Psyc 111 - Midterm 1

Front 1

Who established the first psychology lab, and in what year, as well as where

Back 1

Wilhelm Wundt, 1879, in austria, germany.

Front 2

define "standard deviation"

Back 2

Average amount each result of a test differs from the mean. E(R-M)

Front 3

Who is the "founder" of experimental psychology

Back 3

Gustav Fechner

Front 4

***Describe the 5 major "paradigms" of psychology

Back 4

behaviourism, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, biological

Front 5

briefly Describe humanistic

Back 5

Optomistic views of human nature, believes in "self actualization"

Front 6

Describe behaviourism

Back 6

Study of human behavior and the effects the our environment has on it

Front 7

Describe Biological psychology

Back 7

The study of the brain and neural pathways; the biological aspects of psychology

Front 8

Describe cognitive psychology

Back 8

Focuses on thought processes, emphasizes function over content

Front 9

Describe psychodynamic

Back 9

Pioneered by freud, claims all actions are guided by unconscious desires or feelings. Focuses almost entirely on the unconscious mind

Front 10

What are the core principles of Psychology in respect to it's status as a science

Back 10

The universe acts according to natural laws, These laws are discoverable and testable

Front 11

Describe the scientific method

Back 11

The scientific method beings with an observation, which is developed into a testable hypothesis, which is tested, and from which we can draw conclusions that can in turn refute or support the hypothesis

Front 12

How would you define a "theory"

Back 12

An organized system of assumptions and principles

Front 13

What is psychologies scientific goals

Back 13

To describe, predict, explain and control objects of study

Front 14

in what way is psychology sometimes more complicated than other sciences

Back 14

In psychology there is always a shifting human factor, which complicates the investigation of mental processes and behavious

Front 15

Define "empirical"

Back 15

Empirical indicates something is scientifically testable

Front 16

what are principles of ethical research

Back 16

-Informed consent must be obtained

-the utmost must be done to protect participants from discomfort and harm, and protect confidentiality,

-Participation must be voluntary

One can NOT use deception or incomplete disclosure UNLESS the REB is convinced the benefits outweigh the cost

-complete debriefing must be completed

Front 17

What is a variable

Back 17

Anything that can take on more than one condition

Front 18

What does "operational Definition" mean

Back 18

variables in a hypothesis must be precisely defined.

Front 19

What are the two variables, give a brief description

Back 19

Independant; the variable being altered/manipulated

Dependant; the variable that is measured, and is influenced by independent variable

Front 20

What are confounding variables, name some

Back 20

Variables outside the control of the researcher(s)
-experimenter bias, placebo effects

Front 21

what is it called when a small example of a given population is taken for the purpose of research

Back 21

a "sample"

Front 22

How do we ensure a fair sample

Back 22

random selection

Front 23

Name the 4 descriptive research methods

Back 23

Naturalistic observation, case studies, surveys and psychological tests

Front 24

describe a case study and provide it's Pro's and cons

Back 24

Study of a single person

Pro: Determines if specific treatments/therapies work well for this individual

Con: Often subject to Bias, can only be applied to a single individua, results are not relevant to others

Front 25

describe a naturalistic observation and provide it's Pro's and cons

Back 25

observation of human behaviour in it's natural habitat

Pro: Least obtrusive way of study, can observe the most natural results

Con: Still subject to researcher Bias, very time consuming

Front 26

describe a survey and provide it's Pro's and cons

Back 26

unobserved, client given responses, used both in person and at a distance.

Pro: Avoids observation biases, relatively inexpensive and quick

Con: Suffers from participant Bias, wherein the participant may choose answers they think the researchers want, does not show direction of relationships (Causality) - only that there is a connection

Front 27

describe a psychological test

Back 27

Assesment requiring a response from which we can gain insight into the client. Ex: Rorchach test.

Front 28

describe "demand characteristic" and how it is avoided in experiments

Back 28

demand characteristic is when the subject is aware of the hypothesis and changes their behaviour as a result. This is prevented by performing double blind tests in which neither the participant nor the experimenter are aware of the hypothesis, only of what is being asked of them.

Front 29

in an experiment how can we ensure both the test group and the control group are fair

Back 29

Random assignment is the most common method

Front 30

How do you represent the correlation coefficient

Back 30

R = +/- 1.00

Front 31

If there is a positive correlation between two variables, what does that mean

Back 31

If one variable is controlled in a positive way, the responding variable will also increase

Front 32

What is a negative correlation

Back 32

When the independent variable is increased, the dependant decreases. This is still a correlation, but in a negative sense

Front 33

True of false: correlation = causality

Back 33

false, we are only aware that there IS a connection, not that one variable necessarily provokes the change in the other

Front 34

What is the "mean"

Back 34

the statistical average of all the results of an experiment

Front 35

How can the standard deviation be applied

Back 35

A result can be considered "1,2,3..." Standard deviations away from the mean, and it can be used along with other statistical techniques to determine of a experiment is "significant"

Front 36

What test is used to determine of a result is significant

Back 36

The Null Hypothesis Significance Test

Front 37

What result on the NHST indicates a result is significant, and what does that result mean

Back 37

a result of less than %5 or P < 0.05, meaning that if the experiment were conducted 100 times the given results would occur only 5 times by accident

Front 38

Name the significant psychological movements of recent years

Back 38

Gestalt movement and structuralism.

Front 39

Describe the gestalt movement.

Back 39

Characterised by the belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; that is that we tend to impose structure on what we see

Front 40

Describe structuralism

Back 40

A study or analysis of the individual components of conscious experience