Psychology 1 Midterm/Final

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Psychology (definition)

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Chapters 1-4: -1.1 -Why Study Psychology? -1.2 - What Psychologists Do? -1.3 - A History of Psychology), -1.4 - (Contemporary Perspectives -2.1 - Conducting Research -2.2 - Surveys, Samples, and Populations - 2.3 - Using Observations for Research - 2.4 - Experimental & Ethical Issues - 3.1 - The Nervous System - 3.2 - The Brain: Our Control Center - 3.3 - The Endocrine System - 3.4 - Heredity: Our Genetic Background - 4.1 - Understanding Sensation/Perception - 4.2 - Vision - 4.3 - Hearing - 4.4 - Other Senses - 4.5 - Perception

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243 Terms
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Psychology (definition)

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

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Theory

A statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and why they happen the way they do

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Principle

A basic truth or law

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Morality

The concept of good/right conduct

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Behavior

Any action that other people can observe and measure

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Social Science

A science that deals with and tries to explain the social aspects of the world around us

Example: Psychology

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Natural Science

A science that deals with and tries to explain the natural aspects of the world around us

Examples: Chemistry, Biology, etc.

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Goals of Psychology

Seeks to observe, describe, predict, and modify behaviors and mental processes

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Cognitive Activities

Mental processes (can't be observed/measured)

Examples: Dreaming, Thoughts, etc.

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Emotions

Feelings that can affect how someone's behavior and mental processes

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Psychological Constructs

What psychologists use to help them study what we can't see (mental processes)

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Surveys

A type of research method where psychologists collect data through questions asked of a particular group

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Experimentation

A type of research method where psychologists collect data through running physical tests on humans/animals

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Cognitive

The study of mental processes and mental disorders

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Clinical Psychologist

-Makes up the majority of psychologists-Concerned with child/adult mental health, learning disabilities, geriatrics, and general health

-Treat people with problems like anxiety, depression, and other more serious conditions

-Cannot prescribe medication to patients

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Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who treats psychological conditions and can prescribe medication for those conditions

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Counseling Psychologist

-Treats people with adjustment problems

-Employed in businesses or higher educational institutions

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School Psychologist

-Identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning

-Use interviews, tests, and observation to help students

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Educational Psychologist

-Focus on course planning and instructional methods for an entire school system (not concerned with individual problems)

-Study how learning is affected by psychological, cultural, economic, and instructional methods

-Some aid in standardized testing and issue various tests to determine college success

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Developmental Psychologist

-Study changes (physical, cognitive, social, etc.) that occur throughout an individual's lifespan

-Some are especially interested in the struggles that adolescents face

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Personality Psychologist

-Identify and study human characteristics/traits

-Interested in the origins of psychological problems

-Concerned with issues like anxiety, aggression, and gender roles

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Social Psychologist

-Concerned with people's social behavior

-Focus on external rather than internal influences

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Experimental Psychologist

-Conduct research into basic processes such as the functions of the nervous system, sensation, perception, learning, memory, thinking, and motivation

-Study reasons for psychological and biological reasons for cognitive behavior

-Most likely to perform basic research

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Biological Psychologist

-Study the relationship between biological changes and psychological events

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Basic Research

Research that has no immediate application and that's done for its own sake

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Specialized Fields

Fields of psychology that focus on one specific aspect of behavior/mental processes

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Environmental Psychologist

-Studies how people are influenced and influenced by the environment

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Comparative Psychologist

-Studies animal behavior across different species

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Consumer Psychologist

-Studies people and their work

-Employed by corporations to improve working conditions and increase output

-Also trained in organizational psychology

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Organizational Psychologist

-Studies how people behave in organizations

-Employed by corporations to improve working conditions and increase output

-Also trained in industrial psychology

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Human Factors Psychologist

-Try to find the best ways to design products for people to use

-Consider how a product will be used, affect people, look, feel, and how the product will be engineered so it's safe, durable, and comfortable to use

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Community Psychologist

-Study and help create social systems (hospitals, mental health centers, school programs) that promote and foster individual well-being

-Focus on promoting change in social environments, helping powerless people, preventing threats to mental health in social environments

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Forensic Psychology

-Work in the criminal justice system

-Determine psychological competence of defendants

-Try to explain how psychological problems can lead to criminal behavior

-Work with police departments to help secret police officers, help officers cope with stress, train officers in handling dangerous situations (family violence, suicide, hostage crisis)

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Health Psychologist

-Study of how behavior and mental processes relate to physical health

-Try to find correlations between stress/anxiety and health problems

-Also focus on disease prevention

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Cross-Culture Psychologist

-Study behavior and mental processes under different cultural conditions

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7 Psychological Approaches

1.) Evolutionary (epigenetic)

2.) Biological (homeostasis)

3.) Behavioral

4.) Cognitive

5.) Humanistic

6.) Psychodynamic (Freud)

7.) Sociocultural

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Biological Approach

Focuses on the nervous system, brain, hormones, and genetics (epigenetics)

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Epigenetics

The study of environmental influences on genes

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Psychodynamic Approach

Emphasizes internal/unconscious conflicts and focuses on sexual and aggressive instincts that collide with what is socially acceptable

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Behavioral Approach

Examines the learning process and influence of rewards and punishments on behavior

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Evolutionary Approach

Investigates how primal survival instincts can influence behaviors

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Cognitive Approach

Focuses on methods people receive, store, and process information (signals sent/received by the brain through senses and physical stimuli)

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Humanistic Approach

Emphasizes an individual's potential for growth and the role of perception in guiding behavior and mental processes

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Sociocultural Approach

Explores how behavior is shaped by society, culture, history, and etc.

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William James

-Founder of functionalism

-Early psychologist (~1842-1910)

-Influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

-Considered the founder of American Psychology

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Natural Selection

Process where individuals that are best adapted to their environment will survive longer and have a higher chance to pass on their genes to offspring

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Howard Gardner

-Believed/created the theory of multiple intelligences

-Functionalist

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Theory of Multiple Intelligences

The theory created by Gardner that believes that some people are more naturally gifted in certain areas than others

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Rehabilitation Psychology

A branch of psychology that works with patients who are challenged with disabilities

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Ancient Egypt

Where documented accounts of people's actions, motives, etc. date back to

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Introspection

-Created by Socrates

-Encourages people to carefully examine their own thoughts/feelings

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Socrates

The Ancient Greek philosopher that developed introspection

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Aristotle

The Ancient Greek philosopher that created associationism based on Socrates' teachings/introspection

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Associationism

-Created by Aristotle

-The theory that association with past experiences is a basic principle and affects our current behaviors

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Possession

What people from the Middle Ages believed was the source behind psychological problems/issues

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Water-Float Test

What people from the Middle Ages would use to test if one was possessed or not (sank and drowned = pure, floated and lived = impure/possessed)

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1879

The year considered the beginning of psychology as a modern laboratory science

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Wilhelm Wundt

-Founded structuralism

-Considered the founder of modern psychology

-Established the first psychology lab in Leipzig (1879)

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Structuralism

A field of psychology that focuses on the basic elements of consciousness

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Sigmund Freud

-Most famous of early psychologists

-Developed psychoanalysis/psychodynamic ways of thinking

-Founded the school of psychoanalysis

-Id, Ego, Superego

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Psychodynamic

Assumes that most of someone's mind is unconscious

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Psychoanalysis

Emphasizes unconscious motives and internal conflicts in behavior

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Id

-Like a devil

-Operates on immediate gratification and selfish desires

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Ego

-Like a referee or mediator

-Executive part of our personality that we have control over (conscious)

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Superego

-Like an angel

-Represents internalized ideals and provides standards for what's socially acceptable

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John B. Watson

-Founder of behaviorism

-Believes that people can be totally conditioned by external events and that personal choice doesn't exist

-Did an experiment on his own son to prove his theory

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B.F. Skinner

-Founded reinforcement

-Believed people learn the same way animals do

-Experimented with Skinner's Box

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Gestalt Psychology

-Developed by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler

-An alternative to behaviorism and structuralism that's based on the idea that your brain always wants to fill in the gap (examples on pg. 17)

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Biopsychosocial

Emphasizes the affects of biological, mental, and social factors on behavior

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Contemporary

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes, which was influenced by early pioneers of psychology

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Gate Theory

How much information the brain can handle at once

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Social Learning Theory

Suggests people can change their environments or create new ones

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Learning Perspective

-Emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior

-Believes that behavior is learned either from direct experience or by observing other people

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Kenneth Bancroft

A famous psychologist that studied the effects of segregation on people's behaviors

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Scientific Research Procedure (5 steps)

1.) Forming a Research Question

2.) Forming a Hypothesis

3.) Testing the Hypothesis

4.) Analyzing Results

5.) Drawing Conclusions

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Construct

Something that can be assumed to be present but cannot be seen/measured directly

Ex: Aggressiveness & Anxiety

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Hypothesis

An educated guess that attempts to answer a research question

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Replicate

-To repeat and produce the same result

-In research, this must be performed so theories and studies can be proven as fact

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Survey

A technique for gathering data where people are asked to respond to a series of questions about a particular subject

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Target Population

The whole group an individual wants to study or describe

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Random Sample

A sample that is selected by chance from the target population

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Stratified Sample

A sample where subgroups in the population are represented proportionally in the sample

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Bias

A predisposition to a certain point of view

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Volunteer Bias

The concept that people who volunteer for research studies have a different outlook from people who don't volunteer for research studies

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