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Psychology
Unit 1 Review
Psychology
• The scientific study of human thought processes and behavior
Goals of Psychology
• Describe, predict, explain, and control behavior
Empirical Science
• A science in which assumptions are supported by evidence
Behavioral Psychology
• Only looks at overt or observable behavior
• All actions that behaviorists study are public and can be measured by simple observation
Cognitive Psychologist
• Focus on mental representations of the world, memories, problem solving strategies, biases, and prejudices
• Ex: Conducting surveys, analyzing journals, conducting tests
Satisfactory Theory
• A theory that helps predict behavior
Clinical psychologist
• Help people with psychological problems adjust to the demands of life ( ex: anxiety, depression, etc…)
Educational psychologist
• employed by school systems to identify and assist students who encounter problems learning ( ex: dyslexia)
Developmental psychologist
• Studies changes ( emotional, physical, cognitive, social) throughout life spans. Tries to answer nature versus nurture question.
Personality psychologists
• Define human traits and influence on human thought process, feelings, and behavior. Explains normal and abnormal behaviors
Social psychologists
• Concerned with nature and causes of individual’s thoughts, feelings, and overt behavior in social situations
Environmental Psychologists
• Study how buildings and cities can be designed to better serve human needs
Ex: working with city planners
Clinical child psychologists
• Help children overcome and adjust to problems ( much different from those who help adults). Works with parents and teachers.
Forensic psychologists
• Apply psychological expertise within the criminal justice system.( expert witnesses, counsel officers on stress, train police in handling suicides, hostage crises, family disputes, etc…)
Nature
• Heredity
• Biological makeup
Nurture
• Environment
Pseudopsychology
• phony, unscientific psychology masquerading as the real thing
• Examples: mysterious powers of the mind, supernatural influences, astrology, graphology, fortune telling
Confirmation Bias
• The tendency to attend to evidence that compliments and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not.
Experimental psychology
• Does basic research on psychological processes
Teaching psychologists
• Psychologists whose primary job is teaching typically at high schools, colleges, or universities
Applied psychologists
• Psychologists who use the knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems.
Wilhelm Wundt
• Credited with the “birth of psychology”
Aristotle
• First author of a book about psychology
Structuralism
• Wilhelm Wundt• Devoted to uncovering the basic structures that
make up the mind.• The mind consists of three basic elements-
sensations, feelings, and images- which combine to form experience
• Introspection: Reporting one’s own conscious experience
• Example of Research: Present subjects with sights and sounds and describe sensations and feelings
Functionalism
• Emphasizes use or function of the mind rather than elements of experience
• Experiences permit us to function and adapt to our environments
• Looks at how individuals adapt or fail or adapt
Behaviorism
• Limits studies to measurable events
Focuses on…
• Response- a movement or other observable reaction to stimuli.
• Stimuli- something causing or regarded as causing a response
Gestalt Psychology
• Emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns.
• Learning or problem solving is accomplished by insight or the sudden recognition of perceptions.
Ex: Man running in a dark alley vs. on a track
Psychoanalysis
• School of psychology founded by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives, past experiences and conflicts as determinants of human behavior.
Biological View
• Behavior is determined by brain structure and chemicals, and by inborn responses to external cues for survival and reproduction.
Developmental View
• Behavior is determined by the interaction of nature and nurture
Cognitive View
• Behavior is a result of mental interpretations of our experience
Psychodynamic View
• Sees behavior as arising from unconscious needs, conflicts, repressed memories, and childhood experiences.
Humanist View
• Focuses on self-concept, perceptions, and interpersonal relationships, and on the need for personal growth
Behavioral View
• Believes we respond to stimulus cues and to our history of rewards and punishments
Sociocultural view
• Sees behavior as heavily influenced by culture, by social norms and expectations, and by social learning
Evolutionary/Sociobiological View
• Sees behavior as determined by natural selection
Trait View
• Behavior results from each person’s unique combination of traits
The Scientific Method
1. Formulate a question
2. Hypothesis
3. Test Hypothesis
4. Analyze Results
Naturalistic Observation Method
• A scientific method that observes organisms in their natural environments
• Use unobtrusive, or non-interfering measures
The Survey Method
• A method of scientific investigation in which a large sample of people is questioned about their attitudes and behaviors.
-questionnaires-interviews-examine public records
• “Know thyself”
Blind Experiments
• Subject unaware if he or she has received or not received treatment
Double Blind Experiments
• Neither the subjects nor the persons measuring the results knows who received the treatment
Stump the Chump?