Chapter 1 - 2 Psychology Exam Study Guide (Key Terms and Summary)

What is psychology?

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Wundt was a

structuralist

What is a structuralist

Someone who believed our cognitive experience was best understood by breaking that experience into its component parts.

What did Wundt think the he could achieve structuralism by?

Introspection

Who was the first American psychologist?

William James

What was William James a proponent of?

functionalism

What is functionalism

how mental activities served as adaptive responses to an organism's environment.

What did James rely on?

introspection, but his research approach incorporated more objective measures.

What did Sigmund Freud believe?

understanding the human mind was absolutely critical to understand conscious behavior.

What did Sigmund Freud rely on to prove his theory?

He relied on dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association as means to access the unconscious.

What remained a prominent force in clinical psychology for several decades?

Psychoanalytic theory

Which psychology was influential in Europe?

Gestalt

What is gestalt psychology?

It takes a holistic view of an individual and his experiences.

Which psychologists migrated to the U.S.?

Wertheimer, Koffka, and Köhler

What did Koffka, Köhler, and Wertheimer introduce to the U.S.?

Gestalt ideas

Are some of the principles of Gestalt still influenctial?

Yes

One of the most influential schools of thoughts within psychology's history was

behavorism

What is behavorism

Focuses on making psychology an objective science by studying overt behavior and deemphasizing the importance of unobservable mental processes.

Who is the father of behavorism

John Watson

Who contributed to the principles of operant conditioning?

B.F. Skinner

Why was a humanistic movement started?

Some were dissatisfied with psychology's picture of human nature.

What is humanism?

Focuses on the potential of all people for good.

Who were influential in shaping humanism psychology?

Rogers and Maslow

When did the landscape of psychology begin to change?

1950s

How did psychology change in the 1950s

A science of behavior began to change back to its focus on mental processes. The emergence of neuroscience and computer science aided this transition.

What is biological psychology?

the study of the biological bases of behavior.

What is sensation and perception?

The area of psychology that is focused on how information from our sensory modalities is received and how this information is transferred into our perceptual experiences of the world around us.

What is cognitive psychology?

concerned with the relationship that exists between thought and behavior, and developmental psychologists study the physical and cognitive changes that occur throughout one's lifespan.

What is personality psychology?

focuses on individuals' unique patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion.

What are applied areas of psychology?

Industrial and organizational, health, sport and exercise, forensic and clinical psychology.

What do industrial and organizational psychology apply?

psychological concepts to I-O settings

What do health psychologists do?

look for ways to help people live healthier lives

What do clinical psychologists do?

diagnose and treat psychological problems

What do sport and exercise psychologists do?

study the interactions between thoughts, emotions, and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities.

What do forensic psychologists do?

apply psychological principles to legal issues

What type of careers are needed in psychology?

academic careers in psychology require doctoral degrees; there are a number of nonacademic career options for people who have master's degrees in psychology; people with bachelor's degrees in psychology have more limited psychology-related career options

American Psychological Association (APA)

professional organization representing psychologists in the United States

biopsychology

study of how biology influences behavior

biopsychosocial model

a model of health that integrates the effects of biological, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness

clinical psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

cognitive psychology

study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions

counseling psychology

focuses on emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in individuals who are considered psychologically healthy

developmental psychology

the study of continuity and change across the life span

dissertation

long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate's doctoral training

empirical method

method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities

introspection

A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings

ology

study of, science

personality trait

consistent pattern of thought and behavior

PhD

(doctor of philosophy) doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences

postdoctoral training program

allows young scientists to further develop their research programs and broaden their research skills under the supervision of other professionals in the field

psychoanalytic theory

focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior

PsyD

(doctor of psychology) doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses more on application of psychological principles in the clinical context

archival research

method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

attrition

reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time

cause-and-effect relationship

changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design

clinical or case study

observational research study focusing on one or a few people

confirmation bias

tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs

confounding variable

unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables

control group

serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups

correlation

relationship between two variables

correlation coefficient

number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by r

cross sectional research

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time

debriefing

when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion

deception

purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment

deductive reasoning

results are predicted based on a general premise

dependant variable

variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had

double blind study

experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments

empirical

grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing

experimental group

group designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance

experimenter bias

researcher expectations skew the results of the study

fact

objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through empirical research

falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

generalize

inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population

hypothesis

(plural: hypotheses) tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

illusory correlation

seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists

independent variable

variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a sound experimental study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the experimental and control group

inductive reasoning

conclusions are drawn from observations

informed consent

process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment, any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person's consent to participate

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving human participants

inter-rater reliability

measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event

longitudinal research

studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time

naturalistic observation

observation of behavior in its natural setting

negative correlation

two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation

observer bias

when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations

operational definition

description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables

opinion

personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate

participants

subjects of psychological research

peer reviewed journal article

article read by several other scientists (usually anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication

placebo effect

people's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation

population

overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in

positive correlation

two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller

random assignment

method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group

random sample

subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

reliability

consistency and reproducibility of a given result

replicate

repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research's reliability

sample

subset of individuals selected from the larger population

single-blind study

experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group

statistical analysis

determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance

survey

list of questions to be answered by research participants—given as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally—allowing researchers to collect data from a large number of people