units 1-2: psych history/research methods (1-8) Flashcards
knowledge belief: socrates & plato
knowledge is innate
knowledge belief: aristotle
knowledge is learned
knowledge belief: rene descartes
knowledge is innate & hollow nerves run from brain to body to induce movement
knowledge belief: francis bacon
people follow and remember things that complement their ideas
knowledge belief: john locke
table rasa & empiricism
tabla rasa
blank slate
empiricism
knowledge originates in experience, so science should rely on observation and experimentation
wilhelm wundt
father of psychology
established the first psych lab at John Hopkins
birth of modern psych
1879
3 early schools of psych
structuralism
functionalism
behavioralism
2 later schools of psych
psychoanalysis
gestalt psychology
edward titchener
school of structuralism
self-reflective introspection
(def) structuralism
an early school of psychology used to reveal the structure of the human mind
promoters of structuralism
wundt & titchener
william james
school of functionalism
thinking developed in response to evolution
conscious
(def) functionalism
early school of thought exploring how mental and behavioral processes function
promoters of functionalism
darwin & james
mary calkins
first female president of the APA
margaret washburn
second female president of the APA
synthesized animal behavior
1920 psychology definition
the “science of mental life”
experimental psych
the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method
john watson & bf skinner psychology
behavioralism
scientific study of observable behavior
(old def) behavioralism
school of psychology viewing that it is (1) an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes
**most agree with 1 but not 2
2 main forces of psychology
behavioralism & freudian psychology
freudian psychology
emphasized unconscious thought processes and childhood experiences affect our behavior
first psych rebellion
humanistic psychology
led by carl rogers & abraham maslow
second psych rebellion
cognitive neuroscience
today’s def of psychology
the scientific study of behavioral and mental processes
(def) mental processes
internal, subjective experiences inferred from behavior
nature-nurture debate
the long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
charles darwin
natural selection
evolution
levels of analysis
the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
(def) biopsychological approach
integrated approach using all the levels of analysis
3 behavioral/mental processes
biological, psychological, and socio-cultural influences
biological influences
natural selection of adaptive traits, genetic predispositions responding to environment, brain mechanisms, hormonal influences
psychological influences
learned fears and other learned expectations, emotional responses, cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations
socio-cultural influences
presence of others, cultural/societal/family expectations, peer and other group influences, compelling models (such as in the media)
behavioral
how we learn observable responses
biological
how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences
cognitive
how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information
evolutionary
how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
humanistic
how we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment
psychodynamic
how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
socio-cultural
how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
psychometrics
the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits
basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
biological research
exploring the links between brain and mind
developmental research
studying changing abilities from birth to death
cognitive research
experimenting with how we perceive, think, and solve problems
educational research
studying influences on teaching and learning
personality research
investigate our persistent traits
social research
exploring how we view and affect one another
basic research branches
biological, cognitive, developmental, educational, personality, social
(def) applied research
the scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
industrial-organizational (i/o) research
the application of psych concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in workplaces
human factors research
i/o subfield that explores people-machine interaction and how machines/physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
counseling research
a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving better well-being
clinical research
a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
psychiatric research
medical branch dealing with psych disorders **can provide medicine and therapy
positive research
scientific study of human function with goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive
community research
psych branch that studies how people interact with their social environment and how social institutions affect individuals and groups
applied research branches
industrial-organizational, human factors, counseling, clinical, psychiatry, positive, community
cognitive psych (basic)
the scientific study of all the mental activities (thought processes, perception, language, attention, problem solving, memory, judgement, decision making, forgetting, intelligence)
developmental psych (basic)
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout one’s life span
educational psych (basic)
the study of psychological processes in learning and the relationship between learning/physical/social environment
experimental psych (basic)
the study of basic behavioral processes in humans and animals
psychometric/quantitative psych (basic)
methods and techniques used to acquire psych knowledge
social psych (basic)
the study of interactions between people and how beliefs/feelings/behaviors influence and are affected by attitudes, others, aggression, prejudice, interpersonal attraction, group behavior, and leadership
forensic psych (applied)
applying psych principles to legal issues
health psych (applied)
the psych branch promoting health and preventing disease
industrial-organizational psych (applied)
the psych branch that studies the relationship between people and their working environment
neurological psych (applied)
the study of neurological processes and behavior
rehab psych (applied)
the study of people who have lost optimal function post-accident, illness, etc
school psych (applied)
the study of children in educational settings
sports psych (applied)
the study of psych factors that are influenced in participating in physical activity
community psych (applied/helping)
psych branch dealing with the broad problems of mental health in community settings
clinical psych (applied/helping)
the study of psychological health in individuals, groups, and organizations
counseling psych (applied/helping)
psych branch dealing with lifestyle changes and transitions while helping the patient use their skills, abilities, and talents
brain operates on 2 levels
conscious and unconscious
(def) hindsight bias
“i knew it all along” phenomenon; the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
what leads us to overestimate intuition
hindsight bias, overconfidence, and our tendency to perceive patterns in random events
the 3 attitudes
curiosity, skepticism, and humility
(def) critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
(def) theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
(def) hypothesis
a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
(def) operational definition
a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study
3 methods to test a hypothesis
descriptive, correlational, and experimental methods
(def) case study
study of one individual in great detail
(def) naturalistic observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
(def) surveys & interviews
a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group
(def) population
all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn
(def) random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
importance of a sample
- representative 2. large 3. small
* *one can not compensate for an unrepresentative sample by adding more people
(def) correlation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and therefore of how well either factor predicts the other
(def) correlation coefficient
a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)
(def) scatterplots
a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation)
positive correlation (#)
1
negative correlation (#)
-1
no correlation (#)
0
correlation does not
prove causation
(def) illusory correlation
perceived yet nonexistent correlation
(def) experiment
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
(def) experimental group
the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested
(def) control group
the group that does not receive the experimental treatment
(def) random assignment
randomly sorting participants into groups - minimizes differences
(def) double-blind procedure
neither the experimenter nor the subject knows what group the subjects are in - reduces bias
(def) placebo effect
the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior
(def) independent variable
the manipulated experimental factor
(def) compounding variable
factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
(def) dependent variable
the outcome factor, which may change in response to the manipulated variable
descriptive method use:
to observe and record behavior
correlational method use:
to detect naturally occurring relationships and assessing how 1 variable predicts another
experimental method use:
to explore cause and effect
what should be doubted
big, rounded, undocumented numbers
(def) descriptive statistics
numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups (measures of central tendency and variation)
(def) histogram
a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution
(def) mean
average (all the numbers added/the # of numbers)
(def) median
the middle number (list numerically and find the middle)
(def) mode
most frequently occurring score(s)
(def) skewed distribution
a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value
(def) outlier
an unusually small or large data value
(def) left skewed distribution
small outlier
(def) right skewed distribution
large outlier
measures of central tendency
mean, median, mode
measures of variability
range and standard deviation
(def) range
the difference between the highest and lowest score
(def) standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
(def) inferential statistics
numerical data that allows the generalization of a population from sample data
generalizations are unreliable when:
if based on a few unrepresentative cases
(def) statistical significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
**when sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large
to be reliable, the percent of statistical significance is:
<5%
(def) culture
behaviors/ideas/attitudes/values/traditions shared by a group of people and passed from one generation to the next
culture influences:
standards, behaviors, individual goals, and group goals
(def) informed consent
an ethical principle in which potential research participants are told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate or not
(def) debriefing
the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants
our perceptions influence:
observation and interpretation
APA urges what in the ethics of animal research
comfort, health, and humane treatment as well as minimizing pain, infection, and illness
APA urges what in the ethics of human research?
informed consent, protection from physical/emotional harm & discomfort, participant confidentiality, debriefing
3 main branches of psych
clinical, academic, industrial
7 roots of psych
psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, neuro-biological, evolutionary, socio-cultural
teacher of psychodynamic psychology
freud
teachers of humanistic psychology
maslow & roger
teachers of cognitive psychology
loftus
teachers of neuro-biological psychology
gazzaniga
SQ3R study method
survey, question, read, retrieve, review
