Psychology - Unit 1

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental process

Humanistic Perspective

when our needs are met, we have the capacity to strive towards our ideal self

Psychodynamic Perspective

unconscious mind and its control over our thoughts and actions

Biological Perspective

how genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters affect our behavior

Evolutionary Perspective

how can behaviors be adaptive or maladaptive? how a behavior has been selected for?

Behavioral Perspective

how experience and environment shape our behavior

Cognitive Perspective

how our thoughts and perceptions influence our actions

Sociocultural Perspective

how do groups and group expectations influence our behavior

Bio

any bodily process

Pyscho

anything to do with mental

Social

any external influences

Informed consent

ensuring a participants agreement who is 18+ years old they are 100% responsible for themselves

Informed assent

ensuring a participants agreement who is 18 or under they aren’t held accountable as strictly

Generalization

taking results and generalizing it beyond the group we study to the greater population

Operational Definition

name it, define it, measure it

Sampling

the process of participants being selected by the population

Case Study

one individual group studied in depth

Nationalistic Observation

observing and recording behavior in a naturally occurring situation

Hawthorn Effect

when subjects are aware of being observed, the behavior can’t be natural anymore

Correlational Method

the relationship between two variables to determine if they are related to each other

Positive Correlation

2 variables rise and fall together

Negative Correlation

variables are opposite of each other one rises while one falls

Illusionary Correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Experiment

researcher manipulates selected variables and measures the effect of the manipulations (has full control)

Personnel

subjects/participants of the experiment

Independent Variable

it is manipulated (the cause)

Experimental Groups

the group exposed to the manipulation (independent variable)

Control Groups

baseline group used for comparison and may receive placebo (false treatment)

Random Groups

sorting participants

Ethnical Guidelines

guidelines for ethnical research - protection from harm, confidentiality, right to withdraw, deception, debriefing

dependent variable

it is what is measured (the effect)

cofounding variable

something unaccounted by the researchers that can give unwanted inaccurate results