Unit 0: Foundations of Psychology

Made according to the 2024 CED for the new exam

psychology

psychology

the scientific study of mental processes and behavior

psychodynamic perspective

focuses on the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships

behavioral perspective

focuses on learned behaviors, conditioning, & reinforcement

cognitive perspective

focuses on cognition, memory, thinking, & problem solving; eg. attention, perception, language, decision-making

biological perspective

focuses on the physical and biological (ie. brain structure, neurotransmitters, hormones, genetics) bases of behavior

sociocultural perspective

focuses on how culture (ie. norms, values, & beliefs) influences human behavior

evolutionary perspective

focuses on how the theory of evolution (ie. natural selection, adaptation, survival of the fittest) can explain psychological processes

humanistic perspective

focuses on motivation, self-actualization, and personal growth; this perspective is based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and unconditional positive regard

cognitive neuroscience

the study of brain activity linked with cognition

behavior genetics

the study of generic & environmental influences on behavior and their reach and limitations

Nature vs. Nurture

examines whether one’s genetics (nature) or environment and experiences (nurture) contributes more to the development of traits and behavior; the modern understanding is that it is the interaction of both genetics and environment (think epigenetics)

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach to psychology incorporating the biological, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives

cognitive biases

systematic errors in thinking often leading to incorrect conclusions or irrational decisions

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe we would have foreseen an outcome after we have learned what the outcome is; eg. I knew we were going to win that game

overconfidence bias

having too much faith in your own knowledge, skill, etc.; in research, this can lead to rejection of results or bias toward findings due to “common sense”

confirmation bias

the tendency to reject any information that goes against our preexisting beliefs, skewing our perception of reality

percieving order in random events

finding order when there is none leading individuals to draw false conclusions

hypothesis

a testable prediction based on a theory that allows research to be conducted; should be falsifiable

falsifiable

able to be disprovent; allows for precise measurement and replication in experiements

operational definition

a precise, measurable definition of procedures or concepts in an experiment; these are carefully worded to make an experiment replicable

case study

a form of descriptive research that conducts an in-depth analysis of an individual or group; can be very revealing and suggest ideas for further study, however, atypical cases can be misleading and the small scope makes these ungereralizeable in the majority of scenarios

naturalistic observations

a form of descriptive research that studies the natural behavior of many individuals without manipulating the situation; can eggectively identify behaviors and tendencies, but doesn’t explain the behaviors

survey

a form of descriptive research that collects self reported attitudes and behaviors from a random sample of a population; can effectively reveal the tendencies of a larger population, but are subject to sampling bias and wording effects

sampling bias

generalizing results based on an unrepresentative sample

representative sample

a sample that fairly represents a population and its demographics, often by randomly selecting participants; each member of the population must have an equal chance of participating

wording effects

the ways in which the phrasing or wording of a question affects its responses; eg. gun safety laws vs. gun control laws