Psychology 1101 Morris Exam 1

What is psychology?

the scientific study of behavior AND mental processes

structuralism

-Wilhelm Wundt ("father of psychology")

-conscience experience can be broken down into basic elements (to understand structure)

-ex: subject explaining experience with an apple on a table

functionalism

-William James

-study how people function in the world

-interested in how mental activities help humans adapt

psychodynamic approach

-Sigmund Freud

-unconscious motives and experiences in early childhood govern personality and mental disorders

behavioral approach

-Watson and Skinner

-only observable events can be studied scientifically (can't study thoughts and emotions because we can't see them)

-how organisms learn new behaviors or change existing ones due to rewards or punishments

humanistic approach

-Rogers and Maslow

-humans are free, rational beings with potential for positive growth and are fundamentally different from other animals

-people can have control over their biology and environment

-all people have have fundamental desire to reach full potential

biological approach

an organism's functioning can be explained in terms of bodily structures and biochemical processes that underlie behavior

neuroscience

scientific study of the nervous system

cognitive approach

human behavior cannot be fully understood without examining how people acquire, store, and process information

sociocultural approach

to understand human behavior we have to examine influences of social/cultural environment

biopsychology

how our physiology influences behavior, thoughts, and feelings

sensation and perception psychology

examines the physiological aspects of the sensory system and the psychological experience of how we perceive these sensations

developmental psychology

-studies changes over a lifespan

-lifespan is from conception to death

cognitive psychology

studies how we think, remember, solve problems, and use language

personality psychology

studies patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make us unique individuals

social psychology

-studies how we view, think about, and interact with others

-different from sociology because its the study of individuals' interactions with others rather than the study of group interactions

industrial/organizational (IO) psychology

applies psych theories, principles, and research findings to industrial and organizational settings

health psychology

focuses on how health is affected by the interaction between bio, psycho, and sociocultural factors

sport and exercise psychology

study of the psychological aspects of sport performance

forensic psychology

applies psychological findings to the justice system

clinical and counseling psychology

focus on the diagnosis, treatment, and/or understanding of psychological disorders and problematic behaviors

counselor/therapist

Masters degree

clinical psychologist

PhD or PsyD

psychiatrist

M.D. (can prescribe medications)

Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972)

-most infamous case of poor ethics in research and led to regulations we have today

-doctors withheld cure for syphilis for the sake of research

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

-review board at any federally funded institution responsible for reviewing all research to determine if its ethical

-benefits of research MUST outweigh harm caused to participants

informed consent

-research must be explained in detail before participant agrees to take part

-before "yes"

voluntary participation

-participant must agree to participate and understand they can quit at any time

-after "yes"

right to privacy

right of participants to not have data shared without consent

confidentiality

can only use/share data in ways specified

anonymity

data cannot be connected to participants' identities

When is deception acceptable?

-when no lasting harm is found

-must have a good reason

-must be explained to participants after study

debriefing

after study, participant must be given details and a chance to ask questions

regulations for using non-human animals in research

-must have good reason

-must justify any harm/pain to animal (benefits MUST outweigh harm)

-must keep animal in good living conditions

case study

-in-depth

-investigation/description of one person (or a few people)

-results can't be generalized

naturalistic observation

-observation/description of naturally occurring behavior

-researcher does not interfere

-can't determine causation, only describe observations

survey

-questionnaires (written) or interviews (verbal) used to gather info

-self-repoted

-can get a lot of info quickly and cheaply (not as much depth)

-can ask about things we can't observe

-concerns about accuracy (social desirability bias and inaccurate memory)

social desirability bias

tendency to give socially approved answers to make yourself look better

archival research

-using existing records as data to answer research questions

-have no control over how archive was designed (data may be incomplete or inconsistent)

cross-sectional design

groups of different ages, all observed at once, then compared to each other

problem with cross-sectional design

cohort effects (generational differences)

longitudinal design

one group of the same age, observed multiple times, then compared to earlier selves

problems with longitudinal design

time consuming and expensive

What method allows us to talk about causation?

experimental method

placebo effect

giving participants a fake remedy and symptoms clear due to participants believing they're being cured

single-blind experiment

participants don't know which control group they are in

double-blind experiment

participants and experimenters don't know which control they are in (most common)

operational definitions

how we define and measure variables in research

reliable

same results every time

valid

measures what it is meant to measure