Unit 1: Foundations of Psychology Flashcards
Hippocrates
thought the mind or soul resided in the brain but was not composed of physical substance (mind-body dualism)
Plato (circa 350 BC)
Greek philosopher—believed in “nature” due to self-examination of inner ideas and experiences
Aristotle
Plato’s student—believed in “nurture,” that the mind/soul results from our anatomy and physiological processes (monism), and that reality is best studied by observation
Descartes
defended mind-body dualism (Cogito ergo sum—“I think, therefore I am”) NATURE
John Locke
believed that mind and body interact symmetrically (monism), knowledge comes from observation, and what we know comes from experience since we are born without knowledge, “a blank slate” (tabula rasa)
nature-nurture controversy
which our behavior is inborn or learned through experience.
Gustav Fechner
invented the idea of the “just noticeable difference” (the smallest change in a stimulus that can be noticed by a human observer)
charles darwin
british guy—theory of natural selection
Wilhelm wundt
developed the theory of structuralism and created one of the first psychological laboratories
Titchener
contributor to structuralism, Cornell University, investigated elements of consciousness
G. Stanley Hall
first president of the APA, psychologist who brought introspection to Johns Hopkins
Margaret Floy Washburn
first woman to get a PhD in psych
William James
founder of functionalism—opened one of the first psychological labs
Ivan Pavlov
pioneer of classical conditioning and learning experiemnts
Herman Ebbinghaus
studied when and how people could remember lists of nonsense syllables
Sigmund Freud
founded psychodynamics
John B. Watson
pioneer of behaviorism
Frederic Bartlett
studied cognitive and social process of remembering stuff
Jean Piaget
studied cognitive development in children
r.f. skinner
pioneer of behaviorism
foundation of psychology
In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt founded scientific psychology by founding a laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, to study immediate conscious sensation
introspection
introspectively analyze your sensory experiences (inward-looking)—identify sensations, feelings, and images as the basic elements of consciousness
Functionalists
William James, James Cattell, and John Dewey—believed humans actively processed sensations and actions and wanted to apply psychological findings to practical situations
behaviorism
measuring and recording observable behavior in relation to the environment—dominated psychology in America from the 1920s to the 1960s
antecedent (in the study of behaviorism)
environmental conditions that precede a behavior
behavior (in the study of behaviorism)
the action to understand, predict, and/or control
consequences (in the study of behaviorism)
what follows the behavior (its effect on the environment)
psychodynamic/psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney, Heinz Kohut—aimed to reveal unconscious conflicts, motives, and defenses and studied how early life experiences influence desires, thoughts, and memories
Humanism
Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers—believed that free will and personal growth shape behavior and thought and that people are naturally positive and growth-seeking. solved problems through interviewing people about their unique perspective on the issue
evolutionary psych
explain behavior patterns as adaptations naturally selected because they increase reproductive success. comes from darwin’s theory of evolution
cognitive psych
receiving, storing, and processing information, thinking and reasoning, and language to understand human behavior. e.g. Jean Piaget
sociocultural
examines cultural differences to understand, predict, and control behavior
biopsychosocial model
integrates biological processes, psychological factors, and social forces to provide a more complete picture of behavior and mental processes
clinical psychologists
evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in places like hospitals, community health centers, and private practice
counseling psychologists
help people adapt to change or make changes in their lifestyle.
developmental psychology
study psychological (intellectual, moral, and social) development throughout the life span in places like schools, senior centers, social work centers, etc.
educational psychologists
focus on how effective teaching and learning take place in places like universities and labs
forensic psychologists
apply psych principles to legal issues. are concerned with the numerous facets of the law, such as determining a defendant’s competence to stand trial, or whether a victim has suffered psychological or neurological trauma
health/positive psychologists
concentrate on biological, psychological, and social factors involved in health and illness and create programs to fix it in places like hospitals, rehab centers, public health agencies, and private practice
organizational psychologists
apply psychological principles and methods to the workplace to emphasize employee health and well being
industrial psychologists
apply psychological principles and methods to the workplace to emphasize performance appraisals, job design, and selection and training.
neuropsychologists
explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behavior.
psychometricians
focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing psychological data e.g. through intelligence and personality tests, experiments, etc.
social psychologists
focus on how a person’s mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people
variable
factors with multiple values
independent variable
what the researcher manipulates
dependent variable
the factor that may change as a result of manipulating the independent variable.
how to prove cause and effect
controlled experiment
population
all the individuals in the group to which the study applies
sample
a subgroup of the population.
random selection
when a sample is chosen randomly, i.e. through picking out of a hat, random number generator, choosing every fifth name in an alphabetized list, etc.
experimental group
receives the treatment
control group
does not receive the treatment.
between-subjects design
The participants in the experimental and control groups are different individuals.
confounding variables
Differences between the experimental group and the control group other than those resulting from the independent variable.
“operational definition”
describes the specific procedure used to determine the presence of a variable
inferential statistics
are used to interpret data and draw conclusions.
statistical significance
is a measure of the likelihood that the difference between groups results from a real difference between the two groups rather than from chance alone.
meta analysis
provides a way of statistically combining the results of individual research studies to reach an overall conclusion.
experimenter bias (experimenter expectancy effect)
a phenomenon that occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained.
demand characteristics
The clues participants discover about the purpose of the study, including rumors they hear about the study suggesting how they should respond.
single blind procedure
a research design in which the participants don’t know which treatment group—experimental or control—they are in.
double blind procedure
a research design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group.
placebo
The imitation pill, injection, patch, or other treatment
placebo effect
is now used to describe any cases when experimental participants change their behavior in the absence of any kind of experimental manipulation.
within subjects design
A research design that uses each participant as his or her own control.
counterbalancing
a procedure that assigns half the subjects to one of the treatments first and the other half of the subjects to the other treatment first.
quasi experimental research
Quasi-experimental research designs are similar to controlled experiments, but participants are not randomly assigned
correlational research
Correlational methods look at the relationship between two variables without establishing cause-and-effect relationships.
naturalistic observation
Naturalistic observation is carried out in the field where naturally occurring behavior can be observed.
survey
researchers use questionnaires or interviews to ask a large number of people questions about their behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes.
retrospective (ex post facto) study
look at an effect and seek the cause.
tests
Tests are procedures used to measure attributes of individuals at a particular time and place.
reliability
consistency or repeatability
validity
the extent to which an instrument measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
case study
an in-depth examination of a specific group or single person that typically includes interviews, observations, and test scores.
elementary statistics
a field that involves the analysis of numerical data about representative samples of populations.
descriptive statistics
Numbers that summarize a set of research data obtained from a sample (e.g. mean, median, mode)
frequency distribution
an orderly arrangement of scores indicating the frequency of each score or group of scores.
histogram
a bar graph from the frequency distribution
frequency polygon
a line graph that replaces the bars with single points and connects the points with a line
measures of central tendency
describe the average or most typical scores for a set of research data or distribution.
mode
most frequently occurring score in a set of research data
bimodal distribution
research data that has two modes (I.e. two numbers appear most frequently)
multimodal distribution
research data that has more than two modes
median
the middle score when the set of data is ordered by size
mean
the arithmetic average of the set of scores.
normal distribution (normal curve)
a symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents data about how many human characteristics are dispersed in the population
skewed distribution
Distributions where most of the scores are squeezed into one end
variability
the spread or dispersion of scores for a set of research data or distribution.
range
the largest score minus the smallest score.
variance and standard deviation
indicate the degree to which scores differ from each other and vary around the mean value for the set.
standard score (z-score)
enables psychologists to compare scores that are initially on different scales.
percentile score
indicates the percentage of scores at or below a particular score.
correlation coefficient
A statistical measure of the degree of relatedness or association between two sets of data, X and Y
who created ethical guidelines and code of conduct for psychologists?
american psychological association
what are the ethical guidelines
discuss intellectual property frankly, be conscious of multiple roles, participation must be voluntary, AND informed consent
informed consent principles
participants must know about: purpose, expected duration, and procedures of the research;
their right to leave or refuse anything at any time; consequences of doing so;
factors that might influence their willingness to participate (e.g. risks, discomfort, side effects); research benefits; confidentiality agreements; incentives for participation, if any
