Psychology Ch 1-2

what is psychology

scientific study of mind and behavior

father of psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

Structuralism

understanding the conscious experience through introspection- process by which someone examines their own conscious experience to break it into its component parts- Wilhelm Wundt

Functionalism

focused on how mental activities help an organism adapt to its environment- William James; also coined stream of consciousness

Psychoanalytic Theory

focuses on the role of the unconscious (childhood experiences) affecting conscious behavior- Sigmund Freud

Gestalt Psychology

based on the idea that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception- Wertheimer, Koffka, Kohler

Classical Conditioning- Behaviorism

food can be associated to bell ring for dogs, Ivan Pavlov

Behaviorism

objective analysis of mind is impossible, instead focused on observable behavior and ways to bring under control- John Watson

Operant Conditioning- Behaviorism

concentrated on how behavior was affected by consequences, studied principles of modifying behavior through reinforcement and punishment- B.F. Skinner

Humanism

emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs- Humanism

as long as basic survival needs are met, higher-level needs begin to motivate behavior

Client-Centered Therapy

patient taking a lead role in the therapy session; believed therapists needed unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness- Carl Rogers

Cognitive Revolution

1950s- mind became new focus of scientific inquiry, Noam Chomsky influential in starting revolution

Margaret Washburn

first woman to get a PhD in psychology, researched on animal behavior (behavioralism)

Branches of Psychology- Contemporary

Biopsychology, Health Psychology, Exercise Psychology

Sensation and Perception

focuses on both physiological aspects of sensory systems and the psychological experience of sensory information

Developmental Psychology

physical and mental attributes of aging and maturation, changes in ability throughout growth- Jean Piaget

Personality Psychology

focuses on behaviors and thought patterns that are unique to each individual, studies include conscious and unconscious thinking

Five Factor Model

accurate personality test

Social Psychology

how individuals interact and relate with others and how these interactions can affect behavior

Health Psychology

how health is related or affected by biological, psychosocial, psychological, and sociocultural influences

Clinical Psychology

diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and problematic patterns of behavior

Industrial-Organizational

applies psychological theories, principles and research to
industrial and organizational settings, involves issues related to the workplace

Sports and Exercise Psychology

psychosocial aspects regarding sports and physical performance, study includes motivation, performance related anxiety, and general mental well being

Forensic Psychology

assessment of individual’s mental capacity to stand in trial, sentencing and treatment suggestions, advisement regarding eyewitness test

Careers in Psychology

Teacher, Researcher, Clinical Psychologist, Social Work, Corporate and Marketing

why is research important

necessary to validate claims, without it we would have assumptions

Deductive Reasoning

results are predicted based on a general premise (hypothesis) ex) living things need energy, ducks are living things, so ducks need energy

Inductive Reasoning

conclusions drawn from observations (tested and conclusion) ex) you see many fruits growing on trees, and therefore assume all fruit grows on trees

Theory

well developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena

Hypothesis

tentative and testable statement (prediction) about the relationship between two or more variables

Clinical or Case Studies

focus on one individual, usually in extreme or unique circumstances that differentiates them from the general public, difficult to generalize results to whole population

Naturalistic Behavior

observation of behavior in natural setting, usually hidden when someone is watching, so must be observed naturally

Observer Bias

when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations, establishing clear criteria can help eliminate

Surveys

a list of questions that are used to gather a large amount of data from a sample of a larger population

Archival Research

using past data to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

Cross-Sectional Research

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time ex) different age groups

Longitudinal Research

studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended amount of time

Attrition

reduction in number of research participants

Correlation

relationship between two or more variables

Correlation Coefficient

a number from -1 to +1, indicates strength and force of relationship

Positive Correlation

two variables change in the same direction

Negative Correlation

two variables change in different directions, one becomes larger while other becomes smaller

Confounding Variable

unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of
interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable

Illusory Correlations

seeing relationships between two things when in reality no relationship exists

Confirmation Bias

tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs

Experimental Group

the participants that experience the manipulated variable (designed to answer research question)

Control Group

participants that do not experience the manipulated variable

Operational Definition

description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulated the independent variables

Experimenter Bias

researcher expectations skew results of study

Participant Bias

participant expectations skew results of study

Single Blind Study

researcher knows which participants are in experimental and control groups, but participants do not

Double Blind Study

experiment in which researchers and participants are blind to group assignments

Placebo Effect

people’s expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in each situation

Independent Variable

controlled by experimenter, only difference between experimental and control group

Dependent Variable

researcher measures this variable to see the effect the independent variable has

Sample

subset of individuals selected from larger population

Population

overall group of individuals that the researcher is interested in

Random Sample

subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Random Assignment

method of experimental group assignment that all participants have an equal chance of being selected to a group

Quasi-Experimental

a type of experiment that a cause/effect relationship cannot be identified ex) effect of sex on memory

Statistical Analysis

happens once data has been collected, determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance

Peer-reviewed Journal Article

article read by other scientists and reviewed for accuracy before being published

Replication

repeating an experiment that determines the reliability of it

Reliability

consistency and reproducibility or a given result

Inter-rater Reliability

measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify of a particular event

Validity

accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure

Institutional Review Board

committee that reviews proposals for research involving human participants

Informed Consent

process of informing a research participant about what to expect and getting their permission

Deception

purposely misleading participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment

Debriefing

when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

committee that reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals