Units 0-5

psychology

scientific field of study of the human brain and its functions

critical thinking

direction, problem-focused method of testing ideas, solutions, and examination of outcomes and validity

hindsight bias

overestimating the outcome of an event after it took place; we do this to make the world seem orderly/predictable

overconfidence

overestimation of ability to do something

confirmation bias

gathering evidence confirming pre

hypothesis

testable claim that must be falsifiable

falsifiability

hypothesis is scientific if it can be proven false in an experiment

operational definition

how a concept is measured, controlled, manipulated

reliability

consistent performance and trustworthiness in functioning

validity

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure. Validity assesses the accuracy and appropriateness of inferences drawn from test results.

generalizability

extent to which an outcome can be applied to a broader population

population

total group of people being experimented on

sample

individuals selected from a population to represent

sampling

selecting a group of individuals from a larger group of interest

sampling bias

certain individuals are selected more than others

convenience sampling

like-minded individuals are gathered

representative sample

part of a population that reflects the demographics of a group accurately

random sampling

a diverse set of people are selected to avoid from a large population

qualitative research

studying humans by collecting data such as words, images, and observations

quantitative research

studying humans by collecting numerical data through patterns, behaviors, and relationships

survey

used to collect data to measure outcomes and participants

self-report bias

skewing results by being dishonest

social desirability bias

when survey participants respond to questions in a way that is favorable by others

peer review

evaluations by members in the field

replication

repeated trials of an experiment

non-experimental research

describing and predicting behavior without manipulating variables

case study

in-depth investigations of an individual/group with an unusual trait or circumstance

meta-analysis

combining outcomes of studies on the same topic to identify patterns and overall effect

naturalistic observation

observing and recording natural behavior for an experiment

correlation

extent to which 2 variables are related

positive correlation

1 variable increases/decreases, the other increases/decreases respectively

negative correlation

1 variable increases, the other goes decreases

no correlation

both variables have no relationship

correlational coefficient

strength of relationship between variables

correlation ≠ causation

1 variable does not always cause the other in a trend

directionality problem

difficulty in determining if 1 variable truly causes another

third variable problem

undiscovered, causative variable

regression toward the mean

tendency of outliers to be followed by data points closer to the mean

experiment

looking for cause and effect, indepnendent variable, random assignment

experimental group

impacted and measured for change

control group

used for comparison and to anticipate hidden variable

independent variable

manipulated, changed, affects dependent variable

dependent variable

measured for change, affected by independent variable

placebo

inert substance participant takes, believing they are in the experimental group

placebo effect

expectation of treatment and effects of something

confounding variable

uncontrolled variable that affects variable

random assignment

equal chance of placement in experimental or control groups

bias

error in thinking, research, or judgment that affects an experiment

participant bias

participants knows they’re in an experiment, changes behavior to influence outcome

experimenter bias

manipulates/sets up experiment to influence a desired outcome

single blind

participant does not know they’re in an experiment

double blind

participant and experimenter does not know they’re in an experiment

statistical reasoning

using descriptive and inferential statistics to understand psychological data

descriptive statistics

main info of a data set such as mean, median, mode, range, stdev, and visuals

inferential statistics

results that allow inferences/generalizations to be made to ensure statistical significance

mean

average. most impacted by outliers, skews data

median

middle number in data

mode

most frequent number in data

range

numerical gap between low and high scores/ how far individual data points are from the mean

standard deviation

how much a set of scores/values diverge from mean. the less spread out, the more reliable the data

percentile rank

percentage of people in a group with scores equal to or below an individual’s score

negative skew

skews left, occurs when a test is easy, resulting in most scores being high, clustered on the right side of a grap

positive skew

right skew, a test that is very difficult, leading to most scores being low but a few individuals performing exceptionally well

skewness

asymmetry of a data distribution

bimodal distribution

2 distinct peaks in visual data, most kids struggled or did good on test

statistical significance

evaluates whether an outcome is due to chance or real effect. <5%=significant and outcome is likely

effect size

how much a variable changes because of other variable

ethical principles

guidelines that focus on protecting participants

laboratory setting

controlled environment for experiments

institutional review

research proposal and/or experiment is reviewed to ensure compliance with ethics and safety of participant(s)

informed consent

subjects have right to decline/withdraw participation

informed assent

possibility of phys/mental risks to participants must be assessed

protection from harm

ethical principle that reduces risks of mental and phys. harm to participants

confidentiality

protection of privacy of data/info from participants

debriefing

allow participator to ask questions and comprehend the experiment they’ve been through

deception

experimentor does not say/lies about info to prevent participant from influencing their own responses

confederate

individual who acts like a participant but works for experimentor

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists or perceiving a stronger than actual relationship

school of thought

suffering should be equal or less to the problem facing a human than animals

cerebral cortex

largest part of brain, responsible for high-level functions like conscious thought, memory, language, and motor control

limbic system

regulates emotions, memory, motivation, and arousal

brainstem (medulla)

life-saving functions, same for all mammals, heartbeat + breathing

Reticular Activating System (RAS)

neurons that connect the brain, controlling arousal/alertness, voluntary movement, sleep, and responds to changes in surroundings

cerebellum

back of the brain storing learned movements, balance, coordination

thalamus

relay station for motor and sensory information

hypothalamus

links nervous and endocrine systems. regulates the 5 F’s: fight, flight, feeding, Fahrenheit, fornication

pituitary gland

master gland releasing hormones that regulate endocrine glands and body systems

hippocampus

located in temporal lobe, spatial memory and navigation

amygdala

determines what are memories and where they are stored. ties to emotion/anger, fear, aggression

corpus callosum

connects brain hemispheres and enables communication and collaboration between both hemispheres

occipital lobes

located at the back of the brain, interprets visual info (visual cortex)

temporal lobes

located in lower portion of brain, language processing, auditory processing

parietal lobes

behind frontal lobe, processes sensory information and processes and organizes info

somatosensory cortex

in the parietal lobe, processes sensory info and body position & movement

Wernicke’s area

in the left temporal lobe, helps understand speech, damage causes aphasia

frontal lobes

behind forehead, responsible for complex thinking, lang processing, personality

motor cortex

in cerebral cortex, controls voluntary movements and motor learning. more space is dedicated when body is moved more

Broca’s area

in left frontal lobe, speaking abilty/production. damage causes aphasia

pons

links brain to spinal cord, deals with swallowing, bladder control, sleep, hearing, equillibrium, breathing, and posture. may influence dreams

left hemisphere

responsible for verbal memory, speech, rational thought, lang. comprehension, recognition of words/numbers/sequences