WK6: The Science of Psychology Flashcards
(76 cards)
1
Q
why is psychology scientific in nature
A
uses a systematic approach
2
Q
Define behaviour and mental processes
A
Behaviour: all overt reactions
Mental processes: all internal, covert mind activity
3
Q
What are the goals of psychology?
A
- Describe
- Predict
- Explain
- Control
Done through biological, cognitive, and social perspectives, and interventions
4
Q
What did the first forerunner of Psychology believe in?
A
Plato (428BC-348BC)
- theoretical structure of human mind
- psyche (human behaviour and impulses)
5
Q
Who wrote parapsyche and believed in the mind being the primary reason for existence?
A
Aristotle (384BC-322BC)
- Mind and reason can exist independently from body
- Believes in nurture (behaviourist)
6
Q
What did the Father of Medicine believe in?
A
Hippocrates (460BC-370BC)
- Disease results from natural causes and must be treated naturally
- Thoughts, ideas, and feelings come from the brain and not the heart
- 1st theory on temperament: human moods, emotions and behaviours caused by unbalanced body fluids
7
Q
Describe Objective Introspection.
A
- process of objectively examining and measuring mental processes resulting from physical sesnsations
8
Q
What did Wundt believe in?
A
Consciousness and objective introspection
9
Q
Who believed in structuralism and self-reflective introspection? Describe both aspects of perception.
A
Titchener.
SRI: objective introspection used on thoughts and physical sensations
Structuralism: using introspection to reveal mind’s structure
10
Q
Describe functionalism.
A
James
- how the mind allows people to function in the real world.
- heavily influenced by ideas of natural selection
- infulenced educational and organisational psychology and behaviourism
11
Q
‘The whole is other than the sum of its parts’ is from which principle?
A
Gestalt (Wertheimer, Kohler, Koffka).
Dynamic nature of visual perception
12
Q
Who started the ego movement/invented psychoanalysis? Describe events leaing up to psychoanalysis.
A
Freud.
Our unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences affect our behaviour.
13
Q
Describe the approaches Pavlov, Watson, Skinner took.
A
Behaviourism.
Pavlov: conditioning and learning
Watson & Skinner: scientific study of observable behaviour
14
Q
Which approach focuses on how environmental influences can nurture or limit growth potential? and attention on satisfying human needs (love, acceptance)?
A
Rogers and Maslow
15
Q
What is humanism used as today?
A
Form of psychotherapy for self understanding and self improvement
16
Q
What does cognitive approach focus on?
A
mental processes and their role in thinking, behaving, feeling
17
Q
Define cognitive neuroscience/
A
studies of the brain activity which underlies mental activity (PET/MRI)
18
Q
Why is biopsychological approach considered integrated?
A
Considers influences of biological, psychological and social-cultural factors
19
Q
What are the different professionals in the field of Psychology?
A
- psychiatrist: biological approach, MD in psychiatry
- clinical psychologist: mental and emotional problems. PhD in psychology
- psychoanalyst: emotional disorders/pathology. MD or PhD
- psychotherapist: psychotherapy. no degree to advanced prof degree
- counseller: normal life problems. no training
20
Q
why psychology in health sciences?
A
- effective communication w/ everyone
- assess condition 360degree
- critical thinking and skills
- research skills
21
Q
requirements of a scientific attitude?
A
- curiosity
- scepticism
- humility
22
Q
define critical thinking
A
ability to assess claims and make objective judgments base on well supported reasons and evidence
23
Q
how did critical thinking contribute to psychology?
A
- surprising findings
- demystifying popular assumptions
- identifying effective policies
24
Q
essential guidelines for critical thinking?
A
- ask questions
- define terms (hypothesis, operational definitions
- examine evidence
- analyse assumptions and biases
- avoid emotional reasoning
- dont oversimplify
- consider other interpretations
- tolerate uncertainty
25
define scientific method
self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis
26
when will theories be revisited or rejected?
if predictions fail
27
steps of scientific method?
1. perceiving question (description goal)
2. forming hypothesis (description and explanation goals)
3. testing hypothesis (explanation goal)
4. drawing conclusions (prediction goal)
5. reporting results (control goal)
28
different research methods and what they do?
- descriptive: establish facts
- correlational: look for correlations
- experimental: look for causes
29
different studies done with descriptive studies?
- observational
- case studies
- surveys
- psychological tests
30
does correlational studies establish cause and effect?
no, only a relationship
31
what happens in experimental method?
- variables: independent is manipulated, dependent
- sample selection: experimental and control group
- random assignment ensures control over confounding variables
32
what biases can occur in experimental methods and how to resolve them?
- placebo effect: participants' expectations and biases can influence their behaviour. do single blind study
- experimenter effect: experimenter's biases can influence their behaviour. do double blind study
33
what are the weakness to the different research methods?
- descriptive: single cases can mislead, cannot control variables
- correlational: cannot specify cause and effect
- experimental: sometimes not feasible, may not be generalizable, not ethical to manipulate certain variables
34
how are findings evaluated?
- descriptive stats: mean and standard deviation
- inferential statistics: significance tests and confidence intervals
- interpeting findings: choose best explanation, judge result's importance
35
guidelines for research on people?
- participant's rights and well-being > study's value to science
- informed consent
- deceiving participants must be reasonable and justifiable
- can withdraw anytime
- participants must know and be protected from risls
- participants must know study's nature and expectation of results
- participants' identities and personal info is confidential
- researcher must detect and address any undesirable consequences
36
guidelines for research on animals?
- avoid unnecessary pain and suffering
- ensure comfort, health, humane treatment, minimise infection, illness, pain
- house animals under reasonably loving and natural conditions with companions for social animals
37
why are animals used for research?
- common biology
- helped in treatment of human diseases
- less difficult and dangerous in animals
- easier to control
- shorter lives: easier to study long term effects
38
```
Who formed the basis for experimentation in psychology with their
studies of perception?
a. Gustav Fechner
b. Edward Titchener
c. Mary Whiton Calkins
d. William James
```
a. Gustav Fechner
39
According to John B. Watson, the focus of psychology should be
a. early childhood experiences.
b. Introspection.
c. observable behavior.
d. unconscious mind.
c. observable behavior.
40
Who started the ego movement in the field of psychology?
a. Erik Erikson
b. Alfred Adler
c. Karen Horney
d. Anna Freud
d. Anna Freud
41
Which perspective focuses on the influence of the unconscious mind over conscious behavior?
a. psychodynamic
b. behaviorist
c. humanistic
d. cognitive
a. psychodynamic
42
```
Whom among the following are the pioneers of humanistic perspective
in psychology?
a. Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner
b. Wilhelm Wundt and William James
c. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
d. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
```
c. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
43
An evolutionary psychologist would be interested in studying which
aspect of human behavior?
a. Biological bases of behavior and mental processes
b. The effect of groups, social roles, and relationships on behavior
c. Unconscious motives behind a person’s behavior
d. Biological bases for universal mental characteristics
d. Biological bases for universal mental characteristics
44
Which of these subfields are likely to do more basic research in comparison to applied research?
a. Experimental psychology
b. Educational psychology
c. Industrial psychology
d. School psychology
a. Experimental psychology
45
What do you call a professional who has trained to understand the impact of environmental conditions like poverty and drug abuse on mental disorders?
a. A psychiatrist
b. A psychologist
c. A psychiatric social worker
d. A psychoanalyst
c. A psychiatric social worker
46
A psychologist is interested in finding more about situations in which toddlers are likely to throw tantrums. Which goal of research is she trying to fulfill?
a. Prediction
b. Explanation
c. Description
d. Control
a. Prediction
47
Which of the following scientific steps fulfills the goal of explanation?
a. Perceiving the question
b. Forming the hypothesis
c. Testing the hypothesis
d. Drawing conclusions
c. Testing the hypothesis
48
```
Jane suggests that changing the image of the teaching profession may encourage more men to take it up. Which scientific goal is she
trying to achieve?
a. Description
b. Explanation
c. Prediction
d. Control
```
d. Control
49
```
What is the tendency of people and animals to behave differently
when they know they are being observed?
a. Participant observation
b. Observer bias
c. Observer effect
d. Naturalistic observation
```
c. Observer effect
50
researcher finds that as the number of hours worked per week increases, the level of marital estrangement in employees also
increases. This is an example of correlation
a. Negative
b. Positive
c. Zero
d. Negligible
b. Positive
51
researcher is interested in studying the effect of multitasking
on memory. Participants in Group A are given a list of words and asked to recall them after ten minutes. Participants in Group B are instructed to watch a video clip while reading the list of words and recall words after ten minutes. Identify the dependent variable.
a. Multitasking
b. Watching a video clip
c. Number of words recalled
d. The group assignment
c. Number of words recalled
52
```
Random assignment of participants to the control group and the
experimental group ensures control over
a. the extraneous variable.
b. the dependent variable.
c. the independent variable.
d. the subjective variable.
```
a. the extraneous variable.
53
Single-blind studies control for
a. the experimenter effect.
b. the observer effect.
c. the placebo effect.
d. the manipulation effect.
c. the placebo effect.
54
The process of specifically naming the steps and procedures used
to control or measure the variables in the experiment is called
a. selection.
b. randomization.
c. operationalization.
d. manipulation.
c. operationalization.
55
A researcher wants to study the eating habits of children in the age range of 4–5 years. Before he starts the study, the researcher must
a. debrief the children about the experiment.
b. give some incentive to the participating children.
c. get an informed consent from the parents of the participants.
d. deceive the children about the actual motive behind the
experiment.
c. get an informed consent from the parents of the participants.
56
Sally is studying the effect of lesions in various parts of the brain on
aggressive behavior. She decides to take guinea pigs as her subjects. What are the things she should keep in mind while working with animals in her research?
a. Try to avoid causing unnecessary pain.
b. Surgery should be done under anesthesia.
c. If the animal must be killed to study the effect, it should be done humanely.
d. All of the above.
d. All of the above.
57
In the definition of psychology, mental processes means
a. internal, covert processes.
b. unconscious processes.
c. outward or overt actions and reactions.
d. only human behavior.
a. internal, covert processes.
58
Which early psychologist was the first to try to bring objectivity and
measurement to the concept of psychology?
a. Wilhelm Wundt
b. William James
c. John Watson
d. Sigmund Freud
a. Wilhelm Wundt
59
Which of the following early psychologists would have been most likely to agree with the statement, “The study of the mind should focus on how it functions in everyday life”?
a. Wilhelm Wundt
b. William James
c. John Watson
d. Sigmund Freud
b. William James
60
Who was the first woman to complete the coursework for a doctorate at Harvard University?
a. Mary Whiton Calkins
b. Mary Cover Jones c. Margaret Washburn d. Ruth Howard
a. Mary Whiton Calkins
61
```
Which early perspective tried to return to a focus on scientific inquiry
by ignoring the study of consciousness?
a. behaviorism
b. functionalism
c. psychoanalysis
d. Gestalt
```
a. behaviorism
62
```
Which of the following perspectives focuses on the biological bases
of universal mental characteristics?
a. humanistic
b. behavioral
c. psychodynamic
d. evolutionary
```
d. evolutionary
63
Which perspective offers the best explanation for schizophrenia?
a. psychodynamic
b. behavioral
c. biopsychological
d. humanistic
c. biopsychological
64
Wesley has learned that if he cries with his mother in public, she will often get him a new toy or a piece of candy so as to quiet
him. Which of the following perspectives explains Wesley’s
behavior?
a. psychodynamic
b. cognitive
c. behavioral
d. biopsychological
c. behavioral
65
```
Which perspective would a researcher be taking if she were studying a client’s early childhood experiences and his resulting development
of self?
a. psychodynamic
b. cognitive
c. behavioral
d. evolutionary
```
a. psychodynamic
66
Which of the following professionals in psychology has a doctoral degree but it is not in medicine?
a. psychiatrist
b. psychiatric nurse
c. psychiatric social worker
d. psychologist
d. psychologist
67
Dr. White noticed something odd happening to the behavior of his students as midterm exams neared. He decided to take notes about this behavior to find out exactly what was happening and the circumstances surrounding the behavior. His goal is clearly
a. description.
b. explanation.
c. prediction.
d. control.
a. description.
68
Which of the following is an example of observer bias?
a. You ask your fellow students to be participants in a study of adult memory.
b. You ask people from your church to participate in a study of family values.
c. You develop an opinion of what you expect to see in an
experiment.
d. You allow a student to quit an experiment simply because he or
she is bored.
c. You develop an opinion of what you expect to see in an
| experiment.
69
The main advantage of a survey is that
a. only a small number of subjects need to be accessed.
b. a large amount of data can be gathered.
c. the chance of experimenter error is removed.
d. subjects will not know if they are part of a control or experimental
group
b. a large amount of data can be gathered.
70
```
Which of the following would indicate the weakest relationship and
thus be close to complete randomness?
a. +1.04
b. −0.89
c. +0.01
d. −0.98
```
c. +0.01
71
In an experiment to examine the effects of sleep deprivation on completion of a puzzle, one group is allowed to sleep 8 hours while another group is made to stay awake. In this experiment, the control group is
a. the group that gets to sleep.
b. the group that remains awake.
c. the puzzle.
d. the difference in time for each group to complete the puzzle.
a. the group that gets to sleep.
72
```
In a __________ study, the participants do not know if they are part of the control group or the experimental group. Only the experimenter
knows who is in each group.
a. placebo
b. single-blind
c. double-blind
d. triple-blind
```
b. single-blind
73
What is the first guideline for doing research with people?
a. Participants have to give informed consent.
b. Deception cannot be used in any studies with human beings.
c. The rights and well-being of the participants must come first.
d. Data must remain confidential.
c. The rights and well-being of the participants must come first.
74
What happens when the results of a study create an undesirable
outcome for the participant?
a. The participants signed permission forms and must take their chances.
b. The researcher must find some way of helping the participant
deal with the negative impact.
c. The participant is institutionalized for further study.
d. The researcher simply adds an addendum to the report of the
study’s results.
b. The researcher must find some way of helping the participant
deal with the negative impact.
75
What is the biggest reason we use animals in research?
a. Animals have simple behavior that makes it easy to see changes.
b. Animals don’t live as long as humans.
c. We can do things to animals that we can’t do to people.
d. Animals are easier to control.
c. We can do things to animals that we can’t do to people.
76
Which of the following is an ethical consideration when using animals
in research?
a. Avoiding exposing them to unnecessary pain.
b. Animals cannot be killed during the course of an experiment.
c. Animals must not experience any pain during an experiment.
d. There are no ethical considerations when using animals in
research.
a. Avoiding exposing them to unnecessary pain.
