Psychology - Ch. 1

  1. What Is Psychology
    • Psychology is a broad field
    • Psychology has many specialties
  2. What Are the Fundamentals (basics) of Psychology?
    • The science of behavioral processes
    • The science of mental processes
  3. What is NOT Psychology?
    Not all about mental disorders and therapy

    Not focused solely on diagnosing and treating mental problems
  4. Where does the word Psychology come from?
    From psyche (Greek for “mind”)

    and -ology (meaning “a field of study”)
  5. What Does Psychology Mean?
    Literally means “the study of the mind”
  6. What does the study of Psychology cover?
    • Internal mental processes
    • External mental processes
    • Observable behaviors (behavior you can see, or observe)
  7. What is Psychology based on?
    • Objective evidence
    • Verifiable evidence
    • Scientific evidence
  8. What is Objective Evidence?
    • Information based on facts
    • Can be proven through analysis
    • Can be proven through measurement
    • Can be proven through observation (things you can see)
    • Not based on Attitude, Belief or Opinion
  9. What is Verifiable Evidence?
    • Information that can be tested
    • Can be tested by experiment
    • Can be tested by observation (watching)
    • Results can be determined to be True or False
  10. What is Scientific Evidence?
    • Information based on facts (empirical evidence)
    • Can be proven through experiment
    • Can be proven through experience
    • Can be proven through observation (things you can see)
  11. Psychology vs. Psychiatry
    Psychology:

    • Broad field of study
    • Holds a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
    • Training emphasizes research methods
    • Advanced study in specialization

    Psychiatry:

    • Medical specialty
    • Holds an MD (Doctor of Medicine)
    • Training in treatment of mental and behavioral problems
    • Licensed to prescribe medicines
  12. Psychology vs. Pseudoscience
    Psychology:

    • Disputes unfounded claims from pseudoscience.
    • Disagrees with methods used in pseudoscience.

    Pseudoscience:

    • Uses methods that have no scientific foundation.
    • Does not use Scientific Method (empirical evidence)
    • Results can not be proven.
    • Any approach to explaining phenomena in the natural world that does not use empirical observation or the scientific method (e.g., astrology, graphology, fortune telling)
  13. How Do Psychologists Develop New Knowledge?
    • Empirical Investigation
    • Scientific Method
  14. What is Empirical Investigation
    An approach to research that relies onresearch data gotten from:

    • Sensory experience (using the senses)
    • Observation (watching, seeing)
  15. What is Scientific method?
    • A five-step process
    • Uses empirical investigation (analysis, measurement, observation)
    • Tests a hypothesis (idea of how something might work)
    • Test conditions designed to control biases
    • Test conditions designed to control subjective judgments (judgements based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions)
  16. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
    • Developing a hypothesis (an idea on how something might happen)
    • Performing a controlled test
    • Gathering objective data (data based on fact)
    • Analyzing the results
    • Publishing, criticizing, and replicating (repeating) the results
  17. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method

    Step 1 - Developing a hypothesis
    Hypothesis:

    A statement predicting the outcome of a scientific study (your best guess at how something works)

    Operational definitions:

    Exact procedures used in establishing experimental conditions and measurement of results (step by step process for the experiment)
  18. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method

    Step 2 - Performing a controlled test
    Independent variable:

    The variable manipulated by the experimenter

    Randomization:

    Using chance alone to determine presentation order of stimulus
  19. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method

    Step 3 - Gathering objective data
    Data:

    Information gathered by a researcher and used to test a hypothesis

    Dependent variable:

    The measured outcome of a study; the responses of participants in a study
  20. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method

    Step 4 - Analyzing the results
    Analyze the results and then:

    • Based on statistical analyses of results
    • Determine if the hypothesis is accepted or rejected. (is the hypothesis True or False?)
  21. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method

    Step 5 -
    Publishing, criticizing, and replicating the results
    • Publish your findings (allow others to see your results)
    • Criticize your findings (allow others to criticize the results)
    • Replicate the results (do the test again and see if the results are the same)
  22. Claim: If kids eat large amounts of sugar, they become hyperactive.

    Problem: How would you test the claim that sugar makes children hyperactive?

    What is the relationship between sugar and behavior?
    • Developing a Hypothesis
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    • Performing a Controlled Test
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    • Gathering Objective Data
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    • Analyzing the Results
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    • Publishing, Criticizing and Repeating the results
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  23. Types of Psychological Research
    Experiments:

    • Experimental condition
    • Control condition
  24. Assignment to Experimental conditions and Control conditions:
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  25. Types of Psychological Research
    Experiments:

    • Experimental condition (test condition)
    • Control condition (normal condition)

    Correlational studies:

    • Correlation coefficient (how test variables relate to one another)
    • Survey (ask for information)
    • Naturalistic observations (what you see or observe)

    • Case Studies:
    • What other research has found and published
  26. Correlation Studies: What is Correlation Coefficient?
    A measure of the interdependence of two random variables that ranges in value from -1 to +1, indicating perfect negative correlation at -1, absence of correlation at zero, and perfect positive correlation at +1.
  27. Correlation Coefficients:
    Postitive Correlation

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    Negative Correlation

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    No Correlation

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  28. How to Control Bias: Placebo
    • One group receives stimulus
    • One group receives no stimulus (placebo) (control group)
  29. How to Control Bias: Blind Control
    • Researchers know which participants recieve stimulus (test group) and which group gets the placebo (control group)
    • Participants do not know which participants recieve stimulus (test group) and which group gets the placebo (control group)
  30. How to Control Bias: Double-Blind Control
    Researchers and Participants both do not know which participants recieve stimulus (test group) and which group gets the placebo (control group)
Author
meyerj
ID
157677
Card Set
Psychology - Ch. 1
Description
Psychology - Core Concepts - Sixth Edition by Philip G. Zimbardo, Robert L. Johnson, Vivian McCann
Updated