unit 1: history & research methods Flashcards
psychology
defined as the scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings
structuralism
a perspective designed by wundt and tichener which aimed to break things into very small parts to study them
wundt & tichener
designed perspective of structuralism
introspection
- their process of analysis, breaking things down into small sensations and perceptions
- this was the first perspective in all of psychology
functionalism
- in opposition to structuralism
- designed by william james
- took the work of darwin, even further, to see how our behavior and mental processes allowed us to: adapt, survive, and flourish
william james
designed the functionalism perspective
unconscious mind
sigmund freud stressed the importance of the unconscious mind and behavior
american psychology association (APA)
one of the biggest organizations in psychology
british psychological society
one of the biggest organizations in psychology
nature vs. nurture
psychology’s big debate
darwin
his theory of natural selection said that nature selects those that are most capable to survive and flourish
neuroscience (biological)
focus – the brain
words to associate - brain
evolutionary (biological)
focus - how humans and animals evolve over long periods of time
words to associate - darwin, evolution, natural selection
behavior genetics (biological)
focus - born, with nature, learned nature
words to associate - nature vs. nurture
psychoanalytic/psychodynamic
focus - the unconscious
words to associate - unconscious, freud
behavioral
focus - learning through behavior, not thinking
words to associate - learning, rewards (reinforcements), punishments, skinner, pavlov, watson
cognitive
focus - emphasis on thinking, not behavior
words to associate - thinking, memory language, intelligence
social-cultural
focus - culture impact on thinking, and behavior
words to associate - culture vs. culture
humanistic
focus - free-will, love, acceptance, positive you want people, “hippie perspective”
words to associate - healthy growth potential, maslow, rogers
biological psychologist
do research on the brain
developmental psychologist
do research on changing abilities from womb to tomb
cognitive psychologist
do research on thinking, memory, language, intelligence
personality psychologist
do research on persistent traits
social psychologist
do research on how we view and effect others
clinical psychologist
work with people suffering from psychological disorders
counseling psychologist
help people with problems (marital, family, etc.)
educational psychologist
work with students in a school setting
industrial/organizational psychologist
work with employees in a work setting
psychiatrist
the difference between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist is that a psychiatrist has a medical degree (MD) and can prescribe and use medication (drugs) on patients
the hindsight bias
when people believe that they could have predicted the outcome of an event after it has happened
ex. realizing now that it’s over, you could have predicted it
overconfidence
when someone thinks they know more than they actually do
ex. thought it would take you less time to do a project
critical thinking
does not accept arguments and conclusions blindly
theory
an explanation that connects organizes and predicts, behavior or events
ex. low self-esteem and depression are related
hypotheses
a testable prediction often set up by a theory it allows us to except reject or revise our theory
ex. depression causes low-self-esteem
operational definition/replication
a good operational definition gives good instructions so that others can repeat a study, known as replication
case study
technique where one person is studied in depth
clinical study
a form of case study, where a therapist studies a client
survey
questioning a representative sample of people to find out: attitudes, opinions, or behaviors
wording effect
refers to the fact that the way a survey is worded can effect how people answer it
false consensus effect
if you overestimate the extent to which others are similar to you
population
whole group to be studied
sample
the actual people who are studied
random sampling
if everyone has an equal chance to be studied
stratified sample
if you split your group up (ex. gender, age) then randomly assign
naturalistic observation
when you observe and report about animals or humans in their natural environment
correlation
when one trait or behavior pairs with another, we say the two correlate
correlation coefficient
we represent correlations like this: r = +0.37 or r = -0.65.
scatterplot
a graph comprised of points that are generated by values of two variables
positive correlation
(perfect positive correlation) (+1.00)
- between two things means that the presence of one thing predicts the presence of the other
negative correlation
(perfect negative correlation) (-1.00)
- means that the presence of one thing predicts the absence of the other
no correlation
(no relationship) (0.00)
illusory correlation
believing a relationship between two variables were no relationship actually exists
experiments
backbone of psychological research because through it we can try to find cause and effect relationships
experimental group
the group receiving the treatment
control group
the group not receiving the drug/treatment
independent variable
the factor that we manipulate
ex. soda/no soda
dependent variable
the factor that may change because of the independent variable
(this is what we are interested in)
ex. memory
confounding variables
(only two variables should be present during any experiment, the IV and DV)
- a variable that we DON’T want to show up
participant-relevant confounding variable
people in the control group are different from people in the experimental group
ex. 50 men, 50 women for soda & memory
situation-relevant confounding variable
the situation isn’t equal
ex. night vs. day for soda & memory
placebo effect
the subjects believe the experiment will work, so their mind makes it work
experimenter bias
the person running the experiment affects the results in a way that benefits them
participant bias
the participant in an experiment acts like they believe they are “supposed to act”
hawthorne effect
people change their behavior just because they know they are being watched
double-blind procedure
procedure neither the patient nor the experimenters’ assistants will know who is in the manipulated and control groups
random assignment
giving each person an equal chance to be in either group
central tendency
single score to represent a group of scores
mean
- average
- add them up and divided by the total number
median
middle number when ranked in numerical order
mode
the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
variation
one number to represent your spread-out your data
range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary about the mean
(determined by how many standard deviations they fall away from the mean)
variance
standard deviation squared
t-test
give a t-test (to measure how far apart your two sets of data are)
when is a difference significant? (when you can start to think your numbers are important?)
p-value
receive a p-value (the difference between the two groups. the lower the better)
when is a difference significant? (when you can start to think your numbers are important?)
ethical rules for animals
- must have a clear purpose
- must care for the animals humanely in between experimentation
- must provide the LEAST amount of suffering possible for the animal to run your desired experiment –> does the possible good come out to overweigh the harm
insitutional review board (IRB)
ethical rules for humans
- must volunteer (not forced/coerced)
- must have informed consent (they must know they are part of a research study)
- confidentiality (you must keep their identity a secret/anonymity)
- cannot be placed at significant physical or mental harm/risk
- must debrief (told what the study was about, and after given contact info to follow up)
insitutional review board (IRB)
informed consent
they must know they are part of a research study
debrief
told what the study was about, and after given contact info to follow up
confederate
an actor who participates in a psychological experiment pretending to be a subject but in actuality working for the researcher
confidentiality
you must keep their identity a secret / anonymity
