Psychology in Everyday Life Chapter 1 (copy)

cognitive Psychology

the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate and solve problems

Cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with mental activity (Including perception, thinking, memory and language)

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather it examines assumptions, uncovers hidden values, weighs evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Biopsychosocial approach

an approach that intergrates different but complimentary views from biological, psychological, and social culture viewpoints

Culture

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

nature-nurture issue

the age-old controversy over the relative influence of genes and experience in the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s psychological science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Dual processing

the principle that our mind processes information at the same time on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

Positive Psychology

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it

Theory

an explanation using principles that organize observations and predict behaviors or events

Hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

a statement of procedures(operations) used to define research values

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observation

a descriptive research method in which researchers study behavior in its natural context

survey

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

population

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

random sample

all members of the population are equally likely to be chosen

Correlation

a measure of the relationship between two variables

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things ranging from -1 to +1 with 0 indicating no relationship

Experiment

An organized procedure to study something under controlled conditions

Random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance

Experiemental group

the group exposed to the factor being tested

control group

the group that does not receive the experimental treatment

Placebo

a fake drug used in the testing of medication

Double blind procedure

experiment in which neither the doctor nor the patient knows which drug is being used

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

independent variable

factors that are manipulated in an experiement

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Dependent variable

the measurable effect, outcome, or response in which the research is interested in

Descriptive research

studies designed to observe and record behavior

correlational research

the study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables

experimental research

involves experiments or investigations seeking to understand relations of cause and effect

informed consent

permission granted in the knowledge of the possible consequences

debriefing

an explanation of the purpose of a study following data collection

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieveing, rather than simply rereading information

SQ3R

a study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read retrieve, and review

Wilhelm Wundt

the father of psychology

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Margaret Floy Washburn

first female to be award with a phd in psychology

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist known for his work on the unconscious mind. Father of psychoanalysis

Structuralism

promoted by Wilhelm Wundt and focused in the structure of the human mind

Functionalism

promoted by William James and infleunced by Charles Darwin and focuses on how the mind functions

Behaviorism

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without mental processes

Ivan Pavlov

studied how people learn

Charles Darwin

his thinking on species variation in the natural world led to evolutionary psychology

Behavior

anything a human or non-animal does such as smiling, blinking, sweating

mental processes

internal, subjective experiences such as sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs and feelings

Neuroscience

how the body and brain enable emotions, memories and sensory experiences

Evolutionary

how the natural selection of traits passed down from one generation to the next has promoted the survival of genes

Behavior genetics

how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences

Psychodynamic

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

Behavioral

how we learn from observable responses

Cognitive

how we encode, process , store, and retrieve information

Social cultural

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Counseling Psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living such as school, work, or relationships in achieving greater well being

Clinical Psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses and treat people with psychological disorders

Overconfidence

when we think we know more than we do

Percieve order in random events

we see patterns that aren’t actually there like seeing jesus in toast