PSY 100 EXAM 1 (UH MANOA)

Goals of the Scientific Method

describe, explain, predict, control

Levels of Analysis

biological, individual, social, cultural

Functionalism

(William James) The function of mind and behavior- how the mind operates.

Structuralism

(Wilhelm Wundt... further developed by Edward Titchener) The structure of the mind... the components and arrangement of mental states and processes.

Reliability vs. Validity

(CRAV) reliability (consistency) and validity (accuracy)

Theory vs. Hypothesis

Theory is broad which leads to a hypothesis- single prediction

Experimental Studies

(cause and effect of behavior) studies in which the independent variables are directly manipulated and the effects on the dependent variable are examined

Descriptive Studies

(observe/ describe behavior) studies that involve observing and noting the behavior of people, or other animals, to provide a systematic and objective analysis of the behavior

Correlational Studies

(predicts behavior) studies that examine relationships between two or more variables that are measured, but NOT manipulated.

Random Assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Random Sampling

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Case Study

(study of one individual in great detail) a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Quasi Experiments

comparisons of groups that differ in exposure to a variable of interest that cannot be manipulated for ethical or practical reasons (i.e. "today you will be a democrat and you will be a republican")

Psychodynamics

the psychology of mental or emotional forces or processes developing especially in early childhood and their effects on behavior and mental states (i.e. the psychodynamics of adolescent suicide)

Expectancy Bias

the researcher allowing his or her expectations to affect the outcome of a study. (i.e. the teacher who was told her students were exceptional had better results than the teacher who has the average students)

Convenience Bias

where the sample is conveniently chosen (i.e. from the university the professor teaches at)

Introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

Critical Thinking

the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

Amiable Skepticism

Openness to new ideas but wariness to new "scientific findings"

Surveys (Self-Report Measures)

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.

Meta-Analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

Gestalt Psychology

(Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler) the whole is DIFFERENT than the sum of its parts (not to be misinterpreted as "greater")

Patches the Horse

The horse that imitated human behavior

Direction of Correlation

same way= positive, opposite ways= negative (i.e. grades decreased as studying decreased= positive correlation)

Causation

A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable.

Operational Definition

a definition that qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so the variable can be understood objectively

Behavioral Observation

a behavioral measure that relies on directly seeing or observing behavior

Lab Experiments

causal research designs that are conducted in an artificial setting

Independent Variable

variable that is manipulated

Dependent variable

variable that is measured

Confounds

Factors that undermine the ability to draw causal inferences from an experiment. (i.e. taking a test but there's noise in the hallway)

Control Group

the group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Experimentation Aversion

A tendency for people to prefer to receive an untested treatment than to participate in a randomized study to evaluate the effectiveness of that treatment.

Inferential Statistics

(to generalize) procedures used to draw conclusions about larger populations from small samples of data

Bayesian Statistics

A class of statistics that combines existing beliefs ("priors") with new data to update the estimated likelihood that a belief is true ("posterior")

Nature-Nurture Debate

the arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture

Freudian Psychology

Emphasized ways unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences affect later behavior

Psychoanalytic Perspective

study of the unconscious, includes childhood and aggression issues

Cognitive Psychology

(think, learn, remember) the scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning

The Cognitive Revolution

A shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the behaviorist approach to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in terms of the mind. One of the outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction of the information-processing approach to studying the mind.

structuralism

What are the building blocks of consciousness? What is the structure of mind and behavior?

Methods: Reaction time tasks and introspection

Wilhelm Wundt, Edward Titchener

Functionalism

William James

How does the mind help us function in the world? How do mental processes serve the organism?

Methods: Observation(animal observations provide clues for human behavior)

Gestalt Psychology

Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler

How do patterns and context affect consciousness and experience

Consciousness cannot be broken down to small elements(opposite of structuralism)

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts 

Methods: observation and experiments in natural situations, our perception is subjective

Psychodynamic Theory

Sigmund Freud 

How do unconscious forces influence our behavior?

Methods: Psychoanalysis and case studies 

Behaviorism

John Watson, B.F. Skinner

What does observable behavior tell us about how we learn?

Methods: Lab experiments and behavior observation 

The Cognitive Revolution

Ulric Neisser, Alan Newell, Herbert Simon

How do mental processes(Problem solving, memory, language) work?

Computer metaphor(information processing) 

Methods: Experiments, mathematical models

Cognitive neuroscience (Gazzaniga)

Social Psychology

Kurt Lewin, Gordon Allport, Solomon Asch

How does behavior arise from both a person's traits and the social context 

Psychological theories should have practical applications( combating religious and racial prejudice)

Observation and experiments 

Evolutionary Psychology

Lida Cosmides, John Tooby, Steven Pinker

What cognitive strategies and goals are adaptive?

Method: Observations and experiments probing cultural universality, comparative research

Major Areas in Psychology

Biological/Neuroscience

-the brain and other physiological systems

Cognitive

• Mental processes like perception, memory, abstract thinking

Developmental

• Physical, cognitive, and behavioral change of individuals across the lifespan

Personality/Clinical

-Individual differences in thoughts, feelings, behaviors, psychopathology

Social

• Effects of the social context such as relationship partners, social groups, and culutral backgrounds

Three Basic Types of Research

descriptive, correlational, experimental