Psych Chapter 1 review

John B. Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

double blind technique

both the participants and the researchers interacting with them are blind, or unaware of the treatment or condition to which the participants have been assigned.

experimental group

the group of participants that is exposed to the treatment condition.

Replicat

the same basic results are obtained again, scientific confidence that the results are accurate is increased.

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

longitudinal design

tracks a particular variable or set of variables in the same group of participants over time, sometimes for years.

representation sample

very closely parallels, or matches, the larger group on relevant characteristics, such as age, sex, race, marital status, and educational level.

control group

which is exposed to the control condition of the independent variable. The control group serves as a baseline against which changes in the experimental group can be compared.

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)

Ethnocentrism

Tendency to use your own culture as the norm

comparative psychology

The branch of psychology that focuses on the study of the behavior of nonhuman animals is called

Sigmund Freud

Vienna, Austria developing an intriguing theory of personality based on uncovering causes of behavior that were unconscious, or hidden from the person's conscious awareness. Freud's school of thought, called psychoanalysis, emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in determining behavior and personality. Freud himself was a neurologist, not a psychologist. Nevertheless, psychoanalysis had a strong influence on psychological thinking in the early part of the century.

Wilhelm Wundt

in 1879 established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Father of psych

meta-analysis

involves pooling the results of several studies into a single analysis.

psychiatry

is a medical specialty. A psychiatrist has earned a medical degree, either an M.D. or D.O., followed by several years of specialized training in the treatment of mental disorders. As physicians, psychiatrists can hospitalize people, order biomedical therapies, and prescribe medications.

pseudoscience

is a theory, method, or practice that promotes claims in ways that appear to be scientific and plausible even though supporting empirical evidence is lacking or nonexistent

case study

is an intensive, in-depth investigation of an individual, a family, or some other social unit. Case studies involve compiling a great deal of information from numerous sources to construct a detailed picture of the person.

positive correlation

is one in which the two factors vary in the same direction. That is, the two factors increase or decrease together.

negative correlation

is one in which the two variables move in opposite directions: As one factor decreases, the other increases

experimental research

is used to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between changes in one variable and the effect that is produced on another variable.

statistically significant

it means that the results are not very likely to have occurred by chance.

random assignment

means that all the participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the experimental conditions.

Edward B. Titchener

Student of Wilhelm Wundt, he started the psychological school of structuralism (now deceased) which focused on introspection

Statistics

A branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data.

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

confounding variable

Also called extraneous variables, these factors are not the focus of the experiment. However, confounding variables might produce inaccurate experimental results by influencing changes in the dependent variable.

Francis C. Summer

American psychologist who was the first African American to receive a doctorated in Psychology in the united states; chaired Howard University Psychology Department

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)

Calkins made several notable contributions to psychology. She conducted research in dreams, memory, and personality. In 1891, she established a psychology laboratory at Wellesley College. At the turn of the twentieth century, she wrote a well-received textbook, titled Introduction to Psychology. In 1905, Calkins was elected president of the American Psychological Association—the first woman, but not the last, to hold that position.

Kenneth Bancroft Clark.

Clark's research on the negative effects of discrimination was instrumental in the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision to end segregation in schools (Jackson, 2006). In 1970, Clark became the first African American president of the American Psychological Association (Belgrave & Allison, 2010).

G. Stanley Hall

In 1878, G. Stanley Hall received the first Ph.D. in psychology awarded in the United States. Hall founded the first psychology research laboratory in the United States at Johns Hopkins University in 1883. Most important, in 1892, Hall founded the American Psychological Association and was elected its first president (

William James

In 1878, G. Stanley Hall received the first Ph.D. in psychology awarded in the United States. Hall founded the first psychology research laboratory in the United States at Johns Hopkins University in 1883. Most important, in 1892, Hall founded the American Psychological Association and was elected its first president (

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's therapeutic technique. Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences - and the therapist's interpretations of them - released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.

random selection

The most common strategy is to randomly select the sample participants

demand characteristics

These are subtle cues or signals that can bias the outcome of the study by communicating the behavior or response that is expected of the participants. A behavior as subtle as the researcher slightly smiling or frowning when dealing with some participants

correlational coefficient

a numerical indicator of the strength of the relationship between two factors.

sample

a segment of the group or population

dependent variable

also called the outcome variable. The dependent variable is so named because changes in it "depend on" variations in the independent variable.

structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

placebo effect

any change that can be attributed to beliefs and expectations rather than to an actual drug, treatment, or procedure.

operational definition

defines the variable in very specific terms as to how it will be measured, manipulated, or changed. Operational definitions are important because many of the concepts that psychologists investigate—such as memory, happiness, or stress—can be defined and measured in more than one way.

independent variable

deliberately varying one factor

descriptive research

designs include strategies for observing and describing behavior. Using descriptive research designs, researchers can answer important questions, such as when certain behaviors take place, how often they occur, and whether they are related to other factors

Collectivism cultures

emphasize the needs and goals of the group over those of the individual.

Individualistic Cultures

emphasize the needs and goals of the individual over the needs and goals of the group

Carl Rogers

emphasized the conscious experiences of his clients, including each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction. In contrast to the behaviorists, who saw human behavior as being shaped and maintained by external causes, Rogers emphasized self-determination, free will, and the importance of choice in human behavior. humanistic psychology

Empirical evidence

evidence that is the result of objective observation, measurement, and experimentation. As part of the overall process of producing empirical evidence, psychologists follow the four basic steps of the scientific method. In a nutshell, these steps are: Formulate a specific question that can be tested. Design a study to collect relevant data. Analyze the data to arrive at conclusions. Report the results.

correlational study

examines how strongly two variables are related to, or associated with, each other. Correlations can be used to analyze the data gathered by any type of descriptive method, and are also used to analyze the results of experiments.

Charles Darwin

groundbreaking work, On the Origin of Species, gathered evidence from different scientific fields to provide a compelling account of evolution through natural selection. James and his fellow thinkers actively debated the notion of evolution, which came to have a profound influence on James's ideas (Richardson, 2006). Like Darwin, James stressed the importance of adaptation to environmental c

Humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth. Third force

theory

or model, is a tentative explanation that tries to account for diverse findings on the same topic.

survey

people respond to a structured set of questions about their experiences, beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes. One key advantage offered by survey research is that information can be gathered from a much larger group of people than is possible with other research methods.

Scientific method

refers to a set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions.

culture

refers to the attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to another

natural expirement

researchers carefully observe and measure the impact of a naturally occurring event or condition on their study participants. to study the effects of disasters, epidemics, or other events.

Variable

simply a factor that can vary, or change. These changes must be capable of being observed, measured, and verified.

cross sectional design

studies a variable or set of variables among a group of participants at a single point in time.

testing effect

the finding that practicing retrieval of information from memory produces better retention than restudying the same information for an equivalent amount of time.

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Neuroscience

the scientific study of the nervous system

confirmation bias

the tendency to seek out evidence that confirms an existing belief while ignoring evidence that contradicts or undermines the belie

Abraham Maslow

was another advocate of humanistic psychology. Maslow developed a theory of motivation that emphasized psychological growth,

Naturalistic observation

watching behavior in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation

placebo

which is a so-called sugar pill or other inactive substance or procedure.can produce real effects