PSYCH100 Unit 1 Exam

Psychology (def.)

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (the mind)

Psyche in Latin means…

mind

Logo in Latin means…

the study of

Psychological research aims to…

describe, predict, and explain behavior

Describe the “Mind-Body Issue”.

• What is the connection between consciousness/mental processes and our physical body?

• Philosophical and Physiological Roots of Psychology

Describe the nativist view.

• What are we born with? Are we a blank slate? Or do we come into the world with some hardwiring?

• We’re undercooked, but we would have trouble birthing with big heads (come out way too early and the infant's brain doubles in size the first few months)- other mammals are not like this and cook for longer and come out bigger

Describe the nature and nurture debate.

How much of our behavior/psychology comes from our biology and how much comes from our environment? “What comes hardwired (intelligence, personality, etc.)?”

Is height mostly nature or mostly nurture?

mostly nature

Are religious beliefs mostly nature or mostly nurture?

mostly nurture

Describe Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

How and why did our species evolve to be modern day humans?

People are…

messy!!

Structuralism (def.)

(1870s) Aimed to break down mental processes into their most basic elements

Founder of structuralism

Wilhelm Wundt

Introspection (def.)

looking inward to describe experiences (describe eating an apple)

Functionalism (def.)

(1870s) Analyzed the function or purpose of behavior- why did we evolve the way we did?

Introspection is the primary method associated with…

structuralism

Founders of functionalism

William James AND Mary Calkins

Darwin developed the primary theory of evolution A.K.A…

natural selection

Why did structuralism not work?

Because we perceive the “Gestalt” (whole)- we perceive either the letter B or the #13 *context matters!!

Functionalism is now called…

evolutionary psychology

Name the early schools of thought.

structuralism (1870s) and functionalism (1870s)

What is the foundational cornerstone for functionalism?

natural selection

Biological (def.)

how the physical body affects psychology

Describe the biological school of thought.

• Biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology

• Also called Neuroscience (study of the brain)

• Evolutionary psychology (how our adaptive evolution affects us today)

• *folded into biological school of thought

• Behavior genetics: twins (how much of our behavior/psychology is from our genes)

Psychodynamic (def.)

internal forces within the mind

Pioneer of psychodynamic school of thought.

Sigmund Freud

Describe the psychodynamic school of thought.

• Previously called Psychoanalytic Viewpoint

• The unconscious mind (ex: driving a car and not remembering the past 4 blocks)

• Abnormal psychology (when things go wrong)

• Family of origin/childhood issues

Behaviorism (def.)

how the environment affects psychology

Pioneers of behaviorism school of thought.

Skinner (King of Psych 1950s-60s) and Watson

Describe the behaviorism school of thought.

• Focus on observable behavior

• Reinforcement and punishment

• Behavior modification (changing maladaptive behavior)

Cognitive (def.)

internal mental processes and capabilities

Pioneers of cognitive school of thought.

Chomsky and Neisser

Describe the cognitive school of thought.

• The Revolution!

• *Chomsky writes paper that contradicts Skinner as a young upstart PhD (ballsy move) and Skinner responds, and so on…

• Reasoning

• Memory & Intelligence

• Beliefs/thoughts

• *Language – our ability for language is incredibly special (can’t reason, think, have memories without language)

What happened in the 1960s?

Vietnam War, birth control -> sexual revolution, hippies, etc.

Humanism (def.)

(Late 1960s) human growth and potential

Pioneers of humanism school of thought.

Rogers (gifted therapist) and Maslow (hierarchy of needs)

Describe the humanism school of thought.

• People are inherently good

• Free will/Choices (don’t have to be a slave to your past)

• Living a fulfilled life

• Today: “Positive Psychology”

Sociocultural (def.)

(Late 1960s) how social and cultural factors influence us

Describe the sociocultural school of thought.

• Culture/society

• Social Psychology (how others affect our behavior)

• Gender Psychology

Name the modern schools of thought.

biological, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive, humanism, sociocultural

Medication is ______ enough, but can help (everyone responds differently).

never

Identifying Schools of Thought: People with OCD are consumed by anxious thoughts.

Cognitive

Identifying Schools of Thought: OCD symptoms can be brought on by hidden unconscious fears stemming from childhood experiences.

Psycho-dynamic

Identifying Schools of Thought: Compulsive behaviors are reinforced because they reduce anxiety.

Behaviorism

Identifying Schools of Thought: OCD behavior is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Biological

Identifying Schools of Thought: A national emphasis on perfection promotes OCD symptoms.

Sociocultural

Identifying Schools of Thought: OCD can manifest when we are not living a meaningful and fulfilled life.

Humanistic

Biopsychosocial Approach (def.)

integrated approach that considers biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors

Basic Psychology (def.)

“foundational”: research, publish

Applied Psychology (def.)

finding practical uses for the research

How many divisions of APA are there?

54

Specialty areas in psychology

basic psychology, applied psychology, divisions of APA

Educational Psychologist (def.)

research ways to improve educational systems

Developmental Psychologist (def.)

how we grow and change throughout the lifespan

Industrial/Organizational Psychologist (def.)

behavior in the workplace, effective business-practices

Psychometric Psychologists (def.)

design and evaluate tests (interest, personality, IQ)

School Psychologist (def.)

works with parents, teachers, students to solve problem

Clinical Psychologist (def.)

focus on understanding and treating emotional problems, abnormal, or dysfunctional behavior (do not give out meds)

Counseling Psychologist (def.)

focus on helping people with adjustment problems and helping people make career choices

Educational and school psychologists are _____________!!

different

Both clinical and counseling psychologists are…

trained therapists at the highest level

Psychologists mainly work at…

Universities and hospitals/ health services

What’s the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

Clinical Psychologist:

• Ph.D. prepared (5-7yrs beyond the Bachelor’s degree)

• CANNOT prescribe medication (did not attend medical school)

• Focus on talk therapy 

Psychiatrist:

• M.D. prepared (med school with emphasis on psychiatry)

• CAN prescribe medication to treat mental disorders

• Can do some talk therapy, but main focus is medications

Theory (def.)

explanation of something (why?)

Hypothesis (def.)

a prediction based on a theory

Operational Definition (def.)

how what is in question will be measured (takes a long time to figure out- have to be very specific)

Examples: measure what we mean by media, drug use, aggression, bad driving

“We are only as good as our measures” means…

results are meaningless without proper measurement

The scientific method employs __________ types of methods to conduct research. Each method has __________ advantages and disadvantages. What method a researcher uses depends on what __________ he/she is trying to answer.

different; unique; questions

All research is based on…

systematic observation and rules of evidence

Descriptive Research (def.)

Describes phenomenon

Types of descriptive methods include…

case study, observational studies, formal tests/assessments, and surveys (self-report)

Case Study (def.)

detailed account of an individual being studied; (usually an individual with unique circumstances) – only one person, limited in scope

Observational Studies include…

1. Naturalistic Observation

2. Laboratory Observation

Naturalistic Observation (def.)

observing in natural setting (Jane Goodall observing chimpanzees in natural habitat)

Laboratory Observation (def.)

observing in a lab (observing a marital discussion behind a two-way mirror)

Examples of formal tests/assessments

IQ tests, ACT, SAT

Describe charactertistics of formal tests/assessments.

• Standardized – uniform procedures for giving and scoring the test 

• Norms – established standards of high/low scores

Surveys (self-report) (def.)

asking people to report on their behavior/attitudes; widely used in psychology; gather lots of information quickly

What are some of the problems with surveys (self-report)?

• People lie/distort/have poor self-knowledge

• Phrasing of questions can skew results

• Volunteer Bias – those who volunteer to take surveys might be different from the general population

Correlation (def.)

(a descriptive method) looks for a consistent relationship between two things

Correlation Coefficient (def.)

a number that describes the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables; can range from -1.0 to +1.0

A correlation coefficient of zero (or very close to it) means there is ______ relationship between the variables.

no

For a correlation coefficient, as the number get closer to EITHER end (-1.0 or +1.0), the relationship gets _____________.

stronger

Positive Correlation (def.)

when the variables move in the same direction

Negative Correlation (def.)

when the variables move in opposite directions

strong positive correlation

strong negative correlation

no correlation

Let’s say we have a Correlation Coefficient of +0.80 for height and weight. Interpret this value.

This means that as our height increases, our weight tends to increase (positive correlation). But there is not a “perfect” relationship (we can’t say EXACTLY how many lbs. one must gain for every inch for every person in the world).

A relationship (correlation) does _____ tell us what caused what.

not

Independent Variable (IV) (def.)

the variable that is controlled or manipulated (also called the Predictor Variable)

Dependent Variable (DV) (def.)

the variable that is being measured (to see what effect the IV has had) (also called the Outcome Variable)

Experimental Group (def.)

the group that receives the independent variable

Control Group (def.)

the group that is not exposed to the independent variable (used to compare to the experimental group)

Random Assignment (def.)

putting research participants into control and experimental groups randomly (this is SO important)!

Confounding Variables (def.)

variables that are irrelevant to the hypotheses, but can alter the research results

Placebo (def.)

a fake treatment or inactive substance (used often in medical research)

Placebo effect (def.)

groups taking a placebo WILL be affected by it!

Population (def.)

who you want to study (all)

Representative Sample (def.)

who you actually survey- must represent your population