Scientific Foundations of Psychology

Unit 0 of AP Psychology

Psychology

The science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings)

Wilhelm Wundt

“Father of Psychology” and studied Introspection (conscious experiences)

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt Psychology - looks at human mind and behavior as a whole

Biological Perspective

Looks at the influence of hormones, genes, the brain, and the nervous system on the way we think, feel, and act

Michael Gazzaniga

Research on the hemispheres of the brain

Evolutionary Perspective

Focuses on Darwinism and natural selection to explain behavior

Charles Darwin

Believed our traits and characteristics developed throughout generations to best enable our survival

Psychodynamic Perspective

Our behavior comes from our unconscious – places and things we are not aware of

Sigmund Freud

Emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on one’s behavior

Behavioral Perspective

behavior is learned, you can modify it through consequences

John B. Watson

Redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior”

B. F. Skinner

Believed that learning is a function of change in overt behavior

Ivan Pavlov

Classical Conditioning

Cognitive Perspective

Says behavior is a result of how we think about, view, and interpret the events around us

Jean Piaget

Aimed to understand how children’s thinking and problem-solving developed over time

Wolfgang Kohler

Known for studying problem-solving skills in chimpanzees

Lev Vygotsky

Believed cognitive development was a social process that could vary based on environment and culture

Humanistic Perspective

Focuses on positive growth and the bright side of human nature – sometimes called positive psychology

Carl Rogers

He believed that your self-concept is at the center of your personality. 

Abraham Maslow

He said our personality comes from the pursuit of meeting our Hierarchy of Needs

Social-Cultural Perspective

Focus on how your culture and environment effects and influences your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Stanley Milgram

Famous for studying humans’ willingness to obey authority “Milgram Shock Experiment”

Philip Zimbardo

Famous for studying humans’ willingness to obey authority ‘Stanford Prison Experiment”

Biopsychosocial Approach

elements of many approaches are helpful explaining behavior

Informed Consent

Research participants must be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Informed Assent

An ethical principle giving minors input into whether or not they wish to participate in experiments/studies/treatments

Protection from physical or emotional harm and discomfort. 

self explanatory

Confidentiality

Keeping participant information private. If a researcher collects identifying info, that info must not be released, and data presented is done so that the individual participants can be identified through any kind of process of elimination

Debriefing

The post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, must be given to its participants

Deception

deliberately and consciously misinforming study, experiment or therapy participants about the objectives and consequences of participation in processes of examination and analysis

Confederates

“research actors” who appear to be participants in experiments but who in reality are working with the researcher to manipulate behavior in the experiment. Not necessarily unethical if scientifically justified and if disclosed in the debrief

Debrief

Full explanation of purpose, hypothesis and methodology to participants upon conclusion of study or experiment

Generalizability

the ability to apply findings from a sample population to a larger population.

International Review Board

an administrative body established to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects recruited to participate in research activities conducted under the auspices of the institution with which it is affiliated. 

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee 

A committee responsible for overseeing an institute’s program and research protocols involving nonhuman animals

Rosenhan Experiment (1973) 

The Rosenhan experiment or Thud experiment was an experiment conducted to determine the validity of psychiatric diagnosis.

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge comes from experience and observations

Applied Research

Clear and practical reasons and uses for research

Basic Research

No immediate, real-world uses but explores interesting questions

Descriptive Research

Describes the “who, what, when, where” of a situation

Case Study

A type of study where one person, or situation, is observed and studied in depth to gather information

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in the natural environment

Meta-Analysis

Statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple studies

Survey

use interviews or questionnaires to gather information like attitudes and beliefs

Likert Scales

Used in Psychology for establishing a baseline for beliefs and perceptions

Correlational Research

Explores relationships or links, known as correlations, between variables

Illusory Correlation

Cognitive bias leading to perceiving false connections between unrelated events or traits

Experimental Research

Explores cause and effect relationships by manipulating and measuring variables

Blind

Participants are kept in the dark about purpose, hypothesis, or who is receiving the independent variable

Double Blind

Both the participants and researcher are kept in the dark

Placebo

An inactive pill that has no known effect (Sugar Pill)

Descriptive Statistics

Describes sets of data.

Measures of Central Tendency

Mean, Median, and Mode. Watch out for extreme scores or outliers. These might Skew, or distort, the mean. 

Normal Distribution

In a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode are all the same number.

Skewed Distributions

Outliers skew distributions, making them not Normal. Positive (left) or Negative (right)

Standard Deviation

The Variance of scores around the mean.

Z-Scores

A unit that measures the distance of one score from the mean. Range can be from -3 to +3

Inferential Statistics

The purpose is to discover whether the finding can be applied to a larger population from which the sample was collected

Statistical Significance

The degree to which a research outcome cannot reasonably be attributed to chance or random factors

P-Value

.05 for statistical significance

Effect Size 

provides information about practical significance of findings between variables or among groups

Cohort Effect

When a commonly aged group of people affect results due to their common age-related influences