PSY100 Test 1 | University of Toronto, Prof. Ashley Waggoner-Denton

Science

The use of systematic observation to acquire knowledge.

Systematic observation

The careful observation of the natural world with the aim of better understanding it. Observations provide basic data that allow scientists to track, tally, and organize information about the natural world.

Naturalistic Observation

Passive observation. Observers do not change or alter ongoing behaviour (at least not intentionally)

Empirical methods

Approaches to inquiry that are tied to actual measurement and observation.

Hypothesis

A logical idea that can be tested.

Theories

Groups of closely related phenomena or observations.

Francis Galton

A pioneering psychological researcher in the late 1800s who in his research with twins, coined the term "nature vs. nurture."

Ethics

Professional guidelines that offer researchers a template for making decisions that protect research participants from potential harm and that help steer scientists away from conflicts of interest or other situations that might compromise the integrity of their research.

Aspects of an ethical experiment

I Can't Protect Ugly Dogs

1. Informed consent
2. Confidentiality
3. Privacy
4. Understanding of risks and benefits
5. Debriefing

Goal attainment

You are more likely to attain a promotion goal (a goal to attain a positive outcome) rather than a prevention goal (a goal to prevent an unwanted outcome). Also more likely to attain an intrinsic goal (a goal dependent on yourself) than an extrinsic goal (a goal dependent on someone else, ie. your mom being proud).

Mental contrasting

Comparing what is different in your future that allows your goals to be realized. What are the negative things about your present reality blocking you from attaining the goal? Don't just think about the negative present, focus on the positive future as well.

Implementation intentions

In goal setting, you have to think if x happens I will do y. This way you will not be derailed by obstacles because you've already thought about how to deal with them.

Wilhelm Wundt

Introduced structuralism, which uses introspection to connect components of the mind. Established first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany in 1879. Invented the "thought meter", reflecting the beginning of empiricism in psychology.

Edward Titchener

A student of Wundt and the father of structuralism, the idea that the human mind could be broken down into certain elements. He believed if we understood conscious experience separately- feelings, thoughts, etc, then we'd understand the mind as a whole. Focused on describing what happens in the minds of individuals.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind.

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. Its biggest proponent was William James, who was heavily influenced by Darwin.

Gestalt theory

Rejected structuralism, arguing that we should look at the mind as a whole because the whole of personal experience is different from simply the sum of its constituent elements. Gestalt experiments show that the brain is not a passive receiver of information, it actively filters incoming information to make sense of it.

William James

Founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment. Helped develop a theory of emotion.

Behaviourism

Believed that the mind is a black box we cannot understand, and thus psychologists should only be interested in observable behavior. Its two biggest proponents were John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Cognitive Revolution

(1950s-60s) Psychogists began to reject behaviourism and focus on cognitive psychology and social psychology. Behaviour began to be explained by the mind.

Decade of the Brain

(90s-) New emphasis on the brain itself, and understanding the brain's impact on behaviour. (Ex. fMRI machines)

Biopsychosocial model

Idea that behaviour is a product of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors, all of which can interact and influence one another.

Clever Hans

A horse capable of answering questions from humans. After investigation, it was realized that the horse picked up on small cues from people asking it questions in order to provide the correct answer.

Reactivity

How behaviour changes when you know you're being watched.

Experimenter-expectancy effect

AKA participant demand. The phenomenon that occurs when the participant tries to do what they think the experimenter wants.

Hawthorne effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied. Named after a 1927 study on factory workers that was flawed for once the factory workers realized they were being observed, they tried to be more productive.

Participant observation

Active observation. The researcher is actively involved in the situation, joining a person in their routine activities

Laboratory observation

Systematic observations are made within a laboratory setting (rather than in the 'real world').

Masters and Johnson

Came up with the four-stage model of sexual arousal through direct laboratory observations of sexual activities.

Self-report methods

People are asked to provide information about themselves

Socially desirable responding

When people respond in a way that they feel is socially desirable, instead of expressing their actual opinions.

"Better than average" effect

Most people perceive themselves as better than average.

The Scientific Method

A cyclical process with no clear start and endpoint. It generally involves making observations, formulating hypotheses, developing testable predictions, gathering data to test predictions, and then developing general theory.

Theory

Explains the relationship between two or more variables. Its purpose is to explain and predict. It should be testable, falsifiable, and parsimonious (preferably simple).

Intergroup Contact Theory

Under certain circumstances, positive intergroup contact can reduce prejudice toward the outgroup.

Social Comparison Theory

When more objective measures are unavailable, people will evaluate their own abilities/qualities by comparing themselves to similar others

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura's theory that people can learn by observing others, in the absence of explicit behavioural reproduction or reinforcement.

Operational definitions

Definitions of theoretical constructs that are stated in term of concrete, observable procedures. How researchers specifically measure a concept.

Variable

A characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals

Independent variable

The variable that a researcher manipulates or controls in an experiment.

Dependent variable

The variable the researcher measures that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Random assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups. NECESSARY component of an experiment, because this ensures that your different groups are equivalent on average.

Population

The group that you want to be able to generalize your findings to.

WEIRD

Refers to how a lot of psychological research is done with samples Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic societies.

Confounds

Anything that may unintentionally vary along with the independent variable. Confounds limit our ability to make causal claims.

Correlational research

When scientists passively observe and measure two variables to identify patterns in relationships. You CANNOT infer causality in correlational research.

r

Abbreviation for correlational coefficient. Provides information about the strength of a relationship.

Positive correlation

The two variables go up or down together. Indicated by positive r value.

Negative correlation

When two variables move in opposite direction. Indicated by negative r value.

Strong correlation

High absolute value of r.

Weak correlation

Low absolute value of r.

Directionality problem

When two variables X and Y are related to each other and you make the assumption that changes in one of the variables, X, is producing (causing) changes in the other variable, Y, when in fact the causal relationship goes in the other direction ... Y is causing changes in X.

Third-variable problem

When the results of the study could be explained due to a third variable not previously accounted for.

Descriptive research

Involve observing and classifying behaviour. They are often done as the first step in a line of research.

Quasi-experimental design

Research method similar to an experimental design except that it makes use of naturally occurring groups rather than randomly assigning subjects to groups. Causal inference is difficult with these studies.

Longitudinal study

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.

Surveys

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions. Usually used for correlational research. However can also be used to carry out experiments.

Laboratory experiments

Traditionally considered the "gold standard" in psychology, because only they can separate cause from effect and establish causality. Problem with them is that the results may not apply to the real world.

Validity

Refers to the extent to which the collected data addresses the research hypothesis in the way intended.

Construct Validity

The degree to which the independent and dependent variables in a study truly represent the abstract variables (ie. Constructs like extraversion) in which the researcher is interested

Internal validity

The degree to which an experiment shows convincingly that changes in behavior are a function of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unknown variables, allowing unambiguous causal inferences.

External validity

The degree to which a study ensures that potential findings apply to settings and samples other than the ones being studied.

Reliability

The extent to which a measure is stable and consistent over time.

Inter-observer Reliability

The degree to which different judges independently agree upon their observations or judgments. E.g., In a descriptive study, the extent to which different observers would code behaviour in the same way.

Why is it difficult to simultaneously have internal and external validity?

Because a controlled setting in which all potentially influential factors are controlled is necessarily different from real life.

Generalize

The ability to draw broad conclusions based on a smaller sample of observations. Requires a representative sample, and can be dependent on the degree to which an experimental situation is comparable to a real-world situation.

Field studies

Allows psychologists to test how processes of interest "behave" under real-world circumstances.

Ecological validity

The degree to which an effect has been obtained under conditions that are typical for what happens in everyday life.

Research methods for studying daily life

1. Sampling daily behaviour
2. Sampling daily experiences
3. Sampling daily psychology
4. Sampling online behaviour
5. Collecting usage data via smartphones

Experience-sampling method

A methodology where participants report on their momentary thoughts, feelings, and behaviors at different points in time over the course of a day.

Ecological momentary assessment

An overarching term to describe methodologies that repeatedly sample participants' real-world experiences, behavior, and physiology in real time.

Daily Diary method

A methodology where participants complete a questionnaire about their thoughts, feelings, and behavior of the day at the end of the day.

Day reconstruction method (DRM)

A methodology where participants describe their experiences and behavior of a given day retrospectively upon a systematic reconstruction on the following day.

Electronically activated recorder

A methodology where participants wear a small, portable audio recorder that intermittently records snippets of ambient sounds around them.

White coat hypertension

A phenomenon in which patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in the hospital or doctor's office but not in their everyday lives.

Ambulatory assessment

An overarching term to describe methodologies that assess the behavior, physiology, experience, and environments of humans in naturalistic settings.

Linguistic analyses

Type of text analysis that extracts grammatical and psychological information from a text by counting word frequencies.

Full-cycle psychology

A scientific approach whereby researchers start with an observational field study to identify an effect in the real world, follow up with laboratory experimentation to verify the effect and isolate the causal mechanisms, and return to field research to corroborate their experimental findings.

Accuracy

The extent to which an experimental measure is free from error.

Random Error

Unavoidable error- few measurement techniques are entirely free of error.

Systematic Error

An error associated with a particular instrument or experimental technique that causes the measured value to be off by the same amount each time. (Affects the accuracy of results - Can be eliminated by fixing source of error - shows up as non-zero y-intercept on a graph)

Descriptive statistics

Statistics that describe your data. Summarizes the data from a sample (ie. The mean).

Inferential Statistics

Uses sample data to make inferences about a population.

Statistic Hypothesis testing

A set of procedures used to make judgements about whether any observed differences between our conditions are due to chance variation or whether they are reflective of true differences in the groups being compared.

Stroop Effect

Explains the decreased speed of naming the color of ink used to print words when the color of ink and the word itself are of different colors. Delay indicates how long it takes to overcome that automatic reaction.

Psychophysiological Assessment

Involve examining how bodily functions (physiology) change in association with behaviours or mental states (psychology). Ex. EEG, fMRI, PET

Twin Studies

Help researchers study the impact of genetic versus environmental influences.

Monozygotic twins

Identical twins

Dizygotic twins

Fraternal twins

Epigenetics

(epi = outer) Changes in gene expression that are due to non-genetic influences.

Heredity

The genetic transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring.

Heritability coefficient

An estimate of the genetic proportion of the variation in some specific trait. Measured within a particular population (NOT an individual).

Estimate of heritability

% of the variation that is explained by genetic differences.

Behaviour is determined by . . .

Heredity, biology, environment, and culture.

Central nervous system (CNS)

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

A division of the nervous system consisting of all nerves that are not part of the brain or spinal cord. Transmits information to the CNS, and responds to messages from the CNS to perform certain behaviours or make bodily adjustments. Divided into two primary components, the somatic nervous system (SNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

Somatic nervous system

Concerned with the external environment. Enables voluntary actions to be undertaken due to its control of skeletal muscles. Consists primarily of motor neurons responsible for sending signals from the brain to the muscles. Also includes sensory neurons, which send signals to the brain.

Motor neurons

Efferent. Send signals from the brain to the muscles. CNS to muscles/skin/joints

Sensory neurons

Afferent. (Send signals to the brain. Muscle/skin/joints to CNS.