Chapter 1 - Science of Psychology

Psychology

________ is filled with debate and controversy, its natural.

Curiosity

________- making observations and finding the why.

Hypothesis

________- Testable prediction that derives logically from a theory.

Natural Selection

________- Darwins principle of an evolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their environment will survive and produce offspring aka "survival of the fittest.

Double

________- Blind Experiment- an experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group & which are in the control group until the results are calculated.

Sexual & Agressive

________ impules drive how people think, feel, and behave.

Demand Characteristics

________- any aspects of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave, Systematic biases are also called confounds.

Psychodynamic Approach

________- Focused on unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives and society's demands.

Sigmund Freud

________ theorized personality was influenced by early relationships and experiences.

Correlative Research

________- examines relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether & how two variables change together.

Structuralism

________- Wilhelm Wundts (1832- 1920) approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes; looking inside the brain introspection- Looking within their own minds; the "what.

Narcissism

________- condition of intense, unhealthy self- love.

Psychologists

________ approach big questions as scientists using research and data to draw conclusions.

Scatter Plots

________- used to graph correlations.

Validity

________- soundness of the conclusions a researcher draws from an experiment.

Cognitive Approach

________- Focused on the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and problem solve.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

________- Researchers expectations unknowingly create a situation that affects the results.

Ancient Cultures

________- Dreams sent by gods as reward or punishment, telling them when to harvest or go to war.

Philosophy

________- The rational investigation of the underlying principles of being and knowledge.

Functionalism

________- William James (1842- 1910) approach, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind behavior in the individuals adaptation to the environment; the "why.

Confederate

________- person given a role to play in a study so the social context can be manipulated.

ESM

Experience Sampling Method (________)- study people in their natural settings, reporting data whether qualitative or quantitative at given intervals.

Empiricism

________- knowledge come from experience via the senses.

17th Century

________: Scientific Revolution- Focus on observations, not superstitions.

Wundt

________ is deemed the founding father of modern psych, 1st to open psych lab in SEPT 1879 for scientific study of mental processes.

Empirical Method

________- Gaining knowledge through observation of events, data collection, & logical reasoning, used to get objective evidence.

Sociocultural Approach

________- Examines influences of social groups and culture on behavior.

Operational Definition

________- Provides and objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study.

Longitudinal Design

________- special kind of systematic observation, involving obtaining measures of specific variables in multiple waves over time.

human behavior

Science- use of systematic methods to observe natural world (ie: ________ to draw conclusions)

Chapter 1

The Science of Psychology

Section 1

Defining Psychology and Exploring Its Roots

Psychology 

scientific study of behavior and mental processes

From the Greek

"psyche" (mind) + "logia" (study of)

ie

Describe, *predict, and explain *human behavior

        Behavior

Everything we do that can be directly observed

Mental Processes 

Thoughts, feelings, and motives people experience privately that we cannot directly observe

ie

Thinking, feeling, memory

Four attitudes of scientific approach

critical thinking, curiosity, skepticism, objectivity

Critical Thinking

Process of thinking deeply & actively, asking qs, eval evid

        Curiosity 

making observations and finding the why

        Skeptical

challenging whether facts are actually true

Experiment Example

Selling chocolate bars that were "blemished" for discount people bought more than just discounted alone

Empirical Method

Gaining knowledge through observation of events, data collection, & logical reasoning, used to get objective evidence

Narcissism

condition of intense, unhealthy self-love

Ancient Cultures 

Dreams sent by gods as reward or punishment, telling them when to harvest or go to war

First Psychology Experiment 

Psamtik I, King of Egypt, Hypothesized that children would speak inborn language (native language to humans, he thought egyptian) if they didnt learn from their parents

Philosophy 

The rational investigation of the underlying principles of being and knowledge

ie

Descartes → Emotion, Aristotle → Happiness

Socrates 

"Know thyself" (Encouraging introspection)

Aristotle

"Peri Psyches" (About the Mind)

Hippocrates 

Abnormal behavior caused by abnormal (1st to think this)

Pre Scientific Psychology 

Are the mind & body connected, Are ideas innate or is the mind a "blank slate", Do people have souls

Middle Ages

Demonic possession (deemed the reason for abnormal behavior)

Enlightenment 

17th/18th Centuries

Empiricism

knowledge come from experience via the senses

G Stanley Hall 

American student of Wundt opened 1st American psych lab at Johns Hopkins U

Natural Selection

Darwins principle of an evolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their environment will survive and produce offspring aka "survival of the fittest"

Section 2

Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

        Gestalt Psychology

Max Wertheimer

Neuroscience

Scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, & biochemistry of the nervous system

Behavioral Approach

Focused on the scientific study of observable behavior only

Skinner

rewards & punishments drive behavior

Cognition 

thought processes

Psychodynamic Approach

Focused on unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives and society's demands

Basis for therapy known as psychoanalysis 

unlocking unconscious conflicts through talking

Humanistic Approach

Focused on a persons positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, free will and self-determination

People choose to leave by higher values such as altruism 

unselfish concern for other peoples well-being

Evolutionary Approach

Centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining behavior

Sociocultural Approach

Examines influences of social groups and culture on behavior

Cross-cultural research 

comparing individuals in various cultures to see how they differ on important psychological attributes

Section 3

Psychologys Scientific Method

Variable

Anything that can change

Theory

Broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations

        Hypothesis

Testable prediction that derives logically from a theory

Operational Definition

Provides and objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study

Section 4

Types of Psychological Research

Descriptive Research 

describes phenomenon

Observation

Knowing what to look for specifically and how to communicate them

Naturalistic 

watch behavior natural occurring situation

ie

cell phone use in crosswalks

Self

Reported

Correlative Research 

examines relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether & how two variables change together

Scatter Plots 

used to graph correlations

Third Variable Problem aka confounds

Circumstance where a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationships between two other variables

Experience Sampling Method (ESM)

study people in their natural settings, reporting data whether qualitative or quantitative at given intervals

Longitudinal Design

special kind of systematic observation, involving obtaining measures of specific variables in multiple waves over time

Experiment

carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable

Dependent Variable (DV)

the outcome, the factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable

Random Assignment

 Participants are assigned to groups by chance, reducing the likelihood that an experiments results will be due to preexisting differences between groups

Sample 

large enough, representative population, random assignment

Operational Definition

how will variables be measured

Confederate

person given a role to play in a study so the social context can be manipulated

Experimental Group

participants in an experiment, exposed to independent variable

Control Group

participants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental group as possible and treated exactly the same, NOT exposed to the independent variable

Within-Participant Designs

Participants serve as their own control groups, experiencing various conditions of the study

Validity

soundness of the conclusions a researcher draws from an experiment

External

degree to which an experimental design actually reflects real-world issues its supposed to address

Internal

degree to which

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Researchers expectations unknowingly create a situation that affects the results