Chapter 1

Question 1

Psychology

Answer 1

Scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour.

Question 2

Levels of Analysis

Answer 2

Top - Social influences
Middle - Psychological influences
Bottom - Biological influences

Like a ladder, each level tells us something different.

Question 3

Multiply Determined

Answer 3

Caused by many factors

Question 4

Individual differences

Answer 4

Variations among people in their thinking, emotion, personality, and behaviour.

Question 5

Naive Realism

Answer 5

Belief that we see the world exactly as it is.

Question 6

Scientific Theory

Answer 6

Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world, for a theory to be scientific it must generate a hypothesis that researchers can test.

Question 7

Hypothesis

Answer 7

A testable prediction.

Question 8

Confirmation Bias

Answer 8

Seeking out evidence that confirms/supports our hypothesis and dismissing evidence that contradicts it.

Question 9

Belief Perseverance

Answer 9

Tendency to stick to our initial beliefs, even when evidence contradicts it.

Question 10

Metaphysical Claim

Answer 10

Statement about the world that is not testable.

Question 11

Pseudoscience

Answer 11

Set of claims/something that seems scientific but isn’t.

Question 12

Ad Hoc Immunizing Hypothesis

Answer 12

Loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification
(Ex. psychic claims their reading didn’t work because of your negative energy).

Question 13

Terror Management Theory

Answer 13

Theory that our awareness of death leaves us with a sense of terror that we cope with by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews.
(Ex. Afterlife)

Question 14

Scientific Skepticism

Answer 14

Approach of evaluating claims with an open mind but only accepting claims after research/evidence is done.

Question 15

Critical Thinking

Answer 15

A set of skills for evaluating claims in an open minded and careful way.

Question 16

Variable

Answer 16

Anything that can vary.

Question 17

Falsifiable

Answer 17

Capable of being proven false.

Question 18

Risky Prediction

Answer 18

Prediction that stands a good chance of being wrong.

Question 19

Replicability

Answer 19

When a study’s findings are able to be duplicated (ideally by an independent investigator).

Question 20

Introspection

Answer 20

Method in which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences. (Structuralism)

Question 21

Structuralism

Answer 21

School of psychology that aimed to identify the structures of psychological experience. (E.B. Titchener)

Question 22

Functionalism

Answer 22

Strove to understand the functions of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. (William James, influenced by Charles Darwin)

Question 23

Behaviourism

Answer 23

Uncover the general principles of learning that explain all behaviours in humans and animals. (John B. Watson)

Question 24

Cognitivism

Answer 24

Examine the role of mental processes on behaviour, thinking is central to understanding behaviour. (Jean Piaget then Ulric Neisser)

Question 25

Psychoanalysis

Answer 25

Focused on internal psychological processes like impulses, thoughts, and memories which were unaware of. (Sigmund Freud)

Question 26

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 26

Newish field of psychology that examines the relationship between brain function and thinking.

Question 27

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 27

Theory that applies Darwin’s theory of natural selection to human and animal behaviour.

Question 28

Basic Research and Applied Research

Answer 28

Basic Research - research examining how the mind works. Applied Research - research examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems.