PSYCH 100

Can laboratory experiments illuminate everyday life?

Researchers intentionally create a controlled, artificial environment in the laboratory in order to test general theoretical principles. These general principles help explain everyday behaviors.

How do children's self concepts develop?

Self-concept, an understanding and evaluation of who we are, emerges gradually. At 15 to 18 months, children recognize themselves in a mirror. By school age, they can describe many of their own traits, and by age 8 to 10 their self-image is stable.

Individualism/ collectivism

the degree to which a person believes that people should be self-sufficient and that loyalty to one's self is more important than loyalty to team or company individualism --- giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications (p. 157) collectivism --- giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly (p. 157)

What is regression toward the mean, and how can it influence our interpretation of events?

Regression toward the mean is a statistical phenomenon describing the tendency of extreme scores or outcomes to return to normal after an unusual event. Without knowing this, we may inaccurately decide the return to normal was a result of our own behavior module 3

What is regression toward the mean?

Regression toward the mean is the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back toward their average.

Nature/nurture

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors NATURE - Genetic NURTURE - Environment

Debriefing

the post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants (p 41)

Conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects (p 189)

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life p. 196)

Heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes Module 11

Identical

Twins share the same DNA Module 11

UNIT 2 Nature and Nuture

UNIT 2 Module 11, "Behavior Genetics: Predicting Individual Differences." Module 13, "Culture, Gender, and Other Environmental Influences" (up to, but not including, "Gender Development").

Survey

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group (p 30)

Case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles (p 28)

Naturalistic observation

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation (p 28)

Autism spectrum disorder, including symptoms and contributing factors

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors (p. 192) symptoms --- contributing factors ----

Correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other (p. 32)

Temperament

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity (p 140)

Stroke a newborn's cheek and the infant will root for a nipple. This illustrates

a reflex module 15

Random sampling

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion (p30)

Gene

a small segment of DNA that codes for particular proteins is referred to as a _____ Module 11

Hypothesis

a testable prediction often implied by a theory (p 26)

Accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information (p 187)

Attachment, including secure/insecure, responsive parenting, and the Harlow monkey studies

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation (p 195) secure/insecure --- responsive parenting ---- the Harlow monkey studies ----

Double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or the placebo. commonly used in drug evaluation studies. (p 36)

In defending their experimental research with animals, psychologists have noted that

animals' physiology and behavior can tell us much about our own animal experimentation sometimes helps animals as well as humans advancing the well-being of humans justifies animal experimentation module 3

As scientists, psychologists

are willing to ask questions and to reject claims that cannot be verified by research module 2

· Basic versus applied research

basic is pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base while applied is scientific study that aims to solve practical problems (p11/12)

Maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience (p. 184)

Nature is to Nurture as

biology is to experience module 1

Body organs first begin to form and function during the period of the _______; within 6 months, during the period of the _______, the organs are sufficiently functional to allow a good chance of survival.

embryo , fetus Module 14

Epigentics is the study of molecular mechanisms by which ____________________ trigger or block genetic expression.

environments Module 11

Adoption studies seek to understand genetic influences on personality. They do this mainly by

evaluating whether adopted children's personalities more closely resemble those of their adoptive parents or their biological parents Module 11

Experiments, including experimental groups, control groups

experimental groups, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable (p 35) control groups, the group not exposed, contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment ( p 35)

Carry out research in areas including learning, language, and memory.

experimental psychologist

the placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent. (p36)

To explain behaviors and clarify cause and effect, psychologists use________

experiments module 3

Are interested in the impact of psychological knowledge on legal issues.

forensic psychologist

Between ages 3 and 6, the human brain experiences the greatest growth in the __________ lobes, which enable rational planning and aid memory.

frontal module 15

William James would be considered a (n) ____________ William Wundt and Edward Titchener would be considered _______

functionalist, structuralists module 1

When children have developed a __________ ________. they have a sense of being male, female, or a combination of the two

gender identity Module 13

Females and males are very similar to each other. But one way they differ is that

girls tend to play in small groups, while boys tend to play in large groups Module 13

Informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate (p41)

Humanism/Humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential. (p 5)

Theory-based predictions are called

hypotheses module 3

Egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view (p 1.89)

Individualist cultures tend to value _____; collectivist cultures tend to value _____.

independence, interdependence Module 13

A researcher wants to determine whether noise level affects workers' blood pressure. In one group, she varies the level of noise in the environment and records participants' blood pressure. In this experiment, the level of noise is the _________ ___________

independent variable module 3

Are interested in psychology in the workplace.

industrial/organization psychologist

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas (p 187)

In your study, socioeconomic status was a confounding variable because:

it could affect the relationship between having children and happiness.

How Would You Know If There is a "Hot Hand" in Basketball? In your study, the other team's defense was a confounding variable because:

it could affect your study participants' shooting performance.

Which of the following is NOT part of the evidence presented to support the view that humans are strongly motivated by a need to belong?

module 36

How do you arousal, expressive behavior, and cognition interact in emotion?

module 37

The______-_________ theory of emotions maintains that a physiological response happens before we know what we are feeling

module 37

Why do we befriend or fall in love with some people but not others?

module 45

The three major issues that interest developmental psychologists are

nature/nurture stability/change continuity/stages Module 14

A study finds that the more childbirth training classes women attend, the less pain medication they require during childbirth. This finding can be stated as a __________ (positive/negative) correlation.

negative module 3

In a double-blind procedure

neither the experimenter nor the subject knows to what group the subjects are in module 3

Focus on brain-behavior relationships.

neuropsychologist

psychologist conducting basic research to expand psychology's knowledge base would be most likely to

observe 3 and 6 year olds solving puzzles and analyze differences in their abilities module 1

Fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out of proportion head and abnormal facial features (p 182)

To test the effect of a new drug on depression, we randomly assign people to control and experimental groups. Those in the control group take a pill that contains no medication. This is a ________

placebo module 3

In a __________ correlation, the scores rise and fall together; in a ______ correlation one score falls as the other rises

positive; negative module 3

Scatterplot

provides a visual representation of the direction and the strength of a relationship between variables module 3

A mental health professional with a medical degree who can prescribe medication is a

psychiatrist module 1

The laboratory environment is designed to

re-create psychological forces under controlled conditions module 3

hindsight bias

refers to our tendency to perceive events as oblivious or inevitable after the fact module 2

Help people who have struggled as a result of an illness, accident, or similar event.

rehabilitation psychologist

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances (p 26)

You wish to survey a group of people who truly represent the country's adult population. Therefore, you need to ensure that you question a _____________ sample of the population.

representative module 3

Primary sex characteristics relate to _______; secondary sex characteristics refer to _______

reproductive organs, nonreproductive traits Module 13

Psychologists define ____ as the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define males and females. The socially influenced characteristics by which people define men and women is ______

sex; gender Module 13

Study how we interact with others

social psychologist

An 8-month-old infant who reacts to a new babysitter by crying and clinging to his father's shoulder is showing

stranger anxiety module 15

From the very first weeks of life, infants differ in their characteristic emotional reactions, with some infants being intense and anxious, while others are easygoing and relaxed. These differences are usually explained as differences in ________.

temperament Module 11

Although development is lifelong, there is stability of personality over time. For example,

temperament tends to remain stable throughout life Module 14

Chemicals that pass through the placenta's screen and may harm an embryo or fetus are called

teratogens Module 14

Peer influence

the ability to influence individual behavior among members of a group based on group norms, a group sense of what is the right thing or right way to do things, and the need to be valued and accepted by the group

industrial-organizational psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces (p. A-2)

Object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. (p 188)

Introspection

A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings

On average, girls begin puberty at about the age of ____, boys at about the age of _____.

11;12 Module 13

When the mother's egg and the father's sperm unite, each contributes

23 chromosomes Module 11

How does culture affect our behavior?

A culture is an enduring set of behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group and transmitted from one generation to the next. Cultural norms are understand rules that inform members of a culture about and accepted and expected behaviors. Culture differs across time and space.

Scientific method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

What is achievement motivation?

Achievement motivation is a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard. Achievements are more closely related to grit (passionate dedication to a long-term goal) than to raw ability.

How do parent-infant attachment bonds form?

At about 8 months, soon after object permanence develops, children separated from their caregivers display stranger anxiety. Infants form attachments not simply because parents gratify biological needs but, more important, because they are comfortable, familiar, and responsive. Ducks and other animals have a more rigid attachment process, called imprinting, that occurs during a critical period.

How have psychologists studied attachment differences, and what have they learned?

Attachment has been studied in strange situation experiments, which show some children are securely attached and others are insecurely attached. Infants' differing attachment styles reflect both their individual temperament and their responsiveness of their parents and child-care providers. Adult relationships seem to reflect the attachment styles of early childhood, lending support to Erik Erikson's idea that basic trust is formed in infancy by our experiences with responsive caregivers.

What is autism spectrum disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder marked by social deficiencies and repetitive behaviors. By age 8, 1 in 68 U.S. children now gets diagnosed with ASD, though the reported rates vary by place. The increase in ASD diagnoses has been offset by a decrease in the number of children with a "cognitive disability" or "learning disability," suggesting a relabeling of children's disorders.

What are some newborn abilities, and how do researchers explore infants' mental abilities?

Babies are born with sensory equipment and reflexes that facilitate their survival and their social interactions with adults. For example, they quickly learn to discriminate their mother's smell and sound. Researchers use techniques that test habituation, such as the novelty-preference procedure, to explore infants' abilities.

In a series of experiments, the Harlows found that monkeys raised with artificial mothers tended, when afraid, to cling to their cloth mother, rather than to a wire mother holding the feeding bottle. Why was this finding important?

Before these studies many psychologists believed that infants become attached to those who nourished them module 15

How do sex hormones influence prenatal and adolescent sexual development, and what is a disorder of sexual development?

Both sex chromosomes and sex hormones influence development. Biological sex is determined by the father's contribution to the the 23rd pair of chromosomes. The mother always contributes the X. The father matches or gives the Y.

How does childhood neglect or abuse affect children's attachments?

Children are very resilient, but those who are severely neglected by their parents, or otherwise prevented from forming attachments at an early age, may at risk for attachment problems.

Why do correlations enable prediction but not cause-effect explanation?

Correlations enable prediction because they show how two factors move together, either positively or negatively. A correlation can indicate the possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but it does not prove the direction of the influence, or whether an underlying third factor may explain the correlation

How can critical thinking help you evaluate claims in the media, even if you're not a scientific expert on the issue?

Critical thinking examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. In evaluating a claim in the media, look for signs of empirical evidence, preferably from several studies. Ask the following questions in your analysis: Are claims based on scientific findings? Have several studies replicated the findings and confirmed them? Are any experts cited? If so research their background Are they affiliated with a credible university, college, or institution? Have they conducted or written about scientific research? module 2

How do psychologists use case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys to observe and describe behavior, and why is random sampling important?

Descriptive methods, which include case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys, shows us what can happen, and they may offer ideas for further study. The best basis for generalizing about a population is a representative sample, in a random sample, every person in the entire population being studied has an equal chance of participating. Descriptive methods cannot show cause and effect because researchers cannot control variables.

UNIT 3

Developmental Psychology Module 14, "Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, and the Newborn." Module 15, "Infancy and Childhood."

What three issues have engaged developmental psychologists?

Developmental psychologists study physical, mental and social changes throughout the life span. They focus on three issues: nature/nurture (interacteraction between our genetic intelligence and our experiences) continuity and stages ( whether development is gradual and continuous or a series of relatively abrupt changes) stability and change (whether our traits endure or change as we age)

How did psychology continue to develop from the 1920s through today?

Early researchers defined psychology as "the science of mental life." In the 1920's under the influence of John B. Walton and the behaviorists, the field's focus changed to the "scientific study of observable behavior." In the 1960's the humanistic psychologists and the cognitive psychologists revived the interest in the study of mental processes. Psychology is now defined as the science of behavior and mental processes.

How do gender roles and gender identity differ?

Gender roles, the behaviors a culture expects from its males and females, vary across place and time. Social learning theory proposes that we learn gender identity—our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two—as we learn other things: through reinforcement, punishment, and observation. Critics argue that cognition also plays a role because modeling and rewards cannot explain gender typing. Some children organize themselves into "boy worlds" and "girl worlds"; others prefer androgyny. Transgender people's gender identity or expression differs from their birth sex. Their sexual orientation may be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual.

What are chromosomes, DNA, genes, and the human genome? How do behavior geneticists explain our individual differences?

Genes are the biochemical units of heredity that make up chromosomes, the threadlike coils of DNA. When genes are "turned on" (expressed, they provide the code for creating the proteins that form our body's building block. Most human traits are influenced by many genes acting together. The human genome is the shared genetic profile that distinguishes humans from other species, consisting at an individual level of all the genetic material in an organism's chromosomes. Behavioral geneticists study the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

What are some benefits and risks of prenatal genetic testing?

Genetic tests can now reveal at risk populations for dozens or diazes, the search is on the discover the makers of genetically influenced disorders. But prenatal screening poses ethical dilemmas. For example, testing for an offspring's sex has enabled selective abortion, which in some cultures has resulted in millions more male births. And future screening for vulnerability to psychological disorders could deprive the world of great talents. (Handel, van Gogh, Churchill, Lincoln, Tolstoy, and Dickinson were all troubled people, for example)

From the perspectives of Piaget, Vygotsky, and today's researcher, how does a child's mind develop?

In the theory of cognitive development, Jean Piaget proposed that children actively construct and modify their understanding of the world through the processes of assimilation and accommodation. They form schemas that help organize their experiences. Progressing from the simplicity of sensorimotor stage of the first 2 years, in which their develop object permanence, children move to more complex ways of thinking. In the preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), they develop theory of mind. In this stage, children are egocentric and unable to perform simple logical operations. Around age 7, they enter the concrete operational stage are able to comprehend the principle of conservation. By age 12, children enter the formal operational stage and reason systematically. Research supports the sequence Piaget proposed, but it also shows young children are more capable, and their development more continuous, than he believed. Lev Vygotsky's studies of child development focused on the ways a child's mind grows by interacting with the social environment. In his view, parents and caretakers provide temporary scaffolds enabling children to step to higher levels of learning

How does the meaning of gender differ from the meaning of sex?

In, psychology, gender is the socially influenced characteristics by which people define men and women. Sex refers to the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define males and females. Our gender is thus the product of the interplay among our biological dispositions, our developmental experiences, and our current situation.

Independent, dependent, and confounding variables

Independent variable - the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied (p 37) dependent variable - the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated (p37) confounding variables - a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect ( p37)

What is included in the biopsychosocial approach to development?

Individual development results from the interaction of biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences. Biological influences include our shared human genome; individual variations; prenatal environment; and sex-related genes, hormones, and physiology. Psychological influences include gene-environment interactions; the effect of early experiences on neutral networks; responses evoked by our own characteristics, such as gender and temperament, and personal beliefs, feelings, and expectations. Social-cultural influences include parental and peer influences; cultural traditions and values, and cultural gender norms.

Use Piaget's first three stages of cognitive development to explain why young children are not just miniature adults in the way they think.

Infants in Piaget's sensorimotor stage tend to be focused only on their own perceptions of the world and may, for example, be unaware that objects continue to exist when unseen. A child in the preoperational stage is egocentric and incapable of appreciating simple logic, such as the reversibility of operations. A preteen in the concrete operational stage is beginning to think logically about concrete events but not about abstract concepts module 15

Why was it good to account for confounding variables in your study?

It gave you more information about the relationship between having children and happiness.

In the early twentieth century, _________ redefined psychology as "the science of observable behavior."

John B. Watson module 1

UNIT 1

Module 1, "What Is Psychology?" Module 2, "The Need for Psychological Science." Module 3, "Research Strategies: How Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions."

What evidence points to our human affiliation need - our need to belong?

Module 36

UNIT 4

Module 36, "Affiliation and Achievement." Module 45, "Prosocial Relations" (up to, but not including, the section on altruism). "Emotions, Stress, and Health" and Module 37, "Introduction to Emotion.

How is molecular genetics research changing our understanding of the effects of nature and nurture?

Molecular genetics research on structure and function of genes is building new understandings of how teams of genes influence many human traits. One goal of molecular behavior genetics, the study of how structure and function of genes interact with our environment to influence behavior, is to find some of the many genes that together orchestrate complex traits (such as body weight, sexual orientation, and impulsivity.) Environments can trigger or block genetic expression. The field of epigenetics studies the influence on gene expression that occur without changes in DNA.

How does our everyday thinking sometimes lead us to a wrong conclusion?

Our everyday thinking can be perilous because of three phenomena, hindsight bias overconfidence tendency to perceive patterns in random events

How do early experiences modify the brain?

Our genetic predispositions and our specific environments interact. Environments can trigger gene activity, and genetically influenced traits can evoke responses from others. As a child's brain develops, neural connections grow more numerous and complex. Experiences then prompt a pruning process, in which unused connections weaken and heavily used ones strengthen. Early childhood is an important period for shaping the brain, but throughout our lives our brain modifies itself in response to our learning.

How has our understanding of biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing shaped contemporary psychology?

Our growing understanding of biology and experience has fed psychology's most enduring debate. The nature/nurture issue centers on the relative contributions of genes and experience, and their interaction in specific environments. Charles Darwin's view that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies led to evolutionary psychology's study of our similarities because of our common biology and evolutionary history, and behavior genetics' focus on the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. Cross- cultural and gender studies have diversified psychology assumptions whole also reminding us of our similarities. Attitudes and behaviors mary vary somewhat by gender or across cultures, but because or our shared human kinship, the underlying processes and principles are more similar than different. Psych's traditional focus on understanding and treating troubles has expanded with positive psych call for more research on human flourishing and its attempt to discover and promote traits that help people to thrive.

What are three parenting styles and how do children's traits relate to them?

Parenting styles Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative reflect varying degrees of control. Children with high self-esteem tend to have authoritative parents and to be self-reliant and socially competent, but the direction of cause and effect in this relationship is not clear. Child-raising practices reflect both individual and cultural values

In what ways do parents and peers shape children's development?

Parents influence their children in areas such as manners and political and religious beliefs, but not in other areas, such as personality. As children attempt to fit in with their peers, they tend to adopt their culture - styles, accents, slan, attitudes. By choosing their children's neighborhoods and schools, parents exert some influence over peer group culture

Although Piaget's stage theory continues to inform our understanding of children's thinking, many researchers believe that

Piaget's stages begin earlier and development is more continuous then he realized module 15

How Would You Know If There is a "Hot Hand" in Basketball? If someone asked you whether there is a hot hand in basketball, how might you respond based on what you learned in this activity?

Prior outcomes give no added value to the next outcome

How do theories advance psychological science?

Psychological theories are explanations that apply an integrated set of principles to organize observations and generate hypotheses—predictions that can be used to check the theory or produce practical applications of it. By testing their hypotheses, researchers can confirm, reject, or revise their theories. To enable other researchers to replicate the studies, researchers report them using precise operational definitions of their procedures and concepts. If others achieve similar results, confidence in the conclusion will be greater.

Why do psychologists study animals, and what ethical guidelines safeguard human and animal research participants?

Some psychologists are primarily interested in animal behavior; others want to better understand the physiological and psychological processes shared by humans and other species. Government agencies have established standards for animal care and housing. The APA ethics code outlines standards for safeguarding human participants' well-being including obtaining their informed consent and debriefing them later. Psychologists' value influence their choice of research topics, their theories, and observations, their labels for behavior, and their professional advice. Applications of psychology's principles have been used mainly in the service of humanity.

How do twin and adoption studies help us understand the effects and interactions of nature and nurture?

Studies of identical (monozygotic) versus fraternal (dizygotic) twins, separated twins, and biological versus adoptive relatives allow researchers to tease apart the influences of of heredity and environment. Research studies on separated identical twins maintain the same genes while testing the effects of different home environments. Studies of adoptive families let researchers maintain the same home environment while studying the effects of genetic differences. Heritable individual differences (in traits such as height and weight) do not necessarily explain gender or ethnic group differences. Shared family environments have little effect on personality

SQ3R

Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review

What are psychology's levels of analysis and related perspectives?

The biopsychosocial approach integrates information from three differing but complementary levels of analysis: the biological, psychological, and social-cultural. This approach offers a more complete understanding than could usually be reached by relaying on only one of psychology's current perspectives (neuroscience, evolutionary, behavior genetics, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and social-cultural.)

During infancy and childhood, how do the brain and motor skills develop?

The brain's nerve cells are sculpted by heredity and experience. As a child's brain develops, neural connections grow more numerous and complex. Experiences then trigger a pruning process, in which unused connections weaken and heavily used ones strengthen. This process continues until puberty. Early childhood is an important period of shaping the brain, but our brain modifies itself in response to our learning throughout life. In childhood, complex motor skills-sitting, standing, walking --- develop in a predictable sequence, through the timing of that sequence is a function of individual maturation and culture. We have no conscious memories of events occurring before the age of 3 1/2. This infantile amnesia occurs in part because major brain areas have not yet matured.

What is heritability? and how does it relate to individuals and groups?

The extent to which variation among members of a group can be attributed to genes. Heritable individual deference ( in traits such as height or intelligence) need not imply heritable group differences. Genes mostly explain why some people are taller than others, but not why people are taller today than they were a century ago.

What is the course of prenatal development, and how do teratogens affect that development?

The life cycle begins at conception, when one sperm cell unites with an egg to form a zygote. The zygot's inner cells become the embryo, and the out cells become the placenta. In the next six weeks, body organs begin to form and function, and by 9 weeks, the fetus is recognizably human. Teratogens are potentially harmful agents that can pass through the placental screen and harm the developing embryo or fetus, as happens with fetal alcohol syndrome

"Nurture works on what nature endows." Describe what this means, using your own words

The nurture has an influence on us, but that influence is constrained by our biology. Nature and nurture interact. People predisposed to be very tall (nature), for example, are unlikely to become Olympic gymnasts, no matter how hard they work (nurture). module 1

Heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied. (p 140, p 146)

How do the scientific attitude's three main components relate to critical thinking?

The scientific attitude equips us to be skeptical, and humble in scrutinizing competing ideas or our own observations. THis attitude carries into everyday life as critical thinking, which puts ideas to the test by examining assumptions, appraising the source, discerning hidden values, evaluating evidence, and assessing conclusions

Scientific attitude

The scientific method inclined toward inquiry, integrity, and humility

Which of the following is true of motor-skill development?

The sequence, but not the timing, is universal module 15

What have psychologists learned about temperament?

The stability of temperament, a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity, from the first weeks of life suggests a genetic predisposition. The genetic effect appears in physiological differences such as heart rate and nervous system reactivity.

How Would You Know If There is a "Hot Hand" in Basketball? Although there is no evidence that there is a hot hand in basketball, what helps explain why people still believe it exists?

The tendency to perceive patterns in random events

How can psychological principles help you learn and remember?

The testing effect shows that learning and memory are enhanced by actively retrieving, rather than simply rereading, previously studied material. The SQ3R study method --- survey, question, read, retrieve, and review - applies principles derived from memory research. For additional tips 1) distribute your study time 2) learn to think critically 3) process class information actively 4) overlearn

Chromosomes

The threadlike structures made largely of DNA molecules are called module 11

What are the characteristics of experimentation that makes it possible to isolate cause and effect?

To discover cause-effect relationships, psychologists conduct experiments, manipulating one or more factors of interest and controlling other factors. Using random assignment, they can minimize confounding variable, such as pre existing differences between the experimental group (exposed to the treatment). The independent variable is the factor the experimenter manipulates to study its effect; the dependent variable is the factor the experimenter measures to discover any changes occuring in response to the manipulations. Studies may use a double blind procedure to avoid placebo effect

What are some ways in which males and females to be alike and to differ?

We are more alike than different, thanks to our similar genetic makeup- we see, hear, learn, and remember similarly. Males and females do fiffer in body fat, muscle, height, are of onset puberty, life expectancy, and vulnerability to certain disorders. Men admit to more aggression than women do, and they are more likely to be physically aggressive. Women's aggression is more likely to be relational. In most societies, men have more social power, and their leadership style tends to be directive, whereas women's is more democratic. Women focus more on social connectedness, and they "tend and befriend"

Why can't we consciously recall how we learned to walk when we were infants?

We have no conscious memories of events occurring before about age 3 1/2, in part because major brain areas have not yet matured module 15

What does it mean when we say two things are correlated, and what are positive and negative correlations?

When we say two things are correlated, we are saying that they accompany each other in their movements. In a positive correlation, two factors increase or decrease together. In a negative correlation, one item increases as the other decreases. +1.00 to 0 (zero correlation) to -1.00

In 1879, in psychology's first experiment, _________ and his students measured the time lag between hearing a ball hit a platform and pressuring a key

William Wundt module 1

How do individualist and collectivist cultures differ in values and goals?

With in any culture, the degree of individualism and collectivism varies from person to person. Cultures based on self-reliant individualism, like those found in North America and Western Europe, tend to value value personal independence and individual achievement. They define identity in terms of self esteem, personal goals and attributes, and personal rights and liberties. Cultures based on socially connected collectivism, like those in many parts of Asia and Africa, tend to value interdependence, tradition, and harmony, and they define identity in terms of group goals, commitments, and belong to one's group

What are psychology's main subfields?

Within the science of psychology, researchers may conduct basic research to increase the field's knowledge base (often in biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychology) or applied research to solve practical problems (in industrial-organizational psychology and other areas). Those who engage in psychology as a helping profession may assist people as counseling psychologists, helping people with problems in living or achieving greater well-being, or as clinical psychologists, studying and assessing people with psychological disorders and treating them with psychotherapy. (Psychiatrists also study, assess, and treat people with disorders, but as medical doctors, they may prescribe drugs in addition to psychotherapy.) Community psychologists work to create healthy social and physical environments (in schools, for example).

What were some important milestones in psychology's early development?

Wundt established the first psychological laboratory in 1879 in Germany. Two early schools were structuralism and functionalism.

A fertilized egg will develop into a boy if it receives a/n _______ chromosome from its father

Y Module 13

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

You cannot use an experimental design to know whether having children causes greater happiness, because you can't randomly assign people to have children or not have children.

How Would You Know If There is a "Hot Hand" in Basketball? Why was it important to select study participants who played basketball regularly?

You need to have a baseline of their typical basketball shooting performance.

How Would You Know If There is a "Hot Hand" in Basketball? . Why was it not a good idea to measure the hot hand by counting the number of baskets each participant made?

You would not be recording participants' performance on consecutive shots.

Knowing that two events are correlated provides

a basis for prediction module 3

biological psychology

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

counseling psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being (p12)

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span (p 178)

clinical psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders (p12)

A psychologist treating emotionally troubled adolescents at a local mental health agency is most likely to be a

clinical psychologist module 1

Are particularly interested in areas such as problem solving, learning, and perception.

cognitive psychologist

Focus on the interaction between psychological health and people's environments.

community psychologist

Which of the following is NOT one of the descriptive methods psychologists use to observe and describe behavior

correlational research module 3

Provide therapy, generally to help people deal with everyday struggles.

counseling psychologist

Gender role refers to our

culture's expectations about the "right" way for males and females to behave Module 13

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner. (p 183)

An individual who is born with sexual anatomy has a ______ ______ ______ _______

disorder of sexual development Module 13

Functionalism

early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin: explored how mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish. (p 3)

Structuralism

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind (p 3)

Study the psychological processes that support learning.

educational psychologist

Studies similar to the one you set up have shown that having children is related to higher levels of happiness. These studies have also shown that:

the relationship found between having children and happiness was not due only to socioeconomic status, age, or marital status. We've learned that in general, having children is related to higher happiness levels, but that is especially true for those over age 25 who are in a stable marriage and who have established a comfortable income level.

Psychology

the science of behavior and mental processes ( p 5)

Cognitive Psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another (p418)

personality psychology

the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Epigenetics/epigenetic mark

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change (p 143, p 612)

Behavior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior (p 7, p134)

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (also known as I knew it all along phenomenon. (p. 20)

Behaviorism

the view that psychology 1) should be an objective science that 2) studies behavior without reference to mental process. (p 4)

Critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions (p. 24)

fraternal twins

two eggs are fertilized by two sperm Module 11