Psych Study Guide for Chapters 1 16 HANG CYNTHIA History and Scientific Thinking December 18 2010 1 What kinds of knowledge are represented in data land and theory land What is a psychological construct or more simply a construct An operational definition A hypothesis A theory a Theory ideas concepts hypothesis b Data behavior material objects measurements c Construct label we put on a behavior to understand it Cause of measurable events d Operational definition find ways to measure PC e Theory Explanation of things in natural world f Hypothesis specific predictions derived from theories 2 What are the three traditions that have characterized the field of psychology What methodology is associated with each a Experimental Psychology Experimental Neuroscience b c Clinical Approaches diagnose assess Cognitive Individual Differences Correlational Methods Behavioral 3 Who is Wilhelm Wundt William James What approach to psychology is associated with Wundt With James a Wilhelm Wundt Structuralism developed first full psychological lab in germany b William James Fucntionalism applied natural selection to psychology 4 Who is JB Watson and BF Skinner and what kind of psychology is associated with them What were the core assumption of this kind of psychology a Watson behaviorism proper subject matter of psychology was observable behavior wanted to uncover principles of learning underlying human behavior b Skinner behaviorism all behavior was a product of a few learning skills wanted to know what goes on in 5 Who is Jean Piaget and what kind of psychology is associated with him What was the core assumption of this and out of a person only kind of psychology a Jean Piaget cognitive thinking affects our behavior in powerful ways He argued that children and adults conceptualize world differently 6 Who is Sigmund Freud and what kind of psychology is associated with him What was the core assumption of this kind of psychology a Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis Primary influences of behavior is unconscious drive Vienesse scientist focused on impulse and thought 7 What is a theory and what is it good for A hypothesis a Theory is an explanation for a large number of findings in the natural psychological world general explanations It is good because it offers an account that ties multiple findings together into a package b Hypothesis a testable prediction For a theory to be scientific it must general a hypothesis that scientists 8 Know the six principles of thinking What they are what they refer to how to apply them can test a Ruling out rival hypothesis b Correlation v causation c Falsifiability d Replicability e Extraordinary claims f Occam s razor parsimony Psych Study Guide for Chapters 1 16 HANG CYNTHIA Research Methods December 18 2010 1 What is the descriptive approach to studying human behavior What are the different types of descriptive methods What are the strengths and limitations of these methods a Descriptive describe world as it is identify variables correlation methods b Types naturalistic observation surveys questionnaires case studies i Advantage easy to administer self reports measures work well ii Disadvantage lack of insight bias 2 What are correlational methods What is the strength and limitation of this method What is the correlational coefficient What is a strong correlation What does the direction of a correlation refer to What is an illusory correlation The problem of the third variable a Correlational methods examining the extent to which two variables are associated i Strengths determine cause effect controlled conditions ii Limitations D no know which variables causes which do not know third variable b Strong correlation 1 correlation coefficient shows strength of correlation and direction c correlation is in the same direction correlation in the opposite d e Third variable variable C could cause A and B Illusory correlation perceived statistical association between tow variable where none exists 3 What are the four features of experiments Why is the experiment considered the gold standard in psychology What are the limitations of experiments a For features of experiments i Manipulate variable to determine results ii Controlled conditions iii Determine cause and effect relationships iv Likely to occur after we have gathered info via other research methods b Gold standard promotes casual inference c Limitations placebo Nocebo experimenter expectancy fallacy demand characteristics pick up cues 4 What are the measures of central tendency Why are there three What is the standard deviation a Central tendency Mean Median Mode b Three measurements since all three are useful for different distributions of data i Mean bell curve ii mode Median skewed graphs c standard deviation how far each point is from the mean 5 What is the normal curve How can you navigate the normal curve a Normal curve curve demonstrating a normal distribution of data b Navigate use standard deviation to measure how far apart each data point is 6 What are descriptive statistics What are inferential statistics What is statistical significance a Descriptive statistics describe data b Inferential statistics allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population Statistical significance produces a believable result makes a real difference c 7 What is measurement What is reliability What is validity a Measurement recording of empirical data b Reliability consistency of measurement c Validity extent to which we can draw cause effect or generalizations Psych Study Guide for Chapters 1 16 HANG CYNTHIA December 18 2010 8 What are heuristics What is the confirmation bias Base rates Availability heuristic Representativeness heuristic a Heuristics mental shortcuts b Confirmation bias tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypothesis c Base rates how common a behavior or characteristic is d Availability heuristics estimate the likelihood of an occurrence based on ease with which it comes to our e Representative heuristics judge the probability of an event by its superficial similarity to a prototype minds Biological Psychology 1 Describe the neuron dendrites soma axons terminal fields myelin sheath What is the resting potential of a neuron What are the steps involved in a neural impulse also called the action potential a Dendrites receive info from other neurons have branch like extensions b Soma cell body manufactures new cell components contains nucleus proteins