chapter 1: the science of psychology

Question 1

psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

behavior-outward and overt actions
mental processes-internal activity

Question 2

wilhelm wundt

Answer 2

a German psychologist who is considered the “father of modern psychology.” he founded the first psychology laboratory in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany, marking the official start of psychology as a separate scientific discipline. Wundt used introspection to study conscious experience and focused on structuralism—breaking down mental processes into basic elements.

Question 3

objective introspection

Answer 3

the process of objectively examining one’s own thoughts and mental activities

Question 4

edward titchener

Answer 4

a British psychologist and a student of Wilhelm Wundt. He brought structuralism to the U.S., aiming to analyze the structure of the mind through introspection. Titchener focused on identifying the basic elements of thoughts and sensations, but his approach was later criticized for being too subjective.

Question 5

structuralism

Answer 5

early perspective in psychology in which the focus of study is the structure of basic elements of the mind

Question 6

william james

Answer 6

an American psychologist and philosopher known as the father of American psychology. He founded functionalism, which focused on how mental processes help people adapt to their environments. Unlike structuralists, James emphasized the purpose of consciousness rather than its structure. He also wrote The Principles of Psychology, a foundational text in the field.

Question 7

functionalism

Answer 7

the focus of study is how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play

influenced by darwin’s ideas of natural selection

Question 8

max wertheimer

Answer 8

a founder of Gestalt psychology

Question 9

gestalt psychology

Answer 9

early perspective in psychology focusing on perception and sensation, particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures

max wertheimer

Question 10

sigmund freud

Answer 10

an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. he emphasized the role of the unconscious mind, childhood experiences, and inner conflicts in shaping behavior

Question 11

psychoanalysis

Answer 11

an insight therapy based on theory of freud, emphasizing the revealing of unconscious conflicts

Question 12

ivan pavlov

Answer 12

russian physiologist who showed that a reflex can occur in response to an unrelated stimulus

Question 13

conditioning

Answer 13

a learned reflexive response

Question 14

john b. watson

Answer 14

wanted the focus of psychology to be on scientific inquiry by focusing on observable behavior

he believed all behavior is learned

Question 15

behaviorism

Answer 15

the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only

Question 16

little albert

Answer 16

experiment conducted by watson & rayner which involved teaching a baby to be scared of a white rat

Question 17

psychodynamic perspective

Answer 17

modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a person’s behavior other than sexual motivations

Question 18

behavioral perspective

Answer 18

classical conditioning

Question 19

operant conditioning

Answer 19

behavioral responses that are followed by pleasurable consequences are reinforced

Question 20

humanistic perspective

Answer 20

the “third force” in psychology that focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human

free will, self-actualization

Question 21

cognitive perspective

Answer 21

in classical conditioning, modern theory in which conditioning is seen to occur because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of the unconditioned stimulus.
focus on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language and learning

Question 22

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 22

study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system during thinking

Question 23

sociocultural perspective

Answer 23

perspective that focuses on the influence of social interactions, society, and culture on an individual’s thinking & behavior; in psychopathology, approach that examines the impact of social interactions, community, and culture on a person’s thinking, behavior, and emotions

Question 24

biopsychological perspective

Answer 24

perspective that attributes human & animal behavior to biological events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of the nervous system

Question 25

evolutionary perspective

Answer 25

perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share | why we lie, how attractiveness influences mate selection, etc,.

Question 26

psychologist

Answer 26

a professional with an academic degree and specialized training in one or more areas of psychology | no medical training

Question 27

psychiatrist

Answer 27

a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Question 28

psychiatric social worker

Answer 28

a social worker with some training in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders, such as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse

Question 29

basic research

Answer 29

research focused on adding information to the scientific knowledge base

Question 30

applied research

Answer 30

research focused on finding practical solutions to real-world problems

Question 31

critical thinkiing

Answer 31

making reasoned judgements about claims

Question 32

four basic criteria for critical thinking

Answer 32

1. there are very few "truths" that don't need to be subjected to testing 2. all evidence is not equal in quality 3. just because someone is considered to be an authority or to have a lot of expertise doesn't make everything that person claims to be true. 4. critical thinking requires an open mind

Question 33

the scientific approach

Answer 33

1. perceiving the question 2. forming a hypothesis 3. testing the hypothesis 4. drawing conclusions 5. report your results | system of gathering data so that bias & error in measurement are reduced

Question 34

description

Answer 34

observing a behavior and noting everything about it

Question 35

explanation

Answer 35

help with forming theories

Question 36

prediction

Answer 36

determining what will happen in the future

Question 37

control

Answer 37

to change a behavior from an undesirable one to a desirable one

Question 38

hypothesis

Answer 38

tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations

Question 39

confirmation bias

Answer 39

tendency to only notice things that agree with a person's view of the world

Question 40

naturalistic observation

Answer 40

allows researchers to realistically see how behavior occurs

Question 41

observer effect

Answer 41

tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed

Question 42

participant observation

Answer 42

a naturalistic observation in which they observer becomes a participant in the group being observed

Question 43

observer bias

Answer 43

tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

Question 44

laboratory observation

Answer 44

gives control to the observer. causes artificial behavior due to artificial setting

Question 45

case studies

Answer 45

study of one individual in great detail, provides tremendous detail, good way to study rare things, results can't be applied to other similar people, vulnerable to bias

Question 46

surverys

Answer 46

a series of questions is asked about the researched topic

Question 47

representative samples

Answer 47

randomly selected sample of participants from a larger population of participants

Question 48

courtesy bias

Answer 48

people giving a socially acceptable answer rather their true opinions so no one is upset

Question 49

correlation

Answer 49

a measure of the relationship between 2 variables

Question 50

variable

Answer 50

anything that can change or vary

Question 51

correlation coefficient

Answer 51

the direction of the relationship and its strength

Question 52

correlation doesnt prove

Answer 52

causation

Question 53

experiment

Answer 53

a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships

Question 54

selection

Answer 54

select a random sample of group being tested

Question 55

operalization

Answer 55

specific description of a variable of interest that allows it to be measured

Question 56

independent variable

Answer 56

variable in an experiment that is manipulated

Question 57

dependent variable

Answer 57

variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the participants of the experiment

Question 58

confounding variables

Answer 58

variables that interfere with each other and their possible effects on some other variable of interest

Question 59

experimental group

Answer 59

participants in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable

Question 60

control group

Answer 60

participants in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo effect

Question 61

random assignment

Answer 61

process of assigning participants to the experimental or control group randomly, so that each participant has an equal chance of being in each group

Question 62

placebo effect

Answer 62

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Question 63

experimenter effect

Answer 63

tendency of the experimenter's expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study

Question 64

single-blind study

Answer 64

study in which the participants don't know if they are in the experimental group of the control group

Question 65

double-blind study

Answer 65

study in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know if the participants are in the experimental or the control group

Question 66

ethics of psychological research

Answer 66

psychologists realized there must be protections put in place to avoid harming test subjects

Question 67

institutional review boards

Answer 67

consist of psychologists and other professionals who review proposed studies and judge it according to its safety and consideration for the research participants

Question 68

rights & well beings of patients

Answer 68

must be weighed against the study's value to science

Question 69

participants must be allowed to

Answer 69

make an informed decision about participation | studies must be explained to participants

Question 70

deception must be

Answer 70

justified (debriefing)

Question 71

participants may

Answer 71

withdraw from the study at any time

Question 72

participants must be

Answer 72

protected from risks or told explicitly of risks

Question 73

investigators must

Answer 73

debrief participants, telling the true nature of the study and expectations of results

Question 74

data must

Answer 74

remain confidential

Question 75

if for any reason a study results in undesirable consequences for the participant,

Answer 75

the researcher is responsible for detecting and removing or correcting these consequences

Question 76

animal research

Answer 76

1. animals short lives help looking into long-term effects 2. animals are easier to control 3. animals engage in simple behaviors 4. animals could be tested in ways humans could never 5. the focus is on avoiding exposing animals to unnecessary pain or suffering