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32 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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The scientific method is made of 2 things |
Theory and hypothesis |
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A theory can be described in 2 ways |
It is both a idea or prediction that a researcher has. It is also a set of facts and the relationships between those facts based on a well crafted study aimed at answering scientific questions. |
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A hypothesis |
It is a prediction or educated guess that emerges out of a theory. |
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Biopsychosocial approach |
The 3 main levels of analysis woven together to function in a integrated way. It is composed biological influences, psychological influences, and social-cultural influences |
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Biological influences include |
Genetic predispositions,genetic mutations, natural selection of adaptive traits and behaviors and that passed down through generations, genes that respond to the environment. |
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Psychological influences include |
Cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations, learned expectations and fears, emotional responses |
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Three scientific attitude main components |
Curiosity- a passion to explore and understand, to seek information and answers. Skepticism- what do you mean? How do you know? Humility- awareness of own own vulnerability to error and an openness to new pesprctives and ways of seeing things |
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The descriptive method |
The starting point of any science is description. In everyday life, all of us observe and describe people, often drawing conclusions about why they behave as they do. Professional psychologists do much the same, though more objectively and systematically through the case study, the survey and naturalistic observation. |
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Case studies... |
Examine one or a small number of individuals in-depth and over time. They are generally not suggestive of a whole population, though they may suggest direction for further study and may help falsify a hypothesis. But if a an individual is not typical, case studies can lead to false conclusions. |
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Naturalistic observations..... |
Involve in-depth observation of a larger group of people (or animals) in natural environments. Such observation allows for researchers to describe behavior, which can be revealing, but does not explain behavior. With observation we can discover previously unknown information and can illuminate human behavior. |
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Surveys... |
Look at many individuals but in less depth. Surveys ask a random sample of people to report on opinions, attitudes, or behavior. It is important to use a large enough sample and to word questions carefully so that they are understood similarly by all participants and so that we don't create a bias through wording before people even take a survey. |
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Correlations... |
Measure the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables (for example height and weight) to show how one trait or behavior may be related to another. |
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Experimentation.... |
Allows researchers to have a much greater degree of control over the circumstances of a study. In an experiment, researchers manipulate one or more factors or variables to in order to see the effect on a behavior or mental process (cause and effect). While manipulating some factors, researchers control for (or hold constant) others in order to make sure that no excess information contaminates the experiment. |
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Independent variables are.... |
Factors such as a particular medication or free breakfast at school, that can be varied I dependently of other factors such as gender, age, personality, height |
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Dependent variables.... |
Vary depending on what occurs during the experiment. Experiments measure the effect of an independent variable that is manipulated by a researcher, on behavior. For example, after carefully noticing test results over a specific amount of time in a low income school where many children don't eat breakfast, 50 first graders are given free breakfast and 50 who did not eat at home are not given free breakfast. The researchers then look at the results of tests the children are given - the independent variable is whether the children are fed and the dependent variable is the test scores because it depends on whether they ate breakfast or not. |
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Random assignment |
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups. |
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Neurons are.... |
Complex communication and information processing systems, interconnected nerve cells which are the basic building blocks or the nervous system |
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Dendrites are... |
Short branching fibers which receive information and conduct it to the cell body |
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Axons are... |
Long and wire-like which pass the message along to other neurons or to muscles or glands |
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Neurotransmitters are... |
Chemical messengers which are released at the end of a axon to send the electrical action potential across the gap and bind to the receptor site on the next receiving neuron. They influence behavior, motions and emotions. There are more than 50 different chemicals that serve at neurotransmitters. |
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The nervous system is made up of two main divisions which are... |
The central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. |
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The central nervous system is composed of... |
The brain and spinal cord, and allows us to think, feel and act. Within our brains are about 40 billion neurons which meet at 400 trillion synapses in order to communicate information to all parts of our body. To experience pain or pleasure, information has to reach the brain; without that information from the brain, we would have no awareness of how we feel. |
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The peripheral nervous system is composed of... |
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body. The PNS has 2 divisions - the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. |
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The brain enables our mind so.... |
That we can see, hear, smell, feel, remember, think, speak, dream, create. We think about our brain with our brain. |
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The older brain structures.... |
Perform survival functions which occur without on conscious effort. |
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The older brain structures are... |
The frontal lobe, thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, olfactory bulb |
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The brainstem is... |
The oldest area of the brain, and begins just after the spinal cord enters the skull. It is responsible for automatic survival functions. With the brainstem, most nerves from one side of the brain cross over and connect to the opposites idea in the body (so that the left brain nerves control the right side of the body). |
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The newer brain structures are... |
The cerebrum, the cortex and the 4 lobes of each hemisphere- frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal. |
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The newer brain with the cerebrum |
Makes up most of our brain (85% of its weight), contains the newer brain networks which allow us to perceive, think and speak. |
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Plasticity is... |
The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience. |
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The scientific attitude 3 main components are... |
Curiosity, skepticism and humility |
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The scientific method |
Psychological science evaluates competing ideas with careful observation and rigorous analysis. |
