Test 1 Flashcards
(110 cards)
What is critical thinking?
Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
Example sentence: Critical thinking is essential for making informed decisions.
What is behaviorism?
The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists agree with 1 but not 2.
Additional information: Behaviorism focuses on observable behavior and its explanation by principles of learning.
What is humanistic perspective?
A historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.
What is cognitive psychology?
The study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.
What is the nature vs. nurture controversy?
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
What is natural selection?
From among chance variations, nature selects traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.
What is evolutionary psychology?
The study of evolution of behavior and the mind, using natural selection.
What are socio-cultural perspectives?
Shared ideas and behaviors that one generation passes to the next and how these individuals act toward their social groups.
What are cultural norms?
Unspoken rules of society transmitted through conformity and socialization.
What is positive psychology?
The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.
What is the biopsychosocial approach?
An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.
What is behavioral psychology?
Study of observable behavior and its explanation by principles of learning.
What is biological psychology?
Study of links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes.
Dynamic psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders
Example sentence: Dynamic psychology explores the underlying motivations behind individuals’ behaviors.
Hindsight bias
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen how it
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Overconfidence
The tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments
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Confirmation bias
People’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs
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Theory
An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
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Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
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Operational definition
A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study
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Replication
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced
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Description
The starting point of any science. We all observe and describe people
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Case study
A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
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Naturalistic observation
A descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation
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