History of Psychology & Research Methods

Flashcards covering the history of psychology, various perspectives, research methods, and basic statistics.

Humanistic Perspective

Believes that we choose all of our behaviors and those are guided by our needs

Psychodynamic Perspective

Believes that behaviors stem from the unconscious mind and can be understood by studying dreams

Biopsychology Perspective

Believes that everything is gene-related or hormone/neurotransmitter related

Evolutionary Perspective

Our behaviors are passed down from ancestors for survival

Behavioral Perspective

Learned behaviors through conditioning

Cognitive Perspective

How we remember and see the world; interpretations impact behavior and mental process

Social-Cultural Perspective

Looks at how cultural norms impact our behavior

Biopsychosocial Perspective

Combination of biological (genetics), social, and psychological factors to explain how we think

Hindsight Bias

Thinking you knew what would happen all along

Confirmation Bias

Believing only things that support your own ideas

Overconfidence

Being overconfident about what you believe in

Applied Research

Research to solve practical problems

Basic Research

Questions about things that psychologists have with no immediate real-world application

Quantitative Research

Using numbers in research

Qualitative Research

Using complex measures, such as themes of textual

Hypothesis

A researcher's ideas about how one thing impacts another, can be supported through research or experiments

Variables

Elements of experiments

Independent Variable

What is being manipulated/changed

Dependent Variable

What is being measured/tested

Falsifiable

The hypothesis should be able to have contrasting evidence

Operational Definition

The outline of the researchers experiment in detail

Validity

The experiment is testing what it is searching for; a valid test for what is being tested

Reliability

The research can be repeated and still have similar results

Sample

Group of participants

Representative Sample

Goal of selecting from a larger population to represent that larger population

Random Sampling

Randomly finding your sample of people to conduct your experiment; every member has an equal chance of being selected

Convenience Sample

Choosing a sample because it is most convenient for the researcher; easily accessible people

Stratified Sampling

Allows the researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population

Experimental Method

Only experimental methods can predict a cause and effect

Laboratory Experiments

Experiments done in a lab, easily controlled

Field Experiments

Experiments done in the outside world; more realistic

Confounding Variables

Other underlying effects to why the data might come out a certain way

Random Assignment

Randomly assigning which person goes to which group; each person has an equal chance of being in either group

Situation-Relevant

The situation that each group experiences can affect the outcome, so experimenters should try to have the same for each group

Experimenter Bias

The experimenter treats the groups differently based on what group the people are in; to eliminate this, use double-blind

Double-Blind Study

Where the researcher and people don't know what group they are in

Single-Blind Study

Only the people don't know what group they are in

Demand Characteristics

Cues about the purpose of the study

Subject Bias

Participants try to act a certain way to go with their group

Social Desirability

Participants try to answer questions that make them look good

Experimental Group

The group that is being tested with the independent variable

Control Group

No independent variable, there for comparison

Placebo Effect

When there is a drug given in an experiment and the control group believes that they feel effects

Positive Correlation

Correlation that predicts another thing

Negative Correlation

Correlation that predicts the absence

Likert Scales

Pose a statement and people have to answer in disagreement or agreement

Directionality Problem

Inability to tell which variable comes first

Third Variable

Another thing that could be affecting, like genetics

Naturalistic Observation

Observation of participants in their natural habitat

Interviews

A researcher asks the interviewee questions about a topic

Structured Interview

Has a set number of questions and the same questions for each person

Case Study

Get a full detailed picture of one participant or a small group; in-depth investigation about the life of that person or group

Descriptive Statistics

Describe a set of data

Frequency Distribution

How much or many fall into each group

Central Tendencies

Center of a distribution

Mean

Average of all the scores, calculated by adding up all the scores and dividing by how many scores

Median

Middle number of the scores, calculated by putting the scores in numerical order and then finding which is in the middle

Mode

Score that appears the most frequent

Bimodal

When there are 2 modes

Positively Skewed

More low scores because there is a high number skewing the data's mean; makes the median lower than the mean

Negatively Skewed

More high scores because there is a number skewing the data higher, making the median higher than the mean

Range

Difference between the highest score and the lowest score

Variance

Measure of how spread out/how far the data is

Standard Deviation

Square root of the variance

Normal Curve

Theoretical curve of data

Percentiles

Distance of score from 0