Unit 1: Happiness, Positive Emotions, SWB, and Flow Flashcards
(105 cards)
What are 3 criteria that we can use to assess something as ‘positive’?
- Choice - people prefer to choose tings that are more positive
- Subjective Experience - aka pleasure
- Values - Based on religion, law, logic, morals, etc.
What are 4 ways we can apply the label ‘positive’ in positive psychology?
- Positive as good intentions
- Positive as an ideological perspective
- Positive as an appreciative stance
- Positive as a set of topics
How is positive psychology similar/different from self-help advice?
Positive psychology is based in empirical evidence. However, they both focus on what makes an individual happy
How is positive psychology similar/different from humanistic psychology?
Both sub-disciplines are focused on helping people thrive and go beyond alleviating suffering.
However, humanism is more focused on individual experience rather than generalizable truths. The research is typically qualitiative (cf. quantitative)
Why is it that correlations do not imply causation?
When two things are correlated, the causal direction could go in either direction. Even if one direction can be ruled out, there is the possibility that a third variable is the cause of the association
What is the key difference between correlational studies and experimental studies?
Correlational studies merely observes the association’s between things, whereas experimental studies manipulates something and compares groups that have been treated differently
Name an advantage and disadvantage for each of the correlational approach and the experimental approach
Correlational - Convenient, good starting point, and measured in a natural environment but cannot infer causality
Experimental - Control of variables allows for conclusions on causality but is often artificial and can still have the third variable problem
What makes positive psychology a science?
Rigorous testing and it follows the scientific method
Describe the independent and dependent variable
An independent variable is the part of the study that is manipulated
A dependent variable is the behaviour that is measured
What is the difference between an exact replication and a conceptual replication?
An exact replication is when the study repeats the same design/method and keeps the study as similar as possible
A conceptual replication is when the study assess the same topic/concept but changes the methods
What are at least 3 reasons studies fail to replicate?
- P-hacking: Having multiple unrecorded variables and cherry picking the variables that confirm the hypothesis
- The original studies findings were due to chance or were fraudulent
- Mistake or bias in replication study
- Adding statistical controls after analysis to modify the p-value
- Change in participants (cohort effects, differing social values, morals, etc.)
What are some ways we can/are improving replicability in psychology?
- Test potential moderators in new studies
- More open science practices –> Make materials, procedures, and data more available
- Reward replication efforts –> increased funding, offering replication issues, and/or rewards
What is the Reproducibility Project and what were the results?
The Reproducibility Project selected 100 studies published in 2008 and conducted an exact/direct replication.
They found that only ~1/3-1/2 found the same results and effect sizes were ~50% of original reports
Compare the ideas of growth mindsets and fixed mindsets. Which mindset is better for goal setting?
Individuals with growth mindsets (aka incremental theories) believe human characteristics are malleable
Individuals with fixed mindsets (aka entity theories) believe human characteristics are inborn and do not change
Growth mindsets encourage persistence and effort and therefore are better for goal setting.
According to goal setting theory, what kinds of goals are most effective?
A good goal is concrete with clear guidelines and timeframes. It also has to be appropriately challenging
What is the credibility revolution?
It describes dramatic changes in how psychologists conduct, report, and evaluate research. It is aimed at increasing confidence of findings.
Describe publication bias and why it is a concern
Publication bias is when journals refuse to publish replication studies or studies have null results, This causes replication failures to go unnoticed, leaving a distorted record of findings
Sometimes questionable practices are justified.
True or False
True - Studies with large samples use questionable practices. However, it only becomes a concern when researchers justify the practices only when they lead to a supportive p value
According to the goal setting theory what are 4 reasons goals are useful?
- They direct attention towards goal activities
- They energize behaviour
- They induce persistence while unmet
- They prompt people to engage in strategies and their knowledge to meet goals
Describe implementation intentions and how they are beneficial.
Implementation intentions are if-then rules created to elicit a specific behaviour under specific circumstances.
They remove the need for thought and assist with removing distractions or other obstacles.
What is the main difference between implementation intentions and habits?
Implementation intentions have clear intentions, whereas habits lack intention
Provide 2 examples of commitment devices
- Turning off the internet before reading to avoid distraction
- Deleting instagram off your phone during exam week
Describe temptation bundling and provide an example
Pairing an undesirable task (i.e. going to the gym) with a desirable task (i.e. listening to a trashy audiobook).
It works best when these activities are done simultaneously and the desirable task should only be available when completing the undesirable task.
What is a ‘basic emotion’ ?
A basic emotion is a momentary triggered response to a stimulus
