AP Psychology Unit 1

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes

Psychological Constucts

Abstract concepts used to understand and explain thoughts, feelings, and behaviors—such as intelligence, motivation, or anxiety.

Theory

An integrated set of proportions that can be used to account for, predict, and even suggest ways of controlling certain phenomena.

Principle

A fundamental truth, rule, or belief that serves as the foundation for a system of behavior, reasoning, or action.

Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental illnesses. They can prescribe medication and provide therapy.

Basic Research

The pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Empiricism

The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation.

Experimental Psychology

The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.

Humanistic Psychology

Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.

Cognitive Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with the cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Nature-Nurture Issue

The long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Natural Selection

The principals that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

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.

Evolutionary Psychology

The study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection.

Psychodynamic Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives in conflicts, influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

Behavioral Psychology

The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.

Cognitive Psychology

The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating.

Social-Cultural Psychology

The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

Psychometrics

The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

Developmental Psychology

The study of our changing abilities from womb to tomb.

Educational Psycholgy

The study of influences on teaching and learning.

Personality Psycholgy

investigates our persistent traits.

Social Psychology

How we view and affect one another.

Applied Research

The scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

The use of psychology’s concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, helps to boost morale and productivity.

Human Factors Psychology

The focus on the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments.

Counseling Psychology

helping people to cope with challenges, crises, And to improve their personal and social functioning.

Clinical Psychology

Assessing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

Psychiatry

The branch of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

SQ3R

The study method that incorporates the five principles of survey, question, read, rehearse, and review.

History : Egypt

• The first study

• Oldest modern civilization

• Develop the theory of personality and connection of behavior to the brain

History : Israel

• Linking mind and emotion to the body

• Believed that people thought with their hearts and felt with their bowels

History: China & India

• Education is key to a healthy mind

• Sensations + perceptions = ideas

History: Ancient Greece

• “Know thy self” -Socrates

• Bizarre behavior : abnormalities in the brain, not gods

• People are born with knowledge

• Examined motivation, sensation, intelligence, memory and emotions

History: Middle Ages

• Thought people were “possessed”

• People were being punished for sin/affected by the devil

• Water float test : “possessed” people were thrown into deep water (float = impure (killed) or sinking = pure (drowned)

History : Introspection

Looking within : the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes

History : Associationism

A theory that explains learning and thinking as the process of linking ideas or experiences together in the mind.

Forming a question

• psychological constructs (assumed present but cannot be seen or measured)

• Research questions revolve around behavior

• Specific and measurable behavior

• Will fighting fish fight each other if kept in a close environment?

Hypothesis

• An educated guess

• Usually formed as an If, then, because statement

• If fighting fish are put together then they will attack each other because they are in a close environment

Testing

• Hypothesis must be tested, otherwise it is not accepted as correct

• Opinion doesn’t matter

• Evidence determines conclusions

• Observing fighting fish in a bowl

Analyzing Results

• What do the findings mean?

• Interpreting observations

• Often takes weeks to months

• The fish never fought but puffed up, how could we interpret that?

Drawing conclusions

The process of making judgments or decisions based on evidence and reasoning.

Validation

• Establishing the soundness of an idea or theory

• Observations that do not support hypothesis result in changing theories and beliefs

• Must be willing to change your hypothesis based on findings

• If the fish backed away we could conclude they were fearful

Replication

• Repeat the study and see if the results are the same

• New questions are formed after studies to lead to new research questions

• Do fighting fish attack each other for territory or meeting processes?

• Process repeats

Beneficence and Maleficence

Protecting the rights and welfare of those involved, do no harm

Fidelity and responsibility

Holding others working in psychology to a high standard. Mentoring, peer review, holding others accountable, whistleblower.

Integrity

Do not deceive or misrepresent results, report data as it is, do not manipulate it to say what you want, be transparent.

Justice

Be fair and impartial, treat everyone equally, everyone has the right to access and benefit from advances in psychology.

Respect of rights and dignity

Privacy and confidentiality is kept for coworkers and participants, minimize your own bias, understand that psychology works with a lot of vulnerable groups.

Case study

• Examines one individual to reveal more about a population

• Suggest directions for further studies

• Individual studies can be misleading

• Does not examine behavior, just describes it.

Naturalistic observation

• Watching and reporting behavior in a natural environment

• A research method in which behavior is observed and recorded in its natural environment without interference or manipulation by the researcher.

Survey

• Used to determine the attitude and behaviors of populations

• Less quality more quantity

• Wording affects: Word choice affects how participants respond

Population

The total group of individuals we want to examine.

Sampling

Selecting participants for research

Random Sampling

Everyone in the population to be studied would have an equal chance of being chosen.

Systematic Sampling

Every Nth individual is selected from a list (ex. every 5th person)

Stratified Sampling

Researchers identify different people in the population and make sure each is represented properly.

Opportunity Sampling

Who is readily and willingly available.

Correlation vs causation

Correlation is when two variables move together, but one does not necessarily cause the other.

Causation means one variable directly affects or causes a change in the other.

Longitudinal Method

A research technique that involves studying the same individuals or group over a long period of time to observe changes and developments.

Cross-Sectional Method

A research technique that involves studying different individuals or groups at one point in time to compare and analyze differences between them.

Positive correlation

• Trends going in the same direction

• Both items being looked at can go up or down

• Ex. The girl is more stressed when she has more homework to do

Negative correlation

• Trends go in opposite directions

• One item being looked at goes up while the other goes down

• Ex. The girl sleeps less when she studies more

Structuralism

An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focuses on how our mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable us to adapt and flourish.

Gestalt psychology

A school of psychology that looks to explain how context influences how people interpret information. Similarity helps people to recognize patterns and respond. It can help fill in missing information and help problem solving become accomplished through insight and not repetition.

Behaviorism

A school of psychology that focuses on studying observable behavior rather than internal mental processes. It emphasizes that behavior is learned and shaped through interactions with the environment, especially through rewards and punishments.

Psychoanalysis

A theory and therapy that focuses on the unconscious mind and how past experiences influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Humanistic Psycholgy

Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth

Cognitive Psychology

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)