Unit One: History and Research Flashcards
Thorndike
connectionism, puzzle boxes and cats, edu psych, behavorist
Hall
student of Wundt, first US lab, first APA prez, invited Freud to the US, promoter of eugenics
Wilhelm Wundt
telegraph experiment, first psych lab (1879), structuralism
Margaret Washburn
first female psych phD, second female APA prez, The Animal Mind, experimental psychologist
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
current environment increases or decreases growth, needs of love and acceptance
Pavlov
classical conditioning
William James
functionalist, hired Mary Calkins, Principles of Psych.
Descarte
mind is separate from body, cognito ergo sum
Wertheimer
gestalt psychology
Plato
knowledge is innate, mind is separate from body
Francis Bacon
founder of modern science, humans look for order and remember patterns, empiricism
Aristotle
three part soul, mind is blank, observation
Freud
unconscious thought, childhood experiences
Soctates
Socratic method, doubt, mind is separate from body
Caulkins
prez of APA, “I” think, Harvard refused her degree
Edward Titchner
structuralism, introspection
John Locke
an essay concerning human understanding, birth mind is blank, empirisism
John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner
observable behavior
Darwin
natural selection, functionalism
What are the seven perspectives?
behavioral, biological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, psychodynamic, social-cultural
Psychometrics
the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits
Levels of analysis
the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
Biopsychosocial approach
an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
Applied research
a scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
Functionalism
an early school of thought that was promoted by James and influenced by Darwin that explored how mental and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish
Empiricism
the idea that what we know comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge
Behavioral approach
in personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development
Biological approach
the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal, etc) and psychological processes
Humanistic psychologists
a historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people
Behaviorism
the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes
Developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Social-cultural psychology
the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking
Humanistic psychology
a historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people
Evolutionary psychology
the study of the evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection
Cognitive neuroscience
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
Industrial-Organizational (IO) psychology
the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in the workplace
Personality psychology
the study of an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Social psychology
the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Educational psychology
the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning
Positive psychology
the scientific study of human functioning with the goal of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive
Psychiatry
a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy
Clinical psychology
a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Counseling psychology
a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being
Human factor psychology
an IO psychology subfield that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
Psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes
Cognitive psycholgy
the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Experimental psycholgy
the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method
Community psychology
a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups
Range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
Skewed
a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value
Mode, Median, and Mean
the most frequently occurring scores in a distribution, the middle score in a distribution (half are above, half are below), the arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores
Histogram
a bar graph depicting a frequency distrubution
Descriptive statistics
numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups (central tendency and measures of variation)
Culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
Statistical significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance (p-value should be less than or equal to .05)
Inferential statistics
numerical data that allows one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population
Standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
Normal curve
a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean and fewer and fewer are found near the extremes .1-2-13.5-34-34-13.5-2-.1
Natural selection
the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
Nature-Nurture Issue
the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
Debrief
the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants
Informed consent
an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate
Hypotheses
a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions, rather it examines assumptions, assesses the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
Hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
Correlate and Correlation coefficient
a measure of the extent to which two variable change together and thus of how well either variable predicts the other
a statistical index of the relationship (-1 to 1)
Survey
a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group
Naturalistic observations
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Case study
a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
Replicate
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
Operational definitions
a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study
Scatterplots
a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables; the slope of the points represents the direction of the relationship between the two variables; the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlationq
Illusory correlation
the perception of a relationship where none exists
Experiment
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (IV) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (DV)
Sampling bias
a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample
Population
all those in a group being studies, from which samples may be drawn
Random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Independent variable
the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied
Confounding variables
a factor other than the IV that might produce an effect in an experiment
Dependent variable
the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable
Validity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
Experimental group
the group exposed to the treatment, to one version of the IV
Random assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the two groups
Theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
Structuralism
an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchner that used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind
Psychodynamic psychology
a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders
Double-blind procedure
both the participants and the staff do not know if the participants received the treatment or a placebo
Placebo effect
results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes in an active agent
Control group
the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment
