Psychology Chapters 1-3 (Test 1)

Psychology

scientific study of the mind and behavior

Structuralism

Early school of psychology; founded by Wilhelm Wundt; understanding conscious activity through introspection

Functionalism

Early school of psychology; founded by William James; mental activities help organisms adapt

Freud

Founder of the psychoanalytic theory in late 1800s early 1900s; controversial; studied personality, development, unconscious/childhood experiences

Wertheimer,

Koffka, and Kohler

Founders of the gestalt theory; examines perception and sensory experiences; “invisible triangle”

Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner

Studied behaviorism in early 20th century; observing and controlling behavior through conditioning, reinforcement, and punishment

Maslow and Rogers

Studied humanism (aka humanistic psychology) in 1950s; humans are all capable of good; humans can take charge of their own learning

Cognitive Psychology

Neisser, Chomsky, Piaget, and Vygotsky; 1920s; internal mental states and mental processes (not just behavior)

Psychodynamic Psychology

Freud and Erickson; late 19th to early 20th century; unconscious/childhood experiences affect conscious experiences

5 Psychological Domains

1. Biological

2. Cognitive

3. Developmental

4. Social/Personality

5. Mental/Physical Health

Biological Domain

biopsychology (how biology influences behavior); evolutionary psychology (how human behavior has evolved over time); sensation/perception (the psychological experience of sensory information)

Cognitive Domain

thoughts and their relationships to experiences/actions

Developmental Domain

behavioral psychology (classical/operant conditioning); developmental psychology (development across a lifespan)

Social/Personality Domain

social psychology (how peoples thoughts/feelings/behaviors are affected by others); personality psychology (patterns of thoughts/behaviors that make each person unique)

Mental/Physical Health Domain

abnormal psychology (abnormal thoughts and behaviors); clinical psychology (diagnosis/treatment of psychological disorders); health psychology (health is affected by biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors)

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

psychological theories/research in industrial and organizational settings

Forensic Psychology

applies psychology in the justice system

Sport and Exercise Psychology

mental/physical effects from sports and exercise

Empirical Results

guaranteed by scientific method; tangible observations that can be explored by any and all scientists

Hypothesis

testable statement

Theory

proposes an explanation for an observation

Fairness

all data is considered

Falsifiable

possible to disprove a theory/hypothesis through experimentation

Predictability

theory that enables a prediction about future events

Verifiability

replicable by other researchers

Descriptive Research

does not test specific relationships between variables

Correlation Research

tests if relationship exists between two or more variables

Experimental Research

tests hypothesis to determine results

Clinical/Case Study

observational research study focusing on one or a few people

Naturalistic Observation

observation of natural behavior

Survey

questions that allow researchers to collect data from a large group

Archival Research

past records/data that indicate patterns or trends

Cross-sectional Research

compares multiple traits about a population at one time

Longitudinal Research

same group of individuals is surveyed repeatedly over a period of time

Observer Bias

skews research results

Correlation Coefficient

A number from -1 to +1 that indicates relationship between variables

Confounding Variable

causes systematic movement of variables

Experimental Group

group being studied that is experiencing change

Control Group

does not experience change

Random Samples

ensures accurate population representation

Random Assignment

control differences between groups so that independent variable being tested can be observed

Operational Definition

how we measure variables

Independent Variable

manipulated by experimenter

Dependent Variable

measurable data affected by independent variable

Experimenter Bias

skews results

Single Blind Study

participants do not know what group they are in

Double Blind Study

participants do not know which group is being tested

Placebo Effect

influence of people’s expectations

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

institution that receives support to study human participants

Informed Consent

consent from participants for a study

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

protects animal rights during testing for human gain

Reliability

consistency of a result

Variable Distribution

pattern of variation

Statistical Significance

unlikely to arise by chance alone

P-value

indicates extremes

Abstract

synopsis of results; generally a paragraph; summary

Introduction

provides background info about study

Method

investigation/experiment

Results

findings of research

Discussion

interprets the findings