Psychology in Your Life Chapter 1

Psychology

Study of mental activity and behavior based on brain processes

Mental Activity

Lets us perceive the world. use of senses to take in outside information.

Behavior

All our actions that result from sensing and interpreting information

Critical thinking

Systematically evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusions best supported by evidence

3 steps in critical thinking

-Ask, "What am i being asked to believe of except?"
-Ask, "What evidence is provided to support the claim?"
-Ask, "What are the most reasonable conclusions?"

Mind/ Body problem

Are the mind and body separate or distinct? Or is the mind our own personal experience of the physical brain activity?

Rene Descartes

Dualism. Believes mind and body are separate yet intertwined.

Experimental Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology lab. Based investigations on a realization: Psychological processes are products of brain activity, therefore must take time to occur.

Reaction time

Time it takes to complete a psychological task

Introspection

Participants had to reflect and report on their thoughts about personal experiences of objects. (Wundt)

Structuralism

Conscious experience can be broken into underlying parts. Expores structures of mind through introspection. (Edward Titchener, Wundts' student.

Functionalism

Form concerned with the adaptive purpose or function of mind and behavior. (William James)

Evolutionary theory

Species change over time. (Charles Darwin)

Natural Selection

Those who inherit characteristics that help them adapt to their particular environments have an advantage to those who do not.

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalytic theory. Wanted to understand connections between psychology and physical problems. Concluded that human behavior is determined by mental processes operating below the level of conscious awareness. Unconscious mental forces: Troubling childhood experiences and sexual behavior.

Psychoanalysis

Therapist and patient work together in bringing the contents of the patients unconscious into a patients conscious awareness . Once revealed the therapist helps the patient deal with it constructively. (Freud)

Gestalt Psychology

Mental experiences cannot be broken into common underlying parts. Oppose structuralism. Sought to understand how people perceive information. (Max Wertheimer & Wolfgang Kohler)

Gestalt theory

Idea that whole of personal experience is different from the sum of its parts.

Behaviorism

Conscious and unconscious mind weren't appropriate topics for psychological investigation. Environments effect behavior. (John B Watson & BF Skinner)

Cognitive Psychology

Study of how people think, learn, and remember. (Edward Tolman & George A Miller- colleague of Ulric Neisser)

Cognitive Neuroscience

Studies brain mechanisms that underlie thought, learning , and memory.

Social psychology

Most people are influenced by social situations. (Kurt Lewin)

Levels of psychological analysis: Biological

How the physical body influences our thoughts and behavior. Brain systems, neurochemistry, and genetics.

Levels of psychological analysis: Individual

Individual differences in personality and mental process that affect perceptions and understanding.

Levels of psychological analysis: Social

Investigating how groups affect peoples interactions and peoples influence on each other.

Levels of psychological analysis: Cultural

Thoughts, feelings, and actions are similar throughout cultures.

Biological Psychology

Biological systems give rise to mental activity

Cognitive/ Neurosciece

Study attention, perception, memory, problem solving,and language.

Developmental Psychology

Study peoples change from infancy to adulthood.

Personality Psychology

Study enduring characteristics that people display overtime and across circumstances.

Cultural Psychology

influenced by societal rules that dictate behavior in their cultures.

Clinical Psychology

Factors that cause psychological disorders and best methods to treat them.

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Issues pertaining to industry and workplace.

Institutional Review Boards (IRB's)

groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standard of science and provides for the physical and emotional well being of research participants. (privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, deception, & risks)

Scientific Method

1. Theory
2. Hypothesis
3. Testing Hypothesis
4. Analyze Data
5. Determine what issues need additional investigation

Descriptive Method

Research method provides systematic and objective description of what is occurring. Helpful in early stages of research

Observational Studies

Systematically assessing and coding observable behavior.

Self Reports

Interviews, Surveys

Case Studies

Few unique people or organizations

Correlational Methods

Research method examines how variables are naturally related in the real world.

Experimental Method

Research method test casual hypothesis by manipulating independent variables and measure effects on depended variables

Confound

Anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the studies different experimental conditions.