Introduction to Psychology Exam
Questions and Accurate answers
What is Psychology? - ANSWER-The study of mind and behavior.
Behaviorism - ANSWER-an approach that advocates that psychologists restrict
themselves to the scientific study objectively observable behavior
Cognitive Psychology - ANSWER-the scientific study of mental processes including
perception, thought, memory, and experience
Evolutionary Psychology - ANSWER-a psychological approach that explains mind and
behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by
natural selection (Influenced by Darwin, James, and EO Wilson)
Humanistic Psychology - ANSWER-an approach to understanding human nature that
emphasizes the positive potential of human beings
Social Psychology - ANSWER-A subfield of psychology that studies the causes and
consequences of interpersonal studies
Cultural Psychology - ANSWER-Study of how cultures reflect and shape the
psychological processes of their members
Emergence of Cognitive Psychology - ANSWER-It became a thing when Max
Wertheimer began to study illusions and errors when it came to the mind. He came up
with the Gestalt theory that states that we rather perceive the "sum" over the "parts".
Kurt Lewin believed that we saw the world as we saw it and not at all how it actually
was. The invention of computers made most psychologists ignore this and see
psychology objectively.
Operational Definition - ANSWER-It is the description of a property in concrete,
measurable terms. For example, you can operationally define happiness as the amount
of times that someone smiles.
Dependent variable - ANSWER-A variable whose value depends on another variable
Independent variable - ANSWER-A variable who is manipulated for an experiment, but
does not depend on another
Reliability - ANSWER-It is the tendency for an instrument to produce the same
measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing.
, Power - ANSWER-An instrument's ability to detect change in the property.
Validity - ANSWER-The goodness with which a concrete event defines a property
Demand Characteristics - ANSWER-The aspects of an observational setting that
caused people to behave as they think they should
What is a correlation? - ANSWER-They are two variable that are said to be correlated
when variation of one variable is synchronized with the variation in the value of another.
However, correlation does not equate to causation.
What is the third variable problem (confounding variable)? - ANSWER-It is the chance
that two variable are only related because of each are causally related to a third one.
What is observer bias? - ANSWER-Observer bias is expectations can influence
observation and influence the perception of reality.
What is a double blind experiment? - ANSWER-In order to avoid observer bias,
scientists use a double blind to ensure that the observer and the person being observed
are unaware of the experiment.
Mean, Mode, Range? - ANSWER-Mean= Average of data set, Mode= most recurring
value, Range= highest value - lowest value
Experimental Group - ANSWER-The group who experience a stimulus
Control Group - ANSWER-The group who does not experience a stimulus
Case study - ANSWER-A method of gathering scientific knowledge through studying an
individual.
Nuremberg Code of 1947 - ANSWER-The code made after Nazi doctors would perform
unethical experiments of people to protect individuals against unjust experimenting.
Informed consent - ANSWER-Participants may not take part in a psychological study
without a written agreement to participate in a study by an adult who has been informed
of all risks of participation.
No coercion - ANSWER-Each participant has the right to confirm or deny participation in
a study without being forced or threatened
Protection from Harm - ANSWER-Psychologists must take every possible precaution to
protect their research participants from any harm.
Risk-Benefit ratio - ANSWER-Participants may be asked to accept small forms of pain,
such as low wattage shocks. However, they must NOT even be asked to endure more
Questions and Accurate answers
What is Psychology? - ANSWER-The study of mind and behavior.
Behaviorism - ANSWER-an approach that advocates that psychologists restrict
themselves to the scientific study objectively observable behavior
Cognitive Psychology - ANSWER-the scientific study of mental processes including
perception, thought, memory, and experience
Evolutionary Psychology - ANSWER-a psychological approach that explains mind and
behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by
natural selection (Influenced by Darwin, James, and EO Wilson)
Humanistic Psychology - ANSWER-an approach to understanding human nature that
emphasizes the positive potential of human beings
Social Psychology - ANSWER-A subfield of psychology that studies the causes and
consequences of interpersonal studies
Cultural Psychology - ANSWER-Study of how cultures reflect and shape the
psychological processes of their members
Emergence of Cognitive Psychology - ANSWER-It became a thing when Max
Wertheimer began to study illusions and errors when it came to the mind. He came up
with the Gestalt theory that states that we rather perceive the "sum" over the "parts".
Kurt Lewin believed that we saw the world as we saw it and not at all how it actually
was. The invention of computers made most psychologists ignore this and see
psychology objectively.
Operational Definition - ANSWER-It is the description of a property in concrete,
measurable terms. For example, you can operationally define happiness as the amount
of times that someone smiles.
Dependent variable - ANSWER-A variable whose value depends on another variable
Independent variable - ANSWER-A variable who is manipulated for an experiment, but
does not depend on another
Reliability - ANSWER-It is the tendency for an instrument to produce the same
measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing.
, Power - ANSWER-An instrument's ability to detect change in the property.
Validity - ANSWER-The goodness with which a concrete event defines a property
Demand Characteristics - ANSWER-The aspects of an observational setting that
caused people to behave as they think they should
What is a correlation? - ANSWER-They are two variable that are said to be correlated
when variation of one variable is synchronized with the variation in the value of another.
However, correlation does not equate to causation.
What is the third variable problem (confounding variable)? - ANSWER-It is the chance
that two variable are only related because of each are causally related to a third one.
What is observer bias? - ANSWER-Observer bias is expectations can influence
observation and influence the perception of reality.
What is a double blind experiment? - ANSWER-In order to avoid observer bias,
scientists use a double blind to ensure that the observer and the person being observed
are unaware of the experiment.
Mean, Mode, Range? - ANSWER-Mean= Average of data set, Mode= most recurring
value, Range= highest value - lowest value
Experimental Group - ANSWER-The group who experience a stimulus
Control Group - ANSWER-The group who does not experience a stimulus
Case study - ANSWER-A method of gathering scientific knowledge through studying an
individual.
Nuremberg Code of 1947 - ANSWER-The code made after Nazi doctors would perform
unethical experiments of people to protect individuals against unjust experimenting.
Informed consent - ANSWER-Participants may not take part in a psychological study
without a written agreement to participate in a study by an adult who has been informed
of all risks of participation.
No coercion - ANSWER-Each participant has the right to confirm or deny participation in
a study without being forced or threatened
Protection from Harm - ANSWER-Psychologists must take every possible precaution to
protect their research participants from any harm.
Risk-Benefit ratio - ANSWER-Participants may be asked to accept small forms of pain,
such as low wattage shocks. However, they must NOT even be asked to endure more
