Unit 1 test (Psych)

What are approaches to Psych?

Lenses which explain human and mental behavior

Biological

explaining human behavior, focuses on biological mechanisms + structures

Examples of biological:

brain neurotransmitters, hormones, drugs, and genetics

Evolutionary

looking at what made people most likely to survive/reproduce

Examples of evolutionary:

language, altruism, s*xual attraction, Charles Darwin, survival of the fittest

Behaviorism

only studies observable human behavior, how we learn and react to our environment

Examples of behaviorism:

learning, conditioning reinforcement, punishment

Cognitive

school of psych that studies mental processes (think, feel, remember, decision, etc)

Examples of cognitive:

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve info, thinking, CAT scans, MRI’s

Psychodynamic (Psychoanalysis)

personality theory, that says behavior springs from unconscious mind drives and conflicts; drives, forbidden desires, “drags us down”

Examples of Psychodynamic (Psychoanalysis):

patient lies on a couch, recents dreams, and conducts free association

Humanistic

school of psych, the means of realizing one’s full human potential

Examples of humanistic:

love, self-esteem, belonging, human potential, free will, by nature

Social-cultural

compares different culturesE

Examples of social-cultural:

the mums

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it; “I knew it all along” phenomenon

Overconfidence

(humans) tendency to think more than we do, and be more confident then correct

Super forecasters

avoid overconfidence; gathers facts, balances closing arguments, and settles on an answer

Perceiving Order in Random Events

humans are born with eagerness to make sense of our world

Scientific method

self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis

Peer Review

scientific experts who evaluate research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy

Theory

an explantation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Hypothesis

a testable prediction (determines which results might help or not) often implies by a theory

Falsifiability

the possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment

Operational definitions

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

Case study

a non-experimental technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observation

a non-experimental technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Survey

a non-experimental technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behavior of a particular group, usually be questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Bias

a strong leaning, preference, or prejudice for or against something that often stops fair or objective judgment

Social desirability bias

bias from people’s responding in way they presume a researcher expects or wishes

Self-report bias

bars when people report their behavior inaccurately

Sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Population

all those in an group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn (not country’s national population)

Correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (-1 to +1)

Variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables; the slopes shows the direction, and the amount of scatter shows the strength of the correlation

Correlation does not equal causation…is that true?

yes

Illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists or perceiving a stronger-than < actual relationship

Regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average

Experiment

research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent); by random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors (cause and effect)

Experimental group

the group exposed to the treatment

Control group

the group does not get exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as comparison

Random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Correlational study

uncover naturally occurring relationships

Single-blind procedure

research participants are “blind” about if they got the placebo or not

Double-blind procedure

where both the research participants and staff are “blind” about whether the participants have received the treatment or placebo

Placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any affect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Independent variable

the factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied

Confounding variable

the factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s result

Experimenter bias

bias caused when researchers may unintentionally influence results to confirm their own beliefs

Dependent variables

the outcome that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Validity

the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Quantitative research

a research method that relies on quantifiable, numerical data

Qualitative research

a research method that relies on in-depth, narrative data that are not translated into numbers

Informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Debriefing

the post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

What are the 5 things that must be told to the participants when doing an experiment/research of any kind?

obtain potential participants informed consent, protect participants from harm, keep info about individuals confidential, and fully debrief people, enforce, enforce ethical standards (Institutional Review Board), and coercion (can’t be forced to be part of a study)

Descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups; include measures of central tendency and measures of variation

Histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Mean

the arithmetic average of a distance obtained by adding the scores and then dividing the numbers of scores

Median

the middle score in a distance; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Percentile Rank

the percentage of scores that are lower then a given score

Skewed distance

a representative of scores that lack symmetry around their average valueR

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distance

Standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Normal curve (normal distribution)

a symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes of many types of data; most scores fall near mean (68% = 1 standard deviation) and fewer the fewer score lie near the extremes

Inferential stats

numerical data that allow one to generalize; to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Meta-analysis

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

Statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that a result (such a difference between samples) occurred by chance, assuming there is no difference between population being studied

Effect size

the strength of the relationship between two variables; the larger the effect size, the more one variable can be explained by the other

Confidence interval

the range of values that likely includes the population true mean value

Representative sample

a randomly selected small group of people that represent the characteristics of a larger group of people

What are the 5 things that must be “told” to animals when doing an experiment/research of any kind?

still need institutional review board, safe (and not inhumane environment), clear scientific purpose, least amount of suffering, and obtain animals legally