Scientific Foundations of Psychology (10-14% of exam)

Structuralism

used introspection (act of looking inward to examine mental experience) to determine underlying STRUCTURES of the mind

Functionalism

need to analyze the PURPOSE of behavior

Psychoanalytic/dynamic

unconscious, childhood, trauma

Behavioral

learned, reinforced

humanistic

free will, choice, ideal, actualization

cognitive

perceptions, thoughts

evolutionary

genes

biological

brain, NTs

Sociocultural

society

Biopsychosocial

combination of psychoanalytic, biological, and sociocultural

Mary Calkins

First female president of American Psychological Association

Margaret Floy Washburn

1st female Ph.D

Charles Darwin

Natural selection and evolution

Dorothea Dix

Reformed Mental Institutions in U.S.

Stanley Hall

1st president of American Psychological Association

William James*

Father of American Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt*

Father of Modern Psychology

Basic Research

purpose is to increase knowledge (experimenting on rats)

Applied Research

Purpose is to help people

Psychologist

Research or counseling - MS or PhD

Psychiatrist

Prescribes medications and diagnose - M.D.

Experiment

Pros: control variable to establish cause and effect

Cons: difficult to generalize

Independent Variable

Variable altered to look for effect

Experimental Group

received the treatment (part of IV) can have multiple experimental groups

Control Group

Placebo, baseline (part of IV); can only have 1

Placebo Effect

show behaviors associated with the experimental group when having received placebo

Dependent variable

Measured variable (dependent on IV)

Double-Blind

Experiment where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (Drug Studies)

Single-Blind

only participant blind- used if experimenter can't be blind (gender, age, etc.)

Operational Definition*

Clear, precise typically quantifiable definition of you variable- allows replication*

Confound

Error/flaw in study

Random Assignment*

Assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random - minimizes bias, increase chance of equal representation among groups

Random Sample (Selection)*

method for choosing participants for your study - minimizes bias, everyone has a chance to take part

Representative Sample

Sample mimics general population

Correlational Research

Pros: Identifies relationship between 2 variables

Cons: No Cause and Effect

Correlation does not = Causation*

Positive Correlation

Variables increase & decrease together

Negative Correlation

As one variable increases the other decreases

Correlation number*

The closer the number is to 1 or -1 the stronger the relationship

3rd Variable Problem (lurking variable)

different variable is responsible for relationships

Illusory Correlation

belief of correlation that doesn't exist

Naturalistic Observation Research

Pros: Real world validity

Cons: No Cause and effect

Case Study

Pros: studies one person in great detail - lots of info

Cons: No cause and effect

Descriptive stats

shape of data

Mean

Average

Median

Middle

Mode

Occurs most often

Inferential statistics

establishes significance (meaningfulness)

Statistical Significance

= results not due to chance, experiment manipulation caused the differences in means

Confidentiality

Names must be kept secret

Informed Consent

Must agree to be part of study

Debriefing

Must be told the true purpose of the study

Deception

Must be warranted

No harm

No mental of physical harm