Quiz 1

Question 1

Based on the term’s derivation, what does psychology literally mean?

Answer 1

the study of the

mind or soul

Question 2

How does Kalat define psychology?

Answer 2

the systematic study

of behavior and experience

Question 3

1. Know the three major philosophical issues in psychology.

2. Be able to say what determinism is and how it differs from free will.

Answer 3

1. free will vs determinism, the mind-brain problem, and nature vs nurture.
   2a. determinism: the idea that everything that happens has a cause, or determinant, that someone could observe or measure.
   2b. free will: the belief that behavior is caused by a person’s independent decisions

Question 4

What is the mind-brain problem and what is dualism (and monism)?

Answer 4

mind-brain problem: the philosophical question of how experience relates to the brain

dualism: the mind is separate from the brain but somehow controls the brain and therefore the rest of the body
monism: the view that conscious experience is inseparable from the physical brain

Question 5

What is the nature-nurture issue?

Answer 5

How do differences in behavior relate to differences in heredity and environment?

Question 6

Be able to recognize the different types of psychologists, especially evolutionary psychologists, learning theorists, and cognitive
psychologists.

Answer 6

evolutionary psychologist: tries to explain behavior in terms of the evolutionary history of the species, including why evolution might have favored a tendency to act in particular ways

learning theorist: studies how behavior depends on the outcomes of past
behaviors and current motivations

cognitive psychologists: studies human thought and knowledge processes

Question 7

Be able to recognize Wundt and introspection, comparative psychologists, and behaviorism.

Answer 7

Wundt: medical doctor and sensory researcher, set up the first laboratory intended exclusively for
psychological research. one of his goals was to find the elements of experience, comparable to those of chemistry.

introspection: to look within yourself

comparative psychologists: specialists who compare different animal species

behaviorism: a field of psychology that concentrates on
observable, measurable behaviors and not on mental processes

Question 8

1. What does the term science mean?
2. What are hypotheses?
3. What are replicable results?

Answer 8

1. science: derives from the Latin work meaning “knowledge”, a systematically organized body of knowledge on a particular subject
2. hypothesis: a clear predictive statement
3. replicable results: results that anyone can obtain, at least approximately, by following the same procedures

Question 9

1. What is a theory in science?

2. Be able to know what the concept of burden of proof is.

Answer 9

1. an explanation or model
   that fits many observations and makes accurate predictions
2. a well-formed theory is falsifiable. it has clear, precise terms that we can see what evidence would count against it

Question 10

Be able know the principle of parsimony (an explanation or theory that makes the fewest assumptions).

Answer 10

when given explanations that seem to fit the facts, we prefer the one whose assumptions are fewer, simpler, or more consistent with other well-established theories

Question 11

What are anecdotes?

Answer 11

anecdotes are people’s reports of isolated events, such as a dream or hunch that comes true

Question 12

What is an operational definition?

Answer 12

a definition that specifies the procedures (operations) used to produce or measure something, ordinarily a way to give it a numerical value

Question 13

What are naturalistic observation and case histories (or case studies)?

Answer 13

naturalistic observation: a careful examination of what happens under more or less natural conditions

case history: a thorough description of
someone, including abilities and disabilities, medical condition, life history, unusual experiences, and whatever else seems relevant

Question 14

What is a correlation, a correlational study, and an illusory correlation?

Answer 14

correlation: a measure of
the relationship between two variables

correlational study: investigators measure the relation between two variables without controlling either of them

illusory correlation: an apparent relationship based on casual observations of unrelated or weakly related events

Question 15

What is an experiment, including independent and dependent variables?

Answer 15

a. experiment: a study in which the investigator manipulates at least one variable while measuring at least one other variable
b. independent variable: is the item that an experimenter changes or controls
c. dependent variable: the item that an experimenter measures to determine the outcome