Psychology Final Exam Study Guide

What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

The Two Major types of research in Psychology

Basic and applied.

Basic research

Focuses on collecting data to support or refute theories, gathering knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

Applied research

Focuses on changing behaviors and outcomes, often leading to real-world applications.

What are the goals of Psychology?

To describe, explain, predict, and change behavior.

What discipline did the study of psychology originate from?

Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory, used the technique of introspection.

Who is considered to be the “father” of
psychology?

Willhelm Wundt

What is behaviorism?

The scientific study of observable behaviorism.

What does it mean to study behaviorism?

To study the relationship between behaviors and their consequences.

Behavioral perspective

Promoted by Watson and Skinner suggests that behaviors and personality are primarily determined by learning through associations, reinforcers, and observation.

Cognitive perspective

George Miller’s research was an important catalyst for cognitive revolution. An approach examining mental processes that direct behavior, focusing on thinking, memory, and language.

Nature

The inherited biological factors that shape behaviors, personality, and other characteristics.

Nurture

The environmental factors that shape behaviors, personality, and other characteristics.

Empirical method

A process that uses object observation to measure and collect data.

Introspection

The examination of one’s own conscious activities.

First African American psychologist to earn a PhD

Francis Sumner

Psychoanalytic perspective

The approach by Freud suggesting that behaviior and personality are built by unconscious conflicts.

Evolutionary perspective

An approach using knowledge about evolutionary forces, like natural selection to understand behavior.

Natural Selection

The process through which inherited traits in a given population either increase in frequency because they’re adaptive, or decrease in frequency since they’re maladaptive.

Biological perspective

An approach using knowledge about underlying physiology to explain behavior and mental processes.

Sociocultural perspective

An approach examining how social interactions and culture influence behavior and mental processes.

Biopsychosocial perspective

Explains behavior through the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Wilhelm Wundt- historical fields of psychology

Structuralism- An early school of psychology that used introspection to determine the structure and most basic elements of the mind.

William James- historical fields of psychology

Functionalism - An early school of psychology that focused on the function of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how they help us adapt to the environment.

Humanistic Psychology- An approach suggesting that human nature is by and large positive, and the human direction is toward growth.

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow: Historical fields of psychology

Sigmund Freud- Historical fields of psychology

Psychoanalytic- an approach developed by Freud suggesting that behavior and personality are shaped by unconscious conflicts.

Scientific method

Formulate a hypothesis

Collect data

Analyze data

Share the findings

The scientific method uses critical thinking at each step in the process and asks new questions along the way.

Representative sample

Important for research because it allows them to generalize their findings or apply information from a sample to the population at large.

Descriptive research

Useful for studying new or unexplored topics, when researchers might not have specific expectations about outcomes. Includes naturalistic observation, case studies, and the survey method.

What is a theory?

Synthesizes observations in order to explain phenomena, and it can be used to make predictions that can be tested through research.

What is a hypothesis?

A statement that can be used to test a prediction.

What is a case study?

A type of descriptive research that closely examines an individual or small group.

What is a naturalistic observation?

A type of descriptive research that studies participants in their natural environment through systematic observation.

What is an experiment?

A controlled procedure that involves careful examination through the use of scientific observation and/or manipulation of variables (measurable characteristics)

Sample Size in research

A subset of a population chosen for inclusion in an experiment.

Random sample

A subset of the population chosen through a procedure that ensures all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study.

Random assignment

The process of appointing study participants to experimental or control groups, ensuring that every person has an equal chance of being assigned to either.

Institutional review board

A committee that reviews research proposals to protect the rights and welfare of all participants.

Population in research

All members of an identified group about which a researcher is interested in.

Correlational study

A type of research examining relationships among variables. Shows whether two variables are related; useful when an experimental method is not possible. Cannot determine cause and effect as a third variable may be influencing both.

Observer bias

Errors in the recording of observations, which result from the researcher’s value system, expectations, or attitudes.

Survey method

A type of descriptive research that uses questionnaires or interviews to gather data.

Correlation

An association or relationship between two or more variables.

What does a correlational coefficient determine?

The statistical measure (symbolized as r) that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. The closer r is to +1.00 or to -1.00, the stronger the relationship. The closer r is to .00, the weaker.

What is a positive correlation?

As one variable increases, the other also increases. (+)

What is a negative correlation?

As one variable increases, the other decreases (an inverse relationship). (-)

Experimental method

Uncover cause and effect relationships between independent and dependent variables. Holds everything constant except for variables being manipulated by the researcher.

Experimental group

The participants in an experiment who are exposed to the treatment variable or manipulation by the researcher; represents the treatment group.

Control group

The participants in an experiment who are not exposed to the treatment variable; this is the comparison group.

What is the independent variable?

In the experimental method, the variable manipulated by the researcher to determine its effect on the dependent variable.

What is the dependent variable?

In the experimental method, the characteristic or response that is measured to determine the effect of the researcher’s manipulation.

Cofounding variable

A type of extraneous (unimportant) variable that changes in sync with the independent variable, making it difficult to discern which one is causing changes in the dependent variable.

Third variable

An unaccounted-for characteristic of participants or the environment that explains changes in the variables of interest.

Double blind study

A study in which neither the participants nor the researchers administering the independent variable know which participants are receiving the treatment and which are getting the placebo.

Placebo

An inert substance or fake treatment given to members of the control group.

Experimenter bias

Researcher expectations that influence the outcome of a study.

Researcher ethics

Encourages psychologists to do no harm; safeguard the welfare of living beings in their research; know their responsibilities to society and community; maintain accuracy in research, teaching and practice; respect human dignity.

Hawthorne effect

When people know they are being observed, their behavior changes.

Confidentiality

Researchers must take steps to protect research data from misuse or theft. Therapy services are legally supposed to be confidential; they are required to safeguard this information in their offices.

Informed consent

Acknowledgement from study participants that they understand what their participation will entail.

Critical thinking

The process of weighing pieces of evidence, synthesizing them, and evaluating the contributions of each; disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

Variables

Measurable characteristics that can vary over time or across people.

Debriefing

Sharing information with participants after their involvement in a study has ended, including the purpose of the research and any deception used.

Descriptive method

Research methods that describe and explore behaviors, but whose findings cannot definitively state cause and effect relationships.

Positive psychology

Focuses on human flourishing and the positive aspects of human nature, seeking to understand the roots of happiness, creativity, humor, and other strengths.

Descriptive statistics

Psychologists can describe data sets using numbers that express important characteristics: measures of central tendency, measures of variation, and measures of position. These numbers are crucial components as they provide a current snapshot of a data set.

Inferential statistics

An important factor of inferential statistics is hypothesis testing. Hypothesis testing uses mathematical procedures to explore whether data support a hypothesis or result from chance.

What does a measure of central tendency represent and which ones were discussed in class.

Measures of central tendency represent numbers displaying the middle of a data set. These include mean, median, and mode.

What is skewness?

A nonsymmetrical frequency distribution.

What does it mean when your data is skewed?

Skewed data can suggest the presence of outliers and may affect statistical analyses, as it deviates from a normal distribution. Understanding skewness is important for interpreting data accurately and making informed decisions based on statistical models.

Negatively skewed- a nonsymmetrical distribution with a longer tail to the left side of the distribution; left-skewed distribution.

Positively skewed- a nonsymmetrical distribution with a longer tail to the right side of the distribution; right-skewed distribution.

What is a bimodal distribution?

A distribution with two modes, which are the two most frequently occurring values.

What number indicates a good p value? Hint: its a numerical value

P-value is an indication of probability of getting a test statistic of a certain size or more extreme. The number that indicates a good p value is if p is less than 0.05.

What is statistical significance?

A concept that determines whether a relationship between variables is likely due to something other than chance.

What is the nervous system?

A communication network that uses electrical and chemical processes to convey messages throughout your body.

Association areas

Regions of the cortex that integrate information from all over the brain, allowing us to learn, think in abstract terms, and carry out complex behaviors.

Wernicke’s area

Plays a role in language comprehension; enables us to make sense of what is being said.

Broca’s area

Involved in speech production; helps us generate speech.

Right cerebral hemisphere

Controls the left side of the body; excels in visual-spatial tasks

Left cerebral hemisphere

Controls the right side of the body; excels in language processing

Primary visual cortex

Receives and interprets visual information; allows us to “see“ vivid mental images.

Sensory definition and function

Neurons that receive information from the sensory systems and convey it to the brain for further processing.

Motor definition and function

Neurons that transmit information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.

Interneurons definition and function

Neurons that reside exclusively in the brain and spinal cord; act as a bridge connecting sensory and motor neurons.

Branch of Nervous system: Central Nervous System

A major component of the human nervous system; includes the brain and spinal cord. This system receives information from nerves and responds by telling orders to the muscles, glands, and other tissues through the nerves of the peripheral nervous system.

Branch of Nervous system: Peripheral Nervous System

The part of the nervous system that connects the central nervous system to the rest of the body. Includes body’s muscles, glands, organs. The nerves of the peripheral nervous system inform the central nervous system about the body’s environment- both exterior (sights and sounds) and the interior (heart rate and temperature).

Divisions of Central Nervous system

Brain and Spinal cord.

Divisions of Peripheral nervous system

Somatic nervous system and Autonomic nervous system.

Autonomic nervous system

The branch that controls involuntary processes within the body, such as contractions in the digestive tract and activity of glands.

Axon

Skinny, tube-like structure of a neuron that extends from the cell body and sends messages to other neurons through its terminals.

Myelin sheath

A fatty substance that insulates the axon and speeds the transmission of neural messages.

Synapse

The place where the axon terminal of a sending neuron meets the dendrite of a neighboring neuron or other type of cell receiving its signal; junction between neurons where communication occurs.

Cell body

The region of the neuron that includes structures that nourish the cell, and a nucleus containing DNA.

Glial cells

Cells of the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.

Excitatory signals

If enough sending neurons signal the receiving neuron to pass along the message, their combined signal becomes excitatory.

Inhibitory signals

Instructs the neuron not to fire.

Receptor sites

Locations on the receiving neuron’s dendrites where neurotransmitters attach

Reuptake

A process by which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the sending axon terminal.

Somatic nervous system

The branch that includes sensory nerves and motor nerves; gathers information from sensory receptors and controls the skeletal muscles responsible for voluntary movement.

The structure of the neuron

Norepinephrine

Helps prepare the body for stressful situations. It also regulates arousal and sleep in the brain. Sometimes, overarousal and hypervigilance can happen, which dramatically affects thinking and attention.