IUPUI B110 Psychology Exam 1 Chapter 1 & 2

Psychology

behavior and the mental process

behavior

observable action emitted by an organism

mental process

thoughts, feelings, and beliefs

scientific

studying based on systematic observation

structuralism

breaking experience down into its smallest elements or structures

introspection

used in structuralism to reveal how the body's sensations could become the mind's perception

functionalism

how the mind helps us adapt to our environment

psychoanalytic psychology

the unconscious mind is the most powerful influence on personality and functioning

behaviorism

only behaviors that are directly observable can be studied scientifically

humanism

uniqueness of individuals and their innate potential for growth

positive psychology

psychological wellness, human strengths, and life enhancing behaviors

cognitive science

the active nature of human beings in the construction of their own experiences and thought processes

behavioral neuroscience

the study of brain-behavior relationships

goals of psychology

to describe, explain, predict, and change behavior

describe

"what" characteristics of something in words

empiricism

the systematic observation of behavior and mental processes

explain

"why" the mechanisms and cause of behaviors

predict

"when" and "what if" what might happen in the future

change

to control or alter the course of behavior

B= f(P+E+PE)

function of things about the person, things about the environment, and the complex interaction of person or environment

socio-historical context

how psychology has developed as a discipline over time and how its points of view reflect historical context

socio-cultural context

how psychological concepts are understood and applied

paradigms

a set of assumptions or beliefs that is shared by a group

constructivism

belief that knowledge about anything is built as we go

logical positivism

belief that behavioral phenomena exist independent of the observer

scientific method

to discover the truth about observable phenomena

research methods

ways of doing science

descriptive methods

making observations to answer the "what" question

naturalistic observation

records the behavior directly without interacting with the observed

correlation methods

how two variables relate

positive correlation

when two variables are changing together in the same direction

negative correlation

when two variables are changing together in the opposite direction

zero correlation

when two variables are not related

correlation coefficient

point of the number line

experimental methods

attempt to isolate the cause by manipulating a variable that is hypothesized to be the cause of another variable

dependent variable

outcome of predicted effect

independent variable

researcher has control of and actually manipulates

experimental group

manipulation or "treatment" in an experiment

control group

group that participates in the "treatment absent" condition in an experiment

random assignment

placing participants in an experiment randomly

measures of central tendency

numerical way to express of observations gather around the middle

measure of variability

numerical way to express how spread out the data is

mean

add up all the numbers, then divide by how many numbers there are

median

the middle score in a distribution

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

the average distance of all scores from the mean

inferential statistics

to judge whether our research findings are due to chance or are due to the manipulation of the independent variable

meta-anylsis

a statistical procedure that combines the strength of a particular research finding across a number of studies investigating the same or similar topics

change

key indicator of growth and development

Quantitative

change that can be objectively measured

qualitative

when the character or properties of something has changed

areas of development

change in development over time; physical, cognitive, and social

physical development

changes in the body structure

congitive development

changes in thinking

social development

changes in relationships and their effects

descriptive research

type of research that focuses on what is happening at each age

correlation research

how one variable changes in relation to another variable

experimental research

research that can determine cause; uses random assignment

research designs

ways of studying development

cross-sectional

compares the behavior of multiple age groups at one point in time

longitudinal

compares the behavior of one age group at multiple points across time

nature

developmental change is inside the person

nurture

developmental change is outside the person which is influenced by the environment

prenatal period

conception to birth

conception

the moment at which a female becomes pregnant

zygote

the fertilized egg; 1st stage at two weeks

embryo

2nd stage of prenatal development, from 2nd to 8th week

placenta

organ formed during embryonic stage that provides nourishment through the umbilical cord

neural tube

part of the embryo from which the brain and spinal cord arise

fetus

3rd stage of prenatal development, 8th week to birth

teratogens

chemical, drug, or illness

critical period

a sensitive time during which a person or organism is particularly receptive to input from the environment

childhood

1-11 years of age

adolenscence

12-20 years of age

early adulthood

period that begins in early 20s

middle adulthood

period in your 40-50s

late adulthood

begins around age 65

stage theory

how thinking changes as we age

Piaget's Theory

describes how children develop logical thought

sensormotor stage

Piaget's 1st stage, starts at birth and continues to age two, child thinks through sensing and moving

object permanence

ability to believe that things exist, even if they cannot be seen

preoperational stage

Piaget's 2nd stage, starts at age two and continues to age seven, describes how children have not yet developed logical thought

egocentrism

child's failure to be able to take another person's perspective

concrete operational stage

Piaget's 3rd stage, starts at age seven and continues to age 11, describes how children have developed basic logic

formal operational stage

Piaget's 4th stage, starts at age 12 and continues through adulthood, describes the ability to reason about hypothetical situations

post formal thinking

understanding that there is not always a clear right or wrong answer

Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory

emphasizes how factors "outside" the child interact with factors "inside" the child to influence how the child thinks

scaffolding

hints or instructions that allow children (and adults) to think about and do things they could otherwise not do on their own

information processing theory

describe thinking using a computer model

internal working model

Bowlby's model that describes how the quality of early attachment relationships predict the quality of relationships across the lifespan

secure attachment

child is upset when parent leaves, easily soothed when parent returns, PREFERS parent over lab assistant

avoidant attachment

situation," child does not get upset when parent leaves, avoids parent when parent returns, DOES NOT prefer parent over lab assistant

ambivalent attachment

situation," child is very upset when parent leaves, unsure how to respond when parent returns, may be aggressive toward parent

disorganized attachment

situation," child is confused or disoriented when parent leaves and returns

warmth in parenting

describes degree of affection and positive feelings expressed to the child

control in parenting

describes degree and fairness of rules and consequences for breaking rules

authoritative parenting

is high in warmth and medium in control

authoritarian parenting

is very low in warmth and very high in control

permissive parenting

is very high in warmth and very low in control