Introduction to Psychology Ch.1 Test

Intro to Psych 

  • Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

  • Who is credited with being the “father of modern psychology”? 

Wilhelm Wundt


  • Sigmund Frued - Who is he? What concept did he propose about our minds? 

Theory of unconscious mind: id, ego, superego model


Psychological Perspectives 

  • Psychodynamic perspective - focus on the unconscious mind and childhood experiences

    • Influenced by the works of who? 

Sigmund Freud


  • Behavioral perspective - focuses on observable behaviors 

    • Influenced by the works of who? 

John B Watson


  • Humanistic perspective - focuses on positive growth, free will, and self-actualization

    • Influenced by the works of who? 

Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslov 


  • Cognitive perspective - focuses on how people think, remember, store, and use information 

  • Sociocultural perspective - focus on how your culture and social roles affect your behavior 

  • Biological perspective - focus on how the physical body and brain creates our emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

  • Evolutionary perspective - focus Darwinism and how we have inherited behavioral traits from ancestors in order to survive 

Experimental Design

  • Basic research: seeks answers for___________________?

theoretical questions


  • Applied research: seeks answers for ___________________?

specific application problems 


  • Psychologists use the scientific method in order to conduct research and experiments 

  • What is observer bias?

Tendency of observers to see what they expect to see


  • What is participant bias?

When a participant realizes the nature of the study, acts differently as a result.


  • What type of experiment can reduce both observer and participant bias?

Double Blind Experiment


  • Experimental and control group

    • Two groups in a study to compare results of experiment  

    • Experimental group always gets the independent variable 

      • independent variable is what is changed/manipulated by researchers 

      • dependent variable is how we measure change caused by the independent variable

  • What happens in the placebo effect?

A treatment that has no real effect on the body but makes the patient believe and feel the effects of the real treatment. 


Research Methods 

  • Case study - one person, or a very small group, is studied in depth

    • What are the advantages of this research method? Disadvantages?

Advantages: provide an in-depth view of a particular person or situation; can study

Disadvantages: prone to bias; might not be able to extend results of the case


  • Longitudinal study - follows the same group of individuals over a long period of time

    • What are the advantages of this research method? Disadvantages?

Advantages: rich source of data

Disadvantages: very expensive, difficult to conduct


  • Naturalistic observation - observes human (or animal) behavior in the natural environment 

    • What are the advantages of this research method? Disadvantages?

Advantages: realistic look at behavior 

Disadvantages: very expensive, difficult to conduct


  • Survey - researchers ask a series of questions to a representative population through varied methods (phone, computer, questionnaire)

  • Cross-sectional study - compares people of different age groups at the same time

Ethical Guidelines

  • Ethical guidelines 

    • Suggested rules for acting responsibly and morally when conducting research or in clinical practice

    • Review Ethical Guidelines PDF 

    • What is debriefing? 

The process of sharing information about the research with participants after the data has been collected.


  • Stanford Prison Experiment

    • Conducted by Philip Zimbardo