Intro to psych chapter 1

Psychological Science

the study, through research, of mind, brain, and behavior

amiable skepticism

Openness to new ideas but wariness to new "scientific findings"

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Ignoring evidence (confirmation bias)

People show a strong tendency to place great importance on evidence that supports their beliefs.

Seeing causal relationships that do not exist

misperception that two events that happen at the same time must somehow be related

accepting after the fact explanations

coming up with explanations as to why things happened (even with inadequate or incomplete information) hindsight bias

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it "i knew it all along"

taking mental shortcuts

people follow simple rules, called heuristics, to make decisions

heuristics

Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always).

availability heurisitcs

Social cognition bias in which vivid or memorable events lead people to overestimate the frequency of occurrence of these events.

Nurture/ nature debate

the arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture

Nurture

(v.) to bring up, care for, train, nourish; (n.) rearing, training, upbringing

Nature

the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

leonardo da vinci

Dissected human bodies to make anatomy drawings more accurate. Work led to the work that linked the brain to physiological functions

Dualism

the presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact

Renee descartes

proposed theory of dualism

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

Stream of consciousness

describe each persons continuous series of ever changing thoughts

Cognitive psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Cultural psychology

the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members

Developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Health psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine

industrial/ organization psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Social- personality psychology

the study of the influence of other people on our behavior along with what makes each individual unique

diversity and inclusion

the value and practice of ensuring that psychological science represents the experiences of all humans

EEG (electroencephalogram)

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

fMRI (functional MRI)

A technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scans show brain function.

epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Big Data

a broad term for datasets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate.

data ethics

Well-founded standards of right and wrong that dictate how data is collected, shared, and used

Replicability

when a study's findings are able to be duplicated, ideally by independent investigators

open science movement

a social movement among scientists to improve methods, increase research transparency, and promote data sharing

biopsychosocial model

a model of health that integrates the effects of biological, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness

Biological level

brain processes, genetic influences

Individual level

locating the causes of behavior and outcomes in the nature and characteristics of people

Social level

interpersonal behavior, social cognition

Cultural level

how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and actions differ across cultures

Distributed practice

spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods

Retrieval based learning

learning new information by repeatedly recalling it from long-term memory

Self explanation

reflecting on your learning process and trying to make sense of new material in your own words

interleaved practice

switching between topics during studying