Foundations of Psychology

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior

anything that you do that can be observed in response to different stimuli

Mental processes

internal experiences like thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions that can be observed

Systematic study

Systematic collection and examination of data or empirical evidence to support or disprove hypotheses rather than depending on common sense

Scientific method

validity, replication, reliability for a good test

Hippocrates

Greek Physiologist who believed the mind or soul resided in the brain, mind-body dualism

Mind-body dualism

seeing mind and body as two different things that interact

Plato

Greek philosopher who believed that who we are and what we know are innate (nature)

Aristotle

Plato's student who believed that who we are and what we know are acquired from experience (nurture)

John Locke

believed that knowledge comes from observation, coined the term 'tabula rasa' (born knowing nothing-blank slate) nurture

Rene Descartes

believed that what we know is innate and focused on how the nervous system responds (nature)

Nature vs. nurture

debate about the extent to which behavior is inborn or learned through experience

Charles Darwin

came up with the theory of natural selection

Wilhelm Wundt

credited as the founder of scientific psychology, set up the first research Laboratory in Germany in 1879. created school of structuralism, which studied the elements of consciousness

Introspection

looking inward to identify how one feels, thinks, or acts. used in structuralism

William James

psychologist who focused on the function or purpose of behavioral acts (the why). started the school of functionalism and wrote the first psychology text book

Max Wertheimer

founded Gestalt Psychology, asserting that the whole is more than the sum of its parts

Eight approaches to psychology

Behavioral, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, cognitive, evolutionary, socio-cultural, eclectic

Behavioral psychology

focuses on measuring and recording observable behavior. everyone could be taught to behave a certain way. pavlov, skinner, and watson. classical, operant, and oversive

Pavlov

studied dogs and rewards in behavioral psychology

Skinner

studied rats, reward and punishment in behavioral psychology

Watson

studied Baby Albert and associations in behavioral psychology

Psychoanalytic

focuses on unconscious internal conflicts to explain mental disorders

Sigmund Freud

developed the psychoanalytic approach and focused on unconscious desires

Psychodynamic

varied with Freud's ideas but kept with the roots of psychoanalysis. approved them with the proper scientific method

Humanistic

emphasizes the importance of people's feelings and views human nature as naturally positive and growth-seeking

Abraham Maslow

known for the hierarchy of needs in humanistic psychology

Carl Rogers

known for unconditional positive regard in humanistic psychology

Biological approach

examines how complex chemical and biological processes within the endocrine and Nervous systems are related to behavior

Cognitive

emphasizes the importance of receiving, storing, and processing information. how our mind processes and retains information

Evolutionary

attempts to explain behavior patterns as adaptations naturally selected to increase reproductive success

Socio-cultural

examines cultural differences in an attempt to understand, predict, and control behavior

Eclectic

the most widely used psychological approach today, using a combination of all approaches

Clinical Psychologists

evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders

Counseling Psychologists

help people adapt to change or make changes in their lifestyle

Developmental Psychologists

study psychological development throughout a lifespan. Piaget and his study of children

Engineering Psychologists

do research on how people function best with machines

Educational Psychologists

focus on how effective teaching and learning take place

Forensic Psychologists

apply psychological principles to legal issues

biopsychologists

comes from the levels of analysis. concentrate on biological, psychological, and social factors

Industrial/Organizational Psychologists

aim to improve productivity and the quality of work life by applying psychological principles to the workplace

Neuro-psychologists

explore the relationship between brain/nervous systems and behavior

Psychometricians

focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing psychological data

Rehabilitation Psychologists

help clients with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and disabilities resulting from neurological injury

School Psychologists

Assess and counsel students, consult with educators and parents, and perform behavioral interventions when necessary.

Social Psychologists

Focus on how a person's mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people.

Sports Psychologists

Help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure.

Psychiatrists

Different from psychologists because they diagnose and prescribe medicine.

DSM

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Identifies attributes of specific disorders.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew it all along.

Overconfidence

The tendency to think we know more than we do.

Barnum Effect

The tendency for people to accept very general or vague characterizations of themselves and take them to be accurate.

Applied Research

Research used to serve a specific purpose with clear, practical applications.

Basic Research

Explores questions out of curiosity, aiming to explain, predict, and describe fundamental bases of behavior.

Hypothesis

Expresses a relationship between two variables in a study.

Independent Variable

Whatever is being manipulated in the experiment to bring about change.

Dependent Variable

Whatever is being measured in the experiment, dependent on the independent variable.

Operational Definitions

Explain how variables will be measured in 'real life' terms to ensure study validity and reliability. sleep deprived should say "x hours less sleep than your regular sleep cycle"

Sampling

Identifying the population to study and ensuring the sample is representative. Stratified means getting a random sample that is a good representation

Experimental Method

Involves manipulating variables to determine causal relationships in an experiment.

Confounding Variables

Variables that could cause changes in the dependent variable, not related to the independent variable.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants randomly into groups to control for confounding variables.

Hawthorne Effect

Changes in behavior due to awareness of being experiemented.

Experimenter Bias

Bias introduced by the experimenter, mitigated by double-blind procedures (neither participants nor administrator knows which group gets the placebo)

Placebo Effect

When a group feels an effect from a fake drug

Order Effects

Effects based on the timing of stimulus reception.

Correlational Method

Expresses relationships between variables but does not show causation. Positive is the same direction, negative is increasing and decreasing

Survey Method

A common type of study in psychology measuring correlations.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing subjects in their natural environment without manipulation. Gets rid of the Hawthorne effect, but you cant really prove cause and effect

Correlation Coefficient

A number measuring the strength of a relationship between variables. +1/-1, the closer it is to 0, the weaker it is

Case Studies

an individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Statistics

Recording and analyzing study results using descriptive statistics and common language.

Normal Distribution

Distribution where the mean, median, and mode are the same.

Range

The difference between the biggest and smallest number in a set.

Standard Deviation

The variance of scores around the mean, indicating the spread of the distribution.

Z Scores

Measure the distance of a score from the mean, indicating its position in the distribution. + is above mean, - is below

Inferential Statistics

Used to determine if study findings can be applied to the larger population.

APA Ethical Guidelines for Research

Includes IRB for humans and animals, ensuring research is conducted ethically.

central tendancy

mean, median, mode

positive skew distribution

1 high schore, skews to the left

negative skew distribution

1 low score, skews to the right

p value

the probability of how likely it is that your data could have occurred under the null hypothesis(no statistical significance). 0.5= statistically significant so the null hypothesis would be rejected

Margaret Washburn

first woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology

Mary Calkins

First female president of the APA