Psychology Chap. 1

Chap. 1 - Finished adding

Experiential processing

more or less passively soaking up the experience.

Reflective processing

A thought that is active, effortful, and controlled.

Reflective learning

occurs when you engage in deliberately reflective study.

Self-reference

The practice of relating new information to prior life experience.

Critical thinking

An ability to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique, and synthesize information.

Reflective listener

A person who knows how to maintain attention, avoid distractions, and actively gather information from lectures.

Psychology

The scientific study of mental processes and behavior. Studies many subareas, including learning, moral beliefs, and stereotypes.

Science

An objective approach to answer questions that relies on careful observations and experiments.

Uncritical acceptance

Failing to evaluate claims using sufficient logic. Tendency to accept beliefs as true for illogical reasons. Repetition of claims, trusted source, what we want to be true.

Confirmation bias

Noticing what confirms our expectations. Often occurs unconsciously. Deliberate selection of evidence to support beliefs. May also involve active avoidance/disregard of that which contradicts our expectations.

Superstition

Belief in ideas of phenomena that are retained even when there is evidence that contradicts them.

Pseudoscience

False science; unfounded belief systems that seem to be based on science.

What are examples of psuedoscience?

Astrology, phrenology, graphology

Astrology

anticipating characteristics from astrological signs

Phrenology

studying the pattern of bumps in one’s skull

Graphology

examining handwriting as a predictor of personality

Psychologists

Highly trained in methods, knowledge, and theories of psychological research.

What are the types of psychological research?

Basic Research, applied research, and animal model

Basic Research

Seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

Applied Research

Solving immediate practical problems

Animal Model

A small percentage of psychological studies

Clinical Psychologist

Treats psychological problems; research therapies and mental disorders

Counseling psychologist

Treats milder problems, such as work issues

Psychiatrist

Medical doctor; treats serious mental health disorders, often with drugs

Psychoanalyst

Uses a very specific approach to psychotherapy

Counselor

Advises, offers practical helping skills to solve marriage, career, or school problems.

Clinical Social Worker

Provides therapy in community-based settings or treatment programs

scientific observation

empirical investigation structured to answer questions about the world

What are the types of scientific observations?

empirical, systematic, intersubjective

Empirical

information gathered from direct observation

Systematic

carefully planned

Intersubjective

many observers can confirm the report

William Wundt

Considered to be the father of Psychology. Studied vision, hearing, taste, touch, memory, time perception, and other topics.

Stimulus

Physical energy sensed by an organism.

Introspection

Personal observation of thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Edward Titchener

Brought introspection ideas to the United States, naming them structuralism.

What was Edward Titchener’s psychological approach?

Structuralism

Structuralism

Study of sensation and personal experience as basic elements.

Imageless thought

Inability of introspectionists to become subjectively aware of some mental processes. 

Cognitive unconscious

Part of the mind that we are subjectively unaware of and that is not open to introspection.

Max Wertheimer

First to advance the Gestalt viewpoint.

Gestalt Psychology

studied experiences of thinking, learning, personality, and perception as whole units, not by parts.

What was Max Wertheimer’s psychological approach?

Gestalt psychology

William James

Brought the study of animals into psychology and promoted educational work. Consciousness is an ever-changing stream of images and sensations.

Functionalism

Considers behaviors in terms of active adaptations.

natural selection

Evolution favors plants and animals best suited to living conditions.

What was William James’s psychological approach?

Functionalism

John Watson

Observed relationships between stimuli and animals' responses. Adopted Pavlov’s concept of conditioning to explain most behavior. Believed conditioning could change people’s actions.

Behaviorism

Emphasizes the study of observable actions over the study of the mind.

What was John Watson’s psychological approach?

Behaviorism

B. F. Skinner

Believed actions are controlled by rewards and punishments. Felt behavior can be best explained without mental events such as thinking.

Radical Behaviorism

One who rejects both introspection and any study of mental events, such as thinking, as topics for study.

What was B. F. Skinner’s psychological approach?

Radical Behaviorism

Sigmund Freud

Mental life is like an iceberg, with only a small part exposed. Behavior is deeply influenced by unconscious thoughts, impulses, and desires, especially sex and aggression.

Dynamic unconsciousness

Parts of the mind beyond personal awareness.

Psychoanalysis

Freudian approach to psychotherapy. Emphasizes exploration of the unconscious using free association, dream interpretation resistance, and transference.

Neo-Freudians

Psychologists who accept the broad features of Freud’s theory but have revised it to include relevant cultural and social factors.

Psychodynamic Theory

More modern theory containing elements of psychoanalysis. Emphasizes internal conflict, motives, and unconscious forces.

What was Sigmund Freud’s psychological approach?

Psychoanalytic Psychology

Cognitive Psychology

Study of information processing, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving using objective observation; open to studying mental events. Relies on objective observation rather than introspection.

Operational definition

Defines an abstract scientific concept by stating specific actions or procedures used to measure it.

Abraham Maslow

Believed in free will, humanistic psychology, and self-actualization.

Free will

Ability to make conscious choices.

Humanistic psychology

People are inherently good and have potential. Opposite of determinism.

Determinism

the idea that all behavior is caused by forces outside our control.

Self-actualization

Fully developing personal potential.

What was Abahram Maslow’s psychological approach?

Humanistic

Biopsychosocial model

An approach that acknowledges that biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors interact to influence human behavior and mental processes.

Biological perspective

An attempt to explain behavior and mental processes using underlying biological principles.

Neuroscience

Study of the brain and nervous system

Behavioral genetics

Emphasizes how genes interact with the environment to affect mental processes and behavior

Evolutionary psychology

Emphasizes inherited, adaptive aspects of behavior and mental processes.

Psychological perspective

Attempts to explain behavior and mental processes using the impact of psychological characteristics and processes.

Social perspective

Attempts to explain behavior and mental processes using the impact of social contexts.

Cultural relativity

Behavior must be judged relative to values of the culture in which it occurs

What does WEIRD stand for?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies

What are the four goals of psychology?

Description, explanation, prediction, control

Description

Naming or classifying

Explanation

Stating the cause of behavior

Prediction

Ability to accurately forecast behavior

Control

Ability to alter conditions

Scientific method

Process for answering psychological questions that emphasizes precise definitions, the development of hypotheses, systematic collection of evidence, accurate description and measurements, theory development, and testing whether results can be replicated.

Hypothesis

Predicted outcome of an experiment

Theory

Ideas designed to interrelate concepts that summarize existing data and predict future observations

Self-report data

Most common form of data used. Participants providing information about their own thoughts, emotions, or behaivors

Survery

Each participant is asked the same questions

Population

Group from which a sample is drawn

Sample

A subset of a population being studied

Representative sample

Randomly selected group of participants that accurately reflects a larger population

Biased sample

Does not accurately reflect the population from which it was drawn

Observational Data

Data that come from watching participants and recording their behavior

Naturalistic observation

Observing behavior as it occurs in a natural environment without interference from the researcher

Structured observation

Observing behavior in situations that have been set up by the researcher. Each particpant is put in the same position, and behavior is observed.

Observer effect

Changes in behavior caused by awareness of being observed

Observer bias

Observer sees what they expect to see, or records only select details

Physiological data

Data that come from measuring participants’ physiological processes

What does physiological data include?

Includes measures of the brain, heart, muscles, and production of hormones. Typically, quantitative. Minimizes concerns about social desirability and observer bias

How is physiological data gathered?

Gathered using tools that map brain activity or measure pupil dilation

What are the disadvantages of physiological data?

Costly, requires specialized equipment

Experiment

A research method in which the investigator manipulates at least one variable while measuring at least one other variable