Psychology

psychophysics

psychology field that studies physical stimuli and human sensations and mental states

Why is studying psychology useful?

You can have a better perspective for other people's experiences.

discipline

a branch of knowledge

perspective

a specific way of thinking or view

population

a whole group of people

debrief

revealing and explaining all aspects of an experiment to a participant

What is the mode of 4, 7, 7, 7, 4, 6, 6, 6, 7?

7

What is the median of 6, 7, 9, 12, 15?

9

After school, several students skateboard at the nearby park. Your best friend, Erwin, is a good skateboarder and happens to fall when attempting a fancy trick. After falling, Erwin gets back up and starts repeating the trick over and over again.

Erwin is motivated to learn the trick to perfection and knows that practice makes perfect.

What is the difference between behaviorism and cognitive psychology?

Behaviorism focuses on actions only. Cognition focuses on people's thoughts, desires, and motives.

What is the difference between behaviorism and humanistic psychology?

Behaviorism focuses on observable actions only and humanists focus on the whole person.

What is not a reason correlations are useful?

Correlations allow you to determine causes.

Who is considered the leader of classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov

After school, you watch your friend Katie run to a truck as soon as she hears the truck's music playing. Later, you find out the truck is the ice cream vendor's vehicle.

Katie has been conditioned to the music and has associated the musical truck with serving ice cream.

What associations does a dog make when being conditioned to drool at the sound of the bell?

The dog associates the sound of a bell with getting food.

What is the best way to explain the role of the ego?

The ego is a mediator between the superego and id.

What makes the id different from the superego?

The id is part of the unconscious mind, and the superego is always conscious.

How does the sociocultural perspective relate to your development as a person?

The people and your community influence you, but ultimately you control your thoughts and actions.

What might a psychodynamic theorist think about a person with extreme shyness?

The shidy person needs to explore his feelings of shyness in order to overcome being bashful. The shy person may need to transfer any feelings connected to shyness over to a therapist. The shy person could benefit from frequent moments of introspection.

Positive Correlation

When a relationship of one variable increases along with the other variable, a positive correlation exists.

Negative Correlation

When one variable decreases as another increases, a negative correlation exists.

What is an example of a social influence?

an uncle or aunt your best friend a teacher

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

approves experiments conducted by a college

Biological psychology is the study of biological structures within a human and how they relate to a person's behavior and way of thinking. The psychodynamic perspective believes in exploring thoughts and feelings through introspection. The id controls biological desires. The superego is our moral conscience. The ego is the mediator between the id and the superego. Behaviorism looks at observable behavior. Animals and people can have their behavior controlled through conditioning, wherein they learn new associations. The sociocultural theory considers the influence of your social interactions and the cultural influences upon your development. People will have different experiences depending on their culture and their social interactions. The humanistic perspective is concerned with viewing people as a whole and not in parts. People are aware and have choice. People have thoughts and need to be cared for and receive empathy. Cognitive psychologists want to know how and why people think. They believe that people have control over their thoughts and that humans have willpower and motives.

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You are preparing to do a hard task and so you say to yourself, "I can do it!" What is this an example of?

motivational self-speech

A researcher wants to find out if children who read mystery novels will display fear after the book is finished. Name the independent variable.

mystery novels

Gestalt psychology focuses on _____.

people's abilities to recognize patterns

Psychophysics is the study of _____.

people's reactions and perceptions to stimuli

What is the correct order in which these theories emerged, from earliest to latest?

psychodynamic, behaviorism, humanistic, cognition

correlation

relationship between two variables

During times of emergency in a public place, people act differently when there are several people than when there are just a few. If you had fallen and badly injured yourself, the surrounding masses of people are less likely to help you than if just one or two people were present. This is called the bystander effect. Which type of psychologist would be most interested in studying why people in crowds are less likely to help a bloody, injured person needing help?

social psychologist

Descriptive statistics are useful because _____.

you can analyze results and draw conclusions

Prior to 1879, people who studied behavior associated themselves with:

Biology

What is the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal research?

Each study requires a different amount of time involved.

What does the story of Baby Albert demonstrate?

Early experiments on children don't fit today's standards of ethical treatment.

Which organization requires colleges to submit plans for any experiment that is about to be conducted?

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

What makes psychoanalysis different from behaviorism?

Psychoanalysis considers introspection and examines the subconscious.

Which are true statements about psychoanalysis and psychophysics?

Psychoanalysis involves therapy and personal exploration. Psychophysics experiments with the five senses. Psychoanalysis considers the role of the conscious mind

What is a useful benefit of psychology?

Psychology gives insights into what other people do and think.

Who is considered the father of psychology?

Wilhelm Wundt

cognition

a person's ability to think

Informed consent _____.

allows you to quit an experiment at any time

concerned with the treatment of disease

clinical

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that often develops after the teens, usually occurring in a person's twenties. Which mental health professional is the best recommendation for a friend who confides to you that she fears she might have schizophrenia?

clinical psychologist

Pavlov's dogs

conditioning

If your parents were going through a divorce and you needed to talk to someone, who would be the best professional to see?

counseling psychologist

biological tendencies

id

empathy

identifying with someone's situation or feelings

Descriptive statistics are mathematical summaries of numbers. You can use the mean, median, and mode as different ways to find measures of central tendency. The mean is the average of all the numbers in a given set of data. The mode is the most frequently occurring number, and the median is the number smack dab in the center of all your numbers. Remember that it is not necessarily the number in the center position; it is the one that is the middle of all the numbers when the numbers are placed in order. Correlations examine relationships between variables. There are three types of correlations: positive, negative, and zero. Zero correlation means there are is no relationship. A positive correlation means that one variable increases as the other variable increases. A negative correlation is not a bad thing. It only means that one variable decreases as another variable increases.

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Psychology is the study of people's thoughts and behavior. The word psychology literally means "the study of the mind." Psychology is a relatively new field. It's been around for about 125 years. Wilhelm Wundt is the father of psychology. Sigmund Freud is famous for psychoanalysis. Behaviorism developed to measure the observable actions of animals and people. Other perspectives have developed over time. Studying psychology will help you develop tolerance, patience, and empathy.

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You are a junior in high school and have always been fascinated with bridges. You think it would be great to build bridges for a living but have no idea that you should study engineering in college to accomplish this goal. You've decided that it's time to talk to someone who can help you plan for college and give you guidance and the information you need. Who should you talk to?

school psychologist

variable

something that is likely to change

psychology

the study of how people think and behave

What is the mode of 3, 9, 11, 11, 3, 6, 2, 2, 11?

11

What is the median of 5, 12, 13, 19, 24?

13

How would a humanist treat a person who came to him with a problem?

A humanist would express condolences for the problem and acknowledge your feelings. They might help to find solutions to the problem.

Who made advances to our understanding of the conscious and unconscious mind?

Freud

Why did humanists not like behaviorism?

Humanists felt that behaviorism reduced people to mere animals.

During lunch you watch your friend, Jordan, insert a dollar into the vending machine. Shortly after the bill is inserted, nothing happens, and the bill doesn't come back out. You then see Jordan hitting and kicking the machine.

Jordan has learned to hit the machine because she has seen other people hit vending machines when their money is eaten.

What is not something a humanist would believe about people?

People can be analyzed into basic parts.

Why is it important for humans to have awareness and choices?

People can make better decisions. People can be more aware of their surroundings. People can choose their own purpose in life

What did Wundt's pendulum experiment demonstrate?

People need time to shift between two different stimuli.

A psychologist at Harvard University wants to conduct an experiment using rats and mazes. The experiment doesn't involve humans. Must the researcher have the IRB give approval to conduct the experiment?

Yes, the IRB must approve any experiment regardless of whether it's animal or human testing.

What are reasons you would need to be debriefed after an experiment?

You took a placebo pill or any type of medication. You were deceived during the experiment to spark a reaction. Your mood and feelings were manipulated. You simply participated in an experiment.

Determine an example of a social influence.

a brother or sister your best friend a community leader

perception

a personal view of a situation; ability to understand the senses

A researcher wants to find out the values and opinions of a group of high school freshmen. What is the best method to use?

Take a survey.

What is not a major field in psychology?

actionism

A researcher wants to find out if adults who watch violent television shows will behave more aggressively. Name the dependent variable.

aggression

What is the difference between psychoanalysis and psychophysics?

both B and C Psychophysics studies the five senses and their reaction to stimuli. Psychoanalysis attempts to resolve conflict.

descriptive statistics

mathematical summaries of results

Descriptive statistics

mathematical summaries of results... general trends

A negative correlation _____.

means one variable goes up and the other goes down

ethics

rules of conduct; moral principals

ethics

rules of conduct; moral principles

informed consent

statement from a research participant that says he/she understands what is about to happen and agrees to continue

biological perspective

study of anatomy

mean

sum of all numbers divided by the total number of scores; the average

moral conscious

superego

zone of proximal development

the gap between a person's current level of development and the potential development that can be achieved

What is not a major field in psychology?

totalism

Psychology literally means the study of the mind.

true

mental health professional who attended medical school

psychiatrist

median

the middle number in a set of ordered numbers

mode

the number that occurs most often in a given set of numbers

introspection

to look within yourself

abnormal

unusual; different from the expected

What first made Pavlov interested in studying dogs and their salivation responses?

Pavlov noticed that the dogs salivated at the sight of a lab worker, even though the worker didn't have food to feed them.

What is the mean of 4, 6, 8, 20, 12?

10

What is the median of 5, 7, 2, 4, 3?

4

What is the mean of 7, 5, 10, and 2?

6

What is the significance of the scientific method?

It allows you to determine fact from opinion. Consistency and organization can always be expected. It gives you a standard process for conducting research.

Zero Correlation

No relationship exists between two items that have zero correlation.

aware of guilt and inadequate feelings

ego

qualitative

research that explores the "why" and "how" of situations