terminology, theories, and ideas

Psychology

the scientific study of the mind and behavior

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

representative sample

a diverse selection of subjects from larger population of subjects

population

all those in a group being studied from which samples may be drawn

theory

a hypothesis that explains behaviors or events by offer ideas that organize behaviors

Hypothesis

A testable prediction

operational

precise measurements of concepts

replication

repeating the essence of a research study

correlation

the degree to which two variables are related and how well one predicts the other

positive correlation

when two factors move together in the same direction

negative correlation

when two factors move in opposite directions

illusory correlations

random events that we notice and falsely assume are related

operationalization

how you are specifically going to measure the cause and effect

deception

in some experiments

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study

mean

mathematical average

median

Middle number

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

statistical significance

"p"

bimodial distribution

a probability distribution with more than one mode

null hypothesis

the hypothesis that there is no significant difference between specified populations

Counterbalancing

A method of controlling for order effects in a repeated measure design by either including all orders of treatment or by randomly determining the order for each subject

group matching

researchers attempt to categorize the subjects (by age

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data

Darwin's Theory

- Organisms born with the best adaptations survive and pass on their traits to offspring.

- Organisms without these adaptations die and do not reproduce.

- Over time

the population changes as more organisms inherit the adaptation.

Dualism (Descartes)

The idea that mind and body are separate but intertwined

Empiricism (Francis Bacon)

the idea that what we know comes from our own experiences

introspection

self-observing of one's own thoughts and feelings

Structuralism (Wundt and Titchener)

an early school of psychology that used introspection to analyze mental experiences such as: sensation

Functionalism (William James)

The study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment

unconcious mind

a part of our mind that we do not have control over or access to (carl jung)

Neo-Freudians

followers of Freud who developed their own competing psychodynamic theories

Behaviourism (Pavlov

Skinner

humanistic psychology

the "third force" psychological view of how the drive for personal growth and self-actualization impact behavior and mental processes(maslow and rogers)

Cognitive Psychology

Concentrating on our thinking

Freudian Psychology (psychoanalysis)

the unconscious forces and childhood experiences that affect our behavior and mental processes

7 approaches to psychology

1. biological

psychology's big debates

- nature vs. nurture

Nature vs. Nurture

name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior

Stability vs. Change

One of three major psychology debates

stages vs. continuity

Debate over development occurring in set time periods verses continual or individual changes and development

subfields of psychology

1) Biological

clinical psychology

studies

psychiatry

where medical professionals who use treatments like drugs and psychotherapy to treat psychologically diseased patients

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind

behaviour genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behaviour

WEIRD cultures

Western

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

Behavioural Psychology

How learned and observable behaviors impact behavior and mental processes

biological psychology

How biological (genetics

socio-cultural perspective

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

psychodynamic perspective

How unconscious drives and conflicts impact behavior and mental processes

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

bottom-up processing

starting with the sensory input

top-down processing

guided by experience and higher-level processes

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

cocktail party effect

ability to attend to only one voice among many

selective inattention

what we are not focused on

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

Transduction meaning and its three steps

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation

psychophysics

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). it depends on two conditions: the strength of the signal and our psychological state)

Weber's Law

states that the intensity of the just noticeable difference depends on how large the stimulus is to begin with

Priming

the activation

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation (occurs when being able to ignore stimuli

Stroop Effect

the difficulty with attending to multiple stimuli at once

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena

ESP (extrasensory perception)

the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input (including telepathy

self-fulfilling prophecy

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (ex. colour seen)

amplitude

the height of a wave's crest (ex. the saturation of the colour being seen)

cornea

The clear tissue that covers the front of the eye

pupil

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

iris

a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening

lens

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

accomodation of lens

lenses change shape to focus on objects near or far

retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye

rods

retinal photoreceptors that detect black

cones

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions to detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

fovea

the central focal point in the retina

optic nerve

carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain (comprised of axons of the ganglion cells)

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye

Young-Helmoltz trichromatic (three-color) theory

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red

Hering Opponent-Process Theory

The theory that cone photoreceptors are paired together (red-green

how does color processing occur?

1. The retina's red

2. The cones' responses are then processed by opponent-process cells

as Hering's opponent-process theory proposed.

What do feature detectors do?

receive information from individual ganglion cells in the retina and pass it to other cortical areas

Monochromats

people who are totally color blind