unit 1 review Flashcards
Wilhelm Wundt
father of psychology, combined physiology and philosophy and established the first psych lab in germany
structuralism
belief that understanding structure is more important than function, that mind must be broken into elements to understand the brain and its functions
introspection
looking inward to understand thoughts and emotions
functionalism
understanding how the conscious mind is related to behavior
William James
functionalist
early behaviorism
study of observable events, shift to more science based studies
John Watson
Little Albert Experiment, believed that observable events are the only ones that can be proven true
Gestalt Psychology
suggests the whole is different than the sum of its parts, and that humans see the greater whole
psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approaches
focus on the unconscious mind and past/childhood experiences. strongly influenced by Freudian ideas and principles
humanistic approach
belief that humans have free will and the ability to grow. all individuals strive for self-actualization and to reach their greatest potential.
evolutionary approach
uses evolutionary biology to explain human behavior, studies the connection of natural selection and to ancestors
biological approach
behaviors are based on physical processes (neurons, brain, chemicals)
cognitive approach
thought processes impact the way people behave
biopsychosocial approach
acknoledges all of a persons aspects, biological, psychological, and social
sociocultural approach
studies how thinking and behavior varies across cultures and situations
biological psychology
says that physical processes effect behavior (ex: anger is due to chemical imbalance in brain)
clinical psychology
branch of psychology that focuses on assessing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders
cognitive psychology
studies mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, and communicating
counseling psychology
focus on personal issues that are not classified as disorders, therapists that help people cope with challenges in their lives
developmental psychology
studies social, cognitive, and behavioral across lifetime, “womb to tomb”
educational psychology
study how psychological processes can impact or improve learning and education
experimental psychology
using experiments to study the relationship between behaviors and the mind
Industrial-organizational psychology
studies relationship between work and people to increase productivity and help companies
personality psychology
study of how personality affects the way we think and behave
psychometric psychology
focuses on psychological measurements and psychological examinations
social psychology
studies how humans affect one another and how we relate, think, and behave with each other
experiments
manipulating one or more independent variable to determine the effects
strengths:
1) can determine cause and effect
2) can be retested and proven
weaknesses:
1) potential ethical issues
2) low realism
correlational studies
looking at the relationship between two or more variables when performing an experiment is not an option
CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION
strengths:
1) easier to conduct than experiment
weaknesses:
1) can not determine cause and effect
survey research
collection of info reported by people about a certain topic
strengths:
1) cost-effective
2) mostly reliable
weaknesses:
1) low response rates
2) can not determine accuracy of indiv. responses
naturalistic observations
researcher observes subjects behavior without intervention
strengths:
1) natural setting is more reliable than lab
weaknesses:
1) hawthorne effect- people act differently if they know they are being watched
2) researches who observe the same behavior can draw different conclusions
case study
in depth observation of a person or group of people
strengths:
1) provides detailed info
weaknesses:
1) can not generalize to entire population
2) time-consuming
3) difficult to recreate
longitudal studies
same people are observed over a long period of time
strengths:
1) can show effects/changes over time
2) more accurate than cross-sectional study
weaknesses:
1) time consuming
2) expensive
cross-sectional studies
examines different groups of people at the same time (diff age, gender, etc)
strengths:
1) quick and easy to conduct
2) results can be generalized
weaknesses:
1) difficult to find a population that varies by only one factor
2) can not measure changes over time
basic research
learning more about something and expanding
applied research
answers a specific question and is used to solve a problem or do something practical
theory
made by researcher to try and explain what behavior is being observed
operational definition
used to avoid bias and describe something in a way that all researchers can use
independent variable
variable that changes in an experiment
dependent variable
variable that is being measured
confounding variable
outside influence that changes the effect if the independent and dependent variables
hawthorne effect
idea that people will act differently if they know they are being watched by a researcher
control variables
variables that remain constant throughout the experiment
random assignment
when participants are randomly assigned to a group
random sample
random portion of the population is selected
sampling bias
result of flawed sampling that produces unrepresentative sample
experimenter bias
when researchers influence the results of a experiment so it produces a certain outcome
hindsight bias
tendency to believe you knew it all along
overconfidence
when we are over confident about what we find or believe it can mislead others
external validity
refers to generalizable the experiment results are
internal validity
when a study shows a truthful cause and effect relationship
descriptive research
to observe and record behavior
correlational research
to detect naturally occurring relationships between things
experimental research
to explore cause and effect
descriptive statistics
use of numerical data to describe and measure certain characteristics
inferential statistics
uses statistical methods to make inferences of populations
correlation coefficient
statistical measure that shows strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
normal curve
bell shaped distribution
bimodal distribution
two peaks
positively skewed
extends to the right
negatively skewed
extends to the left
statistical significance
liklihood that something occurred by chance
ethical guidelines
informed consent
minimal deception
deception debriefing
protection from harm or discomfort
anonymity
no coercion
Institutional Review Boards (IRB)
committee that reviews research studies involving humans for ethics
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
reviews research studies involving animals for ethics violations
