Week 1 - Introduction

Question 1

Empirical methods

Answer 1

approaches to data-gathering that are tied to actual measurement and observation.

Question 2

Systematic observation

Answer 2

consistent and careful monitoring of the natural world with the hope of better understanding it

Question 3

Unsystematic observation

Answer 3

generate ideas and to connect material to our own lives. These can be developed into logical ideas (hypotheses) and tested in experiments

Question 4

Errors (type I and II)

Answer 4

Type I error: a researcher finds that there is a relationship, while in reality there is none.
Type II error: a researcher finds no relationship, while in reality there is one.

Question 5

Scientific Theory

Answer 5

making sense of evidence regarding a particular phenomenon (accurate, consistent, simplistic, fruitful, falsifiable).

Question 6

inductive reasoning

Answer 6

a general conclusion is inferred from a set of observations

Question 7

deductive reasoning

Answer 7

a given premise determines the interpretation of specific observations (e.g., All birds have feathers; since a duck is a bird, it has feathers).

Question 8

ethics (5)

Answer 8

1. Informed Consent
2. Confidentiality
3. Privacy
4. Considering Benefits (weighing the potential risk of any experiment with the societal benefits, and informing participants of any risk)
5. Deception (When deception is required to ensure the accuracy of a study i.e. placebos, the participants must be debriefed following the conclusion of the study.)

Question 9

Hermann von Helmholtz

Answer 9

the first to propose a science of psychology, implying that the physical and psychological realities we experience are not always identical and that our senses are linked to our brains, rather than the outside world.

Question 10

Weber and Fechner

Answer 10

introduced psychophysics, which measured the relationship between physical stimuli and human perception (foundation for modern psychology)

Question 11

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 11

research led to the discovery that human reaction and consciousness could be examined using scientific means

Question 12

structuralism

Answer 12

describing the contents of the brain and the nature of consciousness

Question 13

functionalism

Answer 13

describing the functions of the brain and the utility of consciousness

Question 14

Gestalt psychology

Answer 14

focused not on individual parts of an experience, but rather our reaction to the greater experience as a whole (cognitive psychology)

Question 15

Behaviourism

Answer 15

disregarded consciousness and instead chose to focus on observable behaviour and its causes (typically considered to be one’s environment)