Psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Psychology | the scientific study of behavior and mental processes |
| Empirical method | gaining knowledge through observation, data collection, and logical reasoning |
| Biological approach | focuses on the body and physiological responses |
| Cognitive | focuses on mental processes and conscious thought |
| Humanistic | focuses on a person’s positive qualities, capacity for growth |
| Behavioral | focuses on observable and measurable behaviors |
| Evolutionary | focuses on evolutionary history and adaptations to explain behaviors |
| Psychodynamic | focuses on unconscious thought, desires, and early childhood |
| Sociocultural | focuses on how social and cultural environments influence behavior |
| Theory | idea about how variables are related |
| Hypothesis | educated guess that is specific and testable |
| Descriptive research | describes a phenomenon |
| Observation | systematically observing and recording behavior |
| Case studies | in-depth look at a single person (or just a few) |
| Interviews and surveys | quick and inexpensive |
| Socially desirable responding | answering in a way that makes them look good or as they think they should |
| Correlational research | looks for relationship between 2+ variables |
| Third variable problem | when a third variable, that wasn’t measured, accounts for the relationship between two variables |
| Experimental research | is a careful procedure where we manipulate one variable and measure another |
| Experimenter bias | experimenter’s expectations accidentally influence the outcome |
| Cross-sectional research | measures different groups of people at the same time |
| Longitudinal research | measures the same people multiple times over “long” time |
| Reliability | consistency, replicability |
| Validity | measuring what we intend to measure |
| Informed consent | researchers ensure that individuals understand a study and voluntarily agree to participate. |
| corpus callosum | bundle of axons that allows the two sides to communicate |
| Classical conditioning | learning an association between two stimuli that leads us to anticipate events (involuntary) |
| Operant conditioning | learning an association between a behavior and a consequence, leading us to increase/decrease behaviors (voluntary) |
| Schemas | preexisting mental concepts – help us organize memory |
| Confirmation bias | searching for info that supports our ideas |
| Hindsight bias | tendency to falsely report that we accurately predicted an outcome |
| Mindfulness | being alert and mentally present for everyday activities |
| Cognitive dissonance | psychological discomfort from having two inconsistent thoughts, which we are motivated to alleviate |
| Conformity | changing our behavior to do something because everyone else is doing it |
| Bystander effect | the more people that are around during an emergency, the less likely anyone is to help |
| Fundamental attribution error | tendency to overestimate internal traits and underestimate external factors when explaining someone else’s behavior |
| Traits of Anorexia nervosa | * More common in women (especially those who are high-achieving and perfectionistic) * Intense fear of gaining weight and distorted body image * Has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness |
| Nature v Nurture | nurture is how were raised. nature is biological |
| Purpose of Myelin | transmission of nerve impulses, which impact cognitive functions |
| what is the neurotransmitter most involved in the brain’s reward pathway | Dopamine |
| Difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. | intrinsic arises from withing a person. extrinsic comes from other factors around you i.e. rewards |
| The part of the brain involved in higher cognitive functions such as planning and self-control | prefrontal cortex |