Psychology Unit 0

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

ID

Instinctive; seek immediate pleasure

EGO

rational and logical part of mind

SUPER EGO

moral compass, we behave as we ought to

Behaviorism

the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only

operant conditioning

Learning based on the consequences of responding.

classical conditioning

Learning through association of stimuli.

Humanism

A belief that emphasizes optimism in human potential

Cognitive Approach

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

Cognitive Learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Sociocultural Approach

examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior

Internalization

learning cultural norms and values through social interaction

Biological Approach

an approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

biological processes

genes, hormones, neurotransmitters, nervous systems

Evolutionary Approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

Natural Selection

A natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment.

Cognitive Bias

Limits of common sense

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Overconfidence bias

the bias in which people's subjective confidence in their decision making is greater than their objective accuracy

Confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Order in randomness

when we make sense of the world but tend to impose on the order of random events when there is no actual order

Curiosity (scientific attitude)

Does it work? When put to the test, can its predictions be confirmed?

Skeptisim (scientific attitude)

what do you mean and how do you know it?

Humility (scientific attitude)

Being willing to follow new ideas, excepting that people and other animals will not always behave as you expect

Scientific method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Operational Definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study, so that others can replicate

Research in psychology

what data is measured

Qualitative research

seeks in-depth, open-ended responses, not yes or no answers

Quantitative Research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

Cross-sectional

Differences between groups at a specific point

Longitudinal

describes research that measures a trait in a particular group of subjects over a long period of time

Descriptive method (testing hypothesis)

describing behaviors and other phenomena (WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW)

Correlation method (testing hypothesis)

associating different factors or variables (is there a relationship between variables?)

Experimental methods (testing hypothesis)

manipulate variables to discover the effects (is there a causal relationship between variables?)

Case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Sampling

The process of selecting representative units from a total population and receiving a sample

Random sampling

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

Convenience sampling

using a sample of people who are readily available to participate

Sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Experimentation

The act of trying out a new procedure, idea, or activity.

1.) manipulating factors of interest

2.) holding constant or "controlling" other factors

Experimental group

the group receiving treatment

Control group

the group not receiving treatment

Random assignment

minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Placebo affect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

Independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Dependent Variable

The measurable effect, outcome, or response in which the research is interested.

Confounding variable

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results