PSYCH 100 Introduction to Psychology Josh Wede Fall 14 Study Guide for Exam 1 Exam Date in class on Tuesday September 23rd The exam will consist of 40 multiple choice questions The exam questions will mainly be based on material from lecture and also discussed in the book but some questions will be based on material that is only covered in the textbook Remember you won t be asked about simple definitions or facts so make sure you understand the following concepts Lectures 2 3 and Chapter 1 1 What are the goals of Psychology a Description i Involves observing behavior and noting everything about it what is happening where it happens to whom it happens and under what circumstances it seems to happen i Determining what will happen in the future i A theory is a general explanation of a set of observations or facts b Prediction c Explanation d Application a Nativism i To change a behavior from an undesirable one to a desirable one 2 Understand the distinction between nativism empiricism nature nurture i The idea that our thoughts ideas and characteristics are inborn ii Learn about ourselves by examining ones thoughts and feelings 1 Introspection looking within iii Socrates Plato b Empiricism i Knowledge gained through experience ii Aristotle 1 Human behavior is subject to laws 2 Motivated to seek pleasure not pain 3 Know the seven modern perspectives of psychology a Psychodynamic Psychoanalytic i Focus on unconscious and early development but with less of an emphasis on sex and sexual motivations and more emphasis on the development of a sense of self social and interpersonal relationships i Focus on operant conditioning punishment and reinforcement ii Behavioral responses that are followed by pleasurable consequences are strengthened or reinforced i People have free will the freedom to choose their own destiny strive for self actualization the achievement of one s full potential i Memory intelligence perception learning etc i Relationship between social behavior and culture b Behavioral c Humanistic d Cognitive e Sociocultural ii Reminds people that the way people act is not only influenced by who they are with but also by the norms of the culture f Biophsychological g Evolutionary humans share i Human and animal behavior is seen as a direct result of events in the body i Focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that all 4 What is the scientific method Know the steps involved a Perceive notice something that makes you wonder observation what is happening here your observations b Hypothesize guess as to what you think might be happening tentative explanation for c Test Collect data to see if hypothesis is correct the method used will depend on exactly what kind of answer you think you might get d Draw Conclusions once you know the results of your hypothesis testing you will find that either your hypothesis was supported or that they weren t supported e Report Revise Replicate publish findings revise hypothesis replicate experiment 5 What are the three types of research designs Know the advantages and disadvantages of the three types of designs a Descriptive Research i Try to describe behavior ii Advantage Generally easy and inexpensive to get data iii Disadvantage May not be representative of the population you are interested in b Correlational Research i A measure of the relationship between two variables ii Advantage Will tell researchers if there is a relationship between the variable how strong the relationship is and in what direction the relationship goes iii Disadvantage Does not prove causation however it can provide a starting point for examining causal relationships with the experiment c Experimental Research i Researchers deliberately manipulate the variable they think is causing some behavior while holding all the other variable constant and unchanging ii Advantage Only method that will allow researchers to determine the cause of a behavior iii Disadvantage The placebo effect the expectations and biases of the participants in the study can influence their behavior and the experimenter effect observers are biased they see what they expect to see 6 Know what a survey is and what things you need to be careful about when using surveys What is random sampling and why is it used a A survey is a technique for ascertaining the self reported attitudes opinions or behaviors of people b Advantage Researchers can get large amounts of data in a small amount of time c Disadvantages Researchers have to be very careful about the group of people they survey wording effect wording of statements questions can affect the outcome knowledge sample must understand all words used in the question representativeness need representative sample or else there will be inaccurate data d Random Sampling A process by which each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected i This is used because researchers will be more certain of getting answers that a broad selection of people would give ii Sample needs to be representative of the population 7 What is the difference between a negative and a positive correlation Know how to determine the strength of a correlation What is an illusory correlation a Negative correlation Variables related in opposite directions ex Smoking and health b Positive correlation Variables related in the same direction ex Income and education c Range 1 0 to 1 0 0 0 is the weakest correlation d Illusory correlation the perception of a relationship where none exists based on lack of understanding probability 8 What is the relationship between correlation and causation a Correlation does not equal causation b Correlations do not allow us to say anything about causation 9 How do experiments help researchers isolate cause and effect a Experimenters manipulate the variable o interest while controlling everything else b With random assignment the groups are sure to be the same at the start 10 Know the 3 measures of central tendency and why one may be better than another skewed distribution Understand the measures of variation range standard deviation a Measures of central tendency i Mode the most frequently occurring score in a distribution 1 Useful on a theoretical level but not practical ii Mean the arithmetic average of scores in a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores added iii Median the middle score in a rank ordered distribution b Skewed Distribution i Outliers on one side c Measures of
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