Unit 1 Flashcards
Overt behaviour
Actions that are observable and visible to others
Goals of psychology
To describe, understand, predict and control behaviour and mental processes
Pseudoscience
A fake or Faldo science that seeks to explain data
Subjective data
Data that is collected through observation and participant’s self-report
Objective data
Data obtained by being directly observed or measured
Placebo effect
When a participant’s response is changed by their belief that they are receiving some kind of experimental treatment
Validity
Whether a questionnaire or scale actually measures what it is supposed to be measuring
Reliability
Whether a questionnaire or scale consistently measures what it is supposed to measure
Qualitative data
Data that describes the changes in the quality of a behaviour; often written in words
Quantative data
Data collected through systematic and controlled methodology; numerical in form
Case studies
An in-depth focus on all aspects of a single person
Naturalistic observations
Observing an animal or person in their natural environment
Self-report methods
A method asking participants to report what they are thinking or feeling
Survey method
A data collection method whereby participants ate asked to respond to a set of questions face-to-face, by mail, over the telephone or on the internet
Questionnaires
A written set of standardised questions about an individual’s attitude, beliefs, and/or behaviours
Interviews
A meeting between a participant and an interviewer to collect data for research
Longditudinal studies
A study that collects data over 2 or more periods in time, using the same participants
Cross-sectional studies
A study performed at one set period in time
7 steps of psychological research
- Identify the research problem
- Formulate a hypothesis
- Design the method
- Collect the data
- Analyse the data
- Interpret the results
- Report the findings
What is psychology?
The systematic study of behaviour and mental process including perception, cognition and emotion
Organisational psychologist
A psychologist who looks at ways to best use work places, in terms of team dynamics, communication, work output and performance
Neuropsychologist
A psychologist who diagnoses and treats problems associated with the brain and nervous system
Sports psychologist
A psychologist who works with coaches and athletes to provide optimal results for training, competition and recovery
Counselling psychologist
A psychologist who works with members of the community to resolve personal issues
Educational psychologist
A psychologist who works with troubled students to help then compose learning strategies to best suit their learning
Clinical psychologist
A psychologist who works with people in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues and the promotion of well-being
Forensic psychologist
A psychologist who works with offenders and victims of crimes to help them confront and deal with issues surrounding crime
Fields of psychology
- Forensic psychology
- Clinical psychology
- Educational psychology
- Counselling psychology
- Sports psychology
- Neuropsychology
- Organisational psychology
Perception (mental process)
Our attempt to give meaning to the information the outside world sends us
Cognition (mental process)
The process of thinking or mentally processing information e.g. thinking, knowing
Emotion
A psychological experience, otherwise known as a feeling eg anger, joys
Behaviour
Every action an individual engages in
Biological perspective
A perspective of psychology that uses principles of biology and evidence from the body to study mental processes and behaviour
Behavioural perspective
A perspective of psychology that explains human behaviour through studying observable actions
Cognitive perspective
A perspective of psychology that is interested in investigating internal mental processes, thoughts and memories
Socio-cultural perspective
A perspective of psychology that seeks to investigate how an individual’s behaviour is influenced by others
Confidentiality
A participant’s right to privacy in terms of access, storage and disposal of information related to research
Voluntary participation
Participation whereby participants agree to take part in an experiment free from pressure or fear of negative consequences
Debriefing
Where participants are informed of the of the study’s true purpose once an experiment has ended
Informed consent procedures
Consent to participate in writing form participants before an experiment; researchers must inform participants of the true nature and purpose of the experiment to obtain it
Experimental group
In a controlled experiment, the group of participants are exposed to the independent variable or experimental condition
Control group
In a controlled experiment, the group of participants that are exposed to all conditions except the independent variable or treatment
Independent variable
The variable manipulated by the experiment
Dependent variable
Variable that is dependent on the IV as indicated by the results of the experiment
Extraneous variable
Any randomly accruing variable in a study other than the IV that might change the DV
Confounding variable
Any systematic variable in a study, other that the IV that dies change the DV gender
Scientific method
A series of sequential scientific steps used when planning, conducting , interpreting and reporting research
Empirical evidence
Evidence which is obtained directly by observation or measurement
Population
The larger group of research interest from which a sample has been drawn
