Unit 1 Flashcards
structuralism
to study consciousness-how elements of the mind are organized and related to each other
functionalism
how consciousness (like thoughts and feelings) helps people adapt to their environments
how do genes(human biology) vs environmental factors contribute to a person well being
nature vs. nurture
psychophysics
the relationship between physical stimuli and how it’s transmitted into psychological experience
phrenology
the study of the shape and size of the cranium as an indication of character and mental abilities
introspection
the act of looking into one’s own thoughts and feelings think the mindset
behavioral
An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.
psychodynamic
believed all behavior and mental processes are directed by the unconscious mind, think past experiences
humanistic
human growth potential, self-concept, free will, self-actualization, self-esteem, making yourself a better person
evolutionary
how the natural selection of traits promoted the survival of genes, how genes cause you to act a certain way, reproductive success
biological
the perspective that stresses links between biology and behavior, neuroscience(blood, neurotransmitters), how the brain and body physically create emotion
cognitive
how we take in, store and retrieve info, how perceptions influence our actions to think thinking, rationalizing, interpretation
biopsychosocial
the integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
social cultural
the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking, the study of groups
biological psychologists
analyzes the connection between the mind and body
clinical psychologists
the study, assess, and treats people with psychological disorders
counseling
helps people cope with academic, vocational, and marital challenges
educational
has expertise in problems of teaching and learning
developmental
studies how behavior and mental processes change over a life span (birth to death)
experimental psychology
the branch of psychology is concerned with testing theories of human thoughts, feelings, and actions
personality
investigates our persistent traits
industrial-organizational
a subfield of psychology that studies and advises on workplace behavior
explores the ways in which people influence each other
social
emphasizes focus on positive events and influences in life
positive
an investigation where a hypothesis is tested, tests predicted relationships in a controlled environment, can show causation, can be expensive and long
experiments
looks at the relationship between two variables to see if they are related, a researcher does not alter any variables
correlation studies
data collection tool used to collect information, cannot determine causation
survey
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations w/o manipulating/controlling the situation, does not show causation
naturalistic observation
examines one individual or group in depth, in hope of revealing things, does not show causations
case studies
research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period
longitudinal studies
a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another
cross-sectional study
a procedure used to define research variables
operational definitions
The experimental factor that is manipulated; is the variable whose effect is being studied.
independent variables
The measurable effect, outcome, or response in which the research is interested.
dependent variable
a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
confounding variable
the variable that is kept constant through the experiment
control variable
the group in an experiment who receives the variable being tested
experimental group
the group in the experiment that does not receive the variable being tested
control group
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
hypothesis
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
validity
consistency of measure
reliability
part of a population
sample
all those in a group being studied, from which samples might be drawn
population
assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups
random assignment
method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected
random sample
procedure that ensures every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate
random selection
an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo
double-blind procedure
study in which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group
single-blind procedure
the improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement
placebo effect
A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable
causation
American advocate on behalf of the mentally ill, created first mental asylums during the Civil war
Dorthea Dix
the german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened the first psychology research laboratory in 1879 in Germany
Wilhelm Wundt
founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment, and created the first distinctly American school of psychology
William James
founder of Gestalt psychology - consciousness was best understood by observing the whole experience, “the whole is greater than the sum of its part”
Max Wertheimer
first to focus on abnormal behaviors, created psychoanalysis which believed all behavior and mental processes are directed by unconscious forces
Sigmund Freud
J.B Watson and B.F Skinner
founders of behaviorism which believed that psychology should only study what could be observed and measured objectively, external factors shape behaviorsJ.B Watson and B.F Skinner
correlation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
hindsight bias
understanding of a situation after an event happened, someone saying “I knew it” after an event
mean
the measure of central tendency, the average of a set of numbers
median
the measure of central tendency, the middle of a set when placed in ascending order
mode
the number that occurs the most in a set
range
variation, the difference between the highest and the lowest in a set of numbers
standard deviation
a measure of how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean
standard deviation percents
68% will fall within 1 standard deviation, 95% will fall within 2 standard deviations of the mean, 99% will fall within 3 standard deviations of the mean
