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AP Psych 23-24 > Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology > Flashcards

Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

How is psych a science?

Learning Objective 1-1

A

It has a scientific approach.
“Rat is always right” = psych investigates facts revealed by rigorous questioning + testing

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2
Q

Scientific Attitude

Learning Objective 1-2

A

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

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3
Q

critical thinking

Learning Objective 1-3

A

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

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4
Q

empiricism

Learning Objective 1-4

A

an idea developed in GB by Bacon & Locke that scientific knowledge comes from observation and experimentation

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5
Q

structuralism

Learning Objective 1-5

A

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.

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6
Q

functionalism

Learning Objective 1-5

A

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.

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7
Q

behaviorism (early psych)

Learning Objective 1-6

A

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

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8
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Future behavior is influenced by memory and analysis of past experience.

A

Cognitive psychology

Memory and analysis of experience = how we store information

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9
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Basic facial expressions of emotion are universal across many cultures.

A

Evolutionary psychology

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10
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Women around the world tend to choose older mates who will be good providers.

A

Evolutionary psychology

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11
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Behavior is motivated by forces that individuals may not understand or be aware of.

A

Psychodynamic psychology

Focus on aware of. = behavior may be driven by unconscious forces.

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12
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Personality is attributable more to genes than to environmental experience.

A

Biological psychology

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13
Q

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.

A

Sociocultural / social-cultural psychology

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14
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Behavior is powerfully influenced by its consequences, in the form of reinforcement and punishment.

A

Behavioral psychology

Behavioral psych studies stimuli and observable behavior.

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15
Q

Which psychological perspective best corresponds with this statement?

Behavior is motivated by self-actualization and the promise of human potential.

A

Humanistic psychology

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16
Q

Name the 7 Theoretical Perspectives of Psychology

A
  • Psychodynamic
  • Cognitive
  • Behavioral
  • Humanistic
  • Biological
  • Evolutionary
  • Sociocultural
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17
Q

Psychodynamic psychology

A

study of the unconscious mind and how past (childhood) memories shape behavior
How is this explained by unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

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18
Q

Cognitive psychology

A

study of how we encode, process, and retrieve info through mental processes
How do we use information in remembering, reasoning, and solving problems?

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19
Q

Behavioral psychology

A

study of observable and learned behavior, focusing on what’s measurable and triggered by stimuli
How do we learn to fear this situation?

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20
Q

Humanistic psychology

A

study of how humans can achieve personal growth and self fulfillment - study of the best self
How can we work towards fulfilling our potential?

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21
Q

Biological psychology

A

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?

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22
Q

Evolutionary psychology

A

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?

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23
Q

Sociocultural psychology

A

study of how societies and cultures influence behavior differently
How do we differ as products of our environment?

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24
Q

psychoanalytic psych (early psych)

A

Freud’s field in the 60s
emphasized how unconscious mind + childhood memories shaped behavior

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25
Q

humanistic psych (early psych)

A

Carl Rogers + Abraham Maslow’s field
rejected behaviorism, focused on human growth potential

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26
Q

cognitive neuroscience

A

an interdisciplinary field that studies the link between brain activity and cognition

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27
Q

psychology

A

the science of behavior and mental processes

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28
Q

nature-nurture issue

A

one of the biggest issues in psychology
longstanding debate over influence of genes vs experience in the dev of psychological traits + behavior

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29
Q

natural selection

A

Darwin’s theory that inherited traits that are best for survival will be passed down to future generations
greatly influenced evolutionary psychology

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30
Q

behavior genetics

A

study of the relative power/limits of genes/experience on behavior

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31
Q

culture

A

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))

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32
Q

positive psychology

A

scientific study of how humans flourish
led by Martin Seligman

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33
Q

biopsychosocial approach

A

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

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34
Q

testing effect

A

the enhanced memory gained after actively and repeatedly recalling information

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35
Q

SQ3R

A

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)

36
Q

Describe the difference between these two terms.

basic vs applied psychology

A

basic research increases the scientific psychological knowledge base, while applied research aims to solve practical problems.

37
Q

hindsight bias

A

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”)

38
Q

overconfidence

A

tendency to exaggerate the correctness /accuracy of our beliefs and predictions (and as a result, fail to seek out evidence that challenges them)

39
Q

theory

A

an explanation of behavior/events that organizes observations to predict future outcomes

40
Q

hypothesis

A

a testable prediction produced by a theory - specifies what conditions would/would not support it

41
Q

sampling bias

A

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample
ex: generalizing from a few vivid cases

42
Q

population

A

all those in a group being studied. samples are drawn from this group.

43
Q

random sample

A

a type of selection of participants where each member of a larger population has an equal chance of inclusion (fairly represents a large pop)

44
Q

case study: method, examples, pros and cons

A

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

45
Q

survey: method, examples, pros and cons

A

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

46
Q

naturalistic observation: method, examples, pros and cons

A

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

47
Q

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):

A

theory

48
Q

operational definition

A

a specification of how a researcher measures a research variable

49
Q

What is the main purpose of descriptive studies?

A

Case studies, naturalistic observation, and surveys observe and record behavior BUT DO NOT EXPLAIN IT.

50
Q

correlational study

A

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

51
Q

correlation

Module 6

A

a relationship between two variables. extent to which two variables coincide measured using a correlational coefficient (-1 to +1).
graphed via scatterplot

52
Q

positive correlation

A

when variables relate directly
ex: as height increases, weight increases

53
Q

negative correlation

A

when variables relate inversely
ex: as height increases, distance from ceiling decreases

54
Q

Does correlation equal causation? Why or why not?

A

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.

55
Q

illusory correlation

A

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

56
Q

regression toward the mean

A

tendency for extreme (low or high) / abnormal scores to regress (fall back) twds the average

57
Q

random assignment

A

in an experiment, assigning participants to experimental/control groups by chance - minimizes preexisting differences between groups (effectively equalizing them)

controls for confounding variables

58
Q

experimental study

A

the only research method that can show cause and effect between variables.
manipulates independent variable(s) + uses RA
generalizability to real world is limited

59
Q

double-blind procedure

A

a procedure where neither the participants nor the researchers know if the participant received a treatment or a placebo

decreases researcher bias (illusory correlation)

60
Q

placebo effect

A

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)

61
Q

experimental group

A

group exposed to a version of the independent variable in an experiment

62
Q

control group

A

group in experiment NOT exposed to independent variable - serves as comparison for experimental groups

63
Q

independent variable

A

the factor manipulated in an experiment

64
Q

dependent variable

A

outcome that is measured in an experiment (varies dependeing on the IV)

65
Q

confounding variable

A

a factor other than the one being studied that might influence an experiment’s results

66
Q

validity

A

the extent to which an experiment measures/predicts what it’s supposed to

67
Q

quasi-experiment

A

measurement of a dependent variable when random assignment is not possible
suggests cause and effect but lack of RA weakens conclusions

68
Q

What ethical guidelines safeguard human research participants?

A

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”

69
Q

What ethical guidelines safeguard animal research participants?

A

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”

70
Q

How do values affect psychological science?

A

what we study: choice of research topics
how we study it: wording effects due to bias (labeling)
interpretation of results: expectations influence perception

71
Q

skewed distribution

Module 8

A

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)

72
Q

What are the measures of central tendency?

A

mean: arithmetic average
median: midpoint (50th percentile)
mode: most frequently occurring

73
Q

standard deviation

A

measure of how much scores vary around the mean - low SD = low variance

74
Q

range

A

difference between highest and lowest scores in distribution - low range = low variance, usually

75
Q

How do the two measures of variation compare in usefulness?

A

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

76
Q

On a normal bell curve, what % of scores usually fall in one SD of the norm?

A

68%

77
Q

On a normal bell curve, what % of scores usually fall in two SD of the norm?

A

95%

78
Q

inferential statistics

A

numerical data that can be generalized from : one can infer form sample data the probability of something being true of a population

79
Q

What are the principles to keep in mind when observing a statistical difference?

A

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

80
Q

statistical significance

A

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

81
Q

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?

A

Structuralism

discusses introspection

82
Q

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?

A

Reliability - the consistency of their results
May need to create a better op def for friendliness

83
Q

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?

A

Participant confidentiality

84
Q

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.

A

II only.
1st is random assignment
3rd is not random in sci sense

85
Q

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?

A

Experiment

AP Psych 23-24 (10 decks)

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