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Psychology > The Central Question of Psychology > Flashcards

The Central Question of Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Central Question of Psych

A

> Why do people think, feel, and act the way they do?

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2
Q

Psychology

A

> scientific study of behavior and mental process
uses empirical methods
therapy needed if “it” interfere w/normal activity

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3
Q

Empirical Methods

A

> use of direct observation & measurement to answer questions
science is self correcting

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4
Q

Clinical vs. Experimental Psych

A

> clinical- therapy, counseling

>experimental- research human thoughts/behaviors

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5
Q

Empirical Questions

A

> questions can be answered using observations of scientific method
ex. Are women smarter than men?
Who is the tallest person on Earth?

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6
Q

What is the Prozac case an example of?

A

> general principles or findings are not invalidated by individual cases

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7
Q

Origins of Psych

A

> psych is philosophy questions & physiology methods
Philosophy: big questions, early theories, traces of scientific thinking
Physiology (Biology): experimental methods

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8
Q

Plato’s Ideas

A

> philosophers debated individual differences
believed people born with “god(s) given” differences
argued math/measurement can help understand nature

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9
Q

Aristotle’s Ideas

A

> believed in Tabula Rasa (blank slate, colored by experiences)
suggested mind & body are not separate

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10
Q

Rene Descartes

A 
>believed in searching for truth
>questioned everything, needed proof
>"philosophy of doubt" part of scientific method
>focus: empiricism & experiences
>radical ideas got him in trouble
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11
Q

Effect of Philosophy

A 
>triggered important questions about human nature
>nature & location of mind?
> conciseness (functions?)
>brain & mind (related/work?)
>environment vs. innate abilities
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12
Q

Wilhelm Wundt

A

> Ph.D in Physiology
University of Leipzig
Founder of Psych

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13
Q

Wundt’s Role in Psych

A

> 1879: Founded 1st lab of experimental psych
published 1st professional journal of psych
wrote numerous books
trained almost all 1st generation psychologists
BEFORE FREUD

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14
Q

Why use experimentation?

A

> backbone of psych research

>isolate cause/effect

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15
Q

Simple Experiment Conditions

A

> Experimental group
Control group/Conditional group
can have multiple groups/conditions

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16
Q

*Independent Variable

A

> factor being manipulated
ex. Breastfeeding experiment
(IV is breast feeding)

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17
Q

*Dependent Variable

A

> factor being measured (outcome)
usually behavior/mental process
ex. Breastfeeding experiment
(DV is intelligence)

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18
Q

TV Show Aggression Experiment

experimental condition,control condition,IV,DV,result

A

> experimental condition: Power Rangers (aggressive)
control condition: Mr. Rogers (not aggressive)
IV: tv show
DV: level of aggression
result: 7x more aggressive, changed empathy if not more aggressive

19
Q

Experiment IV Effects Data Results

A

20% -> sorta effects
50% -> effects
100% -> definitely effects

20
Q

*Random Assignment

A

> randomly assign participants to experimental & control conditions
balances groups w/respect to uncontrollable variables

21
Q

*Replication

A

> if repeat experiment, get same pattern of results
confidence in experiment results
ex. Safety/effectiveness of drug treatments (check for side effects)

22
Q

CDC Class Experiment

A

> replication of Tversky and Kahneman

>found people respond to positive language in surveys

23
Q

Non-Experimental Methods

A

> have no cause/effect, result is a correlation
correlation (r) - strength of relationship between two variables
ex. Linear scatterplot of husband & wife ages

24
Q

Correlation of Height/Weight

A

> scatterplot shows strength of relationship
positive correlation- points up/right
negative correlation- points down/left (inverse relationship between x & y)
no correlation- points all over

25
Q

Correlation Coefficient (number of Correlation)

A

> ranges from -1 to 1
if abs value is close, then its strong relationship
correlation does not prove causation, since no experiment done
NOT CAUSATION

26
Q

Why use correlation?

A

> for prediction & decision making
if unable to conduct experiment
ex. Zajonc tested family size vs. IQ
Family Resource Model- number of resources down with increase of kids

27
Q

Survey

A

> technique for asserting self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people

28
Q

Survey Advantages

A

+only way is to ask (can’t know through observation)

+collect lots of info (quick and cheap)

29
Q

Survey Potential Problems

A

> social desirability
wording effects
counter social desirability
people’s preferences change based on wording

30
Q

Social Desirability

A

> people distort their answers to appear normal

31
Q

Wording Effect

A

> different interpretations of language change results

>ex. “on layoff” (fired vs. temp off work)

32
Q

How to Counter Social Desirability

A

> cross-check answers

>assure subjects are anonymous

33
Q

Sampling Error/Bias

A

> want a representative sample

>use random sampling

34
Q

Literary Digest Mistake

A

> 1936 Presidential Election (Landon vs. Roosevelt)
magazine thought Landon would win by landslide
sampled telephone books & auto registrations
over polled Rep. voters (Roosevelt ended up winning)

35
Q

Summary of Non-Experimental Methods

A 
>correlations/surveys describe behaviors
\+useful, informative, proactive
\+often good starting point
\+correlations aid in decision making
-no cause or effect
36
Q

Subject Bias

A

> participants change behavior in non-natural ways
know too much about experiment
ex. Hawthorne phone factory (everything increased productivity)

37
Q

Research Pitfalls

A

> Experimenter Bias (Rosenthal Effect)

>Subject Bias (Hawthorne Effect)

38
Q

Experimenter Bias

A

> Rosenthal Effect- becomes self fulfilling hypothesis
ex. “Bright Rats” vs. Reg Rats
Bias teachers to student success
Teacher behavior after video

39
Q

Prevention of Bias

A

> Single-blind procedure
Double-blind procedure
both use deception (cover story)

40
Q

Single-blind Procedure

A

> subject doesn’t know elements at play
ex. Asch’s “perceptual judgement” test
(actually studying conformity)
confederates- people who work discretely with experimenter during test

41
Q

Double-blind Procedure

A

> only experimenter knows elements at play

>volunteers/data collectors do not know elements

42
Q

Spontaneous Remission

A

> person’s symptoms temp go away
ex. Lukemia, sickle-cell, mult. sclerosis
linked w/Placebo effect

43
Q

Placebo Effect

A

> people actually get fake drug and feel better
treatment doesn’t do anything in reality
used in drug tests
ex. Patients even “Morphine”
(70% felt better after placebo drug)

Psychology (12 decks)

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