psychology chapter 1 study guid

what is psychology?

a science that helps you understand your mental activity, behavior, and brain process

subjective

personal feelings about how you feel about something

objective

not personal; exists outside of you and can be measured or observed

what does psychology investigate?

mental activity, behavior, and brain processes

mental activity (subjective and objective)

perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings

behavior

observable actions

empiricism

an objective, evidence based approach

does empirical research contradict people’s original assumption?

yes. the fast food example with calories

science of learning

psychological principles to improve your study skills, learning and academic performance

IMPACT

improving, monitoring, practicing, attending, connecting, thinking critically

improving

growth mindset - belief that you have the ability and choice to improve your learning

monitoring

self-regulated learning - setting goals and checking progress

practicing

purposeful practice - including retrieval practice (spaced repetition)

purposeful practice

thinking and applying information purposefully and meaningfully with the goal of learning and getting better

attending

selective attention - filtering out unimportant information

is multitasking positive or negative in learning?

negative effects on attention and memory

connecting

create meaningful connections (elaborative rehearsal) and cues

thinking critically

identifying misinformation and disinformation (make sure information you read is accurate)

critical thinking

a set of habits and skills that help you systematically evaluate information to reach reasonable conclusions best supported by evidence

three steps to critical thinking?

1. stop and reflect (is the source of the claim believable?

2. consider the quality and completeness of the evidence

   1. evaluate the claim and be open to critical rethinking

how will psychology help you?

improve your personal life (understanding relationship and sleep habits) and succeed professionally (it is important to understand people and exercise critically thinking)

what did Wilhelm Wundt do?

established the fist psychology laboratory in Germany in 1879

what is introspection and who developed it?

the systematic examination of subjective mental experiences. Wilhelm Wundt

what are the five domains of psychology?

biological, cognitive, developmental, social and personality, and mental and physical health

biological?

how does activity in your brain and body give rise to your thoughts, feelings, and actions

cognitive?

how do your mental activities affect your thoughts feelings, and actions

social and personality?

how do social factors and your personal characteristics impact your thoughts, feelings, and actions

mental and physical health?

what affects your mental and physical health and how can you develop healthy behaviors

why would psychologists take an interdisciplinary approach and work with researches from other domains?

to provide a richer understanding of mental processes

diversity

refers to those characteristics that make us seem different from one another in a specific context or situation

mary whiton calkins

one of the first females to receive a doctorate degree in psychology in 1890 (now 69%)

francis cecil sumner

first black person in the US to recieve a dr degree in psychology in 1920 (now 19%)

culture

the beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language or enviroment

can culture of participants affect their psychological processes?

yes

ethics

accepted standards of right and wrrong that guide how today’s psychologists should conduct their research

institutional review boards (IRBs)

responsible for making sure that proposed reaearch meets scientific and ethical needs

what are issues of ethical concern?

privacy, confidentiality, infomred consent, and protection from harm