Psychology - Answers The scientific study of the brain, mind, and behavior.
The Levels of Analysis - Answers Societal, behavioral, mental, physiological, neurochemical, molecular.
Where did psychology originate? - Answers Philosophy
Current Debates - Answers Nature vs nurture, free will.
Structuralism - Answers Aims to identify the most basic elements or "structures" of psychological
experience through introspection.
Functionalism - Answers Aims to understand the adaptive purposes of thought and behavior.
Behaviorism - Answers Aims to uncover how animals learn behaviors through environmental
experiences, and why people behave differently under different conditions.
Cognitive - Answers Aims to demonstrate how mental processes shape our behavior.
Psychoanalysis - Answers Aims to uncover mental processes that may be operating below conscious
awareness.
Humanstic/Positive - Answers Aims to understand how individuals find meaning and meet their full
potential.
Current Trends in Psychology - Answers Impact of AI, new approaches in DEI, creating fewer barriers
to entry, global view (not just western cultures), tension in workplaces post-COVID.
What type of education is required to become a psychologist? - Answers Undergraduate degree and a
graduate degree in psychology.
Clinical Psychologists - Answers Perform assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders.
Also conduct research on people with mental disorders.
Counseling - Answers Work with people experiencing temporary or relatively common life problems.
School Psychologists - Answers Work with teachers, parents, and children to remedy students'
behavioral, emotional, and learning difficulties.
Forensic Psychologists - Answers Work in prisons, jails, and other settings to diagnose inmates and
assist with their rehab and treatment. They can also conduct research on eyewitness testimony or
jury decision making.
Industrial/Organizational Psychologists - Answers Work in companies and businesses to help select
productive employees, evaluate performance, and examine the effects of different work settings.
They can also design equipment and work spaces to maximize employee performance.
Characteristics of the Scientific Method - Answers Empiricism, replication, and publication.
Empiricism - Answers Objective observation of the world.
Replication - Answers Demonstrating and observing a phenomenon more than once.
Publication - Answers Making observations available to everyone so that it can be evaluated by
others.
How do psychologists consider and approach claims about behavior? - Answers They are skeptical and
examine evidence but are also open minded and design research so that they can't be fooled.
What are some ways that psychologists get fooled into believing what's not true? - Answers
Repetition of false information, desire for easy answers and quick fixes, selective perception and
memory, inferring causation from correlation, exaggeration of a truth.
Goals of the Scientific Study of Behavior - Answers To describe behavior, predict behavior, identify
causes of behavior (and control behavior), and explain behavior.
Observational Research - Answers Objectively observe and record behavior.
Correlational Research - Answers Measure two variables, determine if a relationship exists between
them.
Experimental Research - Answers Control or manipulate one variable (independent variable),
determine if changing it causes changes in the dependent variable.
Scientific Theory - Answers A systematic body of ideas that organizes what is known about a topic
from past observations and makes predictions about future observations. Used to make hypotheses.
Hypothesis - Answers A prediction about the outcome of our research.
Relationship Between Theory and Hypothesis - Answers Theories are used to form hypotheses,
hypotheses are tested in our research.
Peer Review - Answers Research manuscripts are evaluated by other knowledgeable researchers in
the field.
Variables - Answers Quality or characteristic that can be different for different observations.
Manipulated Variable - Answers Changed between trials.