REVISED Psychology Exam Prep 1

empirical approach

evidence-based method that draws on observation and experimentation

the scientific attitude

curiosity, skepticism, humility

curiosity

a passion to explore and understand the world without misleading or being mislead

skepticism

an attitude that does not doubt everything but also does not believe everything

humility

awareness of vulnerability to error and openness to new perspectives

critical thinking

does not automatically accept ideas and conclusions, examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, assess conclusions

structuralism (wundt and titchener)

used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

asked participants to report sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about experiences

unreliable: required smart people, verbal people, results varied from person to person

functionalism (William james)

goes beyond labeling inward thoughts and feeling by considering evolved functions

smelling is what the nose does. thinking is what the brain does; why do the nose and brain do these things (theory of natural selection)

behaviorism (Watson and skinner)

psychology should be an objective science that studies observable behavior without reference to mental processes

if you can’t see it or can’t measure it, it’s not scientific, ex of it: conditioning

psychoanalysis (freud)

emphasized the way the unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect behavior

example of unconscious motivations: sexual or aggressive impulses

id (play games rather than study), ego (you, struggle between id and superego), superego (angel)

humanistic (rogers and maslow)

emphasized human growth potential

cognitive psychology

study of mental processes, occurs when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communication and solve problems

evolutionary

study of the evolution of the behavior and mind, uses principles of natural selection

cross cultural and gender psychology

enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive

cognitive neuroscience

interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

psychology

science of behavior and mental processes

nature-nurture issue

controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

natural selection

inherited traits enabling an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

biopsychosocial approach

incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

basic research

aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

applied research

aims to solve practical problems

counseling psychology

assists people with problems in living (school, work, relationship)

clinical psychology

studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

psychiatry

branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, physicians provide medical treatments (drugs) and psychological therapy

community psychology

studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions (schools and neighborhoods) affect individuals and groups

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading, information

theory

general explanation of why or how something occurs

hypothesis

testable specific prediction

elements of good theories and hypothesis

testable, falsifiable, supported to empirical evidence, generalizability, consistent

commonsense thinking is flawed due to

hindsight bias, overconfidence, perceiving order in random events

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it, “I knew it all along”

overconfidence

tendency to be more confident than correct, overestimating the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements

perceiving order in random events

people search for patterns in an attempt to make sense of the world around

post-truth

a modern culture where people’s emotions and personal beliefs often override their acceptance of objective facts

reasons for post-truth

false news, repetition, availability of powerful examples, group identity and the echo of the like-minded

example of theory

sleep boosts memory

example of hypothesis

when sleep deprived, people remember less from the day before

operational definition

statement of the exact procedures of a study and the research variables, enables replication

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the finding can be reproduced

preregistration

publicly communicating planned study design, hypothesis, data collection, and analysis

meta-analysis

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

case studies

one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles, does not explain behavior--describes it

case studies important

individual cases can suggest fruitful ideas, but to find general truths, we must employ other research methods

naturalistic observations

observing and recording the natural behavior of many individuals without trying to manipulate and control the situation, does not explain behavior--describes it

surveys and interviews

obtains the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

wording effects

possible effects on participants caused by the order of presented words or the choice of words

random sample

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

population

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

correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

correlational coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (-1.00 to +1.00)

perfect positive correlation and perfect negative correlation and no relationship

r = +1.00 and -1.00 and 0

variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the value of 2 variables

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where non exists, or perceiving a stronger than actual relationship

regression toward the mean

tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) towards the average

correlation and causation

correlation does not prove causation

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variable)to observe the effect on the dependent variable

explores cause-effect relationship

experimental group

the group exposed to the treatment, to one version of the independent variable

control group

group not exposed to the treatment, contrasts the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

random assignment

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

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or the placebo

placebo

experimental results caused by expectations alone

independent variable

the factor that is manipulated, variable whose effect is being studied

dependent variable

the outcome that is measured, may change when the independent variable is manipulated

confounding variable

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s result

APA ethical standards

informed consent, protect participants from greater-than-usual harm, keep participants information confidential, debrief

informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

3 names of the curve

normal, bell, Gaussian curve

Choice Blindness

failure to recall a choice immediately after one has made that choice, order a chocolate ice cream, and then accept a strawberry cone without noticing

heuristic

mental shortcut, simple thinking strategy, speedier but more air prone than algorithm

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent or match particular stereotypes, may lead us to ignore relevant information

base rate fallacy

tendency to ignore relevant statistical information in favor of case-specific information

confirmation bias

seek out and pay attention to information that confirms our beliefs

belief perseverance

sticking to our belief in the face of contradicting information, don’t look for both sides of the story

non-experimental research methods

case studies, single variable research, correlation, archival research, observational research

nocebo

adverse or otherwise unwanted physical or emotional symptom caused by the administration of a placebo

(research ethics) Tuskegee and Zimbardo

Tuskegee: withheld treatment from African American men with syphillis, causing harm and death, lacked informed consent and raised racial and ethical concerns

Zimbardo: caused severe psychological harm to participants, failed to obtain proper informed consent

standard deviation

computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

statistical significance (p)

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance, assuming there is no difference between the populations being studied

IRB (institutional review boards)

ensures research follows ethical standards and regulations

committee must review and approve study before allowing people to enroll in research

motivation

need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

instinct and evolutionary theory

focuses on genetically predisposed behavior

instinct

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned

drive-reduction theory

physiological need creates an aroused state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

physiological need

a basic bodily requirement

homeostasis

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state, the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry - such as glucose - around a particular level

pushed by need to reduce drives and pulled by (incentives)

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

arousal theory

individuals are motivated to seek stimulation when they have low arousal levels, but will become bored and unmotivated when they become too highly aroused

yerkes-dodson law

moderate arousal leads to optimal performance, performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

maslow’s hierarchy of needs

begins at the base with physiological needs that must be satisfied before people can fulfill their high-level safety needs and then psychological needs

intrinsic motivation

for its own sake, without reward/punishment

extrinsic motivation

receive reward or avoid punishment

glucose

a form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues, when it is low we feel hunger

ghrelin

a hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

leptin

hormone that signals us to reduce appetite and increase energy used, obese people seem resistant to it

hypothalamus (hunger)

controls hunger, makes decision: is body rich in energy? is the body poor in energy? receives signals, integrates them, assesses body’s need for energy

set point

point at which the “weigh thermostat” may be set, when the body falls below this weight, increased hunger and lower metabolic rate may combine to restore weight lost

basal metabolic rate

body’s resting rate of energy output, rate at which the body expends energy while at rest