Scientific Foundations of Psych

AP Psych

Structuralism

Structuralism

• Founder: Wilhelm Wundt

• Focus: Analyzing the structure of conscious experience

• Method: Introspection

• Key Figures: Edward Titchener, Ferdinand de Saussure, Claude Levi-Strauss

• Contributions: Emphasized the importance of breaking down mental processes into their component parts, influenced the development of linguistics and anthropology.

Functionalism

• Key idea: Society is a complex system with interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability and order.

• Emphasis on the function of each part of society in contributing to the overall system.

• Society is viewed as a living organism with different parts working together to maintain balance.

• Developed in the 19th century as a response to the social changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

• Influential functionalist thinkers include Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton.

• Criticisms include neglecting the role of conflict and power in society, and overlooking the negative consequences of social structures.

Psychoanalytic/dynamic

• Sigmund Freud is the founder

• Unconscious thoughts and childhood experiences shape behavior

• Involves free association and interpretation of dreams

• Criticisms include a lack of empirical evidence and a focus on pathology rather than strengths

Behavioral

learned, reinforced

Humanistic

• Key figure: Abraham Maslow

• Emphasizes on self-actualization and personal growth

• Stresses on the importance of empathy and unconditional positive regard in relationships

• Criticized for being too optimistic and ignoring the darker aspects of human nature.

• Free will, choice, ideal, actualization

Cognitive

• Definition: Mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing, and using information

• Key theorists: Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Chomsky

• Processes: Perception, attention, memory, language, problem-solving, decision-making

Evolutionary

• Genetics

• Natural selection

• Darwin

• Eugenics

Biologocal

Brain and Neurotransmitters (NTs)

Sociocultural

Emphasizes the role of culture and social factors in shaping behavior

• Focuses on how social norms, values, and beliefs influence behavior

• Key figures include Bandura, Triandis, and Hofstede

Biopsychosocial

Everything all at once

Mary Calkins

First woman president of the APA

Margaret Floy Washburn

First woman with pysch PhD

Charles Darwin

Natural Selection and evolution

Dorothea Dix

Reformed mental institutions in the US

Stanley Hall

First president of the APA

William James

Father of American Psychology, functionalist

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of modern psychology, structuralist

Basic Research

Done to increase general knowledge (rats)

Applied Research

Applying research to help people irl

Psychologist

Research or counseling

MS or PhD

Experiment

Pro: Researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect

Con: difficult to generalize (applied research)

Independent Variable

Variable that is altered

Dependent Variable

The variable measured for change (depends on the other variable)

Experimental Group

Receive independent variable/treatment

Control Group

Placebo, baseline, compared with Experimental Group to measure change

Placebo effect

show behaviors associated with experimental group when given placebo

Double-blind

Experiment with both the participants and the experimenters don’t know who is in which group

Single-blind

Only participant blind

Quasi-experimental design

Conditions are randomly assigned when it is impossible to do so

Operational Definition

A clear, quantifiable definition of your variables that allow it to be replicated

Confound

Error/flaw in study

Random Assignment

Assign participants randomly to experimental groups to inc chance of equal representation

Random Sample/Selection

Method to choose participants for a study, increases generalization

Representative Sample

Sample mimics the general population

Stratified Sampling

Ensures a realistic demographic to irl in a sample

Correlation

Pro: Identify relationship between variables

Cons: Can’t prove cause and effect

Positive Correlation

Both variables increase and decrease together

Negative Correlation

When one variable increases, the other decreases

Lurking/3rd Variable Problem

A different variable is responsible for a correlation

Ex. Breast implants and suicide

Illusory Correlation

Belief in a correlation where one doesn’t exist

Ex. An old man can predict when it will rain (bc of his arthritis)

Survey

Ask people questions, find correlations

Social Desirability

Lying to look good

Wording Effect

The effect framing has on the answer to a question (Loftus, Cognition)

Naturalistic Observation

Pro: Real world validity, people in their natural habitats

Con: No cause and effect

Case Study

Pro: Study unique circumstances in great detail

Con: No cause and effect, cannot replicate bc ethics

Descriptive Stats

Shape of the data, stats that show something

Mean

Mathematical average

Median

Middle number (use in skewed distribution)

Mode

Number that occurs most often

Skews

Created by outliers

Neg skew = left skew

Pos skew = right skew

Inferential Stats

Establishes the meaning of the data

“What do the numbers say?”

Statistical Significance

• Determines whether an observed effect or result is likely due to chance or a true difference exists in the population.

• p-value of 0.05 or more

Confidentiality

Names kept secret

Informed Consent

Know what they’re agreeing to & agree to it

Debriefing

Told true purpose of the experiment after its over

Deception ethics

must be justifiable/warranted

Ethics

No psychological or physical harm