and why do we choose this approach?
scientific theory is an explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world (for example: why do plants bloom? or why do we get angry?) those are examples of what can be defined scientifically because they occur in the natural world
Advantages of scientific theory:
- minimizes bias
- solves specific practical problems
What is a hypothesis? what are two elements that have to be present to make it a valid hypothesis?
Hypothesis have to be a TESTABLE AND FALSIFIABLE prediction derived from a scientific theory
What is falsifiability?
Theories that are falsifiable mean that they have to be proven wrong or have an opportunity of being proven wrong.
For example, the theory that says “all swans are white” is not only incorrect but its falsifiable because we CAN prove this theory wrong by conducting an experiment or just through observation see a brown coloured swan and prove the theory wrong. This is what science wants.
what are metaphysical claims?
assertions about the world that we cant test
what is pseudoscientific claims?
claims that act like they’re scientific but they’re not valid or have proper evidence of claims
what is apophenia?
when our brain perceives meaningful connections among unrelated and even random phenomena
what is pareidolia?
when we see meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli
i.e picture of jesus formed in soup
Why does pseudoscience continue to exist?
because its easy to avoid critical thinking and believing that something is too good to be true is actually comforting for some people so they purposely go along with it. This is called terror management theory
what are logical fallacies? and what are the three common logical fallacies?
these are traps in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions for example
- emotional reasoning fallacy
- bandwagon fallacy
- not me fallacy
what are the three dangers of pseudoscience?
- opportunity cost
- direct harm
- blocks scientific thinking
what are the 6 principles of critical thinking
- ruling out rival hypothesis (make sure other alternative explanations have been ruled out and considered)
- Correlation vs. Causation (we cannot be sure if something causes something else if its just correlated)
- Falsifiability –> can the claim be disproven? if yes then its scientific if no, then its not scientific therefore no point in testing it
- replicability –> make sure we can replicate the findings of the study
- extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence –> if something seems too good to be true, it probably is
- occam’s razor –> law of parsimony –> simplest explanation wins
What is mind in the mind-body complex?
mind is a spiritual entity and it is not subject to physical laws and it cannot be studied (inside of you… basically your soul)
What is British Empiricism?
- british empiricism basically states that knowledge should be gained via observation
What is psychophysics?
- The study of how psychologically experienced sensations depend on the characteristics of physical stimuli (we feel pain because something painful touched us)… or we feel sad because its raining outside
What is theory of evolution?
claims that mind is NOT a spiritual entity and its a product of biological continuity (the mind is just a developed version of our ancestors minds and its physical)
what is structuralism?
Theory by Edward Titchener and he believed that he could break consciousness down to its individual elements for analysis (just like how we break down elements in a periodic table)
What happened after structuralism died out? which theory came into effect and who was the person behind it?
After structuralism died out, the next theory was functionalism by William James. He said that psychology should study the functions of consciousness (example: “where did anger come from?”)
Describe the psychodynamic perspective?
- a theory made by sigmond freud, which basically claims that the cause of behaviour is in our unconscious mind and that we are driven by sexual impulses.
psychoanalysis was the analysis of internal and unconscious psychological forces (this was the method that psychodynamic theorists used to analyze personality and the unconscious mind)
What is Behavioural perspective of psychology? who are the two main figures
behavioural psychology focuses on how the environment can trigger our actions
- early followers were:
pavlov and his salivating dogs (represented classical conditioning)
and
Edward Thorndike and his law of effect which means we do things in order to get a response
Define Cognitive Behaviourism
learning experiences and the environment affects our behaviour by giving us the info we need to behave effeciently
Define the Humanistic Perspective
Emphasizes free will, personal growth, and the attempt to find meaning in one’s existence.
Humans are NOT controlled by unconscious factors, we just simply react to the environment
Define The Cognitive Perspective
Examines the nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behaviour
Grew out of structuralism, functionalism, and Gestalt Psychology
Define Gestalt Psychology
Examines how the mind organizes elements of experience into a unified or “whole” perception
Cognitive Psychology
Focuses on the study of mental processes
Cognitive Neuroscience
Uses sophisticated electrical recordings and brain imaging techniques to examine brain activity while people engage in cognitive tasks
Define The Sociocultural Perspective
Examines how the social environment and cultural learning influence our behaviour, thoughts, and feelings
THE SOCIAL COMPONENT
-How the presence of other people influences our behaviour
THE CULTURAL COMPONENT
-Cultural Psychology explores how culture is transmitted to its members and examines psychological similarities and differences among people from diverse cultures
The Biological Perspective
Examines how brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behaviour
Consists of
Behavioural Neuroscience
Behavioural Genetics
Sociobiology
Evolutionary Psychology
what is psychology?
the scientific study of behavior and the mind
BEHAVIOURAL NEUROSCIENCE
-Examines the brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behaviour, emotions, and thoughts
BEHAVIOURAL GENETICS
-Study of how behavioural tendencies are influenced by genetic factors
SOCIOBIOLOGY
-Holds that complex social behaviours are also built into the human species as products of our evolution
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
-Based on the principle of natural selection
