Psychology 1010A Exam #1 Definitions

What is psychology?

the study of behaviour and the mind

Behaviour - observable behaviour

Mind - internal states and processes

What is behaviour?

Is all the observable actions (seeing) and unobservable (psychological- memory, learning, language etc.

What is experimental psychology?

focuses on learning, sensory, perceptions, and motivational states

ex. involves lab experiments with non human animals

What is a Psychologist?

has a pHD, cant presribe drugs, works in psychotherapy

What is clinical psychology?

the study and treatment of mental disorders

ex. diagnose and treat people with psychological problems

What is a psychiatrist?

Has a M.D, has mental disorder training, can prescribe drugs

What are the goals of psychology?

D- describe behaviour and mental processes

E- Explain and understand causation of behaviour

P- Predict behaviour

C- Control/ influence behaviour under certain conditions

What is basic research?

the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake, to understand the “why” by observation and analyzing

What is applied research?

designed to solve specific practical problems using basic research

What are levels of analysis?

biological- brain processes (genetics, tumors)

psychological- thoughts, feelings and motives (irrational thoughts)

environmental- social environment (abusive father etc.)

What is depression?

Intense feelings of sadness, grief and lonliness and can be associated with physical symptoms such as a loss of sleep and appetite

What are perspectives?

point of to used analyze behaviour and its causes

What is the biological perspective?

Looking at the brain function, brain structure, genetic factors, biochemical, neurotransmitters Etc.

What is mind-body dualism?

mind is a nonphysical spiritual entity that is not subject to physical laws

cannot studied be reduced to physical processes; body and mind are separate entities

What is monism?

mind and body are one and the same

Who was Phineas Gage?

A man that got stabbed in the eye, displayed that personality resides in the brains as his became very rude (monism)

localization issue

What is natural selection?

evolutionary psychology (Charles Darwin)

favourable characteristics are preserved in the gene pool, survival of the fittest

What is behavioural genetics/ sociobiology?

behaviours that are desirable, and are then passed down from generation to generation

behavioural tendencies are influenced by genetic factors

Males: dominance, aggression, competitve

Females: Cooperation and nurturing behaviours

What is cognitive psychology?

the study of mental processes and how they influence motives, emotions and behaviours

the mind as an information processor, decision making, and problem solving

What is structuralism?

established by Wilhelm Wundt

studying the structure of the mind by breaking it down into its basic components, as sensations are the basic elements of conscious experience

What does Introspection mean?

Looking within and this was used to determine the structure of the mind

What is functionalism?

established by William James

focused on functions and behaviour of the mind, the why not the what

What is Gestalt psychology?

Looking at the bigger picture before looking at the individual elements

What dis Piaget say?

That kids are not mini adults and go through completely different learning (cognitive) stages

Ellis and Beck

said that depression is a result of irrational thoughts and distortions

What is cognitive neuroscience?

examines brain activity in humans while performing cognitive tasks (behaviour and processing information)

What is the psychodynamic perspective?

established by Freud

our problems are a result of unconscious and past conflicts (comes out in dreams or slips of the tongue)

Our unconscious drives our behaviour and we develop defence mech to cope

What is psychoanalysis?

this and psychotherapy helps people talk things out, to make us feel better

What is the behavioural perspective?

humans learn how to behave through consequences (observable behaviour)

environmental influences behaviour

focus on role of external environment

effects of rewards and punishments

What is British empiricism?

Est. John Locke

all contents of the mind are gained experientially through the senses, its the world that puts things into our body

Tabula rosa - we are born a blank slate

What did John B. Watson state?

If you give me a a bunch of healthy kids I can turn them in to laywers, doctors etc, by controlling their environment

What did Watson and skinner say?

Control environment = controlled behaviour

Observable behaviour is more important than mental events

• beh’r mods

What is behaviour modification?

decreasing problem behaviours and increasing positive ones by controlling environment

What is the humanistic perspective?

humans are different than animals

emphasizes personal freedom, choice, conscious motives and self actualization

What is biopsychology/neuroscience?

focuses on the biological underpinnings of behaviour

ex. how hormones influence our actions, thoughts, and feelings

What is developmental psychology?

examines the changes in our biological, physical, psychological, and behavioural processes as we age

ex. how our mental abilities change during adolescence and adulthood

What is industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology?

examines people's behaviour in the workplace

ex. study leadership, teamwork, and factors influencing motivation and performance @ work

What is personality psychology?

focuses on the study of human personality

ex. how different traits relate to one another and influence behaviour

What is social psychology?

examines people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviour pertaining to the social world

ex. how people form impressions and attitudes, behave in groups, etc

What is behaviourism?

emphasizes the role of learning and environmental controls over behaviour

What is cognitive behaviourism?

behavioural approach that incorporates cognitive concepts, suggesting that environment influences our behavior by affecting our thoughts and giving us info

Allows us to control our behaviour and environment

What is self-actualization?

reaching one's full potential

What is Abraham Maslows Hiearchy?

You must fulfill needs before moving up physiological (water, air shelter), safety (resources and jobs), love and belonging (friendship), esteem,(respect and freedom) and self-actualization(reaching full potential)

Who est. self esteem and self concept?

Carl Rogers

What is sociocultural perspective?

the role of culture, social groups influence behaviour

looks at role of culture in beh’r, norms for specific groups, have beh’r differs as being apart of group vs. indiviudually

What is culture?

long lasting vales, beliefs, behaviours, and traditions gen- gen

What are norms?

behavioural roles in social environment

What is individualism?

looks at ones personal goals, and there self identity based on own achievements and attributes

• north america and northern europe

What is collectivism?

Individuals goals are apart of a group and the person identity id define by ties to family

• asia, africa, south america

What is diffusion of responsibility?

When there is more than one person in a situation, people feel a decreased sense of responsibility as someone else will help

What is the scientific method?

1. Identify- question of interest

2. Hypothesis- gather info to form hypo

3. Test- test the hypo

4. Analyze- data, report, and build knowlegde

5. Theories- build more knowlegde and conduct more research

minimizes bias and personal beliefs

What is a hypothesis?

a tentative explanation or prediction about some phenomenon

What is a theory?

a set of formal statements that explain how and why certain events or phenomena are related to one another

What is a variable?

any characteristic that can very

ex. stress, weight, reaction time memory, IQ

What is an operational definition?

defines a variable in the terms of the specific procedures used to produce or measure it

How do we measure variables?

1. asking, self reporting, reporting by others

2. physiological- whats going on inside

3. behavioural observations

What is Self report?

Participants tell their own feelings, and thoughts first hand information

can lead to social disireabilty bias

What is the social desirability bias?

tendency of people to exaggerate their positive qualities and minimize their negative qualities

(Self-report and report by others)

What are physiological measures?

record psychological responses to assess what people are experiencing, but theres a limitation as physio doesn’t explain mental events

ex. measure heart rate, BP, respiration rate, hormonal secretions, and brain functioning

What is behavioural observation?

Looking at how much they sleep, or bite their nails and performance

you can look at things first hand but this needs a coding system as people view beh’r differently

What is descriptive research?

describes behaviour in a natural setting

What is a case study?

an in-depth analysis of an individual group or an event that is rare, uncommon or interesting

it is useful in for rare phenomenon, and can be the staring point for future studies but you cannot generalize it across the pop. and resaercher bias

ex. Charles Whitman, Kitty Genovese, Phineas Gage

What is naturalistic observation?

observing behaviours in the nature setting

it is a rich description of beh’r, those being observed might change beh’r as they are being watch, it is time consuming, you need criteria and looking at whats happening not the why of beh’r

What is a survey?

a method in which questionnaires or interviews are used to obtain information about a topic

What is a population?

in a survey, the entire set of individuals

What is a sample?

in a survey, a subset of individuals drawn from the population and is a representative sample

What is correlational research?

the relationship between and among 2 variables but it never means causation

they are not manipulated as the goal is to determine assocaiation

What is a correlational coefficient?

a statistical that indicates the direction and strength of a relation between 2 variables, looking at the |a| value which ever is closer to 1 has the strongest relationship

What is a positive correlation?

one variable goes up and so does the other variable

ex. height and weight are positively correlated

What is a negative correlation?

one variable goes up and the other one goes down

ex. students test anxiety and exam performance

What does causation mean?

A could cause B, B could cause A or C could cause both A and B 

What is experimenter expectancy effects?

unintentional ways researchers influence their participants to respond in a manner that favours with the researcher's hypothesis

What are psychological measures?

use of specialized test to measure many types of variables

ex. personality tests and IQ tests

What is the positive psychology movement?

study of human strengths, fulfillment, and optimal living

What is cultural psychology?

study of how culture is transmitted to a society's members

What is behavioural neuroscience?

study of brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behaviour, sensory experiences, emotions, and thoughts

What is reliable?

the consistency of results with sudies are the same study done again

(Direct observation)

What is unobtrusive measures?

recording behaviour in a way that keeps participants unaware that they are being observed

What is the mean?

average of a set of scores

calculated by adding up all the score and dividing by the # of scores

What is a representative sample?

a sample that accurately reflects the important characteristics of the population

What is random sampling?

to obtain a representative sample

What is an experiment?

cause and effect

manipulating an independent variable under controlled conditions (confounding variable) and measures whether this produces changes in a dependent variable

What is an independent variable?

in an experiment, the factor that is manipulated by the researcher

What is a dependent variable?

in an experiment, the factor that is measured by the researcher and which presumably is influenced by the independent variable

What is an experimental group?

in an experiment, the group that receives a treatment or is exposed to an active level of the independent variable

What is a control group?

in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment, or which receives a zero level of the independent variable

What is an between subjects design?

a common experimental design in which each experimental group is composed of a different set of participants

What is a random assignment?

a procedure in which each participant has an equal likelihood of being assigned to any one group within an experiment

What is a within subjects design?

each participant in an experiment is exposed to all the conditions of an independent variable and the counterbalancing method is used

What is counterbalancing?

For a within subject group

the order of conditions is varied so that no condition has an advantage

What is validity?

how well an experimental procedure actually tests what it is designed to test

What is a placebo?

a substance that has no pharmacological effect

What is the placebo effect?

a change in behaviour that occurs because of the expectation or belief that one is receiving a treatment

What is the double-bind procedure? *gold standard*

both the participant and the experimenter are kept blind as to which experimental condition the participant is in

limits bias

What is replication?

process of repeating a study to determine whether the original findings can be duplicated

What is cross-cultural replication?

examining whether findings generalize across different cultures

What is informed consent?

explain all aspects of the procedure and ensure that the procedure is understood

What is incomplete disclosure or deception?

occurs when participants are misled about the nature of the study is highly controversial

What is debriefed?

told the true purpose of the study at the end of the experiment

What are the measures of central tendency?

a statistic that is 'typical' of of the population

mode, mean, median