Introduction To Psychology And It's Methods

Front 1

Where did the study of psychology originate historically?

Back 1

In the study of dreams-- but that can not be observed tangibly, so it became the scientific study (something that can be observed repeated) of human behavior and mental processes.

Front 2

What are the 4 goals of psychology?
(provide brief descriptions)

Back 2

describe behavior- to describe objectively
explain behavior- may not be obvious or may have multiple explanations
control behavior- (sometimes) first find causes-- control that and prevent behavior
predict future behavior- people are extremely predictable and behave in patterns-- can be studied scientifically

Front 3

"Human behavior is lawful, orderly, and predictable"
Why is this important to psychology?

Back 3

Because this means that human behavior can be studied scientifically-- essence of psychology

Front 4

If event B follows event A, did A cause B?

Back 4

Sometimes, but not always

Front 5

Define correlation.
What are the 3 categories of correlation? (describe each)

Back 5

The relationship between two phenomena.
positive correlation- when 2 variables are related positively
negative correlation- when 2 variables are related inversely (oppositely)
null correlation- when 2 variables are not related

Front 6

Define causality

Back 6

that event A caused event B

Front 7

Define determinism. Why is it important to psychologists?

Back 7

Determinism is the belief that every behavior has a cause.
It is important because without a cause for a behavior, it becomes uncontrollable and unpredictable, which is important to psychology.

Front 8

What are the 6 perspectives of psychology? (provide brief descriptions for each)

Back 8

1) biological- focuses on the body and mind and their effect on behavior. found by blood tests, samples, etc. and usually treated through medication
2) psychoanalytic- focuses on the effects of unconscious, repressed memories of early childhood experiences or trauma on behavior. -- the unconscious can be reached by: dreams, hypnosis, projective tests, and word association
3) behavioral- focuses on how observed behaviors can be changed (not so much on what causes them).
4) humanistic- focuses on how people make their own decisions and life patterns. this is used in one-on-one talk therapy sessions.
5) cognitive- focuses on how a person stores and utilizes information-- how thinking is effected by emotions
6) social-cultural- focuses on how people's behaviors may be effected by their own society-- usually treated through group therapy.

Front 9

What are the 4 problems that may affect/influence a subject's behavior/results? (provide brief descriptions for each)

Back 9

1) the Hawthorn Effect- that perceived special treatment of a subject may affect performance/ results
2) the Placebo Effect- that something that should have no effect actually does because the subject believes so.
3) Experimenter Effect- that the experimenter may affect an experiment/ results knowingly or unknowlingly because he/she is either biased or doing something to effect the subjects.
4) the Order Effect- that the order in which an experiment is taken out may have an effect upon the results

Front 10

Define what it means to have a 'reliable' vs. 'valid' experiment/result

Back 10

Reliable- that the results of a conclusion are constant- the experiment may be carried out several times and a similar result will be found
Valid- that the result measures what the experiment was meant to measure

Front 11

What are the 4 important requirements that research much have in order to be considered valid?

Back 11

1) Control of Conditions
2) Objectivity of Reporting
3) Repeatability of Results (reliability)
4) Representativeness of Sample

Front 12

What are the 4 approaches used in research? Define each

Back 12

1) Naturalistic Observation- the study of human/animal behavior in it's natural context
2) Individual Case Study- a detailed description of one (or a few) individuals
3) Correlation Approach- employs statistical methods to examine the relationship between two or more variables
4) Experimental Method- one or more variables are systematically manipulated, and the effect of that manipulation on other variables is studied.

Front 13

What are the 3 kinds of stimuli? (describe each)

Back 13

relevant stimuli: a stimulus that affects behavior
irrelevant stimuli: a stimulus that does not affect behavior
potential stimuli: (how all stimuli begin before being categorized as either relevant or irrelevant)

Front 14

What are some difficulties that can arise when categorizing types of stimuli? (give 2 examples)

Back 14

1) Stimuli may change from relevant to irrelevant over time
2) the stimulus may not be obvious and may originate from inside the individual

Front 15

What is the difference between independent and dependent variables in research?

Back 15

The independent variable, or stimulus, in research is the variable that is controlled by the experiment-- it is independent of the result.
The dependent variable, or result, is what is affected by the independent variable, i.e. it depends upon the the independent variable in terms of results

Front 16

What are 3 "other" variables that may affect performance?

Back 16

1) Task variables: complexity of the task
2) Environmental variables: passage of time, light, noise, temp, etc.
3) Subject variables: differences in age, sex, health, background, etc.