Psyc final addy

critical thinking

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

Empiricism

knowledge comes from experience. Also that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

Wilhelm Wundt

who used introspection to search for the mind's structural elements

Edward Bradford Titchener

Introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

functionalism

how mental and behavioral processes function and how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish(James and Darwin)

founder of functionalism

William James

1st female president of APA

Mary Calkins

First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)

Margaret Floy Washburn

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).

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

John B. Watson

A leading behaviorist, rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behaviorB. F. Skinner

B. F. Skinner

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud

humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

Cognitive Psychology

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

cognitive neuroscience

study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Psychology

the 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

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.

evolutionary psychology

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

behavior gentics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies

Charles Darwin

culture

the 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 optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

biopsychosocial approach

biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

behavioral psychology

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

biological psychology

the scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

what might someone from the biological perspective do?

attempt to determine what triggers angry responses or aggressive acts

what might Someone working from the biological perspective do?

study brain circuits that cause us to be red in the face and "hot under the collar," or how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament

what might Someone working from the cognitive perspective do?

study how our interpretation of a situation affects our anger and how our anger affects our thinking

what might Someone working from the evolutionary perspective do?

analyze how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestors' genes

psychodynamic psychology

how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

social-cultural psychology

how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

Psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

developmental psychology

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

educational psychology

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

personality psychology

the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

industrial-organizational psychology

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

human factors psychology

an I/O psychology subfield that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

counseling psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

clinical psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

psychiatry

physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

community psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

woman who pushed for changes in the treatment of the mentally ill and founded 32 mental hospitals

Dorthea Dix

hindsight bias

I knew it all along phenomenon

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

case study

one individual or group 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

survey

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

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Population

all those in a group being studied

random sample

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

Correlation

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

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

random assignment

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

double-blind procedure

staff and participants are blind about who receives the treatment and who receives the placebo

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

dependent variable

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

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

normal curve

A symmetrical, bell-shape that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

relationship between standard deviation and variance

standard deviation is the square root of the variance, variance is the average of all data points within a group.

rule of 68/95/99

68%: is the standard or most normal, 95%: is the next out, 99%: the furthest out, aka the 1% of the population of either genius or low IQ, 145 or 55

neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

cell body

the part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell's life-support center

Dendrites

a neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Axon

the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

all-or-none response

a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing.

Synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

Endorphins

"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

acetylcholine malfunction

Alzheimer's

dopamine malfunction

Oversupply linked to schizophrenia. Undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson's disease

serotonin malfunction

undersupply linked to depression