PSYCHOLOGY INTRO: CONCEPTS + SCIENCE PRACTICES

Summer Assignment/First 2 Weeks (9/16)

Empiricism

knowledge comes from experience

Structuralism

uses observation of people’s mental and emotional processes to understand the structure of the human mind

Functionalism

explored why mental and behavioral processes happen

Experimental Psychology

studying behavior and thinking through experiments

Behaviorism

idea that psychology should be objective and based off behavior rather than our mentality

Humanistic Psychology

focused on how the environment influences growth potential; stressed the need for love and acceptance

Cognitive Neuroscience

science relating to the brain activity caused by mental activity/cognition

Psychology

the science of behavior and mental processes

Nature-Nurture Issue

psychologist argument over whether human traits are given at birth or if you acquire them over time

Natural Selection

organisms are given the traits that give them the best chance at survival

Levels of Analysis

different views from different perspectives- like biological psychology, and social/cultural for explaining phenomenons

Biopsychosocial Approach

mixes the different levels of analysis to create a new viewpoint

Behavioral Psychology

studying behavior in relation to psychology

Biological Psychology

focuses on how brain chemistry, genetics, and anatomy influence behavior and thoughts.

Cognitive Psychology

focuses on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve mental information.

Evolutionary Psychology

focuses on how natural selection favored certain behavioral traits across generations

Pschodynamic Psychology

focuses on how unconscious drives and childhood conflicts shape behavior

Social-Cultural Psychology

focuses on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Psychometrics

the specialized branch dedicated to the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Basic Research

pure science aimed at increasing the foundational scientific knowledge base

Applied Research

practical study aimed at solving specific, real-world problems

Developmental Psychology

studies physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the entire human lifespan

Educational Psychology

studies how psychological processes affect and enhance teaching and learning

Personality Psychology

studies an individual's characteristic, persistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting

Social Psychology

studies how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Psychiatry

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who can prescribe medication

Positive Psychology

focuses on studying and fostering human strengths, flourishing, and optimal functioning

Community Psychology

focuses on creating healthy social environments and institutions rather than treating individuals

Testing Effect

the phenomenon showing that enhanced memory comes from active retrieval practice rather than rereading

SQ3R

a study method consisting of five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review

The Scientific Attitude/Critical Thinking

Curiosity, Skepticism, and Humility

Availability Heuristic

judging the likelihood of events based on if instances come readily to mind

Representative Heuristic

judging based on how well they match a prototype

Cognitive Bias

systematic errors in thinking: shortcuts our brains take to make processing information easier and quicker, but they often lead us to incorrect conclusions or irrational decisions

Hindsight Bias

happens when, after an event has occurred, we believe we predicted it beforehand

Confirmation Bias

the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms our preexisting beliefs or opinions

Overconfidence Bias

overestimating the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments

Perceiving Order in Random Events

finding patterns, even when none exist

The Biological Perspective

psychological approach that emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with actions, feelings, and thoughts

The Behavioral Perspective

a psychological approach that emphasizes how the environment and experience affect a person’s or animal’s actions or behavior: rewards and punishments

The Cognitive Perspective

a psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior

The Sociocultural Perspective

a psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior

The Psychodynamic Perspective

a psychological approach that emphasizes unconscious dynamic within the individual, such as inner forces, conflicts or the movement of instinctual energy

The Humanistic Perspective

a perspective that focuses on the potential for healthy personal growth

Self-Actualization

psychological growth, fulfillment and satisfaction in life

The Evolutionary Perspective

the study of how evolution explains physiological processes

Hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction derived from a theory (IF, THEN)

Null Hypothesis

there is no effect or relationship between two things being studied

Falsifiable

can be disproven

Operational Definition

making it measurable; how a concept is measured or manipulated in a study

Replication

testing reliability; repeating a study to see if the same results can be obtained

Non-Experimental Research

research that observes and describes behavior without manipulating variables

Case Study

in-depth investigation of an individual or group; EX. studying someone with a rare disorder

Correlation Study

examining the relationship between two or more variables; EX. investigating the relationship between hours of sleep and academic performance

Meta-Analysis

statistical analysis of multiple studies on the same topic; EX. analyzing studies on the effectiveness of a specific therapy

Naturalistic Observation

observing behavior in its natural setting; observing children’s play behavior

Ecological Validity

real world, authentic data

Positive Correlation

Both go up or both go down

Sampling Bias

skewed selection, need a representative sample

Sudo Science

Fake Science

Positive Correlation

as one variable increases, the other does as well

Negative Correlation

as one variable goes up one goes down

Correlation Coefficient

number representing the strength/direction. ranges from -1 to +1

Illusory Correltion

perceiving relationships that don’t exist. EX. Cold weather gives you a cold

Experimental Methods

CAN say causation, only method that allows for conclusions about cause and effect relationships

Independent Variable

variable manipulated by experimenter

Dependent Variable

variable measured to see how it is affected by changes in the independent variable

Confounding Variable

external factor that could influence the results of an experiment, makes it difficult to establish a clear cause and effect relationship

Experimental Group

receives the treatment or manipulation

Control Group

doesn’t receive the treatment allowing researchers to compare results

Random Assignment

randomly assigned groups to make sure each group is similar before the treatment is applied

Single Blind Procedure

participants do not know whether they are in the experimental/control

Double-Blind Procedure

neither participants nor researchers know who is in the experimental/control group. EX. often used when testing new drugs and vaccines

Placebo

a harmless, inactive substance

Placebo Effect

the phenomenon where participants experience changes simply because they believe they are receiving a treatment