Quiz 1 Flashcards
Chapter 1+2
Introspection
the personal observation of our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
Mind
the brain and its activities, including thought, emotion, and behaviour
Psychology
The scientific study of behaviour, mental processes, and brain functions. The objective study of the mind
Philosophy
the discipline that systematically examines basic concepts, including the source of knowledge
John Locke
viewed the mind as a “blank slate” at birth
Natural Sciences
sciences that study the physical and biological events that occur in nature
Hermann von Helmholtz
work on the speed of nerve signalling (reaction time) supported that the mind had a physical basis
Behaviour
any actions that we can observe
Voluntarism
emphasizes the role of will and choice in determining thoughts, perceptions, and behaviours
Wilhelm Wundt
- voluntarism
- first psychologist
- conducted the first psychological experiment
- simple reaction-time experiments
Structuralism
mind is broken into the smallest elements of mental experience
Gestalt Psychology
the whole of anything is greater than its part (rejected structuralism)
Max Wertheimer
- gestalt psychology
- believing that breaking down into elements results in the loss of some important psychological information
Functionalism
- sees behaviour as purposeful and contributing to survival
- focuses on the adaptive functions of behaviour
William James
- functionalism
- Principles of Psychology (dominated the psychology field for a while)
- stream of consciousness
Sigmund Freud
- psychodynamic theory
- personality
Humanistic Psychology
saw people as inherently good and motivated to learn and improve
Carl Rogers
- humanistic psychology
- client-centred therapy
Behaviourism
features the study and careful measurement of observation behaviours
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
- behaviourism
- dog’s salivation response
B. F. Skinner
- behaviourism
- Skinner boxes
- reward and punishment
Cognitive Psychology
- covers the private and internal mental processes
- how people think
Ulric Neisser
- cognitive psychology
- coined the term cognition
Biological Psychology (behavioural neuroscience)
- relationships between mind and behaviour
- the underlying biological processes
- physical and chemical changes that cause and result from behaviour and mental processes
- Evolutionary Psychology: how their contributions to survival and reproduction have shaped physical structure and behaviour
Personality Psychology
- an individual’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving
Developmental Psychology
- the normal changes in behaviour that occur across the life span
Clinical Psychology
seeks to explain, define, and treat abnormal behaviours
Confirmation Bias
the tendency to notice and remember instances that support your beliefs more than instances that contradict them
Theory
comprehensive explanation of observable events
Hypothesis
a proposed explanation for a situation (an educated guess)
Descriptive Methods
- designed for making careful, systematic observations
Case Study
- descriptive method
- an in-depth analysis of the behaviour of one person or a small number of people
- good to learn about unusual situations
Naturalistic Observation
- descriptive method
- an in-depth study of a phenomenon in its natural setting
Survey (questionnaires)
- descriptive method
- participants are asked the same questions
Sample
- a subset of a population being studied
Population
- the entire group from which a sample is taken
Focus Group
- a small, often deliberately chosen, group of people who engage in a structured discussion on a topic
- Interviews: an interaction in which participants are asked a predetermined set of questions by the researcher and are allowed to provide any sort of response they wish
Correlation
a measure of the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
Variables
- a factor that has a range of values
- factor or characteristic manipulated or measured in research
Measure
a method for describing a variable’s quantity
Third Variable
a variable that is responsible for a correlation observed between two other variables of interest
Experiment
a research method that tests hypotheses and allows researchers to make conclusions about causality
Independent Variable
an experimental variable controlled and manipulated by the experimenter
Dependent Variable
a measure that demonstrates the effect of an independent variable
Experimental Groups
a group of participants who are exposed to the independent variable
Control Group
a group that experiences all experimental procedures, with the exception of exposure to the independent variable
Random Assignment
the procedure in which each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any group in an experiment
Confounding Variables
variables that are irrelevant to the hypothesis being tested but can alter a researcher’s conclusions
Double-Blind Procedure
a research design that controls for placebo effects in which neither the participant nor the experimenter observing the participant knows whether the participant was given an active substance or treatment or a placebo
Placebo
an inactive substance or treatment that cannot be distinguished from a real, active substance or treatment
Cross-Sectional Study
an experimental design for assessing age-related changes in which data are obtained simultaneously from people of different age
Cohort Effects (generational effects)
variations over time
Longitudinal Study
an experimental design for assessing age-related changes in which data are obtained from the same individuals at intervals over a long time
Mixed Longitudinal Design
a method for assessing age-related changes that combine the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by observing a cross-section of participants over a shorter period than is used typically in longitudinal studies
Reliability
the consistency of a measure
Internal Consistency
measures within a single test that positively correlate with one another
Validity
a quality of a measure that leads to correct conclusions (i.e. the measure evaluates the concept that it was designed to do)
Descriptive Statistics
statistical methods that organize data into meaningful patterns and summaries, such as finding the average value
Inferential Statistics
statistical methods that allow experimenters to extend conclusions from samples to larger populations
Ethical Research Rules for Human Participants
- must be voluntary
- informed consent
- no harm
- private and confidential
Ethical Research Rules for Animal Subjects
Three R’s
- replacement
- reduction
- refinement
