Intro to Psych Chapter 1,2,4 Vocab

empirical approach

evidence base method, draws attention on observation and experimentation.

scientific attitude

being skeptical but not cynical, open-minded but not gulliblecrit

critical thinking

does not automatically accept arguments. Examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, assess conclusions

behaviorism

psychology should be a object science and studies behavior without reference to inner mental processes

structuralism

the first school of psychology, founded by Wilhelm Wundt, seeks to understand the structure of human mind by breaking it down to basic elements through introspection.

introspection

process of observing and examining ones own conscious thoughts, feelings, mental states

functionalism

emphasizes the purpose and function of mental processes and behaviors

Psychoanalytic psychology

Sigmund Freud; our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior

humanistic psychology

our growth potential, our needs for love and acceptance, and the environments that nurture or limit personal growth

cognitive psychology

study of mental processes in perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, communicating, solving problems

cognitive neuroscience

study of Brian activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory and language)

psychology

science of behavior and mental processes

nature-nurture issue

relative contributions that genes and experience make to devlopment of psychological traits and behaviors, interaction between nature and nature

natural selection

inherited traits that better help organism survive and reproduce will most likely be passed down generations (survival of the fittest)

evolutionary psychology

study of how behavior and mind have changed in adaptive ways over time due to natural selection

culture

enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by group of people from one generation to next

positive psychology

study of humans flourishing, with goal of promotion and discovering strengths that help people thrive

biopsychosocial approach

approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

levels of analysis

differing compleemtnary views for analyzing any given phenomenon

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

counseling psychology

branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well being

clinical psychology

branch of psychology that studies, assess and treated people with psychological disorders

psychiatry

branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, provide medical treatments (drug) or psychological therapy

community psychology

studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups (example: for bullying, consider ways to improve schools)

testing effect

repeated self-testing and rehearsal of previously studied material

hindsight bias

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

peer reviewers

scientific experts who evaluate a research articles theory, originality, and accuracy

theory

well-tested, formal explanation for observations that explains how or why something happens

hypothesis

testable prediction, often implied my theory

operational definition

carefully worded statement of exact procedures used in research study. helping = how many dollars people donate

replication

repeating essence of research study, different participants with different situations to determine confidence in findings reliability

preregistration

publicly communicating planned study design, hypotheses, data collection, and analyses

meta-analysis

combining the results of many studies to reach an overall conclusion

case study

in depth analyses of individuals or group. example: Brian damage individuals studied to see how it affects humans

naturalistic observation

recording the natural behavior of many individuals

survey

asking people questions

random sample

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

population

those in group being studied

correlation

measure of extent to which two factors vary together

correlation coefficient

helps figure out direction and strength of relationship between two things. r= -1.00 to 1.0, r=0 is no relationship)

positive correlation

above 0 to 1, direct relationship

negative correlation

-1 to 0, inverse relationship

variable

anything that can vary and is ethical/practical to measure

scatterplot

graphical representation that displays the relationship between two variables with dots

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where non exits or stronger than actual relationship

regression toward the mean

extreme results are caused by unfortunate combinations and will fall back toward avarge score. Example: teams unusually low performance in one game will improve in next.

experiment

researcher manipulates one or more variables to obverse effect on some behavior or mental process

experimental group

group exposed to treatment

control group

not exposed to treatment, serves as comparison for evaluating effect of treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance

double blind procedure

experimental procedure in which both research and participates are blind to who gets the treatment or placebo

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations, recipient assumes they got active agent

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

confounding variable

extraneous variable that might influence studies results

dependent variable

variable that is measured

informed consent

giving potential participants enough info about a study to enable them to choose whether to wish to participate

debriefing

postexpiremental explanation of a study, including purpose and deceptions to participants

statistics

using mathematical methods to understand numerical information

descriptive statistics

using statistical methods to provide simple summary of data

mode

most frequent occurring score in distribution

mean

average of a distribution

median

midpoint of distribution

range

difference between highest and lowest score

standard deviation

how much scores vary around mean score

normal curve

bell shaped curve where most cases fall near mean and fewer near extreme

inferential statistics

interpret data from sample to inform udnertsanding of a population

statistical significance

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

biological psychology

study of links between biological and psychological processes

neuroplasticity

Brains ability to change by reorganizing and building new pathways as it adjusts to new experiences

neuron

nerve cell, basic building block of nerves sateen (queen bees)

cell body

part of neuron that contains nucleus

dendrites

branching extensions that receive messages from axons

axon

segmented neuron extension that passes messages through branches to other neurons, muscles, glands.

myelin sheath

fatty tissue layer encasing the axons of some neurons, speeds up messages

glial cells

cells in nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons, play role in learning thinking and memory (worker bees)

action potential

impulse fired by neuron, brief electrical charge that travels down axon

threshold

level of stimulation required to trigger neural impulse

refractory period

brief resting pause that occurs after neuron has fired. example: orgasm

all or none response

neurons reaction of either firing or not firing

synapse

meeting point between neurons

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross synaptic gap

reuptake

neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by sending neuron

endorphins

neurotransmitters that influence perception of pain or pleasure

agonist

increase a neurotransmitters action

antagonist

decrease neurotransmitters actions by blocking production or release

nervous ysstem

communication network that takes in information from the world and the body’s tissues. makes decisions, and sends back information and orders to body’s tissues

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

sensory and motor neurons that connect CNS to rest of body

nerves

bundles of axons that form neural cables connected CNS with muscles, glands, and sensory organs

sensory neuorns

carry incoming information from body’s tissues and sensory receptors to brain and spinal cord

motor neurons

carry instructions from CNS outward to body’s muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within brain and spinal cord. communicate internally and process information between sensory inputs and motor outputs

somatic nervous system

enables voluntary control of skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

controls glands and internal organ muscles

sympathetic nervous system

division of autonomic nervous system that expends energy

parasympathetic nervous system

conserving energy (decreasing heartbeat, lower blood sugar, etc.) rest and digest

reflex

automatic response to sensory stimulus

endocrine system

Boyd’s slow chemical communication system, glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones into bloodstream

horomones

travel through bloodstream and affect other tissues