psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes in humans and animals
structuralism
focuses on the structure or basic elements of the mind using introspection, focuses on simple precipitations as well as feelings aroused by various sensations
introspection
is other wise known as self- reflection, or examining ones own thoughts
functionalism
studies how mental and behavioral processes function, analyzes how these mental and behavioral processes allow an organism to adapt survive and flourish in their enviornment
perspective
is a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something
behavioral perspective
focuses on observable behaviors as well as how our behaviors are influenced by our enviornment
psychodynamic perspective
emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind
humanistic perspective
emphasizes the human capacity for growth and choice and motivates people to reach their full potential
cognitive perspective
studies mental processes such as memory, problem solving, ect
biological perspective
studies the biological reasoning behind an individuals physical and mental processes
evolutionary perspective
studies how evolution explains physiological process
sociocultural perspective
studies how society and culture shapes behavior and cognition
Wilhelm Wundt
created structuralism and is known as the father of modern pyschology
Margaret Washburn
was the first woman to complete her PhD in psychology
William James
created functionalism and is known as the father of American psychology
Charles Darwin
came up with the evolutionary perspective as well as the concept of natural selection
Mary Calkins
was the first woman president of the APA, although she was denied of a PhD because of her gender
Dorthea Dix
advocated for the mentally ill and opened up the first mental hospitals all over the US and Europe
Sigmund Freud
created psychodynamic perspective and is known as the father of psychoanalysis
Ivan Paviov
studied the behavioral perspective as well as classical conditioning
B.F. Skinner
studied the behavioral perspective as well as operant conditioning and schedules of reinforcement
Jhon Watson
studied the behavioral perspective as well as aversive conditioning
Jean Piaget
studied the cognitive perspective and came up with the 4 stages of cognitive development
Carl Rogers
studied the humanistic perspective and came up with client-centered therapy
experimental method
tests a hypothesis and establishes causation; this method involves manipulating variables and determining cause/ effect relationships
independent variable
is the factor that the experimenter controls and manipulates
dependent variable
is the variable that the researcher measures
operational definitions
are how the dependent variables in studies are defined and measured
population
is all individuals who can potentially participate in the study
representative sample
is a sample that has characteristics similar to thoes in the population
random sample
means that each member of the population has the same chance of getting selected into the sample
random assignment
ensures that all members have an equal chance of being placed in either the control or the experimental group
control group
is the group that is given no treatment; it is used to control for possibly of other factors skewing results
experimental group
is the group that is exposed to the independent variable
ethics
are the correct rules of conduct and moral principles necessary when carrying out research
ethical guidlines
include informed consent, debriefing, protection, confidentiality, minimalized deception, and permission to withdraw at any time
correlational studies
are used to see if there is a relationship between 2 variables, these studies do not involve the manipulation of variables and use scatterplots to map data, can predict the possibility of cause-and-effect relationships but cannot prove them, there may also be a 3rd or confounding variable that can explain the results
correlational coefficient (r)
ranges from +1.00 and -1.00; the weaker the relationship is, the closer the r value is to 0
positive correlation
means that the 2 variables increase or decrease together
negative correlation
means that as 1 variable increases, the other decreases, and vice versa
descriptive research
wants a detailed understanding of the experience of the research participants, there are 3 main types of descriptive research: case study, survey method, and naturalistic observation
case study
an in-depth study of a single person, group, or phenomenon, strength: provides a detailed analysis of a phenomenon, weakness: it cannot be generalized
survey method
is a questionnaire to asks a large number of people questions, strength: collects a large amount of data, weakness: results can be easily distorted
naturalistic observation
involves careful observation of animals or people in their natural environment, strength: descriptive data with wide applicability, weakness: loss of experimental control
descriptive statistics
techniques for organizing or summarizing data sets
inferential statistics
allow you to interpret data or draw conclusions
measures of central tendency
mean, median and mode
mean
the average number in a data set, calculated by adding up all the scores and then dividing by how many scores there are in total
median
the middle number in a set of scores, found by placing the score in value order and finding the middle
mode
the most frequently occurring score in a data set, found by figuring out the score that appears the most
range
the estimate of variation, found by subtracting the largest score minus the lowest score
normal distribution
found by a bell curve, where the pattern of score mirror the pattern on the other side of the mean
negatively skewed
caused by an extremely low score
positively skewed
caused by an extremely high score
standard deviation
the average distance from the mean for a set of scores
statistical significance
the measure of the likelihood that the difference between groups is not due to chance alone