MacIntroPsych: Research Methods and Classical Conditioning

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering introductory psychology principles, experimental and observational research methodology, inferential statistics, classical conditioning paradigms, learning mechanisms, and homeostatic drug conditioning.

How does Discover Psychology define the scientific method?

A formal way of asking and answering questions to obtain the most accurate, objective information possible and sidestep the inaccuracies of common sense beliefs and assumptions.

What are the five overarching conclusions of MacIntroPsych?

$1$) Some of the things you know to be true about psychology are wrong. $2$) Perspectives in psychology change the focus of research questions and answers sought. $3$) Psychological processes are embedded in biology. $4$) Perception of the world is guided by prior experience, biases, and heuristics. $5$) We only have access to a limited subset of reality.

What is the difference between near transfer and far transfer of learning?

Near transfer of learning is a test of memory (e.g., recalling the role of meat powder in Pavlov's experiment), whereas far transfer of learning is a test of understanding applied to novel scenarios (e.g., identifying the role of a drug paired with an odor in a new experiment).

What famous animal subject in the history of psychology is shown here, whose apparent mathematical ability was revealed to be a response to subtle human cues?

Clever Hans (demonstrating the Clever Hans effect, where an animal reacts to unintentional cues from the handler rather than performing cognitive tasks independently).

What historical procedure, illustrated on this skull, involved opening a hole in the bone to release supposed evil spirits?

Trephining.

What are the seven steps of the scientific method in sequential order?

$1$) Construct a theory, $2$) Generate a hypothesis, $3$) Choose a research method, $4$) Collect data, $5$) Analyze data, $6$) Report findings, and $7$) Revise existing theories.

What is a paradigm shift, and what historical example from $1543$ illustrates this concept?

A dramatic change in our way of thinking; exemplified in $1543$ when Copernicus challenged the dogma that the Earth was at the center of the universe by proposing a heliocentric model.

Why is anecdotal evidence considered insufficient for drawing scientific conclusions?

A single personal experience may not represent subsequent experiences, personal experience may not reflect the experiences of others, and external unmeasured factors (such as test difficulty) may be the true cause of the observed change rather than the variable in question.

How do independent and dependent variables differ in an experiment?

The independent variable is the factor manipulated by the scientist, while the dependent variable is the outcome or measurement observed and recorded by the scientist.

What is a within-participants experimental design, and what is its primary vulnerability?

A design where the same subject is tested repeatedly under different levels of the independent variable (acting as their own control); its primary vulnerability is the practice effect (improved performance over time due to experience rather than the manipulation).

What is a between-participants experimental design, and what is a confounding variable?

A design where one group of participants receives the experimental manipulation while a separate group acts as the control; a confounding variable is any extraneous variable associated with the independent variable that obscures or complicates the true cause of the outcome.

What is the distinction between a population, a sample, and a random sample?

The population is the entire general group being investigated, the sample is the selected subset from whom data is collected, and a random sample is a subset chosen such that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected to ensure representativeness.

What is random assignment and what purpose does it serve?

Assigning participants to the experimental or control group purely at random to minimize preexisting individual differences and systematic biases between the groups.

What is the placebo effect, and how does participant blinding eliminate it?

The placebo effect occurs when an individual exhibits a response to a treatment that lacks actual therapeutic properties. Blinding participants (giving the control group an identical mock treatment) eliminates expectations from biasing results.

What is a double-blind experiment and why is it considered the gold standard?

An experimental procedure where neither the experimenter nor the participants know which group each participant belongs to, which minimizes both participant bias and experimenter bias.

How do the mean, median, and mode differ as measures of central tendency?

The mean is the numerical average of all scores (sensitive to outliers), the median is the middle value when scores are ordered numerically (robust to outliers), and the mode is the most frequently occurring value (usable with non-numerical data).

What does standard deviation measure in a dataset?

The average distance of each data point from the mean, indicating how spread out or clustered the scores are in a distribution.

What does a $t$-test calculate, and what threshold criterion establishes statistical significance?

A $t$-test calculates the probability (the $p$-value) that two samples were drawn from the same underlying population. A threshold of $p < 0.05$ ($5\%$ probability of obtaining the observed difference by chance alone) is required for statistical significance.

What is the distinction between a Type 1 error and a Type 2 error?

A Type 1 error is a 'false alarm' (concluding a difference exists when it does not), whereas a Type 2 error is a 'miss' (failing to detect a difference when a real difference does exist).

What is the range of the correlation coefficient ($r$), and what does an $r$ of $0$ indicate?

The correlation coefficient ranges from $-1$ to $+1$ (indicating direction and strength). An $r$ value of $0$ indicates that there is no linear relationship between the two variables.

Why does correlation not equal causation?

A strong correlation merely indicates that two variables change together, but it does not establish that one causes the other because an unmeasured confounding variable may be responsible for the association.

How is learning formally defined in psychology?

A relatively enduring change in behavior resulting from experience.

How did behaviorism define its focus, and who were three of its pioneer theorists?

A psychological orientation focused on measuring observable behavior rather than internal mental processes. Pioneers include Ivan Pavlov (reflexive responses to cues), John B. Watson (environmental interactions and effects), and B.F. Skinner (prediction and control of behavior).

What is the difference between habituation and sensitization?

Habituation is a decrease in behavioral responding to a repeated stimulus, whereas sensitization is an increase in behavioral responding to a repeated stimulus.

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?

The enduring strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons, representing a biological mechanism of learning.

What are the four core components of a classical conditioning paradigm?

Unconditioned Stimulus (US: automatically triggers a response without learning), Unconditioned Response (UR: biologically programmed reflex to the US), Conditioned Stimulus (CS: previously neutral stimulus paired with the US), and Conditioned Response (CR: learned response elicited by the CS alone).

What mathematical function characterizes the typical acquisition curve in classical conditioning?

A negatively accelerated increasing function, indicating that the majority of learning occurs during early training trials and plateaus over subsequent trials.

What is dietary neophobia, and how does taste aversion demonstrate specialized learning in rats?

Dietary neophobia is the innate avoidance of unfamiliar foods. Rats sample novel foods in small quantities, and if sickness occurs, they can acquire a conditioned taste aversion in a single trial.

What evidence proves that extinction is an active inhibitory process rather than unlearning?

Spontaneous recovery (the sudden reappearance of the CR following a rest period after extinction) and rapid reacquisition during retraining demonstrate that the original contingency remains intact but is inhibited.

What is stimulus generalization and how is it graphically represented?

The process by which stimuli physically similar to the conditioned stimulus elicit the conditioned response, represented by a bell-shaped generalization gradient centered on the original training stimulus.

In stimulus discrimination training, what do the CS+ and CS- signal?

The CS+ predicts the presence of the unconditioned stimulus (US), while the CS- predicts the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (US).

How do implosive therapy and systematic desensitization differ in treating phobias?

Implosive therapy abruptly confronts the client with their most feared CS in imagination without the US, whereas systematic desensitization involves gradual exposure moving up the generalization gradient while practicing relaxation.

What role do conditioned compensatory responses play in drug tolerance?

Environmental cues reliably paired with drug administration become CSs that elicit compensatory homeostatic responses (CRs) countering the drug's physiological disruption prior to ingestion, reducing the drug's net effect.

According to conditioning models, what causes enigmatic opiate overdose in experienced users?

Administering a typical drug dose in a novel or unfamiliar environment where familiar drug-taking cues are absent prevents the conditioned compensatory response from triggering, leaving the body unprotected against a lethal physiological effect.

Why were heroin relapse rates among returning Vietnam War veterans unusually low ($\sim 5\%$ compared to $\sim 20\%$ general civilian rates)?

The veterans consumed heroin in an environment defined by wartime cues; when they returned home, the entire constellation of environmental CSs that triggered conditioned compensatory cravings was removed.

What are the four essential facts to know about classical conditioning?

$1$) Classical conditioning generates multiple responses. $2$) It establishes preferences and aversions. $3$) It underlies various psychological conditions. $4$) Simply pairing the US and CS is not sufficient for conditioning to occur.