Intro Psychology Exam 1

What Is The Science of Psychology?

Science of behavior and mental processes

What Are The Major Specialties In The Field of Psychology?

Basic Research to increase the field’s knowledge base. (Behavioral Genetics & Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychologists, Developmental Psychologists, Health Psychologists, & Social Psychologists).

Applied Research to solve practical problems. (Forensic Psychologists, Industrial-Organizational Psychologists, Counseling Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, Community Psychologists, Sports Psychologists, & Psychiatrists).

Where Do Psychologists Work?

Psychologists work in perspectives ranging from the biological to the social, and with settings ranging from the laboratory to the clinic to the office, psychology relates to many fields. Psychologists teach in medical schools, business schools, law schools, and theological seminaries, and they work in hospitals, factories, and corporate offices. They engage in interdisciplinary studies, such as psychobiography (the study of the lives and personalities of public figures), psycholinguistics (the study of language and thinking), and psychoceramics (the study of crackpots).

What Are The Origins of Psychology?

Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory.

What Are The Major Approaches In Contemporary Psychology?

The seven major perspectives in modern psychology provide different theoretical frameworks for understanding how people think, feel, and behave. (Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social & Personality, and Mental & Physical Health).

What Are Psychology’s Key Issues And Controversies?

Five fundamental debates regarding the nature of human behavior, thought, and consciousness

What is The Future of Psychology Likely to Hold?

The future of psychology is moving toward technology-driven personalization, integrated whole-person healthcare, and an expanding demand for mental health careers.

What Is Psychology

The study of mind and behavior.

What Is Community Psychologists?

Work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all.

What Is Clinical Psychologists?

The focus on assessing and treating people with mental, emotional, and behavior disorders.

What Is Social Psychologists?

A scientific researcher who studies how other people—whether real, imagined, or implied—shape an individual's thoughts, feelings, and actions.

What Is Developmental Psychologists?

A scientist who studies how humans grow, change, and adapt across their entire lives, from birth to old age. 

William Wundt

Established the first experimental psychology lab in 1879: Theorized that we can understand the structure of the mind through introspection.

William James

Built on Darwinism. Introduced functionalism—human psychological characteristics evolve because they are functional and help people adapt and survive.

BCE Philosophers

Philosophers who studied causes of behavior and the nature of the mind.

B.F. Skinner/Jean Piaget

Contributed to behaviorism-operant conditioning (behavior is shaped by consequences). Revolutionized psychology with his stages of cognitive development.

Sigmund Freud

Introduced the concept of psychoanalysis, or the role of the unconscious in shaping conscious thoughts, feelings, and adult behaviors.

Behaviorism

A learning theory stating that all human and animal behaviors are acquired through interaction with the environment via conditioning, rather than internal thoughts or emotions.

Humanistic Psychology

The focused on our growth potential, our needs for love and acceptance, and the environments that nurture or limit personal growth.

Cognitive Revolution

An intellectual movement in the 1950s and 1960s that shifted psychology's focus from outward behavior back to internal mental processes.

Positive Psychology

They believe that happiness is a by-product of a pleasant, engaged, and meaningful life.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first woman to receive a psychology Ph.D., Washburn synthesized animal behavior research in The Animal Mind (1908).

Diversity In Psychology

At this 1964 meeting of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, Eleanor Gibson was easy to spot among the many male members, all in a sea of White faces. By contrast, women now are 62 percent of Association for Psychological Science members and 75 percent of its psychology student affiliates, as is clear in this current photo of APS graduate students. People of color have made enormous contributions to the field, and psychology’s diversity continues to grow.

What Are The Five Key Perspectives?

Neuroscience: Views behavior from the perspective of biological functioning.

Cognitive: Examines how people understand and think about the world.

Behavioral: Focuses on observable behavior.

Humanistic: Contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential.

Psychodynamic: Believes behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious forces over which a person has little control.

The Five Issues In Psychology

Conscious versus unconscious cause of behavior.

Observable behavior versus internal mental processes.

Free will versus determinism.

Individual differences very universal principles.

The five major ethical issues and dilemmas commonly faced in psychology and counseling practice involve confidentiality, multiple relationships, professional boundaries, competence, and informed consent.

What Is The Scientific Method?

The foundation of all science is a scientific attitude that combines curiosity, skepticism, and humility. Psychologists arm their scientific attitude with the scientific method—a self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis. Psychological science welcomes hunches and plausible-sounding theories. And it puts them to the test. If a theory works—if the data support its predictions—so much the better for that theory. If the predictions fail, the theory gets revised or rejected.

What Role Do Theories and Hypotheses Play In Psychological Research?

Theory: Broad explanations and predictions concerning observations of interest.

Hypothesis: A prediction, stemming from a theory, stated in a way that allows it to be tested.

What Research Methods Do Psychologists Use?

Descriptive: Is a systematic, objective observation of behavior.

Correlational: An observation that two traits or attributes are related to each other (that is, they are “co”-related).

Experimental: With experiments, researchers can focus on the possible effects of one or more factors in several ways.

How Do Psychologists Establish Cause-And-Effect Relationships In Research Studies?

Psychologists establish cause-and-effect relationships primarily by conducting controlled experiments.

Keys Variables In An Experiment:

Independent Variable: Factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Dependent Variable: Factor that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.

Confounding Variable: Factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect.

Random Assignment: To discern causation psychologists control for confounding variables by random assignment. Some participants to an experimental group(s). Others to a control group.

What Major Issues Confront Psychologists Conducting Research?

Psychologists conducting research face major challenges involving ethics, human participant protections, and the inherent complexity of measuring human behavior.

Operational

The translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed.

Research

Uses scientific methods to study the mind, brain, and human behavior. 

Archival

Existing data are examined to test a hypothesis.

Pros: Inexpensive

Cons: Data may not be in a form that allows the researcher to test a hypothesis fully.

Naturalistic Observation

Records behavior in natural environment. Describes but does not explain behavior.

Pros: Obtains a sample of what people do in their natural habitat.

Cons: The inability to control any factors of interest.

Case Study

Examines one (or a few) individuals in depth.

Pros: Insight can improve our understanding of people in general.

Cons: Small samples or unique individuals make it impossible to make valid generalizations about a larger population.

Ethnography

Seeks to understand the attitudes and values of a culture using in-depth, extended examination of people in their own environment.

Pros: Can provide a detailed look at behavior in a particular setting.

Cons: Researchers can misinterpret the meaning of behaviors in cultures other than their own.

History of Ethics

Evolved from post-World War II human rights crises and controversial experiments into formal codes of conduct that protect human and animal participants.

Ethics In Psychological Research

Approval from appropriate authorities.

beneficence, respect for persons, justice, Informed consent, deception, debriefing, risk and benefits, voluntary participation, privacy & confidentiality, protection from physical & mental harm, and selection of subjects, debriefing afterwards and if treatment was beneficial make it available to control group.