ap psych unit 1-research methods and people

Aristotle

beginning of psychological thinking

Wihlem Wundt

Father of psychology; opened the first psychology lab in 1879 Germany. measured time after hearinga sound and pressing a button

Edward Fitchner

student of wundt. introduced structuralism - utilized introspection to explore mind 's

structural elements

introspection

examination of one's own mental & emotional process

William James

a functionalist considered functions of thoughts & feelings

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

behavior

anything an organism does

mental processes

internal experiences we infer from behavior

Sigmund Freud

austrian psychologist studied how emotional responses to childhood experiences & our unconscious affect our behavior.

behaviorism

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

humanistic psychology

against frued and behavioralism. importance of current environmental influence on growth potential needs for love & acceptance satisfied

cognitive neuroscience

how we relieve, process , & remember info

nature-nurture

controversy over contributions of biology & experience

neuroscience perspective

brain & body enable emotions,memories, & sensory experiences

evolutionary approach

studies how behaviors and mental processes of today exist due to natural selection

behavioral perspective

how we learn observable responses. behavior is learned

psychodynamic perspective

behavior springs from unconscious drives & conflicts. (childhood / memories)

cognitive approach

looks at attiudes, memories, perceptions, and expectations. all influenced behaviors and mental processes for individuals. focuses on how individuals process and remember info

social-cultural perspective

studies the impact of a person''s culture, nationality, religion, gender, social, norms, and other cultural aspects, on a person's behavior and mental processes

introspection

looking within / brain. Wilhelm Wundt - structuralism. William James - functionalism

gestalt psychology

the different ways individuals group stimuli together in order to make a whole that makes sense to them. These principles are divided up into five categories: proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure.

Psychoanalysis

freud's theory of personality that attributes our thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

behavioralism

actions. early / mid 1900s. cared how you acted, not how you felt. behaviors are learned through observation. broken down to operant and classical conditioning.

electric

today. 7 perspectives to analyze situations

humanistic

humans are naturally good and seek to reach their full potential through free will. goal to life is to reach sef-actualization.

why can we not rely on hindsight bias?

hindsight bias & judgemental overconfidence

hindsight bias

realizing / knowing what to do after event has occurred.

("I knew it all along ")

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Barnum effect

People have the tendency to see themselves in vague, stock descriptions of personality. ex.horoscopes , MBTI , etc.

scientific inquiry

The diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on evidence they gather.

what does scientific inquiry fix?

overconfidence

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Theory

well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations

hypothesis

testable predictions produced by "good'' theories

operational definitions

statements of procedures used to define research variables. helps replicate study w/ clear predictions that are testable

confounding variables

anything that could impact the dependent variable that is not due to the independent variable

random sampling

everyone equal chance of participation. makes results unbiased!

wording effect

different wording holds different impacts on people

case study

observation. technique - one person studied in depth to reveal universal principles

naturalistic observation

watching subjects in natural environment

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 (inverse) to 1 (direct)

illusory correlation

perception of a relationship where none exists, or perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

z-score

measures distance of a score from the mean

normal distribution

A function that represents the distribution of variables as a symmetrical bell-shaped graph. (68 - 95 - 99.7%)

skew descriptions

positive, right skew (bell on the left). negative,left skew (negative) bell on right

statistical significance

probability that results are due to chance. less varying observations=reliable data set

inferential statistics

discover whether findings can be applied to larger pop p -value < 0.05s for statistical significance. if higher, results due to chance

Hawthorne / Observer Effect

if people know they are being studied . they don't act natural

experimenter bias/expectancy effects

experimenter looks for certain effects

American Psychological Association (APA)

professional organization representing psychologists in the United States. created ethical guidelines in 1993

informed consent

participants must be informed about research & potential risks

right to be protected from harm

researchers may conduct studies that involve harm & discomfort but only under certain circumstances

Confidentiality

the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals

debriefing

participants must relieve a full explanation of the research when their involvement is done

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

id, superego, ego

Id is natural instincts. Superego is morals and ideals. Ego is logical and rational. psychanaylsis aka freud.

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential

biological approach

an approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

basic research

pure research that aims to confirm an existing theory or to learn more about a concept or phenomenon

applied research

research undertaken to solve a specific problem

population and sample

Entire group v. Small part of population (Whole v. Part)

stratified sample

a sample drawn in such a way that known subgroups within a population are represented in proportion to their numbers in the general population

sampling bias

A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.

experiements

Preferred method for answering questions about cause and effect

correlational research

research that seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between two factors exists

Surveys

research in which a representative sample of people are asked (often anonymously) questions about their attitudes or behavior

logitudinal studies

Follow same person, or group of people, over a long period of time. Advantage: same subjects, results maybe more reliable. Disadvantage: time, money, subjects drop out or move

cross-sectional studies

A type of research design that compares individuals of different ages to determine how they differ

causal relationship

cause and effect; when a change in one variable causes a change in another variable

controlled experiement

an experiment in which all variables except one are kept constant

cofounding variables

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

3rd variable problem (lurking variable)

diff. variable is responsible for relationship (breast implants and suicide)

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

single and double blind studies

In single blind studies, the experimenter (or observer) is aware of who or what belongs to the control group and the experimental group. In double blind studies, the experimenter is not aware of who/what belongs to which group. This is to eliminate the subjective bias an experimenter may have

placebo effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Control and experimental groups

control is the group that either is not exposed to the treatment or receives a zero level of the independent variable. experimental is the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

quasi-experiment

An experiment in which investigators make use of control and experimental groups that already exist in the world at large. Also called a mixed design.

reliability and validity

consistency; accuracy. Techniques for evaluating the relationship between measured and conceptual variables