psychology - exam revision Flashcards
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours, which are all heavily influenced by biology, past experience and cultural aspects.
psychology vs psychiatry
psychiatrists - prescribe medication and have a training minimum of 9 years. They work with people with mental illnesses. It is a narrow field
psychologists - cannot prescribe medication, minimum of 6 years training. Broad field and work with people without mental illness to assist thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
scientific method steps
- identify the research topic
- create a hypothesis
- design the research
- collect the data
- analyse the data
- interpret and evaluate the results
- report the research and findings.
how is data collected for psychological research?
- case study
- observational study (observed without interference)
- survey
- longitudinal study (repeated observations over time)
- experimental study
ethical considerations definition
precautions taken to protect the physical and psychological well-being of the participants.
ethical guidelines (7)
- no lasting harm to participants
- confidentiality
- voluntary participation
- informed consent
- withdrawal rights
- deception
- debriefing
extraneous variable
like a controlled variable - any aspect of an experimental setting that must be held constant to prevent unplanned environmental variation.
all variables that aren’t the independent variable, that could affect the results of the experiment.
why do you need to control extraneous variables?
to prove that the independent variable and nothing else impacts upon the DV
what is a sample in relation to participants in an experiment
a selection of participants for research is known as sampling. a sample is a subset of a larger group (population) that has chosen to be studied.
convenience sampling
selection of the most accessible and convenient participants.
random sampling
everyone has an equal chance of being chosen, one person being chosen does not impact the chances of another.
e.g. name out of a hat, random number generator
stratified random sampling (#)
the population is divided into subgroups (age, sex, religion etc) and then randomly selected from the subgroup (strata) representative of the population
e.g. If a population comprises 70% boys and 30% girls, the stratified sample will comprise 70% boys and 30% girls
the purpose of an experiment
experiments are aiming to support, research, or refute a hypothesis, by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a factor is manipulated.
independent variable
the thing that will be changed in each experiment
dependent variable
the thing that is being measured in an experiment.
experimental vs control group
the control group is not influenced by the independent variable whilst the experimental group is exposed to the independent variable and is measured accordingly.
types of sampling
convenience sampling, random sampling, stratified random sampling.
role of sensory neurons
detect and send information from our sense organs to the CNS
role of motor neurons
helps us react/engage with the environment, sends information from the CNS to our muscles, organs, and glands.
role of interneurons
connects motor and sensory neurons. Found only in the CNS.
frontal lobe
thinking, personality, behaviour, initiative, planning, self-awareness, decision making speech, production, voluntary control of muscles
occipital lobe
visual information
temporal lobe
responsible for the hearing and understanding of speech
hippocampus
responsible for making new memories; it is also our direction finder or navigator.
corpus callosum
a thick band of nerve axons connecting the left and right hemispheres.
hypothalamus
responsible for regulating body temperature, appetite, thirst and hormones.
amygdala
associated with emotions of fear and anger. Plays a key role in our emotional responses
brain stem
regulates survival functions such as heartbeat, blood pressure, and breathing rates
cerebellum
responsible for coordination, balance, and movement.
pineal gland
controls our internal body clock. regulates our sleep-wake schedules and releases melatonin