Unit 1- Psychology's History and Approaches

Myers' Psychology for AP (Second Edition)

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Rene Descartes

French philospher-mathematician, established the theory of dualism; mind and matter are the two entities that work together to make up reality

John Locke

British philosopher who claimed that the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) and experience “writes“ on said slate

Empiricism

what we know comes from experience, therefore observation and experimentation leads to data and scientific evidence

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of Psychology, establshed structuralism and started the 1st lab to study the mind

Introspection

Looking at our mind by focusing on our thoughts

William James

Father of psychology in America, established Functionalism, authored The first psych textbook

Structuralism

School of thought focused on discovering the structural elements of the mind (early approach)

Functionalism

School of thought focused on how mental and behavioral processes function (early approach)

Psychoanalytic Approach

School of thought focused on the unconscious forces and childhood experiences that affect behavior, assumed that behavior is determined by unconscious motives & early childhood experience (early approach)

Behaviorism

School of thought focused on observable behavior, assumed that human behavior is learned through interaction with the environment (early approach)

John Watson

Claimed people had no free will and that an individual’s environment determined behavior

Biological Approach

Focused on the brain and biology’s affect on behavior, assumed that mental processes are made possible by biological systems

Cognitive Approach

Focused on the role of thought (how info is processed, stored, and retrieved) on behavior

Evolutionary Approach

Focused on natural selection and adaptation, assumed that the way we adapt is traceable to probles early humans faced in adapting to their environments

Humanist Approach

Focused on how we meet the needs for love and acceptance and self-fulfillment, assumed that people are in control of their own destiny and behavior is caused by what happens to us

Biopsychosocial Approach

An integrated perspective that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis, assumed that an individual’s behavior is a result of multiple causes rather than just one

Dependent Variable

Factor being measured that reflects change

Independent Variable

Variable being manipulated that causes change

Extraneous Variable

Extra variables that could affect the outcome of your experiment

Confounding Variable

Any extraneous variable that impact the results

Operational Definition

A quantifiably defined set of procedures for measuring the variables being tested, allows for replication

Random Selection

Method of selecting a sample from a population whee every subject has an equal chance of being selected

Random Assignment

Randomization or a specific choice procedure determines which group, control or experimental, the subjects are assigned to

Single Blind Experiment

Subjects do not know which treatment or assignment they will be recieving

Double Blind Experiment

Neither the subjects nor the experimenter know which group recieves which treatment

Experimental Group

The group of subjects that recieves the treatment

Control Group

The group of subjects that does not recieve the treatment

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe that we could have foreseen how something turned out AFTER learning the outcome

Overconfidence Bias

A cognitive bias in which someone believes that his or her judgement is better or more reliable than it actually is

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for information that confirms our beliefs and preconceptions while ignoring and distorting contradictory evidence

Correlation

The relationship between two variables

Positive Correlation

As one variable changes, the other variable changes in the same direction

Negative Correlation

As one variable changes direction, the other variable changes in the opposite direction

Correlation Coefficient

Measures the strength of the relationship between two variables. Is represented by “r“ and can range from -1.0 to +1.0

Correlational Design

A type of design in which ariables are measured WITHOUT manipulating any of them

Experimental Design

A type of design in which one variable is manipulated and the effect on another variable is measured

Descriptive Statistics

A category of statistics that uses the data to provide descriptions of the population through numerical calculations or graphs/tables

Inferential Statistics

A category of statistics that involves making inferences and predictions about a population based on a sample of data taken from the population

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Variance

The measure of how far the data points rae spread out from the mean

Standard Deviation

The measure of the amount by which scores typically deviate on either side of the mean

Normal Curve

The bell shaped curve that describes the distribution of data

Stastical Significance

How likely a result is due to chance alone

P-value

The statistical measurement that determines if results are statistically significant. Is the area under the normal curve

Z-score

The number that describes the position of a raw score in terms of its distance from the mean

Informed Consent

A research ethic that states we must obtain consent from all participants in the study

Minimal deception

A research ethic that states that participations should not be decieved

Protection from Harm

A research ethic that states that the researcher must protect participants from physical, mental, and emotional harm and discomfort.

Right to withdraw

A research ethic that states that participants have the right to withdraw or back out from an experiment at any time

Debrief

A research ethic that states that researchers must debrief all participants after the conclusion of the experiment

Confidentiality

A research ethic that states that the identities and personal information of participants should be kept confidential