Unit 1 & 2

flashcards from different types of psychologists to statistical experiments

Psychology

Psychology

the scientific study of the behavior/ mental processes of humans and animals

Structuralism

identifying the elements of thought and mind (structures) the way early chemists developed the periodic table to classify elements

Introspection

the process of looking inward to directly observe one’s own psychological processes

Behaviorism

believes psychology should be an objective science

Humanism

the belief that humans strive to reach their full potential. The study of potential and personal growth.

Contemporary psychology

influenced by biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing

Cognitive psychology

study of mental processes

Evolutionary Psychology

study of how behaviors and mental processes present in the species today exist because they were naturally selected

Behavior Genetics

study of the relative influence and limits of genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) influences on behaviors and mental processes

Culture

shared ideas, values, behaviors, and traditions, shared by a group of people and passed from one generation to the next

Gender

socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female

Positive Psychology

the study of human flourishing

Behavioral Perspective

how learned and observable behaviors impact behavior/mental processes

Biological Perspective

how biological (genetics, neural, hormonal) and physiological processes impact behavior/mental processes

Cognitive Perspective

how interpretations of situations and mental processes (thoughts, memories, problem-solving) impact behavior/mental processes

Evolutionary Perspective

how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

Humanistic Perspective

how the drive for personal growth and self-actualization impact behavior/mental processes

Psychodynamic Perspective

how unconscious drives and conflicts impact behavior/mental processes

Social-Cultural Perspective

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Basic research

scientific inquiry that aims to increase psychology’s knowledge base

Applied research

scientific inquiry that aims to use psychology to solve practical problems

Counseling Psychologists

help individuals cope with or make difficult life changes

Clinical Psychologists

asses and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders

Psychiatrist

prescribe drugs to treat the physiological causes of psychological disorders

Cognitive Psychologists

study human thinking

Developmental Psychologists

study how our behavior changes as we age

Educational Psychologists

study how we learn in different environments and in different ways

Experimental Psychologists

conduct experiments to understand our behaviors and mental processes

Psychometric Psychologists

use math and statistics to create, administer, score and interpret tests

Social Psychologists

study how we interact with others and how groups impact us individually

Forensic Psychologists

brings law and psychology together

Environmental Psychologists

study how we are influenced and affected by our natural or built (urban) surroundings

Health Psychologists

work to promote health and prevent disease

I/O Psychologists

study the relationship between people and our work environments

Human Factors Psychologists

study the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments

Neuropsychologists

study how our brain impacts our behavior and thoughts

Rehabilitation Psychologists

help individuals who have lost functioning after an accident or illness

School Psychologists

work with kids in school dealing with problems that may negatively impact learning in the classroom

Sports Psychologists

work with athletes to help them improve their performance

Community Psychologists

work with larger groups and communities and focusing on crisis management (i.e. recovering from a hurricane)

Hindsight bias

tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it

Overconfidence

tendency to think we know more than we do

Theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Hypothesis

testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Operational definition

carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used and meanings in a research study

Case studies

descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic observations

descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

Surveys and interviews

descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes/behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Survey bias

when the people surveyed are not representative of the population

Representative samples

have the same distribution of demographic qualities in it as the population as a whole

Random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Cross-sectional research

studies compare people of different ages at the same point in time

Longitudinal studies

follow and retest the same people over time

Correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and how well either factor predicts the other, simply put, how related two things are to each other

Positive Correlation

two sets of data tend to rise or fall together

Negative Correlation

one set of data rises while the other falls

Illusory correlations

perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

Scatterplots

are a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

Random Sampling

Choosing a representative sample of the population being studied

Random Assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Confounding variable

a factor other than the factor being studied (the IV) that might influence a study’s results

Single blind

the participants in the study are uninformed about the treatment, if any, they are receiving

Double blind

the participants AND the researcher are uninformed about which group receives the treatment and which does not

Placebo effect

inert treatment; like a pill without any medication inside

Experimental validity

the extent to which a test/experiment measures/predicts what it is supposed to

Consent

“are you willing to participate in this experiment?”

Informed consent

This experiment involves exposure to graphic images that may be disturbing and random bursts of light that have been known to induce seizures. Are you willing to participate in this experiment?

Deception

the true purpose isn’t revealed because it would influence the results

Debriefing

when temporary deception is necessary to the research, it must be fully explained at the conclusion of the experiment

Descriptive statistics

Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups

Histogram

a bar graph that shows a frequency distribution

Mean

The average of a set of numbers

Median

The middle score in a distribution, arrange scores from highest to lowest with half of the data above and half below n

Mode

most frequently occurring data point in a distribution

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Standard Deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Skewed distribution

most of the scores or data fall on one side of the scale

Outlier

one data point is extremely different from the others

Normal distribution

symmetrical curve where most scores fall near the mean

Inferential statistics

Numerical data that allow one to generalize—to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Descriptive statistics

describe a population or data set

Inferential statistics

examine relationships between variables in sample

Statistical significance

statistical statement of how likely it is that a result occurred by chance