Psych Ch. 1
Why are animals used in psychological research?
many psychologists are interested in the study of animal behavior for its own sake, and animal subjects are sometimes used for research that could not feasibly be conducted on human subjects.
Statistically significant
meaning that the results are not very likely to have occurred by chance; they confirm hypotheses
College freshmen have been discovered to gain weight, although they typically gain ____ rather than 15 lbs.
5 lbs
What percentage of psychological research includes animals per year?
7-8%
Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals
the APA's published ethical guidelines for including animals in psychological research
Critical thinking
the active process of minimizing preconceptions and biases while evaluating evidence, determining the conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from evidence, and considering alternative explanations for research findings or other phenomena
Performance self-efficacy
the belief that you have the skills and abilities to succeed at academic tasks
Hippocampus
the brain structure involved in spatial memory
Comparative psychology
the branch of psychology that studies the behavior of different animal species
Nature-nurture issue
the debate about which was more important: the inborn nature of the individual or the environmental influences that nurture the individual; found to be inextricable; psychologists typically study the dynamic interaction between environment and genetic heritage in addition to hereditary versus environmental factors.
Dependent variable
the factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment, thought to be influenced by the independent variable; also called the outcome variable; change in it "depends on" the independent variable
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
Often, to increase the accuracy of the observations, _________________________ are used.
two or more observers
Blind
unaware of the treatment or condition to which the participants have been assigned
Cultural norms
unspoken standards of social behavior
Brain imaging studies limitations:
usually involves a small number of subjects (fewer than one dozen), tend to focus on simple aspects of behavior, may not increase understanding of psychological process, and not necessarily a more "scientific" explanation.
Fluency effect
when you reread text or review your notes, the material seems familiar and easy to understand, so you tend to assume you know the material and its mistaken for knowledge.
Psychologists tend to go beyond using _____________ to understand human experience.
"common sense" or intuitive understanding
Leader's of Humanistic psychology
Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow
The Humanistic perspective
Continues to focus on the motivation of people to grow psychologically, influence of interpersonal relationships on a person's self-concept, and the importance of choice and self-direction to achieve goals or high potential. Also used within mental health field.
__________________ were determined to be the strongest predictor of college success.
Motivational factors
When is it ok to use deception as a technique?
Only when two conditions have been met: when it isn't feasible to use alternatives that do not involve deception and when the potential findings justify the use of deception because of their scientific, educational, or applied value.
Psychoanalysis
Personality theory and form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the role of unconscious factors in personality and behavior
Leader of psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Francis C. Sumner
The first African American to receive a PhD in psychology; studied under G. Stanley Hall and he chaired a university that produced more African American psychologists than any other colleges combined
Leader's and student's of Functionalism
William James, G. Stanley Hall, Mary Whiton Calkins, Margaret Floy Washburn, Kenneth Bancroft Clark, Francis C. Sumner
William James
a Harvard professor who was credited for establishing psychology in the US., established another school of thought called functionalism and was an evolutionist; he stressed importance of adaptation to environmental challenges.
Ivan Pavlov
a Russian psychologist who pioneered behaviorism; believed he had discovered the mechanism by which all behaviors were learned after conducting animal behavioral experiments through association.
Physiology
a branch of biology that studies the functions and parts of living organisms, including humans
Statistics
a branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data
Electroencephalogram
a device used to monitor brain wave activity when studying brain processes involved in sensation, perception, and awareness
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
a document that contains a code of ethics, developed by the APA, for conducting research with both humans and animals
Confounding variable
a factor or variable other than the ones being studied that, if not controlled, could affect the outcome of an experiment; also called an extraneous variable
Placebo
a fake substance, treatment or procedure that has no known direct effects
Negative correlation
a finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases (i.e. time spent texting while studying increased, GPA decreased)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
a noninvasive imaging technique that produces highly detailed images of the body's structures and tissues, using electromagnetic signals generated by the body in response to magnetic fields
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
a noninvasive imaging technique that uses magnetic fields to map brain activity by measuring changes in the brain's blood flow and oxygen levels; it has advantage over PET scans by being noninvasive or dangerous to retest multiple times, it has a much sharper image than a PET scan with better detail of smaller brain structures, and follows brain activity changes over seconds rather than minutes.
Correlational coefficient
a numerical indication of the magnitude and direction of the relationship (the correlational) between two variables; it always falls between the range from -1.00 to +1.00 and has two parts--the number and the sign.
Survey
a questionnaire or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group.
Correlational studies
a research strategy that allows the precise calculation of how strongly related two factors are to each other; it allows the observer to analyze the data by other types of descriptive methods and to analyze results of experiments
Sample
a selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied.
Representative sample
a selected segment that very closely parallels the larger population being studied on relevant characteristics, such as age, sex, race, marital status, and education level
Natural experiment
a study investigating the effects of a naturally occurring event on the research participants; not a true experiment but tries to measure effects of events, such as disasters, epidemics, or other events.
Theory (model)
a tentative explanation that tries to integrate and account for the relationship of various findings and observations; not a hypothesis, but it leads to other ones and they are tools for explaining a phenomenon, not facts
Double-blind technique
an experimental control in which neither the participants nor the researchers interacting with the participants are aware of the group or condition to which the participants have been assigned; usually utilized when testing the effectiveness of a procedure or drug treatment and helps guard against possibility that the researcher inadvertently becomes an extraneous variable
Case study
an intensive study of a single individual or small group of individuals; involves compiling a great deal of information from numerous sources to construct a detailed picture of the person.
Placebo effect
any change attributed to a person's beliefs and expectations rather than to an actual drug, treatment, or procedure
To generalize means to
be applied to real-world situations or to more general populations beyond the participants in a study
A critical point about correlations is that even if two factors are very strongly correlated, _______________ does not necessarily indicate ________________.
correlation; causality
There are two basic types of designs used in research
descriptive and experimental
Operational definition
defines the variable in very specific terms as to how it will be measured, manipulated, or changed; very important because many concepts psychologists investigate (memory, happiness, or stress) are defined and measured in multiple ways
DOI
digital object identifier; a permanent Internet "address" for journal articles and other digital works posted on the Internet
One advantage of naturalistic observation is that it allows researcher to study human behaviors that cannot be _____________ manipulated in an experiment.
ethically
Pseudoscience
fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence
Complex or simple psychological or behavioral functions can be mapped to a single brain center.
false
The most important limitation of a case study is that
findings on people with rare or unusual conditions might not apply to people in the broader population.
6 research-based suggestions that you can use to help study more effectively:
focus your attention; engage you mind: be an active reader; take notes by hand, not your laptop; the testing effect; use flashcards and practice tests correctly, space out your study time (distributed vs. massed practice)
Experiments are believed to be limited by not being able to
generalize well and have an inability to study phenomena that would be impossible or unethical to control experimentally.
Four steps to determine the validity of a claim:
identify the claim, evaluate the evidence, consider alternative explanations, and consider the source or the research or claim
Demand characteristics
in a research study, subtle cues or signals expressed by the researcher that communicate the kind of response or behavior that is expected from the participant
Control group or control condition
in an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, except the independent variable; the group against which changes in the experimental group are compared.
Experimental group or experimental condition
in an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, including the independent variable
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
Five key provisions of APA's ethical principles regulating research with human participants:
informed consent and voluntary participation, students as research participants, the use of deception, confidentiality of information, and information about the study and debriefing
Cognitive psychology
mental processes, including reasoning and thinking, problem solving, memory, perception, mental imagery, and language
Overt behavior
observable behaviors that could be objectively measured and verified
Positive correlation
one in which the two factors vary in the same direction; they increase or decrease together (i.e taking more practice tests increases GPA)
Developmental psychology
physical, social, and psychological changes that occur at different ages and stages of the life span
Meta-analysis
pooling the results of several studies into a single analysis; by doing this, it's possible to see overall trends that individual studies may not reveal
Practice effect
refer to gains in scores on cognitive tests that occur when a person is retested on the same instrument or tested more than once on very similar ones
Stereotype threat
refers to the ways that negative stereotypes can affect the performance of people who belong to stigmatized groups
How to control or influence an emotion, feeling, or behavior
research different strategies to cope with an emotion or enhance a desired behavior
The correlational coefficient's number indicates ________________ of the relationship, and the sign indicates the ________________ of the relationship between the two variables.
strength; direction
The closer the correlational coefficient is to 1.00, whether positive or negative, the ______________ the correlation is between the two factors.
stronger
Random selection
the most common process in which subjects are selected randomly from a larger group such that every group member has an equal chance of being included in the study
Personality psychology
the nature of human personality, including the uniqueness of each person, traits, and individual differences
Magnet therapy
the practice of applying magnets to the body to supposedly treat various conditions and ailments
Random assignment
the process of assigning participants to experimental conditions so that all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions or groups in the study.
Independent variable
the purposely manipulated factor thought to produce a change in an experiment; also called the treatment variable
Animal cognition
the study of animal learning, memory, thinkings, and language
Naturalistic obsevation
the systematic observation and recording of behaviors as they occur in their natural setting; the goal is for the subjects to be unaware of the observer's presence so they can observe behavior patterns that exist naturally.
Confirmation bias
the tendency to seek out evidence that confirms an existing belief while ignoring evidence that contradicts or undermines the belief
Replicate
to repeat or duplicate a scientific study in order to increase confidence in the validity of the original findings
Hypothesis
a tentative statement that describes the relationship between two or more variables and often stated as a specific prediction that can be empirically tested.
Principles of Psychology
a textbook written by William James, which became the leading textbook in psychology.
Principles of Physiological Psychology
a work by Wilhelm Wundt in 1874, which outlined connections between physiology and psychology; a major turning point in psychology.
Health psychology
psychological factors in the development, prevention, and treatment of illness; stress and coping; promoting health-enhancing behaviors
How to describe an emotion, feeling, or behavior
study the sequence of emotional responses that occur during the experience
Aristotle
the first Western thinker to study psychological topics, whom combined logic of philosophy with empirical observation.
Structuralism
the first major school of thought in psychology; held that even our most complex conscious experiences could be broken down into elemental structures, or components, of sensations and feelings; this school of thought was the first to disappear after Titchener's death
By the second half of the _____ century, the stage had been set for the emergence of psychology.
19th
De Anima
Aristotle best-known work and the first systematic treatise on psychology; topics included basic processes such as senses, perception, memory, thinking, and motivation; foreshadowing of later topics that became central to the modern study
Major Perspectives in Psychology
Biological, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Humanistic, Positive Psychology, Cognitive, Cross-cultural, and Evolutionary
Leader of Evolutionism
Charles Darwin
Functionalism
Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the purpose, or function, of behavior and mental experiences. It allows people and animals to adapt to their environments through behavior. No longer exists as a central school of thought within modern psychology.
Wilhelm Wundt
German physiologist thats generally credited for founding psychology as "experimental science." He established the first psychology research lab and expanded towards researching cultural and developmental psychology
Leader's of developing Behaviorism
Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B. F. Skinner
Psychiatry
Medical specialty area focused on the diagnosis, treatment, causes, and prevention of mental and behavioral disorders.
Scientific method
a set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions.
The Pyschodynamic perspective
This perspective continues to build off of Freud's theory of psychoanalysis, although some using this perspective may reject some or follow all his theory. Regardless, they do tend to emphasize the relationships between early life experience, interpersonal relationships, and other unconscious influence to explain underlying problems. Used mainly within the mental health field.
Variable
a factor that can vary or change
Charles Darwin
a naturalist who wrote an influential book titled, "Origin of the Species," and made the compelling theory that of evolution through the mechanism of natural selection.
The Positive Psychology perspective
a newer perspective that derives from the humanistic perspective; it posits theories focusing on studies of effects from positive emotions and psychological states, positive individual traits, and social institutions that foster these qualities within individuals or a community; includes personal happiness, resilience, creativity, optimism, wisdom, and character strength; very prominent within creating therapeutic techniques to find underlying issues and increase well-being rather than alleviating symptoms of disorders.
Introspection
a procedure used to identify structures of conscious thought by using a stimulus and then try to reconstruct their sensations and feelings after experiencing it.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
an invasive imaging technique that provides color-coded images of brain activity by tracking the brain's use of a radioactively tagged compound, such as glucose, oxygen, or a drug.
Behaviorists mostly studied ____________ behavior under carefully controlled lab conditions.
animal
Abraham Maslow
another advocate of humanistic psychology; developed theory of motivation emphasizing psychological growth
B.F. Skinner
another proponent of behaviorism, he believed that psychology should restrict itself to studying outwardly observable behaviors that could be measured and verified; systematically used reinforcement or punishment to shape the behavior of rats and pigeons.
Stimulus
anything perceptible to the senses, such as sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste
School psychology
applying psychological principles and findings in primary and secondary schools.
Educational psychology
applying psychological principles and theories to methods of learning.
Applied psychology
applying the findings of basic psychology to diverse areas; examples include sports psychology, media psychology, forensic psychology, rehabilitation psychology, and military psychology.
Experimental psychology
basic psychological processes, including sensation and perception, and principles of learning, emotion, and motivation
John B. Watson
championed behaviorism in the US as a new school of psychology; wrote the book, "Behaviorism" which likened the belief in consciousness to ancient superstition and magic
What caused the cognitive revolution to emerge?
computers; it gave psychologists the ability to observe human thinking, memory, and perception through an information-processing model.
Sigmund Freud
developed an intriguing theory of personality based on uncovering causes of behavior that were unconscious to determine behavior and personality; challenged the previous principles of structuralism and functionalism. His theories laid the groundwork for a distinct form of psychotherapy.
Individualistic cultures
emphasize the needs and goals of the individual over the needs and goals of the group; Usually the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe; Self is seen as independent, autonomous, and distinctive and self-Identity based on accomplishments or abilities
The Biological perspective
emphasizes studying the physical bases of human and animal behavior, including the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and genetics. They use sophisticated brain-scanning techniques (MRI, PET, and functional MRI (fMRI)) to study the structure and activity of the brain in increasing detail. This perspective continues to put a lot of emphasis on physiological research.
Collectivistic cultures
emphasizes the needs and goals of the group over the needs and goals of the individual; Usually Asia, Africa, Mexico, and Central and South America; social behavior is heavily influenced by cultural norms and social context than individual preferences/attitudes; they believe they are interdependent on others (relationship, family, tribe) and this defines personal identity
Like all scientists, psychologists are guided by the basic scientific assumption that
events are lawful and explainable; for psychology meaning that psychologists assume that behavior and mental processes follow consistent patterns and have a cause or causes.
Empirical evidence
evidence that is the result of objective observation, measurement, and experimentation
The steps of the scientific method:
form a hypothesis, design the study and collect data, analyze the data and arrive at a conclusion, and report the results
Difference between structuralism and functionalism
functionalism doesn't solely rely on introspection and they believed in different definitions of conscious experiences: to a functionalist, conscious experience was "an ongoing stream of mental activity that shifts and changes"
Carl Rodgers
he emphasized the conscious experiences of his clients, including each person's potential for psychological growth and self-direction; he contrasted in thought from behaviorists by emphasizing on self-determination, free will, and the importance of choice in behavior.
G. Stanley Hall
helped organize psychology in the US, founded the American Psychological Association, began publishing the American Journal of Psychology, and he established the first psychology research lab in the US
Counseling psychology
helping people adjust, adapt, and cope with personal and interpersonal challenges; improving well-being, alleviating distress and maladjustment, and resolving crises
Social psychology
how an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behavior are affected by social environments and the presence of other people
Learning
how behavior is acquired and modified in response to environmental influences
Interactive dualism
introduced by philosopher René Descartes, which describes the idea that the mind and body are separate entities that interact to produce sensations, emotions, and other conscious experiences.
How to predict an emotion, feeling, or behavior
investigate responses to different kind of events in hopes to understand what kind of events are likely to evoke a certain response.
The goal of behaviorists was to discover the fundamental principles of
learning
Edward Titchener
one of Wundt's most devoted students who earned his doctorate in Wundt's laboratory; he later developed his own approach called structuralism; accepted women into graduate program and had the most complete their doctorates under him that any other of his contemporaries.
The principle of natural selection
organisms that inherit characteristics that increase their chances of survival in their particular habitat are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their characteristics to their offspring.
The eventual emergence of psychology as a science hinged on advances in other sciences, particularly
physiology.
The Evolutionary perspective (evolutionary psychology)
refers to the application of the principle of evolution to explain psychological processes and phenomena and reflects renewed interest of Charles Darwin's work; this perspective analyzes behavior in terms of how it increases a species' chances to survive and reproduce
Culture
refers to the attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to another
Biological psychology
relationship between psychological processes and the body's physical systems; neuroscience refers specifically to the study of the brain and the rest of the nervous system
Structuralism was criticized for
relying too much on introspection, which was considered to be limited because different people could give vastly different responses to the same stimulus; it also couldn't be used on animals or children and couldn't be used on topics such as learning, development, mental disorders, and personality
Kenneth Bancroft Clark
researched the negative effects of discrimination that was instrumental in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of education; first African American president of the APA
Humanistic psychology
school of psychology and theoretical view point that emphasizes each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction; often referred to as the "third force" in psychology
Behaviorism
school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasized the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning; rejected structuralism, functionalism, and even freudian notions of unconscious influence (believed it couldn't ever be proven or measured)
The common theme connecting psychology's varied topics is its reliance on a solid foundation of
scientific evidence.
Descriptive research
scientific procedures that involve systematically observing behavior in order to describe the relationship between behaviors and events; it answers who, what, when, where, and why types of questions about behavior; other methods used under this type of research include naturalistic observation, surveys, case studies, and correlational studies
Fried believed that human behavior was motivated by unconscious conflicts that were almost always
sexual or aggressive in nature
Evolutionist
someone who believes that species had not been created all at once but rather had changed over time
How to explain an emotion, feeling, or behavior
study different ways that people respond to the same event
Margaret Floy Washburn
the first official woman to earn a PhD through Titchener's Cornell University; strongly advocated for scientific study of mental processes of different animal species and wrote the book "The Animal Mind"; became the second woman president of the APA.
Rather than being dominated by a particular approach or school of thought, today's psychologists tend to identify themselves according to:
the perspective they emphasize in investigating psychological topics and the specialty area in which they have been trained and practice.
The Cognitive perspective
the perspective, which in the 1960s returned back to analyzing how mental processes affect behavior; the emergence of this perspective was termed "the cognitive revolution" in psychology and represented the break from the traditional behaviorism.
Industrial/Organizational psychology
the relationship between people and work
The emergence of physiology laid the foundation for psychology to be able to use
the scientific method to answer questions about behavior and mental processes.
Psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Neuroscience
the study of the nervous system, especially the brain
Ethnocentrism
the tendency to use your own culture as the standard
The Behavioral perspective
this perspective is evident of Watson and Skinner's belief that overt behavior is what psychology should focus on, and modern psychologists using this perspective still study how behaviors are acquired or modified by their environment. Also used prominently within the mental health field.
The Cross-Cultural perspective
this perspective takes into account how cultural factors influence patterns of behavior and what the differences in culture are.
The four basic goals of psychology are
to describe, predict, explain, and control or influence.
Clinical psychologists
trained in the diagnosis, treatment, causes, and prevention of psychological disorders and leads to a doctorate in clinical psychology; not medical doctors and cannot prescribe medical treatment (few states have passed legislation allowing them to prescribe medication after specialized training)
Mary Whiton Calkins
under direction of William James, she received her PhD in psychology (but was never formally awarded it by Harvard) and taught experimental psychology to a new women's college name Wellesley College; conducted research in dreams, personality, and memory and was the first female president of the APA
Experimental research
used to show that one variable causes change in a second variable or better described as cause-and-effect; ideally all experimental conditions are kept as constant as possible for the factor that the researcher systematically varies and if the constant factor changes than they are attributed to the variation of the first factor.
When 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, such as a person's age, ethnic group, or educational level; it provides a wealth of information that experimental research couldn't elaborate on.
Social striving
when people exert more effort on a task when they were part of a group
Social loafing
when people exert more effort on a task when working alone than when working as part of a group
