Psychology 202 Exam 1 Study Set (VOCABULARY)

Chapter 1 Introduction to Psychology, Chapter 1 History and Modern Perspectives, Chapter 1 Research

Psychology

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior

Observable; peoples actions and reactions to different situations.

Mental Processes

grouped into 2 categories; cognition and emotion

Cognition

thinking and reasoning

Emotion

feeling

Research Psychologists

discover information about behavior and mental processes (behind the scenes)

Applied Psychologists

use basic information discovered through basic research to help people (apply)

Subfields

interrelated specialty areas; affected by human diversity, especially by age, gender, race and ethnicity

Positive Psychology

the focus on the things that make life most worth living (happiness, optimism, and resilience)

Cognitive Psychologists

study the basic mental processes such as sensation and perception, learning and memory, judgment, decision-making, etc… (thought or cognition)

Biological Psychologists

study topics such as the relationship of genes and brain chemistry to mental disorders, how brain cells communicate with each other when forming memories, etc… ( analyze the biological factors influencing behavior and mental processes)

Personality Psychologists

study individuality ( the unique features of each person); personality traits, fingerprints, etc

Developmental Psychologists

study and describe how mental processes change over the life span in order to understand their cause and effects. (development of thought, friendship patterns, parenting styles); study how behavior and mental processes change over time.

Quantitative Psychologists

Develop and use statistical tools to analyze vast amounts of info generated by research results from all of psychology’s subfields

Clinical, Counseling, and Community Psychologists

seek access, understand, modify, and prevent behavior disorders; help troubled people get over disorders

Educational Psychologists

study methods in which instructors teach and students learn and who applies their results to improve those methods; more learning based

School Psychologists

test cognitive abilities, diagnose students academic problems, and set up programs to improve students’ achievement; more community based

Social Psychologists

study the ways that people influence each other; study how people influence each others behaviors and attitudes (especially in group settings)

Industrial and Organizational Psychologists

examine factors that contribute to peoples performance in the workplace; foster positive organizational behavior

Health Psychologists

study the effects of behavior on health and the impact of illness on behavior and emotion

Forensic Psychologists

involved in many aspects of psychology and law

Engineering Psychologists

study and try to improve the relationship between human beings and computers/ other machines that they use.

Environmental Psychologists

study the relationship between peoples physical environment and their behavior

Philosophy

what is the purpose of things and why we are here

• Rene Des Cartes, John Locke

  • Tabula Rasa

Science

systematic study of the world around us through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories using evidence

• Scientific revolution (1600s)

• Galileo Galilei, Issac Newton

Empiricism

idea in which knowledge comes through measurable, observable, and testable information that we can detect with our senses

• (show me the evidence)

Structuralism

defining the structure, - the what- of consciousness; what are the basic building blocks that exist first that then allow for all levels of thought; ( consciousness)

Introspection

personal observation of our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; ignore what the objective is, instead try to describe your own consciousness experience with it

Functionalism

idea that our conscious thoughts exist to serve a purpose, of helping us take in information from the world around us so that we might adapt to changes in our environment to survive

• William James

Psychoanalytic Theory

our behavior is deeply influenced by our unconscious thoughts, impulses and desires

• Sigmund Freud (Think of an iceberg)

Gestalt Psychology

the combination of all that we consciously experience is lost if we try to divide it into its component parts

• Fill in the blanks

• Max Wertheimer

Behaviorism

psychologists should only be concerned with observable behavior, not thoughts

• Concrete facts in front of you

• John Watson, B.F. Skinner

Theory

an explanation that narrows the focus of an investigation; provides a framework for how to interpret what we observe.

Biological/ Neuroscience Approach

mental processes and behaviors are the result of biological processes

Evolutionary Approach

mental processes and behaviors can be explained by what evolutionary value those ways of being hold or held in our ancestral past.

Psychodynamic Approach

thoughts and behaviors are interpreted by our beliefs and interpretations outside of our conscious awareness until they are addressed on a conscious level.

Behavioral Approach

Behavior is primarily influenced by learning from observable outcomes

Cognitive Approach

behavior is shaped by the ways we take in, perceive, interpret, categorize, and retrieve information using our brain.

Humanistic Approach

behavior is determined by what choices we perceive to be available to us and our respected, individualized ideas.

Sociocultural/ Ecological Approach

behavior is shaped by factors related to our socio-cultural demographic factors such as race, gender, ethnicity, class, etc…

Eclecticism - Contemporary Approach

most psychologists take ideas from multiple perspectives to answer questions about behavior and mental processes.

Critical Thinking

process of assessing claims and making judgements based on well-supported evidence.

The Scientific Method

observe/ identify the problem → ask a question → predict/ hypothesize → collect and analyze data → draw conclusions

Theory

set of related ideas or information that is organized in such a way that we can use it to explain or predict behavior (ideas that guide predictions).

Hypothesis

a prediction based on a theory that can be tested in measurable terms.

Descriptive Research

looking to report on what is naturally occurring without my influence.

Experimental Research

looking to see what happens under different conditions that I can influence.

Naturalistic Observation

• Key Idea: observing in a natural environment

• Advantages: see behavior as it really is: is useful for stressful situations

• Disadvantages: no control; no data on reasons of behavior, only can describe

Systematic Observation

• Key Idea: structure an environment in which you will observe patients

• Advantage: more control over context; can narrow down potential casual variables

• Disadvantages: not a natural environment → affects behavior

Case Studies

• Key Idea: study one or few individuals intensively

• Advantage: rich data; opportunity to study rare conditions or situations

• Disadvantage: no ability to generalize findings to others

Surveys

• Key Idea: asking the same questions of many participants via paper-and-pencil or online

• Advantage: can get lots of data relatively quickly

• Disadvantage: cannot follow up; no explanation for answers

Interviews

• Key Idea: asking the same questions of many participants via conversation and systematic questions

• Advantages: can get detailed information; cam ask follow up questions

• Disadvantages: time-consuming; other logistical challenges

Correlational Research

• Key Idea: examines the relationship between two or more variables

• Variable: anything that you can observe or measures

• Important: correlations do not imply that one variable causes the other

Sign

Positive: variables move in the same direction

• (i.e. height and shoe size)

Negative: variables move in opposite directions

• (i.e. class skipping and GPA)

Magnitude

• Size of number

  • Zero: no relation'

  • 1 or -1: perfect relation

    • closer to either end: stronger

    • closer to middle: weaker

The Third Variable Problem

the simultaneous influence of a third (unmeasured) factor on the two variables under study

Correlational Research:

• Key Idea: determining if two or more things seem to be related to each other

• Advantage: can collect data from large number of patients

• Disadvantage: cannot prove that one variable causes a change in the other

Experimental Research

Goal: to establish the causes and effects of behavior

• experimental methods

  • conditions

  • controls

  • compare outcomes

Experimentation (cause-effect)

• Key Idea: manipulate one variable and observe on outcome variables

  • hold other variables constant as much as possible; control and random assignment

Independent Variable

what you manipulate, what conditions you set (treatment vs not)

Dependent Variable

what you measure (outcome variable)

Experimenter Bias

when a researcher unintentionally influences participants to respond in a particular way

• unintentionally communicating expectations) [also called the observer expectancy effect]

Confirmation Bias

tendency to interpret evidence as supporting ones prior beliefs; also the tendency to look only for evidence that supports ones beliefs (and ignore the other evidence)

Sampling Bias

choosing people to participate in a study in ways that might influence the result

• (i.e. only choosing from one social group)

Placebo Effect

participants expectations influence their performance in a study

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

if we believe something about ourselves ( or perceive that others believe things about us), then we will act to fulfill that expectation

Double Blind Research Design

make the experimenter and participants unaware of who is getting the treatment or control condition

Placebo

giving a “fake treatment” in order that participants (and experimenter) dont know who gets the actual treatment

• (i.e. drug being tested vs sugar pill)

Random Sampling

choosing people for a study in ways that minimize sampling bias; random selection ensure that people (and their characteristics) are more evenly distribute across experimental and control groups