mr sinn ap psychology

psychology

the study of the mind and behavior

Wilhelm Wundt

father of psychology; created the first lab dedicated exclusively to psychology research; studied the senses, reaction times, attention span, emotions; mentored Edward Tichener

William James

taught the first psychology course ever (at Harvard University); wrote first psych textbook; created functionalism; helped more women get into psych, one of which was the famous Mary Whiton Caulkins

G. Stanley Hall

First American to earn PhD in psychology; opened first psychology lab in the U.S.; became first president of the American Psychological Association

Mary Whiton Caulkins

Joined William James' lecture despite the fact that the university did not want her to; made significant contributions in memory research; first female prez of the APA

Margaret Floy Washburn

Significant contributions to animal research; first woman to earn psych degree; second female president of the APA

Charles Darwin

proposed idea of natural selection; argued that our behaviors and bodies were shaped through natural selection; reinforced and shaped theory of evolutionary psychology

Dorothea Dix

documented unfair and inhumane treatment of mentally ill people; helped reform insane asylums

SIgmund Freud

created psychoanalytic theory (later changed to the psychodynamic approach); focused on studying the unconscious mind and believed that peoples' personalities are shaped by unconscious motives

Ivan Pavlov

focused on reflexive conditioning (later became known as classical conditioning); most known for his experiment with dogs and their digestion

Jean Piaget

first psychologist to conduct a systematic study of cognitive development; went on to create a theory of cognitive development focusing on children

Carl Rogers

one of the founders of humanistic psychology; made significant contributions to the research of peoples personalities

B.F. Skinner

expanded on the theoretical approach of behaviorism; known for operant conditioning (focuses on behaviors and positive and negative consequences)

John B. Watson

one of the founders of behaviorism; believed that psychology should be a scientific study and focus on observable things

structuralism

focuses on the different structures of consciousness through individual parts; uses introspection

functionalism

looks to understand our mental and behavioral processes; functionalists view these not as individual structures but evolved functions; functionalists seek to understand how the different structures work together and impact each other

Gestalt psychology

looks at the whole consciousness and includes the study of perception, sensation, learning, and problem solving; focuses on the organizational process, instead of just the content of behavior

psychoanalytic

looks at behaviors and mental processes and how they are influenced by the ego and conflict with the id and superego; focus is on processes that are from the unconscious; free association often used

free association

when a word or image triggers another idea, word, or picture inside a person's head

introspection

the process of looking inward to observe yourself think

early behaviorism

behaviors are learned through experiences and are observable; broken down into reflexive conditioning (classical conditioning) and operant conditioning

four historical schools of thought in psychology

structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt, psychoanalytic

three modern psychological perspectives

early behaviorism, humanistic, sociocultural

humanistic psychology

humans are naturally good and seek to reach their potential through free will; the goal to life is to reach self-actualization

sociocultural psychology

studies the impact of a person's culture, nationality, religion, gender, social norms, and other cultural aspects on a person's behavior and mental processes

evolutionary approach

studies how behaviors and mental processes of today exist due to natural selection

biological approach

looks at how different structures of the brain and nervous system operate with the goal of understanding the link between biological and psychological processes

cognitive approach

looks at attitude, memories, perceptions, and expectations-- all influenced behaviors and mental processes for individuals; focus is on how individuals proces and remember information

different psychological approaches

evolutionary, biological, cognitive

classifications of basic research

biological, developmental, cognitive, educational, personality, social, positive, psychometric

classifications of applied research

industrial-organizational, counseling, clinical

operational definition

a description for the experiment in terms of procedure, actions, or processes by which it could be observed and measured; allows for the experiment to be replicated by others

population

all of the individuals in a group that are being studied

sample

selected group of people from the population (represents the entire population in the experiment); makes the experiment easier to conduct

random sample

each individual in a population has an equal chance of participating in an experiment (often used by researchers performing an experiment along with a stratified sample; DIFFERENT THAN RANDOM ASSIGNMENT)

stratified sample

when a population is divided into different subcategories and a random sample is taken from each subcategory (often used by researchers performing an experiment along with a random sample)

sampling bias

when the group in the sample does not accurately represent the population

representative sample

when the sample group in a study represents all the different people in a population

experiments

observations which are conducted under controlled conditions to study a relationship between an independent variable and dependent variable; can give the researcher insight into cause and effect (may have skewed results if there is a bias in the experiment methodology, or if there are confounding variables that the researcher was not aware of)

7 different types of research methods

experiments, correlational studies, surveys, naturalistic observations, case studies, longitudinal studies, cross-sectional studies

correlational studies

allow researchers to predict the relationship between two variables; great at showing the strength and direction of a relationship (do not show cause and effect due to the third variable problem)

surveys

self-reported data from questions that often ask for an individuals opinions, thoughts, or information on what they have done; often cheap, and great at collecting large amounts of data (may have skewed data since participants may have their answer influenced by the wording effect or may change their answers to look good on the survey

naturalistic observations

allow researchers to observe behaviors as they happen in a real world setting (there is no lab or staged area); great at getting authentic data (if subjects are aware of the study they may change their behaviors which would skew the data)

case studies

allow researchers to analyze different perspectives of a topic or subject (often provide info in chronological order); allow rare behaviors to be observed (data that is collected cannot be used to generalize a population; study may be impacted by the Hawthorne effect)

longitudinal studies

studies that follow one particular group over a long period of time; great at showing changes over a longer period of time but may have participants drop out of the study earlier due to the length of the study

cross-sectional studies

compare different groups at the same time; inexpensive and can be completed in a short amount of time but they only provide a snapshot of a group and do not show a complete picture

hypothesis

a testable prediction that is made before any research has been completed

theory

a statement that is supported by data from research that has been completed and explains a question, thought, or phenomena

independent variable

in a causal relationship, the cause

dependent variable

in a causal relationship, the effect

confounding variables

other variables besides the independent variable that could impact the dependent variable

third variable problem

when there are other variables impacting an experiment or study, potentially skewing the results

random assignment

when each participant of a study has an equal chance of being put in the control group or experimental group (DIFFERENT THAN RANDOM SAMPLE)

single blind study

when participants in an experiment are unaware of which group they are in

double blind study

when the participants and the researcher conducting the experiment are unaware which group the participants are in

placebo effect

when participants may act differently in a study or experiment because they expect a certain outcome from a study, experiment, or independent variable

control group

a group that does not receive the independent variable and serves as a standard in comparing the effects of the independent variable on the experimental group

experimental group

the group who receives the independent variable

quasi-experiments

used in situations where controlled experiments would be impossible or unethical to do; these experiments do not include random assignment of participants

validity

how well a test measures what it claims to measure

reliability

the repeatability of a test or study

hindsight bias

the tendency to think that one could have anticipated the outcome of an event or experiment after it already occurred; can be prevented by using pre-assessments and by using the scientific method

false-consensus effect

when individuals overestimate how many others share their opinions or ideas; to prevent this, researchers should utilize the scientific method and present participants with alternative viewpoints

confirmation bias

when individuals focus on only specific information that aligns with their viewpoint and ignore conflicting information; can be prevented by researcher awareness of their own biases before the study and making sure their experiments can be replicated so others can test their findings

experimenter bias

when researchers unknowingly influence the outcome of their research; can be prevented by using a double blind study and having clear operational definitions set so the study can be replicated by others

social desirability bias

when participants in a study skew their answers to create a more favorable impression of themselves; can be countered by keeping the identity of the participants hidden, or researchers can use placebos or hide the hypothesis from the participants

Hawthorne effect

when a participant alters their behavior because they know they are being observed; can be prevented by using random assignment, placebos, or by using a double blind of single blind study

quantitative data

numbers or facts that are not up for interpretation

qualitative data

often in word form and is up for interpretation

descriptive statistics

used to organize and describe data that is collected

inferential statistics

used to make predictions about data to better determine if the data from the sample can be applied to the population

measures of central tendency

mean, median, mode

measures of variability

range and standard deviation

standard deviation

allows researchers to indicate the average distance from the mean for a data set

positive skew of a data set

scores are low and clustered to the left of the mean

negative skew of a data set

high scores that are clustered to the right of the mean

normal distribution

bell-curve shape; symmetrical distribution

bimodal distribution

when the distribution has two modes, causing the distribution to have two peaks

percentile rank

allows us to understand the percentage of scores that are at or below a particular score

correlation coefficient

the closer this is to one, the stronger the relationship between the two variables

institutional review board

ensures that studies and experiments in colleges and universities are set up in a way that protect everyone involved in the study

four things an experiment must do to protect the individuals in the experiment

1) must have informed consent,2) provide a trustworthy environment, 3) avoid any unnecessary risks, 4) take precautions to prevent physical or psychological harm to individuals

Heredity

The passing on of physical and mental traits

Heritability

A mathematical measure to estimate how much variation there is in a population related to genes

Nature

genetics

nurture

environment, how were raised

which psychological perspectives learn toward the nature side of the debate

biological,evolutionary,cognitive

which psychological perspectives learn toward the nurture side of the debate

psychodynamic,behavioral,sociocultural

epigenetics

How the environment and a person’s behaviors affects a persons genes and how they work

Brain plasticity

allows people to regain abilities that were temporarily lost following a traumatic event.

nervous system

uses neurons to send and deliver messages to localized areas in the body

endocrine system

uses gland to create hormones (slower moving messages and target broad areas)

homeostasis

the regulation of the body’s internal environment (around 98 degrees)

explain the role of the hypothalamus in the endocrine system

It controls the pituitary gland and directs different autonomic functions of the body.

pituitary gland(under the hypothalamus)

communicates with other glands to produce their hormones(growth oxytocin and vasopressin)

pineal gland(middle of the brain)

regulates sleep cycles(melatonin)

thyroid and parathyroid gland

regulates metabolism,growth,nervous system and regulates calcium levels in your blood(parathyroid and calcitonin)

adrenal glands(above kidneys)

helps regulate salt levels,blood pressure and oxygen intake(norepinephrine,epinephrine and aldosterone)

pancreas(near the stomach)

regulates sugar levels(insulin and glucagon)

Gonads

produce sex hormones to reproductive organs ovaries and testes(testosterone,estrogen and progesterone)