Unit 1 Flashcards
Psychology
study of mind and behavior
Basic Psychology
Psychology as a whole, very broad
Applied Psychology
Using psychological methods to solve problems dealing with humans (human behavior)
Goals of psychology
To describe and explain behaviors
Subfields of psychology
8 distinct types of psychology
Psychoanalytic perspective
A personality theory that explains behaviors based on unconscious feelings
Behavioral perspective
John B. Watson founded: anything you can’t measure didn’t belong in psychology; we are conditioned to make associations
Humanistic perspective
Carl Rogers founded: considers how important human needs are; free will
Cognitive perspective
Focuses on how people think, remember, use information, and why you think the way you do
Evolutionary perspective
Human behavior is based off our adaptations from our ancestors that lead to success in the past
Natural selection
Biological/physical traits in an organism that increases survival rate; (will be passed to offspring)
Biological perspective
Explains behavior as having physical cause
Socio-cultural perspective
Behavior is shaped by society and culture
Biopsychosocial model
More complete understanding of mental and behavioral processes. Biological + social culture + psychological influences
Introspection
Wilhelm Wundt technique: “participants” reflect and report their own thoughts and feelings
Empiricism
Idea that all knowledge comes from experience
Hindsight bias
Tendency to believe we could’ve predicted the outcome
Overconfidence
People tend to overestimate how correct they are
Confirmation bias
Tendency to better remember information that supports what you believe and ignore information that goes against it
Scientific method
Experimental research method
Reliability
Consistency in data over time
False consensus effect
Tendency to overestimate how common our own opinions are
Naturalistic observation
Watching behavior without interfering in natural habitat
Hawthorne effect
Behavior may change due to being watched
Laboratory observation
Watching behavior without interfering in a lab setting
Case study
In depth study of an individual or group (usually rare)
Meta-analysis
Reviews results of other studies to gain a more accurate understanding
Survey
Non experimental research methods; asks people questions about their behavior/attitude
Social desirability effect
Tendency to put a more favorable answer than the truth
Framing (“wording effects”)
Way a question strongly influences an answer
Scatterplot
Identifies possible relationships between changes observed in 2 different sets of variables
Line of regression
Line of best fit-shows the direction in a group of points
Correlation coefficient
a # represented by “r” that ranges from -1.0 to +1.0
r
Correlation coefficient
Positive correlation
Two variables will increase or decrease together
Negative correlation
As one variable increases the other will decrease
Hypothesis
A testable prediction usually using “if, then” statement
Experimental design
Describes the way things/info is distributed
Independent variable
Variable that the scientist controls/changes
Dependent variable
Variable being tested/measured due to exposure of the IV
Operational definition
Describes precise procedures and measures
Cofounding variable (“third variable problem”)
Extra factor that interferes with the dependent variable
Directionality problem
When its already known that the two variables are related, but not which one is the cause versus which one is the effect
Validity
Did the test measure what it needed/aimed to measure
Experimental group
Group exposed to the IV
Control group
Group that gets no treatment or a placebo
Sample
A small portion of something that represents a whole
Representative sample
The sample that most accurately represents the whole group/population
Population
All the cases in a group being studied that can be sampled
Random selection
Form of sampling that ensures everything has an equal chance of being picked – – limits bias
Random assignment
Each participant has an equal chance of being placed into any group (limits effects of cofounding variables)
Sampling bias
Sample selected that doesn’t represent the population being studied
Quasi-experimental design
Differences between experimental and control group is predetermined because of variable being studied already exist
Qualitative measures
Non-numerical data
Quantitative measures
Numerical data
Placebo effect
When a person believes they’re experiencing changes, even though they’re only taking a placebo
Single-blind study
Do not let participant know if they are in the experiment or control group
Experimenter bias
Expectations of the researcher, may influence perception of results by giving clues on how to respond
Double-blind study
Participant and researchers don’t know who has received the IV
Likert scale
How strongly you feel about something
Histogram
A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution
Descriptive statistics
They describe data: Measure Of Central Tendency (MOCT) and Measure of Variation (MOV)
Normal curve
Bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data
Measure of Central Tendency
A single score that represents a whole set of scores
Mode
They most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution
Mean
The average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores
Median
The middle score in a distribution
Positively skewed distribution
When a few outliers are much higher than the mean
Negatively skewed distribution
When a few outliers are much lower than the mean
Multimodal distribution (bimodal distribution)
Multiple modes; two or more scores appear most frequently
Measures of variability
Shows you how similar or diverse your score are: range, standard deviation
Range
Subtract the lowest score from the highest score to see how far apart they are
Standard deviation
Calculates how far apart scores are and determines how far each individual score varies from the mean
Z-score
Indicates how far away that score is from the mean
Inferential statistics
Used to determine if thee results from the sample can be applied to the population
p value
A number describing how likely it is that results were due to chance
Statistical significance
Proof beyond reasonable doubt that the results were NOT due to chance, but rather due to the IV
American Psychology Association (APA)
Organization that represents psychologist in the United States
Institutional Review Board
Federally-mandated, locally-administered groups charged with evaluating risks and benefits of human participant research at their institution
Informed consent
The participant is given enough info on the study to make a decision on his/her participation
Debriefing
When an experimenter tells the subject more info about the studies purpose and procedures after the study is completed
Research confederates
Individuals who seem to be participants but in reality are part of the research team
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
Federally mandated committee – – that oversee its institutions animal care and use program, facilities, and procedures
Wilhelm Wundt
Father of psychology
-started first psych lab
Sigmund Freud
Founded dynamic/psychoanalytic perspective. Believed behavior is driven by our “unconscious“ mind
John B. Watson
Founded behavioral perspective. Wanted psychology to be a real scientific discipline. We’re conditioned to make associations
Carl Rogers
Founded humanistic perspective. Unconscious mind/rewards and punishments argued we have free will
Charles Darwin
Adopted evolutionarily perspective. Says human behavior is due to our adaptations from ancestors that has led to success— in the past
