Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

Preview

Summary

Exam 1 Study guide for PSY1100...

Description

Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide History of Psychology: -Psychology: the scientific study of behavior in humans and animals -Cognitive psychology: is the scientific study of mental processes such as "attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and thinking" -Psychology has its roots in philosophy and physiology -Psychoanalysis: a system of psychological theory and therapy which aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques such as dream interpretation and free association. Founded by Sigmund Freud -Humanism: is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization. Strives to help people fulfill their potential and maximize their well-being. Maslow (1943) developed a hierarchical theory of human motivation. Carl Rogers (1946) publishes Significant aspects of client-centered therapy (also called person centered therapy). -Industrial Organizational Psychologist: The specialty of industrial-organizational psychology (also called I/O psychology) is characterized by the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the work place. The specialty focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work. Research in Psychology: -Systematic observation: The careful observation of the natural world with the aim of better understanding it. Observations provide the basic data that allow scientists to track, tally, or otherwise organize information about the natural world. -Hypothesis: A logical idea that can be tested. Observation leads to hypotheses we can test. When we develop hypotheses and theories, we state them in a way that can be tested. For example, you might make the claim that candles made of paraffin wax burn more slowly than do candles of the exact same size and shape made from bee’s wax. This claim can be readily tested by timing the burning speed of candles made from these materials. - Psychology differs somewhat from the natural sciences such as chemistry in that researchers conduct studies with human research participants. Because of this there is a natural tendency to want to guard research participants against potential psychological harm. Scientific psychologists follow a specific set of guidelines for research known as a code of ethics. - Informed consent. In general, people should know when they are involved in research, and understand what will happen to them during the study. They should then be given a free choice as to whether to participate.

- Privacy. Researchers should not make observations of people in private places such as their bedrooms without their knowledge and consent. Researchers should not seek confidential information from others, such as school authorities, without consent of the participant or his or her guardian - Confidentiality. Information that researchers learn about individual participants should not be made public without the consent of the individual. - Researchers are required to “debrief” their participants after they have completed the study. Debriefing is an opportunity to educate participants about the true nature of the study. -Operational definitions: how researchers specifically measure a concept -Independent variable: variable being manipulated -Dependent variable: observation of those changes (what is effected) -Random assignment: participants don’t get to pick which condition they are in. As a result, the distribution of all random factors will generally be consistent across the two groups -Confounds: factors that could undermine your ability to draw causal inferences -Placebo effect: when someone is receiving special treatment or something new and is enough to actually cause changes in behavior or perception -Participant demand: when participants try to behave in a way they think the experimenter wants them to behave -Experimenter expectations: when the experimenter’s expectations influence the outcome of a study -Correlational research: we do not intervene and change behavior. We identify patters of relationships, but we usually cannot infer what causes what. You can only examine two variables at a time -Quasi-experimental design is similar to experimental research, except that random assignment to conditions is not used -Longitudinal studies track the same people over time -Surveys make it possible to reach large numbers of people while keeping costs relatively low - Even though there are serious limitations to correlational and quasi-experimental research, they are not poor cousins to experiments and longitudinal designs. In addition to selecting a method that is appropriate to the question, many practical concerns may influence the decision to use one method over another. One of these factors is simply resource availability—how much time and

money do you have to invest in the research? Beyond these practical concerns, another consideration in selecting a research design is the ethics of the study...