Psychology Today Flashcards
(26 cards)
Who first measured intelligence?
Galton
Who developed a better method of measuring intelligence? Why was his method better?
Alfred Binet.
It was better because:
- He used a range of tasks
- More closely aligned with cognitive function
- Practical not theoretical
What did William Stern do?
Coined the term IQ. Also developed a mathematical formula for comparing intelligence across age groups.
How did Terman apply psychological testing?
In education. He saw it as a tool for eugenics to nurture the bright and institutionalise the ‘feeble-minded.’
In which 2 ways did WW1 bring psychometric testing issues to the front? Which of these was useful and which wasn’t?
Psychometric testing for officer selection (Walter Scott) - This was relatively useful.
Mass intelligence testing for army alpha and army beta (Yerkes, 1920) - This was unhelpful.
What percentage of white American men were found to be ‘morons’?
47.3% or 30.3%.
What percentage of Black men were found to be ‘morons’? What did this lead to?
79-89%. This led to restricted immigration from certain countries.
What were the problems with Yerkes (1920) method?
- Content - The extent to which they measured intelligence was questionable.
- Categorisation - People were categorised into bands of intelligence, but how these categories were determined was to identify top 5% of intelligence (circular reasoning) – this isn’t very meaningful.
- Interpretation of data
Who were 2 clinical psychologists that had a strong influence?
Charcot and Witmer.
Organisations like the APA/BPS started to become full of ______ rather than ______.
Clinical psychologists, Academic psychologists.
What did Elton Mayo discover? What was this?
The Hawthorne effect. This is the idea that any change in environment can cause an increase in productivity (regardless of what the change was).
What did Hebb (1949) do?
He tried to develop how to demonstrate learning on a neuronal level.
What decade were EEGs developed in?
1920s
What decade were MRIs developed in?
1970s
What decade were fMRIs developed in?
1990s
What did Floyd Allport study?
Group behaviour.
What are some criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology?
‘Just so’ stories, biological basis for gender differences/maintaining social structures, potential unfalsifiability
What sort of data is collected in quantitative research?
Numbers
Mostly correlational
Making assumptions across groups
Usually some form of statistical analysis
What assumptions does quantitative data make?
Positivist approach
Materialist approach
Theory is falsifiable
Find universal causal relationships
Minimise noise/confounds
Assumptions of statistical tests
Why is quantitative research carried out?
- Test predictions of a theory
- Determine causality
- Observe relationships between variables
- Control for noise
- Replicability
Why might you not carry out quantative research?
- Poor construct validity
- Poor practices/biases
- Problematic use of statistics
What sort of data is collected in qualitative research?
- Language/text (eg. interview/focus group)
What assumptions does qualitative research make?
- Closer to idealism
- Big and little Q
Big Q: unstructured/observational
Little Q: Qualitative is embedded within structured research
What are the 4 big assumptions of Big Q?
- Inductive, flexible observation
- Reflexivity
- Cultivation of multiple interpretations
- Focus on researcher-participant relationships
