Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Intro to Psych > Intro+ Methods > Flashcards

Intro+ Methods Flashcards

(84 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

define psychology

A

study of mind [bridge between brain and world]

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

two kinds of psychology

A

experimental, clinical

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

experimental psychology (+ subtypes of experimental)

A 
figuring out how it works/learning about the norm
Cognitive
Developmental
Personality
Social psychology
Abnormal psychology
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Cognitive psych

A

direct study of relationship between brain and world

Look for the recipes that translate between brain, mind and world

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

developmental psych

A

what changes between infancy and adulthood

How do our genes and experiences interact to produce adults

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Personality

A

Interested in the differences between people–most psychologists are interested in how people are the same but these interested by differences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Social psychology

A

wider social society and how it impacts what we think and do

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Abnormal psychology

A

interested in deviations and using it to answer questions about the mind rather than treating it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Clinical psychology

A

deviations from the norm/figuring out how to treat deviations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

5 foundations of psychological science

A 
Evolution
Materialism
Idealism
Modularity
Empiricism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

1st foundation: evolution

A

genes make brains

Result of natural selection; 4.6mil years (small) between humans and chimps; brains similar to primates in a lot of ways

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

2nd foundation: materialism

A

brains make minds

Every feeling, experience is from brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

3rd foundation: idealism (+ why does it matter?)

A

minds make reality
Ideas create ways in which we see world
We view world as impinging on us–we experience something thats already there but it’s created by our mind–we see black bc our brain sees black
This matters bc sometimes our brains and the world don’t match up–visual illusions etc

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

4th foundation: modularity

A

the mind is collection of parts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

module

A

diff parts of mind

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

5th foundation: empiricism

A

believe only what you can count–the scientific method (tools to figure out world)

Not anecdotes, intuitions–not good basis for building theories about the world
Some intuitions are right, some are not

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Methods of “knowing things”

A

dogmatikos=belief

empirikos=experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Empiricists:

A

belief that accurate knowledge of the world requires observation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

history of knowledge methods

A

Greeks preferred empiricists, but fall of Rome killed their legacy
For much of European history dogmatism ruled
Until the renaissance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Method

A

set of rules and techniques for observation that allows us to avoid illusions/mistakes/etc that observation produces

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Problems for psychological science

A

Sometimes just looking at the world doesn’t give us enough info (e.g. geocentric theory)
So this is hard with psychology bc our perspective is not necessarily reliable
Complexity
Variability
Reactivity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

variability problem

A

we’re all super different

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

reactivity problem

A

–humans react to things around them so ppl might react in non standard ways to attempts to understand them/we change our behavior when we’re being watched

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Abstract concept

A

unmeasurable concept u try to measure (ex: aggression)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
how to measure abstract concept
Come up with operational definition for the concept
26
operational definition
observable conditions that define the concept that MAKE SENSE TO USE (construct validity) (Scientific conclusions depend on how property was OD and measured)
27
Construct validity--
tendency for clear conceptual relation to exist btwn abstract property and operational definition (facial expression for aggression makes sense; clothing doesnt)
28
Convergent validity--
Operational Definition’s ability to predict other things that it should be able to Tendency for operational definitions to be related to other ODs So we check if two ODs give same results (again, Decisions researcher makes has effect on results of the study)
29
Reliability:
tendency for measure to produce same result when it is used to measure same thing
30
Discriminant validity:
Also want to make sure converse is true: different results for different things
31
Good definition has what qualities
has construct and convergent validity
32
good measure has what qualities
Good measure has reliability and discriminant validity
33
theory
hypothetical account of how and why phenomenon occurs (eg e=mc^2) No direct way to test theory Use it for hypothesis
34
Hypothesis
testable prediction made by a theory
35
Population--
complete collection of people whose properties we want to k
36
Sample--
people whose properties we act measure
37
weird problem-
most samples are western educated industrial rich democratic | prob not accurate picture of populations that include outside of these groups
38
Bell curve/normal distribution--
individuals vary considerably around the mean normal distribution--tend to get results near the mean but if u draw from ND its unlikely to get someone super diff from avg or u were wrong about distribution distributions are capable of overlapping a lot (and if so people in groups will prob not be that different)
39
what are statistical conclusions based on
a) mean differences b)estimates of variability (analysis of variance)
40
bias
Bias--any factor distorting measurement | observer or subject
41
Subject bias--
research subject might be motivated by something else, like helping or hurting experimenter We want to know how someone actually behaves when no one is observing
42
Avoid subject bias by:
Ensuring anonymity Measure involuntary or nonobv behavior (a tell when someones lying) Keep subject blind to hypothesis
43
observer bias
(unconscious) push on part of observer to have results come out a certain way--> has impact on results
44
avoid observer bias by:
Double blind technique--researcher delegates blind observer and code it so researchers will know but not observer
45
complexity problem
human brain most complex thing in world
46
strange loops
We can sit here and think about mind but im thinking about the mind thinking about the mind thinking about the mind...i am a strange loop we are studying what is doing the studying...
47
Why is psychology so popular now?
Advances in technology
48
Elements of observation
Measurement Samples Bias
49
When is generality a good assumption?
If something is being presented as universal truth of human nature, u need to check sample and see if it’s accurate representation of population Sometimes generality may be a good assumption based on circumstances Generality can be investigated (compare rural chinese to american undergrad for example) This is all around concept of variability (ex: different education might mean bad assumption, same genes might mean good assumption)
50
two parts of a claim
observation and explanation
51
elements of explanation
correlation and causation
52
Correlation
two variables are correlated when variation in the value of one is synchronized with variation in the variable of the other Correlation enables prediction correlation is evidence in the direction of causation but it’s not concrete proof for causation
53
variable
properties that can change
54
line of best fit
Use r=correlation--line of best fit | Correlation can be anywhere from -1 to 1
55
perfect correlation line of best fit
r=1 is perfect correlation (looks like y=x) (perfect=variables perfectly predict each other) r=-1 negative perfect correlation (looks like y=-x) perfect correlations dont rlly exist irl--we’ll see positive slope but it’s not perfect
56
no correlation line of best fit
Correlation of flat line is =0, no correlation
57
3 ways we might think correlation equals causation when it doesn't:
1) reversed causation (firefighters --> size of fire) 2) Confounding variable 3) unrelated
58
Does correlation establish causation? Does causation establish correlation?
Correlation DOES NOT establish causation. | Causation does establish correlation.
59
Goal of research experiments
a) establish internal validity which allows us to b) establish causation
60
holding constant
making the proposed third variable the same in all tests to check for notwithstanding causation
61
Third variable problem
means that correlation can never completely establish causation because there might always be a third (confounding) variable we are unaware of
62
how to experiment in spite of third variable problem
Experiment: technique for establishing causal relationships btwn variables Manipulate one variable and see effect on other variables If it changes it implies causation Look for change in a way that gets around the third variable
63
confounding variable
third variable/some other thing causing relationship to exist (3rd variable problem)
64
Key ingredients of experiment:
manipulation control measurement - Effectively manipulate IV - Randomly assign subjects to groups that manipulation created - Measure DV w valid, powerful reliable device while avoiding bias
65
Random assignment
assigning members to each sample group randomly so as to avoid skewed results
66
How does random assignment help experiment?
Little things that could be third variable will most likely get mixed up in both groups--w/ sufficiently large sample avg composition of both groups will be equivalent along all confounding variables!!
67
Tools for control:
Holding constant | Random assignment
68
independent variable
variable you change
69
dependent variable
variable you measure
70
Internal validity
characteristic of experiment that allows one to draw accurate inferences about causal relationships between independent and dependent variable
71
Replication crisis
realization over the history of psych (and other sciences) not everyone was running perfectly designed experiments leading to errors Researchers take famous study and try to rerun and they find different results So experiments are not replicating
72
most common error--replication crisis
Most common error here is false positives
73
Goal of replication/proving causation
if there is real effect→ conclude real effect | If there is not→ conclude not
74
Type I error
False positive--Type I error: testing effect that doesnt exist but by chance you find a result that seems like it exists If there is not real effect→ conclude there is
75
Type II error
False negative--Type II error: testing effect that does exist but by chance you find a result that seems like it doesn’t exist there is real effect→ conclude not real effect
76
Confirmatory testing
when u have a hypothesis and you test it and the answer confirms OG hypothesis
77
Exploratory testing
You don't have clear hypotheses so you do a bunch of tests to see if u find something It can lead to real things but u can’t draw strong conclusions for something u weren’t directly testing; likely that one result will happen by chance
78
Solving replication crisis
Solving replication crisis: Distinguish exploratory from confirmatory Preregister central tests prior to data collection Replicate promising results (a lot) from exploratory analysis w preregistered followup
79
why do we preregister central tests prior to data collection
Proves confirmatory bc u intended to from beginning | If u do different experiment than preregister ppl will know
80
How did humans become the dominant species?
50k years ago Started in savannahs of Eastern africa, moved to middle East + Europe and wiped out competing species in few thousands years Then spread to asia, pacific rim, americas, in tens of thousands of years Little to no other organisms in places like south pole and space--we mastered globe and beyond We’ve taken over animals, domestication
81
Humanity doesn't have special abilities--venom, flying, etc--why are we dominant?
Human brain is special ability!
82
Human brain components as special ability | basic info
100 billion neuron cells each have 1k synapses connected to 1 each=100 trillion connections We are only animals to use tools, improve on them and pass them on Complex language system Math Teaching (other species imitate, but this is explicit) Engage in arts Brain uses 20% of bodily resources 2-3lbs
83
Brain doesn’t directly influence world like special abilities usually do! How does brain count as special ability?
What mediates between brain and environment? how brain influences world? through the mind! Central problem in psychology! ``` Mind--allows brain interact w world Mind similar to computer Mental algorithm Cognitive processes Mind is software Brain is hardware ```
84
Demand characteristics
those aspects of observational setting that cause ppl to behave as they think observer wants/expects them to

Intro to Psych (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions