Unit 1 Flashcards
structuralism
structure of the human mind
functionalism
how mental and behavioral processes function
behaviorism
study of psychology by studying the behavior of individuals
cognitive psychology
focuses on how we take in, process, store, and retrieve information
humanism
focuses on conscious experience freedom of choice and capacity for personal growth
psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes
rationalism
believe knowledge was gained from logic and reason
empiricism
believe knowledge is based on observation and experimentation
dualism
believed mind and body were separate
monism
believed mind and body were two aspects of the same thing
introspection
looking within and reporting thoughts, feelings, and sensations ex: meditation
nature/nurture
controversy over how much genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
natural selection
among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will be passed on
evolutionary psychology
study of evolution of behavior of the mind using principles of natural selection
positive psychology
study human functioning and promote strengths to help people thrive in life
basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
applied research
study that aims to solve practical problems
counseling psychology
assists people with problems of living to achieve a better life
clinical psychology
treats people who have psych disorders
psychiatrist
medicine (doctor) that helps with psych disorders
community psychology
how people interact with environments and institutions and help affect them
intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. instead it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
theory
an explanation using the integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
hypothesis
a testable prediction often implied by a theory
operational definition
a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study
replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic findings extend to other participants and circumstances
case study
a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in-depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
naturalistic observation
a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation
survey
a technique for obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group
population
all those in the group being studied
random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because every member has an equal chance of inclusion
correlation
the measure of how two variables vary together and how each factor predicts each other
correlation coefficient
a statistical index of the relationship between two things (-1 to 1)
scatterplot
a graph of clustered dots that represents the values of two variables
regression towards the mean
the tendency for extreme, unusual scores of events to fall back toward the average
experiment
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more variables to observe the effects of someone’s behavior
social-cultural perspective
focuses on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
biological perspective
focuses on the physical structures and substances affecting behavior, thought, or emotion
false consensus effect
the false belief that most people agree with you
illusory correlation
the perception that a correlation exists when it does not
independent variable
the variable that the experimenter controls/manipulates
dependent variable
expected to change as a result of the experiment
experimental group
group on which the main part of the study is being done
control group
used for comparison purposes
random assignment
which group a participant is placed in is determined completely by chance
placebo
substance or condition assumed to be active that is not
double-blind procedure
neither the experimenter nor the participant knows who is in the control condition
type l error
concluding hypothesis is true when it is false
type ll error
concluding hypothesis is false when its true
mean
average of all data points
median
middle data point
mode
data point that appears most often
positively skewed distribution
both variables move in the same direction
negatively skewed distribution
variables move in opposite direction
range
max score - min score
standard deviation
a measure of how much scores vary from the mean
statistical significance
describing data that is probably not due to chance
p values
what statistical significance is expressed in
ethics
moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity
overconfidence
expecting to do well without actually putting in effort, being too confident in something
industrial/organizational psychology
psychology used to study, analyze, and understand human behavior in the workplace
perspective
the ability to view objects, events, and ideas in realistic proportions and relationships
plato
rationalist, monist, nature
aristotle
empiricist, dualist, nurture
descartes
rationalist, nature
locke
empiricist, nurture
wundt
introspection, father of psych, first psych lab
what methods do psychologists use to describe behavior?
case study, survey, natural observation
what methods do psychologists use to predict behavior?
correlation
what method do psychologists use to prove cause and effect?
experiment
what are the four principles of experimental ethics?
confidentiality, debriefing, informed consent, and protection from harm
gestalt psychology
emphasizes the tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
