Chapter 1 - History and Methods, Chapter 2 - Lifespan Development, Chapter 3 - Behavioral Neuroscience, Chapter 4 - Sensation and Perception, Chapter 5 - Learning, Chapter 6 - Memory and Cognition, Chapter 7 - Motivation and Emotion, Chapter 8 - Pers…

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

brief history of psychology

how psychology developed from its origins to where it is today

themes

common threads within this course and the discipline of psychology, connect and unify its numerous and varied topics

paradigms

a set of beliefs or assumptions that is shared by a group, a way of thinking about doing science

research methods

ways of doing science

statistics

mathematical tools that express research findings and allow us to make inferences

scientific

ways of studying based on systematic observation; goals are to describe, explain, predict, and change

behavior

an observable action emitted by an organism

mental processes

thoughts, feelings, and beliefs

structuralism

early school of thought in psychology, focused on breaking experience down into its smallest elements or structures

introspection

research method used in structuralism, revealed how the body's sensations could become the mind's perceptions

functionalism

early school of thought in psychology, focused on how the mind helps us adapt to our environment

psychoanalytic psychology

model based on premise that the unconscious mind is the most powerful influence on personality and psychological functioning

behaviorism

movement in psychology which began in the early 1900s, based on premise that only behaviors that are directly observable can be studied scientifically

humanism

movement in psychology which began in the 1920s, focused on the uniqueness of individuals and their innate potential for growth

positive psychology

movement in psychology which began in the late 1990s, scientifically studies psychological wellness, human strengths, and life-enhancing behaviors

cognitive science

approach to psychology which began in the mid-1900s, focuses on the active nature of human beings in the construction of their own experiences and thought processes

behavioral neuroscience

the study of brain-behavior relationships

goals of psychology

a central theme of psychology - to describe, explain, predict, and change behavior

describe

part of Theme 1: a goal of psychology - to convey the characteristics of something using words, after careful and systematic observation - answers the "what" question

explain

part of Theme 1: a goal of psychology - to state what we believe to be the mechanisms and/or the causes of behavior and mental processes - answers the "how" and "why" questions

predict

part of Theme 1: a goal of psychology - to state what one thinks will happen in the future - answers the "when" and "what if" questions

change

part of Theme 1: a goal of psychology - to control or alter the course of behavior

empiricism

systematic observation, the hallmark of science in general; in psychology - the systematic observation of behavior and mental processes

B = f (P + E + PE)

behavior is best understood as a function of things about the person (inside), things about the environment (outside), and the complex interaction of person and environment

socio-historical context

a central theme of psychology - history is a context for understanding how psychology has developed as a discipline over time, and how its points of view reflect historical context

socio-cultural context

a central theme of psychology - culture is a bridge between person and environment that influences how psychological concepts are understood and applied

constructivism

a scientific paradigm based on a belief that knowledge about anything is built (constructed) as we go, and is a part of our subjective experience

logical positivism

a scientific paradigm based on a belief that behavioral phenomena exist independent of the observer and can be studied objectively

scientific method

a method used by logical positivists to discover the truth about observable phenomena - process starts with theory, forms hypotheses, collects data, draws conclusions based on statistical findings, and shares results

descriptive methods

research methods that focus on making observations in order to answer the "what" question

naturalistic observation

descriptive research method that places the researcher/observer in the natural habitat of the observed, which provides an opportunity to witness and record the behavior directly, without interacting with the observed

case study

descriptive research method whereby the researcher gathers a great deal of information about one person through a combination of techniques, including interview, history, and review of records

survey

descriptive research methods wherein the researcher gathers a lot of information about a lot of people by asking them to respond to questions about their behavioral practices, beliefs, or opinions

correlational methods

research methods that allow researchers to investigate how two variables are related

positive correlation

exists when two variables are changing together in the same direction

negative correlation

exists when two variables are changing together in opposite directions

zero correlation

exists when two variables are not related - the absence of a relation between them

correlation coefficient

a numerical way to express the relationship of two variables - between -1 and +1, indicating the direction (positive or negative) and the strength (how close to the extremes of -1 or +1

experimental methods

research methods that attempt to isolate cause by manipulating a variable that is hypothesized to be the cause of another variable

dependent variable

outcome or the predicted effect

independent variable

variable that the researcher has control of and actually manipulates

experimental group

group that participates in the manipulation or "treatment" in an experiment

control group

group that participates in the "treatment absent" condition in an experiment

random assignment

method of placing participants in an experiment in either the control group or experimental group - purpose is to make sure the groups are not different in any way other than the treatment condition

descriptive statistics

numerical ways to efficiently and clearly describe observed information; examples include measures of central tendency and measures of variability

measures of central tendency

numerical ways to express how observations (data) gather around the middle of a distribution

mean

a measure of central tendency - arithmetic average of a set of observations (data)

median

a measure of central tendency - mid-point of the distribution—half of the scores are below and half are above

mode

a measure of central tendency - the most frequently occurring score in a distribution

measures of variability

numerical ways to express how spread out, or diverse the data points are in a distribution

range

a measure of variability - the difference between the highest and lowest values in a frequency distribution

standard deviation

a measure of variability - the average distance of all scores from the mean

inferential statistics

analyses that allow us to judge whether our research findings are due to chance or are due to the manipulation of the independent variable

meta-analysis

a statistical procedure that combines or pools the strength of a particular research finding across a number of studies investigating the same or similar topics

change

key indicator of growth and development; can be quantitative and/or qualitative; when something is different than it was before

areas of development

three broad types of change in development across time, includes physical, cognitive, and psychosocial

research

a methodical investigation that advances our understanding of behavior, including what is happening, how and why it is happening, and what to do about it

nature

focus of developmental change is "inside" the person, i.e., biologically programmed

nurture

focus of developmental change is "outside" the person, i.e., influenced by environment

interaction

focus of developmental change is how internal and external factors influence each other

physical development

changes in body structure and function across time

individual differences

deviations from normative developmental changes

cognitive development

changes in thinking across the lifespan

stage theory

descriptions of how thinking changes as we age, often seen as coming from within the person due to biological factors

social interactions

explanation of how interpersonal relationships affect the development of thinking

information processing theory

theories of cognitive development that describe thinking using a computer model

language development

a timeline for acquisition of benchmarks in verbal communication

attachment

special relationship shared between a child and his/her everyday caregivers

parenting

social relationship that affects psychosocial development throughout the lifespan

psychosocial development

changes in relationships and their effects

Lifespan view

comprehensive lifespan view that encompasses multiple explanations of development, includes four main concepts

quantitative

change that can be objectively measured, when there is more or less of something

qualitative

when the character or properties of something has changed

age groups

divisions across the lifespan that reflect change over time

physical development

changes in the body's structure and function across time

cognitive development

changes in thinking

psychosocial development

changes in relationships and their effects

prenatal period

from conception to birth, includes three stages

infancy

the first year of life

childhood

ranges from age one until about age 11

adolescence

the teenage years, ages 12-20

early adulthood

period that begins in early 20s

emerging adulthood

period between adolesence and early adulthood, characterized by role transitions and identity exploration

middle adulthood

period in your 40s and 50s

late adulthood

period that begins around age 65

descriptive research

type of research that focuses on what is happening at each age

correlational research

type of research that focuses on how a behavior of one group of people varies in relation to a behavior of another group of people

experimental research

type of research that can determine cause, uses random assignment of participants to experimental and control groups

research designs

ways of studying development

cross-sectional

research design that compares the behavior of multiple age groups at one point in time

longitudinal

research design that compares the behavior of one age group at multiple points across time

genes

the biological inheritance of an organism

experiences

external factors and events in one's life that influence development

B = f (P + E + PE)

behavior is best understood as a function of things about the person (inside), things about the environment (outside), and the complex interaction of person and environment

prenatal period

from conception to birth, includes three stages

conception

microscopic sperm and egg unite to mix the genetic material from the mother and father

zygote

fertilized egg cell, 1st stage (two weeks) in prenatal development

embryo

2nd stage of prenatal development, from 2nd to 8th week

placenta

life-support system for developing embryo and fetus