Chpt. 1- Intro to Psychology

Experimental Method

The only research method that can be used to identify cause-effect relationships between two or more conditions or variables

The Goals of Psychology

1.)Describe 2.)Explain 3.)Predict 4.)Influence 5.)Review

Case Study

A descriptive research method in which a single person or a small number of individuals are studied in great depth, usually over an extended period of time

Laboratory Observation

A descriptive research method in which behavior is studied in a laboratory setting, where researchers can exert more control land use more precise equipment to username responses

Naturalistic Observation

A descriptive research method in which researchers observe and record behavior in its natural setting, without attempting to influence or control it

Survey

A descriptive research method in which researchers use interviews and/or questionnaires to gather information about the attitudes, beliefs, experiences, or behaviors of a group of people

Theory

A general principle or set of principles proposed to explain how a number of separate facts are related

Correlation Coefficient

A numerical value that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables; ranges from +1.00 (a perfect positive correlation) to -1.00 (a perfect negative correlation)

Sample

A part of a population that is studied in order to reach a conclusions about the entire population

Experimenter Bias

A phenomenon that occurs when a researcher's preconceived notions or expectations in some way influence participants' behavior and/or the researcher's interpretation of experimental results

Casual Hypothesis

A prediction about a cause-effect relationship between two or more variables

Hypothesis

A prediction about a relationship between two or more variables

Double-Blind Technique

A procedure in which neither the participants nor the experimenter knows who is in the experimental and control groups until after the data have been gathered; a control for experimenter bias

Correlational Method

A research method used to establish the degree of relationship (correlation) between two characteristics, events, or behaviors

Representative Sample

A sample that mirrors the population of interest; it includes important subgroups in the same proportions as they are found in that population

Information-Processing Theory

An approach to the study of mental structures and processes that uses the computer as a model for human thinking

Functionalism

An early school of psychology that was concerned with how humans and animals use mental processes in adapting to their environment-influenced by Darwin

Placebo

An inert or harmless substance given to the control group in an experiment as a control for the placebo effect

Neuroscience

An interdisciplinary field that combines the work of psychologists, biologists, biochemists, medical researchers, and others in the study of the structure and function of the nervous system

Forensic Psychologists

Apply their training in clinical psychology to issues involving psychology and law

Kenneth Clark

Black psychologist received national recognition for his writings on the harmful effects of racial segregation His work affected the Supreme Court ruling that declared racial segregation in U.S. schools to be unconstitutional. His wife, Mamie Phipps Clark also achieved recognition when the couple published their works on racial identification and self-esteem, which are regarded as classics in the field

Albert Sidney Beckham

Black psychologist, conducted early studies on intelligence and showed how it is related to success in numerous occupational fields. Established the first psychological laboratory at an African American Institution of higher learning Howard University

School Psychologists

Clinical psychologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of learning and behavioral problems that interfere with learning

Christine Ladd-Franklin

Completed the requirements for a PhD at Johns Hopkins University in the mid-1880s but had to wait over 40years before receiving her degree in 1926, when the university finally agreed to grant women doctoral degrees. Ladd-Franklin formulated a well-regarded, evolutionary theory of color vision

Experimental Psychologists

Conduct experiments in most areas of psychology-learning, memory, sensation, perception,. motivation, emotion, and others

Founders of Psychology

Ernst Weber, Gustav Fechner, and Hermann von Helmholtz were the first to systematically study behavior and mental processes

Confounding Variables

Factors or conditions other than the independent variable(s) that are not equivalent across groups and could cause differences among the groups with respect to the dependent variable

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of psychology; established a psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, an event considered to mark the birth of psychology as a formal academic discipline, used introspection, Wundt and his associates studied the perception of a variety of visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli, including the rythm patterns produced by metronomes set at different speeds

Francis Cecil Sumner

First African American to earn a PhD in psychology, from Clark University; translated 3,000 articles from German, French, and Spanish, He chaired the psychology department at Howard University; KNOWN AS THE FATHER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGY

Psychological Perspectives

General points of view used for explaining people's behavior and thinking, whether normal or abnormal

Counseling Psychologists

Help people who have adjustment problems (marital, social, or behavioral) that are generally less severe than those handled by clinical psychologists

Mary Whiton Calkins

In 1895, completed the requirements for a doctorate at Harvard. And even though William James described her as one of his most capable students, Harvard refused to grant the degree to a woman. Calkins established a psychology laboratory at Wellesley College and developed the paired-associates test, an important research technique for the study of memory. She became the first female president of the American Psychological Association in 1905

Independent variable

In an experiment, a factor or condition that is deliberately manipulated in order to determine whether it causes any change in another behavior or condition

Control Group

In an experiment, a group similar to the experimental group that is exposed to the same experimental environment but is not given the treatment; used for purposes of comparison.

Experimental Group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to an independent variable

Social Psychologists

Investigate how the individual feels, thinks, and behaves in a social setting-in the presence of others

Participant's Rights

Legality, institutional approval, informed consent, deception, debriefing, [clients, patients, students, and subordinates], payment for participation, publication

Margaret Floy Washburn

Received her PhD in psychology from Cornell University and later taught at Vassar College. She wrote several books, among them "Animal Mind (1908), an influential book on animal behavior, and "Movement and Mental Imagery" (1916)

Applied Research

Research conducted specifically to solve practical problems and improve the quality of life

Basic Research

Research conducted to seek new knowledge and to explore and advance general scientific understanding

Descriptive Research Methods

Research methods that yield descriptions of behavior

Clinical Psychologists

Specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and behavioral disorders, such as anxiety, phobias, and schizophrenia. Some also conduct research in these areas

Developmental Psychologists

Study how people grow, develop, and change throughout the life span

Physiological Psychologists (Biological Psychologists/Neuropsychologists)

Study the relationship between psychologist processes and behavior

Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists

Study the relationships between people and their work environments

Selection Bias

The assignment of participants to experimentalor control groups in such a way that systematic differences among the groups are present at the beginning of the experiment

Pseudoscience

The distortion of theories and/or research for the purpose of supporting some kind of claim

Population

The entire group of interest to researchers, to which they wish to generalize their findings; the group from which a sample is selected

Dependent Variable

The factor or condition that is measured at the end of an experiment ad is presumed to vary as a result of the manipulations of the independent variable(s)

Structuralism

The first formal school of thought in psychology, which endeavored to analyze the basic elements, or structure, of conscious mental experience

Scientific Method

The orderly, systematic procedures that researchers follow as they identify a research problem, design a study to investigate the problem, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, and communicate their findings.

Placebo Effect

The phenomenon that occurs in an experiment when a participant's response to a treatment is due to his or her expectations about the treatment rather than to the treatment itself

Critical Thinking

The process of objectively evaluating claims, propositions, and conclusions to determine whether they follow logically from the evidence presented

Replication

The process of repeating a study with different participants and preferably a different investigator to verify research findings

Random Assignment

The process of selecting participants for experimental and control groups by using a chance procedure to guarantee that each participant has an equal probability of being assigned to any of the groups; a control for selection bias

Behaviorism

The school of psychology founded by John B. Watson that views observable, measurable behavior as the appropriate subject matter for psychology and emhazises the key role of environment as a determinant of behavior, "science of behavior"

Gestalt Psychology

The school of psychology that emphasizes that individuals perceive objects and patterns as whole units and that the perceived whole is more than the sum of its parts

Humanistic Psychology

The school of psychology that focuses on the uniqueness of human beings and their capacity for choice, growth, and psychological health

Biological Psychology

The school of psychology that looks for links between specific behaviors and equally specific biological processes that often help explain individual differences

Evolutionary Psychology

The school of psychology that studies how humans have adapted the behaviors required for survival in the face of environmental pressure s over the long course of evolution

Cognitive Psychology

The school of psychology that views humans as active participants in their environment; studies mental processes such as memory, problem solving, reasoning, decision making, perception, language, and other forms of cognition

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Psychoanalysis

The term Freud used for both his theory of personality and his therapy for the treatment of psychological disorders; the unconscious is the primary focus of psychoanalytic theory

Sociocultural Approach

The view that social and cultural factors may be just as powerful as evolutionary and physiological factors in affecting behavior and mental processing and that these factors must be understood when interpreting the behavior of others

Edward Bradford Titchener

Wundt's most famous student, took the new field to the United States, where he set up a psychological laboratory at Cornell University. Gave the name structuralism to this first formal school of thought in psychology

William James

advocate of functionalism, best known work is his text book "Principles of Psychology" James spoke of the stream of consciousness

Educational Psychologists

specialize in the study of teaching and learning (Note: Don't confuse educational psychology with school psychology. Recall that school psychology is the sub-field of clinical psychology that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of learning problems. Educational psychologists study learning in typically developing people. As such, they are trained in theory and research methods but not in the diagnosis and treatment of learning problems)