Intro to Psych Midterm Exam
What is the definition of average IQ?
100
What is a variable?
A characteristic that is measured and has a numerical value attached to it.
What is an example of a conceptual definition?
A dictionary definition or a general understanding of a variable.
What is a conceptual definition?
A general understanding of a variable, usually too vague or ambiguous.
What is a theory?
A hypothesis that has been tested and supported by substantial evidence.
What is the scientific method?
A logical, systematic approach to the solution of a scientific problem
What is a participant observer?
A researcher who participates and is involved in a group, but is not a full member.
What is an operational definition?
A specific and concrete definition of a variable that depends on the research question.
What is a law?
A statement that is more definitive than a theory and is supported by substantial evidence.
What is immersion?
A type of studying where the researcher is fully involved and adopts the same dress and behavior as the group being studied.
What is naturalistic studying?
A type of studying where the researcher observes the group in a natural environment, such as sitting in a kindergarten classroom.
What is a dependent variable?
A variable selected by the experimenter but does not have control over, typically measure of a cognitive attribute (EX: recall, heart rate, attention span)
What is an independent variable?
A variable selected by the experimenter that is manipulated and controlled.
What is a law of closure?
A visual system that closes things up before any cognitive processing (Ex: such as seeing a panda from black splotches on a screen)
What are some examples of independent variables?
Amount of sleep, brightness of light, and visual images (such as sad or happy).
What is a hypothesis?
An educated guess involving two or more variables that is testable and falsifiable.
What is a scientific theory?
An explanation for unobservable events involving multiple variables
What is humanism?
Approach to psychology that emphasizes basic physical needs and societal influences
What is cognitive psychology?
Approach to psychology that emphasizes innate abilities and environmental influences
What is psychoanalysis?
Approach to psychology that emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind
What is random assignment?
Assigning participants to groups by chance
What is neutral monism?
Belief that the brain and mind are not fundamental entities
What is monism?
Belief that the mind and body are not separate entities
What is Cartesian duality?
Belief that the mind can exist without the body
What is physicalism?
Belief that the mind emerges from the brain
What is idealism?
Belief that the mind is more fundamental than the physical brain
What is correlational data?
Cannot determine cause and effect
What is Stereotype Threat?
Claude Steele's theory on the impact of stereotypes on performance
What is ratio comparison?
Comparison of two quantities using division.
What is Stroop interference?
Conflict between the color label and the written word on an incongruent trial
Who is Elizabeth Loftus?
Current researcher in false memories and influence how police do interrogations
What is the nature vs nurture debate?
Debate about whether behavior is influenced by genetics or environment
What is the mind/body problem?
Debate about whether the mind and body are separate entities
What are some examples of nominal scale variables?
Demographics, race, religion
What is the Stroop effect?
Demonstrates automaticity of language. EX: Conflict between the color of the font and the meaning of the written word
What is the difference between describing and explaining phenomena?
Describing is observational, explaining is experimental
What are the goals of the scientific method?
Description, prediction, control, and explanation
What is cognitive training?
Exposure to stimulus
What are the characteristics of good theories?
Falsifiable, produces testable hypotheses, and parsimonious (simplicity)
What is an example of a law?
Fechner's Law, which states that as you increase in intensity, you have to increase change in intensity to experience a difference.
Who is Inez Beverly Prosser?
First Black woman to earn PHD in psychology and studied segregated and integrated schools
Who is Martha Bernal?
First Latina to earn PHD in psychology
Who is Mary Whiton Calkins?
First female president of the American Psychological Association
Who is Margaret Floy Washburn?
First woman to earn PHD in psychology
Who is William James?
Founder of psychology in America
What are models?
General to specific representations of a theory, such as equations, text, or diagrams.
What is an example of an incongruency that might interfere with automaticity?
Giving directions to turn left but saying right
Who is known as the so called "Father of psychology"?
Gustav Fechner
What is inductive reasoning?
Having observations and seeking out patterns
What is Charles Darwin's contribution to psychology?
How memory is adaptive
What is confirmation bias?
Ignoring evidence that contradicts one's beliefs
What are the two types of variables?
Independent and dependent variables.
What is the Doll Test?
Kenneth and Maime Clark's experiment on racial bias in children
What is a nominal scale?
Lowest scale, variables differ by category, no ordering of values
What is an experimental study?
Manipulation of variables, can determine cause and effect
What is an example of an ordinal scale?
Military rank
What is the difference between high frequency and low frequency words?
More likely to remember low frequency words (because they are not heard as often/stand out)
Does the experimenter have control over the variable?
No
What is an observational study?
No manipulation of variables, does not determine cause and effect
What does the scientific method involve?
Observing and measuring phenomena
What is self-serving bias?
Overestimating one's own abilities or performance
What is an example of a hypothesis?
People who train using the dual n back task will experience greater improvement on test or fluid intelligence than people who do not go through any training.
Who is Kurt Lewin?
Pioneer of social psychology and built hypothesis and methods to test how people act in social situations
Who is John B Watson?
Pushed the field of behaviorism
Who is George Miller?
Pushed to go away from behaviorism
What is Sigmund Freud known for?
Pushing forward the idea of conscious, subconscious, and unconscious during the Victorian Era
What is an example of an interval scale?
Rating on a scale from 0-10
What is the highest and lowest scale of measurement?
Ratio and nominal
What are some examples of dependent variables?
Recall, recognition, intelligence, heart rate, saliva output, attention span, neuronal firing
What can disprove a theory but not prove it?
Results
What is a ratio scale?
Similar to interval scale, but with a true 0 point (EX: Number of lever presses)
What is an interval scale?
Spacing between values is known, no true 0 point, can apply mathematical operations, NO ratio judgments
What is deductive reasoning?
Starting with a theory and making observations to test it
What are the results of deductive reasoning generated through?
Statistics
What is psychological science?
Study of the mind and behavior
What is psychology?
Study of the soul, mind, and behavior
What is Max Wertheimer known for?
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
What is noncritical thinking?
Thinking that leads to erroneous conclusions
What is the Race Model?
Two sources of information racing to the finish line
What is an ordinal scale?
Values can be rank ordered, mathematical operations could produce misleading results
What are incongruent trials in Stroop tests?
Where the color named by the word differs from the color of the text
What are congruent trials in Stroop tests?
Where the color named by the word is the same as the color of the text used for the word
Who is considered the official founder of psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt
Which source of information is processed first in the brain?
Word meaning
What is research?
the systematic and careful collection of data
