Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology Flashcards
How is psych a science?
Learning Objective 1-1
It has a scientific approach.
“Rat is always right” = psych investigates facts revealed by rigorous questioning + testing
Scientific Attitude
Learning Objective 1-2
helps separate reality from fantasy in examining our or others’ ideas
1) Curiosity - “Does it work?” - can predictions be supported by the data
2) Skepticism - “How do you know?” - healthy doubt; skeptical but not cynical, open but not gullible
3) Humility - willingness to accept new / unpredicted ideas
critical thinking
Learning Objective 1-3
a type of thinking that, rather than blindly accepting ideas/args, evaluates assumps/ev/biases to come to + critique conclusions, putting ideas to the test
empiricism
Learning Objective 1-4
an idea developed in GB by Bacon & Locke that scientific knowledge comes from observation and experimentation
structuralism
Learning Objective 1-5
Wundt & Titcher’s school of thought that emphasized the study of mind’s structure (basic behavior every human exhibits) through introspection - internal observation of mental processes
Struc vs func set stage for divide between basic and applied psych research.
functionalism
Learning Objective 1-5
William James’ early school of thought that emphasized studying how the mind works (and how thinking / behavior affects human life)
Struc vs func set stage for divide between basic and applied psych research.
behaviorism (early psych)
Learning Objective 1-6
John Watson and BF Skinner’s field in the 60s
the view that psychology should be an objective science AND studies behavior, not mental processes
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Future behavior is influenced by memory and analysis of past experience.
Cognitive psychology
Memory and analysis of experience = how we store information
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Basic facial expressions of emotion are universal across many cultures.
Evolutionary psychology
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Women around the world tend to choose older mates who will be good providers.
Evolutionary psychology
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Behavior is motivated by forces that individuals may not understand or be aware of.
Psychodynamic psychology
Focus on aware of. = behavior may be driven by unconscious forces.
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Personality is attributable more to genes than to environmental experience.
Biological psychology
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
One limitation of our understanding of behavior is that most research has been conducted on subjects from North America.
Sociocultural / social-cultural psychology
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Behavior is powerfully influenced by its consequences, in the form of reinforcement and punishment.
Behavioral psychology
Behavioral psych studies stimuli and observable behavior.
Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?
Behavior is motivated by self-actualization and the promise of human potential.
Humanistic psychology
Name the 7 Theoretical Perspectives of Psychology
- Psychodynamic
- Cognitive
- Behavioral
- Humanistic
- Biological
- Evolutionary
- Sociocultural
Psychodynamic psychology
study of the unconscious mind and how past (childhood) memories shape behavior
How is this explained by unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?
Cognitive psychology
study of how we encode, process, and retrieve info through mental processes
How do we use information in remembering, reasoning, and solving problems?
Behavioral psychology
study of observable and learned behavior, focusing on what’s measurable and triggered by stimuli
How do we learn to fear this situation?
Humanistic psychology
study of how humans can achieve personal growth and self fulfillment - study of the best self
How can we work towards fulfilling our potential?
Biological psychology
study of biology and psychology in tandem, which includes neuropsychology, behavioral genetics. senses, and other bio processes
How do pain messages travel through the body?
Evolutionary psychology
study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, which includes natural selection, adaptation , survival, and the “cultural universal” (another form of adaptation)
How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?
Sociocultural psychology
study of how societies and cultures influence behavior differently
How do we differ as products of our environment?
psychoanalytic psych (early psych)
Freud’s field in the 60s
emphasized how unconscious mind + childhood memories shaped behavior
humanistic psych (early psych)
Carl Rogers + Abraham Maslow’s field
rejected behaviorism, focused on human growth potential
cognitive neuroscience
an interdisciplinary field that studies the link between brain activity and cognition
psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue
one of the biggest issues in psychology
longstanding debate over influence of genes vs experience in the dev of psychological traits + behavior
natural selection
Darwin’s theory that inherited traits that are best for survival will be passed down to future generations
greatly influenced evolutionary psychology
behavior genetics
study of the relative power/limits of genes/experience on behavior
culture
shared ideas and behavior passed down from one generation to another
((even when behavior varies across culture, the underlying mental processes are mostly the same))
positive psychology
scientific study of how humans flourish
led by Martin Seligman
biopsychosocial approach
a multifaceted lens that incorporates 3 viewpoints in analyzing behavior, allowing for a more complete understanding
BIO: genetic traits, mutations, natural selection
PSYCHO: learned fears, emotional responses, cognitive processes
SOCIAL: peer, group, family cultural, media, and societal influences
testing effect
the enhanced memory gained after actively and repeatedly recalling information
SQ3R
a study method:
Survey (scan for big pic)
Question (answer big Q)
Read (actively search for answers, take notes)
Retrieve (pause to test understanding)
Review (read notes, test yourself more)
Describe the difference between these two terms.
basic vs applied psychology
basic research increases the scientific psychological knowledge base, while applied research aims to solve practical problems.
hindsight bias
the tendency for ppl to believe that, after learning the outcome of an event, that they would’ve foreseen it. (“I knew it all along”)
overconfidence
tendency to exaggerate the correctness /accuracy of our beliefs and predictions (and as a result, fail to seek out evidence that challenges them)
theory
an explanation of behavior/events that organizes observations to predict future outcomes
hypothesis
a testable prediction produced by a theory - specifies what conditions would/would not support it
sampling bias
a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample
ex: generalizing from a few vivid cases
population
all those in a group being studied. samples are drawn from this group.
random sample
a type of selection of participants where each member of a larger population has an equal chance of inclusion (fairly represents a large pop)
case study: method, examples, pros and cons
studies an individual or group in depth in the hopes of revealing universal principles about humanity
strengths:
* very revealing of rare phenomena due to depth of study (that’d otherwise be unethical/impossible to replicate)
weaknesses:
* atypical cases can be misleading
* anectdote is more dramatic but less able to be generalized
example: little hans - Freud studied his extreme fear of horses to extrapolate his theory of childhood sexuality + unconscious mind
survey: method, examples, pros and cons
asking people questions that self-report their behavior and opinions. holds many cases in less depth.
strengths:
* fast, cheap
* fairly represents a large pop when random + large sample used (but random is most important)
weaknesses:
* highly sensitive to wording effect (ppl have different opinions depending on how you phrase things)
* unrepresentative sample / response bias gives misleading results
Example: political polling takes a random sample of the American population in national election surveys
naturalistic observation: method, examples, pros and cons
recording natural behavior of many individuals in natural situations
Strengths:
* illuminates natural human behavior w/o the artificial manipulation of a lab
Weaknesses:
* can’t control all factors that influence behavior
* observer bias and subject self consciousness can distort results
Example: Jane Goodall observing chimps
Professor Ezike contends that parents and children have similar levels of intelligence largely because they share common genes. Her idea is best described as a(n):
theory
operational definition
a specification of how a researcher measures a research variable
What is the main purpose of descriptive studies?
Case studies, naturalistic observation, and surveys observe and record behavior BUT DO NOT EXPLAIN IT.
correlational study
a research method that detects naturally occurring relationships, assessing how well one variable coincides with another
uses pure statistical association
CANNOT SHOW CAUSE AND EFFECT
correlation
Module 6
a relationship between two variables. extent to which two variables coincide measured using a correlational coefficient (-1 to +1).
graphed via scatterplot
positive correlation
when variables relate directly
ex: as height increases, weight increases
negative correlation
when variables relate inversely
ex: as height increases, distance from ceiling decreases
Does correlation equal causation? Why or why not?
NO: correlation suggests possible cause-effect relationship but does not prove it.
X could lead to Y, Y could lead to X, or Z could lead to X and Y.
illusory correlation
perceiving a connection where none exists (or less than what’s actually perceived)
happens when we believe there is relationship - search for cases to only confirm belief
regression toward the mean
tendency for extreme (low or high) / abnormal scores to regress (fall back) twds the average
random assignment
in an experiment, assigning participants to experimental/control groups by chance - minimizes preexisting differences between groups (effectively equalizing them)
controls for confounding variables
experimental study
the only research method that can show cause and effect between variables.
manipulates independent variable(s) + uses RA
generalizability to real world is limited
double-blind procedure
a procedure where neither the participants nor the researchers know if the participant received a treatment or a placebo
decreases researcher bias (illusory correlation)
placebo effect
when experimental results come from a participant assuming they are given an active agent when they’re not
results caused by expectations alone (despite inert agent)
experimental group
group exposed to a version of the independent variable in an experiment
control group
group in experiment NOT exposed to independent variable - serves as comparison for experimental groups
independent variable
the factor manipulated in an experiment
dependent variable
outcome that is measured in an experiment (varies dependeing on the IV)
confounding variable
a factor other than the one being studied that might influence an experiment’s results
validity
the extent to which an experiment measures/predicts what it’s supposed to
quasi-experiment
measurement of a dependent variable when random assignment is not possible
suggests cause and effect but lack of RA weakens conclusions
What ethical guidelines safeguard human research participants?
APA ethics code:
informed consent : giving enough info to potential participants about a study for them to be able to choose
debriefing : after a study, explaining purpose + deceptions to participants
confidentiality of participants’ identities
protection of participants against physical/mental/emotional risk
“Cee, Let me take a dip”
What ethical guidelines safeguard animal research participants?
government regs (standards for humane care + housing) to minimize pain/discomfort of animals
assoc + funding grps: guidelines - acquire animal subjects legally, clear sci purpose
“Care that’s humane, minimize pain, legal obtain, scientific gain”
How do values affect psychological science?
what we study: choice of research topics
how we study it: wording effects due to bias (labeling)
interpretation of results: expectations influence perception
skewed distribution
Module 8
score set that lacks symmetry around the mean
ex: most Americans make less than mean US income BUT median much less than mean (because the uber-rich make mean deceptively high)
What are the measures of central tendency?
mean: arithmetic average
median: midpoint (50th percentile)
mode: most frequently occurring
standard deviation
measure of how much scores vary around the mean - low SD = low variance
range
difference between highest and lowest scores in distribution - low range = low variance, usually
How do the two measures of variation compare in usefulness?
Range = crude estimate (really high outlier makes set seem more diverse)
SD = more useful - uses info from each score so better measures diversity in distribution
On a normal bell curve, what % of scores usually fall in one SD of the norm?
68%
On a normal bell curve, what % of scores usually fall in two SD of the norm?
95%
inferential statistics
numerical data that can be generalized from : one can infer form sample data the probability of something being true of a population
What are the principles to keep in mind when observing a statistical difference?
1) representative samples > biased samples
* best basis for generalizing sample findings to a whole pop
2) less variability > more variability
* mean, etc. more reliable
3) more cases > less cases
* less cases can have more variable outcomes
statistical significance
attributed to a difference between samples when sample means are reliable and dissimilar
p < 0.05 = less than 5% chance that difference occurs by chance
says nothing about practical significance (real world importance) of result
Dr. Sampson is considering following this procedure.
Present a participant with an object, such as a can of soda. Have the subject report their perceptions or experience of the can.
What school of thought would this follow?
Structuralism
discusses introspection
Charlotte and Tamar are lab partners assigned to research who is friendlier, girls or boys. They find their friendliness ratings often differ. With what research concept should they be most concerned?
Reliability - the consistency of their results
May need to create a better op def for friendliness
Professor Ma wants to design a project studying emotional response to date rape. He advertises for participants in the school newspaper, informs them about the nature of the study, gets their consent, conducts an interview, and debriefs them about the results when the experiment is over. If you were on the IRB, which ethical consideration would you most likely
have the most concern about in Professor Ma’s study?
Participant confidentiality
Which of the following is an example of random sampling?
1. Picking out of a hat to assign each of three classes to an experimental condition.
II. Having a computer generate a random list of 100 high school students.
III. Approaching any 50 students during sixth-period lunch.
II only.
1st is random assignment
3rd is not random in sci sense
Which method should a psychology researcher use if she is interested in testing whether a specific reward in a classroom situation causes students to behave better?
Experiment
