Psychology Chapter 1 / Intro

Self Reference

using what you learn and relating it to personal experience to remember it

Critical Thinking

pausing to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique, and synthesize

Reflective learning

learning using reflective thinking

Self Testing

Testing oneself, usually online

Spaced Practice

studying for a little bit of time every day

Massed Practice

Studying a lot at once; cramming

Overlearning

knowing too much for a test; usually a result of studying a lot

Uncritical acceptance

weakness where one believes things with no evidence

Conformation Bias

a tendency to agree with one thing out of many and accept all

Cherry Picking

picking evidence that supports a claim and ignoring contradictory evidence

Superstition

unfounded belief held without evidence in spite of contradictory evidence

Stimulus

any physical energy that affects someone and has a reaction

Introspection

personal observation of ones own thought and behavior

Structuralism

study of senses and personal experience as basic elements

Gestalt Psychology

study of thinking, learning, and present ion as whole units, not analysis into parts

Imageless Thought

an old term describing congnitive unconsousness.

Cognitive Unconscious

the part of the mind that we are subjectively unaware of and is not open to introspection

Self report data

the part of the mind that we are subjectively unaware of and is not open to introspection

Behaviorism

school of thought that emphasizes study of observational actions over study of the mind

Response

any muscular action, glandular action, or other identifiable aspect of behavior

Observational data

data from watching participants and recording their behavior

Naturalistic observation

observing behavior as it unfolds in natural settings

Structured observation

observing behavior in settings that have been set up by the researcher

Radical Behaviorism

a behaviorist approach that rejects both introspection and any study of mental events, such as thinking, as inappropriate topics for scientific psychology.

dynamic unconscious

in Freudian theory, the parts of the mind that are beyond awareness, especially conflicts, impulses, and desires not directly known to a person.

Psychoanalysis

Freudian approach to psychotherapy emphasizing the exploration of unconscious using free association, dream interpretation, resistances, and transference to uncover unconscious conflicts.

Neo-Freudians

phycologists who accept the bread features of Freud's theory but have revised the theory to include the role of cultural and social factors while still accepting some basic concepts.

Psychodynamic theory

any theory of behavior that emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces.

Determinism

the idea that all behavior has prior causes that would completely explain ones choice and actions if all such causes were known.

Free will

the ability to make choices that are not controlled by genetic, learning, or unconscious forces; the idea that human beings are capable of making choices or decisions themselves.

humanistic psychology

study of people that is inherently good and motivated to learn and improve

self-actualization

the process of fully developing personal potentials.

Biopsycology

study of the physical bran and body structures that underlie behavior and mental process'

Physiological data

data that come from participants physiological processes.

What is the definition of Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes (i.e. covert behavior)

What is the difference between behavior and mental processes?

Behavior is more obvious and can be directly observed (like crying), while mental processes are more covert and can't be directly observed (like remembering something)

Overt Behavior

Any directly observable action or response

Covert Behavior

Subjective mental events (dreaming, thinking, remembering are all examples)

Research Methods

Systematic scientific approaches to answering particular questions

Empirical Evidence

Information gained from a direct observation

Scientific Observation

yields empirical evidence through direct observation and measurement that is both systematic and intersubjective (confirmable by more than one observer)

What are the goals of Psychology?

to describe, understand, predict, and control behavior.

Description

Naming and classifying (typically based on making a detailed record of scientific observations)

Prediction

The ability to forecast behavior accurately.

description

In scientific research, the process of naming and classifying.

understanding

in psychology, being able to state the causes of a behavior

prediction

in psychology, an ability to accurately forecast behavior

control

in psychology, altering conditions that influence behavior

falsification

the deliberate attempt to uncover how a commonsense belief or scientific theory might be false

scientific method

A form of critical thinking based on careful measurement, controlled observation, and repeatable results

hypothesis

predicted outcome of an experiment, or an educated guess about the relationship between variables

theory

comprehensive explanation of observable events

experiment

a study in which the investigator manipulates at least one variable while measuring at least one other variable

experimental subjects

Humans (also referred to as participants) or animals whose behavior is investigated in an experiment

participants

humans whose behavior is investigated in an experiment

variable

a factor or characteristic that is manipulated or measured in research

independent variable

variable manipulated by the researcher in an experiment

dependent variable

the element of an experiment that measures any effect of the manipulation

extraneous variable

a condition or factor that may change and is excluded from influencing the outcome of an experiment

experimental group

group that receives the treatment the study is designed to test

control group

subjects in an experimental study who do not receive the treatment being investigated

random assignment

use of chance to place subjects in experimental and control groups

quasi-experimental studies

a descriptive study in which researchers wish to compare groups of people, but cannot randomly assign them to groups

statistically significant

experimental results that would rarely occur by chance alone

meta-analysis

A statistical technique for combining the results of many studies on the same subject

research participant bias

changes in the behavior of study participants caused by the unintended influence of their own expectations

placebo

inactive substance or treatment that is distinguishable from a real, active substance or treatment

single-blind study

research in which the subjects do not know which treatment they receive

researcher bias

changes in participants' behavior caused by the unintended influence of a researcher's actions.

self-fulfilling prophecy

a prediction that prompts people to act in ways that make the prediction come true

double-blind study

research in which neither the observer nor the subjects know which subjects received which treatment

naturalistic observation

research method based on careful recording of behavior in normal settings

observer effect

changes in an organism's behavior brought about by an awareness of being observed

observer bias

the tendency of an observer to distort observations or perceptions to match his or her expectations

anthropomorphic error

the error of attributing human thoughts, feelings, or motives to animals, especially as a way of explaining their behavior.

correlation

the existence of a consistent, systematic relationship between two events, measures, or variables

coefficient of correlation

a statistical index ranging from -1.00 to +1.00 that indicates the direction and degree of correlation

causation

the act of causing some effect

case study (clinical method)

in-depth analysis of the behavior of one person or a small number of people

survey

descriptive research method in which participants are asked the same questions

population

the entire group of people from which a sample is drawn

sample

subset of a population being studied

representative sample

a small, randomly selected part of a larger population that accurately reflects characteristics of the whole population

biased sample

a subpart of a larger population that does not accurately reflect characteristics of the whole population