Prior To Midterm 1 Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of mind, brain and behaviour
Brain aspect of psychology
Neuroscience
Mind part of psychology
Memory
Behaviour part of psychology
Output
Difficulties of psychology: psychology is multiply ______
Determined
-biological and past experiences
-such as mating
Difficulties of psychology: psychology is _____ together and _____ other areas
Linked, affects
-for example: mental health affects relationships
Difficulties of psychology: ______ differences
Individual
-for example: traits vary and attention varies
Difficulties of psychology: reciprocal _______
Determinism
-the way i affect will affect others
-interacting with environment draws attention (like a chip bowl in a party)
Difficulties of psychology: behaviours is _______ by ______
Shaped by culture
-emic/etic
Emic
Studying perspective of someone IN the culture
Pro and cons of emic
Pro: more unique
Cons: other cultures usually are ignored
Etic
Studying perspective of someone not in culture
Pros and cons of etic
Pro: more effective generalizations
Con: miss subtleties
Levels of analysis
Mind and behaviour
-many different perspectives
Levels of analysis: social and cultural
Relationships
-forming and impact
Levels of analysis: psychology
Mental processes and attention systems
Levels of analysis: biological
Neuroscience
-regions of the brain
Common sense and psychology
-can be conflicting (out of sight out of mine/absence makes the heart grow fonder)
-naive realism
-costumes common sense is correct
Naive realism
The world is exactly how we see it
-example is flat earth ears
Psychology as a science
-minimizes bias
-misses out on emotional aspects
-uses empirical evidence
A scientific theory
Explanation that describes data
-doesn’t account for just one thing
-links together multiple theories
Hypothesis
Direction prediction, and precise
-specific testable prediction derided from a scientific theory
Theory of natural selection is a _____ and fish having long tails as a result of natural selection is _____
Scientific theory, hypothesis
Confirmation bias
The tendency to look for selective into that conforms a hypothesis
-to ignore evidence that disproves
Observation bias
Awareness of bias means individuals can still be influenced
Belief perspectives
Sticking to our initial beliefs, even in light of new evidence
-uncomfortable to deviate
Metaphysical claims
Untestable claims
-like the existence of a god
Psychological pseudoscience
Claims that seem scientific but are not
-testable but not scientific
Warning signs: exaggerated claims (example)
Vitamins being advertised as having all good side effects
-then why is it not everywhere?
Warning signs: over reliance on anecdotes
Advertisements having a lot of people saying “this is amazing”
-biased people
-neglected scientific results like data or graphs
Warning signs: absence to connectivity to other research
Opposes most research
“Vitamin C helps weight loss”
-needs evidence to discount all other evidence
Warning signs: lack of review and no peer review
Not having a group of non associated scientists evaluate the claim
Warning signs: lack of self correction
New evidence that is not considered
-like astrology
Warning signs: psychobabble
Jargon and big words
-attempting to appear smart and impressive
-the idea should speak for itself
Warning signs: talk of proof over evidence
Using the word prove
Why is one drawn to pseudoscience
Patternicity and provides comfort
What does patternicity mean
Humans hate disorder and find sense in the nonsense
-this can be both good and bad
Why does pseudoscience provide comfort
Manages terror, and gives a feeling of control
-for example people fall for fake cancer preventing scams `
Three dangers of pseudoscience
-opportunity cost
-direct harm
-blocks scientific thinking
What is opportunity cost
Prevents opportunity that might have evidential claims
How does pseudoscience block scientific thinking
Easy answers create easier engagement with the process of ignoring scientific claims
What is the antidote of pseudoscience
Having the knowledge of common logical fallacies
Emotional reasoning fallacy
Using emotions instead of evidence to see validity of a claim
Bandwagon fallacy
Assuming a claim is correct just because other people do
Not me fallacy
Thinking we are somehow exempt from certain things
-we are a special case
“I am not prone too”
Scientific scepticism
Helps to protect against fallacies
-need to consciously engage in having an open mind
What is a key part of scientific scepticism
Critical thinking
Six principals of scientific thinking
-ruling out rival hypothesis
-correlation vs causation
-falsifiability
-replicability
-extraordinary claims
-occams razor
Six principals of scientific thinking: ruling out rival hypothesis
Asking, is there some other possibility
Six principals of scientific thinking: Correlation vs causation
Researcher does not measure other variables
-ther could be other factors affecting
-ignoring the third variable
Six principals of scientific thinking: falsifiability
Needs to be testable to be assessed as a valid claim
Six principals of scientific thinking: replicability
In order to be a claim, another scientist must be able to replicate the claim
(In general)
Six principals of scientific thinking: extraordinary claims
The higher the claim, the higher quality of evidence needed for the claim
Six principals of scientific thinking: Occam’s razor
Simpliest explanation should be the truth
Early psychologists were
Philosophers
-not considered a science
Who created the first psychology laboratory
Wundt
Who incorporated introspection, and what is it?
-Wundt
-asking someone a series of questions to evaluate their own cognitive process
What is introspection good for
Past experiences
What is introspection bad for
Things that we are just not consciously aware of
What was the problem with introspection
It created unverifiable and inconsistent data
Structuralism
Study of why certain things take place
-how did you think that
-the structuralism of experience
functionalism
Adapt to circumstances
-what is the purpose of you thinking/feeling that way etc
behaviouralism
Understand why humans do what they do
-we need objective data to make psychology a science
Cognitism
Examine the role of mental processes on behaviour
Psychoanalysis
Uncover the role of unconscious processes and early experiences effect on behaviour/ thought
Modern psychology is very
Diverse
Clinical psychologist
Therapeutic, asses, diagnose and treat mental disorders
Counseling psychologist
Dealing with temporary life problems