psych 10

Contemporary psych

contemporary psych is how ppl sense and perceive. Wilhelm Wundt established the first experimental psychology laboratory in 1879.

school of thought: Structuralism

attempting to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements. how the brain is structured. did this by introspection (ex: sweetness of an apple) its subjective. wilhelm wundt and edward titchener.

Introspection

The subjective observation of one's own conscious experiences, used in structuralism.

school of thought: Functionalism

The study of the purpose and function of behaviors and mental processes, why we think the way we do, influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution.

school of thought: Behaviorism

A perspective that advocates studying only observable behavior to make psychology more scientific and objective.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud's theory that behavior and personality are influenced by unconscious processes.

WEIRD (Cross-Cultural Psychology)

An acronym representing Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies, which heavily dominate psychological research.

Hippocrates

Ancient Greek physician who developed the world's first personality classification.

Phineas Gage

A famous historical case study of brain injury used to study the localization of brain function.

a rod went through his head, he survived but damaged his frontal lobe (prefrontal cortex) and became childlike and impulsive

Basic Research in Psychology

Research focusing on foundational areas such as biological/neuroscience, cognitive, developmental, and social processes.

Applied Research in Psychology

Research addressing practical issues, including clinical, educational, forensic, and industrial-organizational sub-fields.

Nature vs. Nurture

The historical debate concerning the origins of knowledge, contemplated by ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.

Hindsight Bias

The belief that an outcome was foreseeable after it has occurred, commonly known as the 'knew it all along' effect.

Operational Definition

A description of a property in concrete, measurable terms.

Correlational Design

A research method that measures how closely two variables vary together, though it cannot infer causation.

Positive and Negative Correlations

In a positive correlation, variables move together; in a negative correlation, one variable increases while the other decreases.

Experimental Design

A research method where the investigator systematically manipulates an independent variable to observe changes in a dependent variable.

Independent Variable (IV)

The factor that is systematically varied or manipulated in an experimental design.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The behavior that is measured in an experiment and is expected to change as a function of the independent variable.

Random Assignment

Randomly assigning participants to experimental conditions to ensure characteristics are equally distributed across groups.

Control Variables

Variables kept constant across all conditions to prevent confounding.

Random Sampling

A sampling method where every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

convenience sample

sample consists of people who are conveniently available for the study

Placebo Effect

When receiving special treatment or something new affects human behavior.

Experimenter Bias

When an experimenter's expectations unintentionally influence the outcome of a study. we might see what we wanna see

hawthorne effect

related to demand characteristics.

workers knew they were being watched and started being more productive

Demand Characteristics

Cues that lead participants to guess the study's purpose and alter their behavior.

Thalamus

Subcortical structure that filters and transmits sensory information to the cortex.

Hypothalamus

Subcortical structure that regulates the four F's and basic physiological needs.

Hippocampus

Subcortical structure critical for creating and integrating new memories.

Converging Operations

Using a variety of research techniques to investigate a particular result.

Replication

The process of repeating a study and finding a similar outcome each time.

Hindbrain

Region coordinating heart rate, respiration, sleep, arousal, and motor control.

Basal Ganglia

Subcortical structure that directs intentional movement and reward processing.

Broca's Area

Brain region responsible for language production.

Wernicke's Area

Brain region responsible for speech comprehension.

Brain Plasticity

The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.

cognitive psych

language, problem solving, memories etc

cross cultural psych

draws comparisons about individual and group behaviors across cultures