Unit 1: Foundations & Research Methods Flashcards
Sigmund Freud
Created psychoanalytical (how unconsciousness/childhood experiences impact behavior
Mary Whiton Calkins
-1st female president of American Psych Association
-Pioneering memory researcher
Charles Darwin
-Evolutionary theorist
-influenced James in the idea of FUNCTIONALISM
Dorothea Dix
-reformer, led way to humane treatment of psych disorders
G. Stanley Hall
-Wundt’s American student
William James
-influence from Darwin (FUNCTIONALISM)
-principles of psych/Harvard teaching
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Ivan Pavlov
-study of learning, study on getting dogs to drool
Jean Piaget
-DEVELOPMENTAL
-theory of cognitive development
Carl Rodgers
-humanistic (personal growth potential)
B.F. Skinner
-BEHAVIORISM (study of observable behavior)
Margaret Floy Washburn
-1st female psych PhD (doctor of philosophy) & 2nd APA President
-Animal Mind Book
John B. Watson
-BEHAVIORISM
Wilheim Wundt
-Created 1st Psych lab
Structuralism
-used introspection(look inward) to reveal human mind structure, report experience elements
-proved unreliable (varied results + too subjective)
Functionalism
-how mental/behavioral processes function & enable organisms to adapt, survive, flourish
Early Behaviorism
Psych = only studied in objective observations (behavior due to reinforcement (award/punishment) & measurements
-thoughts & hidden parts of mind = irrelevant (behavior w/o mental processes) {not rly agreed upon}
Gestalt
-organized whole, emphasized tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
-how unconscious drives & conflicts influence behavior/uses info to treat psych disorders (unconscious = role in everything)
Humanistic
-emphasized human growth, potential
-rejected behaviorist def. (too limiting)
Evolutionary Approach
-shifting in behavior & mind, uses natural selection(survival of the fittest) principles
Biological Approach
-links between biological(genetic, neural, hormonal) & psych processes
-body & brain = dominant influencers of behavior/thinking
Cognitive Approach
-mental processes, when we: perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, solve problems. z
-links between brain activity & cognitive processes
Biopsychosocial Approach
-incorporates: bio, psych, social culture viewpoints
-more focused theoretical predictions
-each itself = incomplete (all off a way of looking at mental/behavioral positions).
Socioculture
-how situations/cultures affect behavior.thinking
-might explore how anger expressions vary culturally
Different Domains of Psych - Biological
-study link between brain & mind in behavior regulations
-How the body and brain enables emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with the environment to influence individual differences
Clinical
-treat disorders & behavioral/emotional problems
-interview clients, testing, group/individual therapy
-Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Cognitive
-focus on mental processes involved in perception, learning, memory, & thinking
-How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information
Counseling
-assist ppl with problems in living (ex: school, work, marriage) & greater well-being
Development
-study our changes from birth to death
-Studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan
Educational
-how psych processes affect & enhance teaching/learning
Experimental
uses experimental methods to study issues
-pure science that conducts research in order to contribute more knowledge to the field
Industrial - Organizational
-advise business on how to improve workers & raise efficiency
-Uses psychology’s concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems
Personality
-study our traits (behavior consistency (thinking, feeling, and acting) + what represent shapes/personality)
Psychometric
-study of abilities, attitudes, traits (measurement of behavior, capability thru tests)
-closely tied to experimental psychology
Social
-how we interact in groups (inter painful behavior & social forces in governing behavior)
-how we think about, influence, and relate to one another; studies influence of groups on a person’s thinking and behavior and how the groups to which we belong influence our attitudes
Positive
-human flourishing goals: discovering/promoting strengths & values that help ppl thrive
- strengths and values that enable individuals and communities to thrive - field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences in love, work, and play; study of happiness and how to make people and communities happier
Research Methods (types) - Experiments
-how doe we determine if 1 variable has a direct effect on another
-can isolate cause & effect, control factors (manipulation) of the factor(s) of interest, hold constant (controlling) factors
purpose: to observe/determine effects on behavior/mental process
strength: can determine cause & effect
weakness: 1) potential ethical issues 2) artificial environ creates low realism
Correlational Studies
purpose: measures how much 2 factors vary & how well either factor predicts the other
strength: 1) easier to conduct 2) can be used when an experiment is not possible
weakness: cannot determine cause & effect
-helps predict but does NOT imply cause & effect
Survey & Research
- looks at many cases at once, word effects, random samplings -> representative sample at random
purpose: obtains self-reported attitudes/behavior of a particular group
strength: 1) cost-effective 2) most reliable
weakness: 1) low response rates 2) can’t verify individual response accuracy
Naturalistic Observation
-describes behavior does NOT explain behavior (most accurate) observes group w/o them knowing
purpose: obtains self-reported attitudes/behavior of a particular group
strengths: natural setting = more reliable than lab
weakness: ppl behave diff when they know they’re being watched` 2) Hawthorne effect = 2 researchers could see same behavior but draw diff conclusions (subjective)
Case Studies
-suggests further study, cannot discern general truths (does not apply to everyone)
purpose: individual group of rare circumstances = studied to reveal universal principles
strengths: provides detailed info
weakness: 1) cannot generalize results wider population 2) difficult to replicate 3) time-consuming
Longitudinal Studies
purpose: follows & retests same ppl over time
strengths: 1) can show effects of changes over time 2) more powerful than cross-sectional studies
weakness: 1) requires lots of time 2) expensive
Cross-sectional studies
purpose: compares ppl of diff ages at the same time point
strength: 1) quick & easy to conduct 2) generalizable results
weakness: 1) difficult to find pop that differs by only 1 factor 2) cannot measure changes over time
Independent Variable
factor being manipulated to see its affects (studied)
Dependent Variable
outcome that is measured and may change when IV is manipulated
Control Group
group NOT exposed to treatment
contrasts w/ experimental group
comparison for evaluating treatments effect
Confounding variable
a factor other than IV that may influence study’s results
Experiments can be useful for determining cause & effect
given a cause and effect hypothesis, experiments can demonstrate results consistent w/ hypothesis
The use of experimental controls reduces alternative explanations
prevents factors other those being studied from affecting the outcome
Random assignment is needed to demonstrate cause & effect
only way to be sure abt cause & effect
Correlational research can indicate if there is a relationship association between 2 variables but cannot demonstrate cause & effect
investigates relationships w/o researcher controlling/manipulating them
Random Selection
selects members of a population for your study’s sample
Random assignment
Study participants are assigned to experiment/treat control group using a random procedure
Measures of Central tendency
mean(avg), median(middle-put all values in order first), mode(most)
Variation (Range/Standard Deviation)
Standard d: computed measure of how much scores vary around mean score
Range: difference between highest & lowest scores in a distribution
Correlational Coefficient
statistical index of the relationship between 2 things
Frequency distribution (normal, bimodal, pos/neg skew)
Bimodal: probability distribution w/ 2 modes (local max & min)
Normal: theoretical, continuous, symmetrical, bell-shaped, distribution function
Positive: distribution more peaked than usual
Negative: distribution = flatter than usual
Skew: presents scores that lack symmetry around their avg value
Identify how ethical issues inform & constrain research practices
if it harms them mentally/psychically it could affect them for the rest of their lives thus researchers must ensure experiments are ethical
How ethical & legal guidelines protect research participants/promote sound ethical practice
American Psych Association guidelines
Federal guidelines
Local Institution Review Board (IRB)
Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
-informed consent
-debrief: researcher explains purpose behind study (after)
-deception(has to be included in debrief, being lied to for study/cannot harm *ok to an extent)
-confidentiality
-right to withdraw at any time
