psy100 chapter 1

First formal laboratory in experimental psychology:

Germany.

Historically - Wundt's "method of introspection" (look into own mind)

Not a major method to study brain

Limitations of introspection:

• Assumes you know the contents of your mind (2-track mind)

Influenced by the person testing you

How can we describe the field of psychology today?

Various levels of explanation: for example, macro (society, culture), micro, individual

Found in theoretical orientations/perspectives

theoretical orientations/perspectives

preferred ways of answering questions about human behavior (how psychologists study something)

eclectic

wide variety

subfield

area of training, can get degree in.

60% of psychologists work in mental health.

Examples: Forensic (legal issues), pediatric (children in health care settings), human factors/engineering (build equipment to reduce human error), industrial/organizational I/O (business settings), clinical (mental health), counseling (problems of routine life adjustment)

variable

anything that varies (height, age, score)

operational definition

define variables in terms of how you actually measure them

correlation

a number that represents a relationship (has a value and direction)

Line up = positive correlation (1.0 correlation = a perfect positive), Line down = negative correlation (-1.0 correlation = a perfect negative), no/zero correlation = random dots

Limitations of correlational research:

"third variable problem" - only tells two things that are related, not why things are related

Who uses correlational research and why?

Medicine, psychology, and other disciplines use correlational research

Correlational Research is cheap and fast, so it is a good first step. Many ideas about relationships spring from correlational observations

Correlations allow you to predict

Sometimes you have look at "naturally occurring" variables because it is unethical or impossible to manipulate variables

experiments

Designed to determine causality

Control everything except one variable that you manipulate

independent variable

experimenter manipulates (free to vary)

dependent variable

outcome variable (dependent on what the researcher manipulates)

possible confound

anything that you can't control, so it influences study

Solution: double-blind studies

Examples of possible confound:

Hawthorne Effect: people tend to work harder and perform better when they know their being watched

General "subject expectation effect" and experiment effects: can alter experiments

Science of mental life

In its earliest days, psychology was defined as the...

John B. Watson

Who would be most likely to agree with the statement, "Psychology should investigate only behaviors that can be observed?"

Science of behavior and mental processes

Today, psychology is defined as the...

Who wrote an important early psychology textbook?

William James

Behavior of genetics

Psychologists who study the degree to which genes influence our personality are working within the _____ __ ______ perspective.

The issue of the relative influence of biology and experience on behavior

Which of the following exemplifies the issue of the relative importance of nature and nurture on our behavior?

Locke

The 17th-century philosopher who believed that the mind is blank at birth and that most knowledge comes through sensory experience is...

Descartes

Which 17th century philosopher believed that some ideas are innate?

Neuroscience

Which psychological perspective emphasizes the interaction of the brain and body in behavior?

Social-cultural

A psychologist who explores how Asian and North American definitions of attractiveness differ is working within the _- perspective.

Basic research

A psychologist who conducts experiments solely intend to build psychology's knowledge base is engaged in...

Clinical psychologists

Psychologists who study, assess, and treat troubled people are called:

connects with a diversity of other fields

Today, psychology is a discipline that...

In order, the sequence of steps in the SQ3R method is:

survey, question, read, review, reflect

Psychologists who study how brain activity is linked to memory, perception and other through processes are called

cognitive neuroscientists

After detailed study of a gunshot would victim, a psychologist concludes that the brain region destroyed is likely to be important for memory functions. Which type of research did the psychologist use to deduce this?

case study

In an experiment to determine the effects of exercise on motivation, exercise is the

independent variable

To determine the effects of a new drug on memory, one group of people is given a pill that contains the drug. A second group is given a sugar pill that does not contain the drug. The second group constitutes the:

control group

Theories are defined as:

principles that help to organize observations and predict behaviors or events.

A psychologist studies the play behavior of young children by watching groups during recess at school. Which type of research is being used?

naturalistic observation

To ensure that other researchers can repeat their work, psychologists use:

operational definitions

The scientific attitude of skepticism is based on the belief that:

ideas need to be tested against observable evidence

which of the following is not a basic research technique used by psychologists?

replication

Psychologists'' personal values:

can bias both scientific observation and interpretation of data.

If shoe size and IQ are negatively correlated, which of the following is true?

People with small feet tend to have high IQs

Which of the following would be best for determining whether alcohol impairs memory?

experiment

Well-done surveys measure attitudes in representative subset, or ____________, of an entire group, or ____________.

Random Sample; population

Juwan eagerly opened an online trading account, believing that his market savvy would allow him to pick stocks that would make him a rich day trader. This belief best illustrates:

overconfidence

Wundt, 1879

The first psychology laboratory was established by _______ in the year ____.

Wilhelm Wundt

Who would be most likely to agree with the statement, "Psychology is the science of mental life?"

any action we can observe and record

In psychology, "behavior" is best defined as...

humanistic psychology

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are most cloesly associated with

way of asking and answering questions

In defining psychology, the text notes that psychology is most accurately described as a...

philosophy and biology

Two historical roots of psychology are the disciplines of

Plato

The Greek philosopher who believed that intelligence was inherited was

Cognitive

The way the mind encodes, processes, stores, and retrieves information is the primary concern of the _______ perspective.

Psychiatrist

Which of the following individuals is also a physician?

Developmental psychologist

Dr. Jones' research centers on the relationship between changes in our thinking over the life span and changes in our moral reasoning. Dr. Jones is more likely a...

industrial-organizational psychology

Which subfield is most directly concerned with studying human behavior in the workplace?

Social-cultural

Dr. Ernst explains behavior in terms of different situations. Dr. Ernst is working within the -_ perspective.

Behavioral

Which perspective emphasizes the learning of observable responses?

applied

A psychologist who studies how worker productivity might be increases by changing office layout is engaged in ________ research

people learn and remember material best when they actively process it

(Close-up) A major principle underlying the SQ3R study method is that...

The biopsychosocial approach emphasizes the importance of

different levels of analysis in exploring behavior and mental processes

Which of the following research methods does not belong with the others?

experiment

Which statement about the ethics of experimentation with people and animals is false

More animals are used in psychological research than are killed by human animal shelters

To prevent the possibilty that a placebo effect or researchers expectations will influnce a studys results scientists employ

double-blind procedure

In an experiment to determine the effects of attention on memory, memory is the?

dependent variable

Which of the following best describes the hindsight bias?

Events seem more predictable after they have occurred.

The procedure designed to ensure that the experimental and control groups do not differ

in any way that might affect the experiment's results is called:

random assignment

Illusory correlation refers to:

the perception of a correlation between two unrelated variables

The strength of the relationship between two vivid events will most likely be:

overestimated

Which of the following is true, according to the text?

No psychological theory can be considered true until tested

Which type of research strategy would allow you to determine whether student's college grades accurately predict later income?

correlation

In a test of the effects of air pollution, groups of students performed a reaction-time task in a polluted or an unpolluted room. To what condition were students in the unpolluted room exposed?

control

In order to study the effects of lighting on mood, Dr. Cooper had students fill out questionnaires in brightly lit or dimly lit rooms. In this study, the independent variable consisted of:

room lighting