Tulane Rollins Psych Final Exam |714
Questions and Answers
What is Psychology? - -The science of behavior and mental processes
- Arm-Chair Psychology - -Based on speculation and casual observation,
influenced by beliefs. Biased because people tend to notice what they
believe to be true
- Wilhelm Wundt - -created first psych lab
- William James - -first U.S. psych lab
- How has psychology shifted between the study of cognition and the study
of behavior (i.e., behaviorism backlash, etc.)? - -focused on cognitive
processes until 20s (since you couldn't observe cognitive events, they were
considered off limits) then focused on the study of behavior from 20s-60s,
then argued that you can't study the mind scientifically unless you focus on
behavior as people respond to different situations, and that everything was a
result of learning
- Psychologists vs. Psychiatrists - -Psychologists have a PhD in psych while
psychiatrists have medical degrees and can prescribe medications
- What is Modern Psychology? - -A mix between studying cognition and
behavior
- What do behavioral psychologists study? - -observable behavior
- What do cognitive psychologists study? - -mental processes (thinking,
language, memory, how thought influences behavior)
- What do biological psychologists study? - -influences of biology on
psychological processes, the brain/how it works, genes, evolution, and
neuroscience
- What do developmental psychologists study? - -influence of age: how
people change physically, cognitively, and socially throughout their lifespans
- What do personality psychologists study? - -study of individual differences
- What do social psychologists study? - -interpersonal influences - how we
think about, influence, and relate to one another
, - What do industrial/organizational psychologists study? - -application of
psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in work
places
- What do clinical psychologists study? - -diagnosis and treatment
- What do school psychologists study? - -behavior/learning problems
- What is abnormal psychology? - -study of psychopathology
- What is the biopsychosocial approach? - -an integrated approach that
incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis,
Any given behavior is simultaneously influences by biological psychological
and social factors (Nature vs Nurture
- What is meant by nature and nurture? - -DNA and Environment
- How does nature vs nurture work - -They are inseparable, Inherit
predispositions are MODIFIED by the environment, nature then nurture
- How can an environment act on genes? - -Environment can act on genes
in the sense that genes are active in some environments and not others
- What do genes do? - -Genes code for the making of proteins in your body -
indirect effect on psych
- What is the nature nurture debate? - -the longstanding controversy over
the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the
development of psychological traits and behaviors; today's science sees
traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
- What is wrong with the nature or nurture debate? - -It doesn't allow for
both the ideas to be relevant
- What are the aspects of critical thinking? - -Questioning and evaluating of
information a person receives in order to see if it is valid and reliable
information.
1. question others and yourself
2. Examine how terms are defined ("victims of katrina"
3. Look for potential bias
4. Inspect evidence
5. Watch for over generalizations/oversimplifications (animals to humans,
Western college students vs all college students)
6. Consider alternative interpretations of the evidence
7. Be cautious of reports in the popular media
8. Recognize that a single study is not definitive
,9. Exceptions to the general rule don't necessarily disprove the rule
10. Don't allow vivid personal examples to influence you more than hard
data. (a friend telling you to take a class v.s. class ratings)
- Ethnocentrism - -belief that ones own group is normal, standard or correct
- Scientific Method - -1. Identify hypothesis
2. Plan to test hypothesis
3. Gather data
4. Analyze data
5. Draw conclusions
6. Communicate results
- What is a theory? - -in depth explanation of a phenomena that simplifies
and summarizes a body of research findings, good theories should generate
testable hypotheses, theory worthless if it can't be tested, proved, or
disproved
- What is a hypothesis? - -a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
- Methods of gathering data - -case studies, naturalistic observation, and
surveys
- What are case studies and what are their downfalls? - -In depth analysis of
a single case for an individual, usually for. a rare disorder or unusual
circumstances. It may not apply to others since it is such a specific case/
dont prove anything
- What is naturalistic observation and downfalls? - -Observing a person in a
natural habitat with no manipulation. Its hard to decipher cause and effect
and difficult to conceal observing data. Allows for bias as we may only see
what we expect, not the unexpected
- What are surveys and their downfalls? - -Questionaires or interviews with
large groups of people. Self-report/ honesty, wording of questions
- What is sampling? - -process of selecting participants
- What is a representative sample? - -random sampling where every
member of a popluation has an equal chance of being picked, easer with
larger population or larger samples
- What types of samples are most represetative? - -Larger samples
- Volunteer bias - -when a person involved in a study has particular
interests that could alter the study in an unnatural way
, - What kind of info does correlational research provide? - -if theres a linear
relationship between two variables, allows you to predict the relationship to
some degree of accuracy
- Positive correlations - -direct relationship (variables increase & decrease
together
- Negative correlation - -inverse relationship (one variable increases, the
other decreases)
- How does a correlation coefficient (r) indicate the strength and direction of
a relationship between variables? - -the closer to 1 the value, the stronger
the relationship. sign indicates the direction of the relationship (-1 is a strong
negative relationship)
- What are intervening/third variables? - -unmeasured variable that has
effect on two correlated variables and leads to circular reasoning
- What method allows one to assess cause-and-effect relationships between
variables? - -the experimental method
- What is the experimental method? - -holds all variables constant while
manipulating one variable
- Operational definitions - -says what you are measuring and how you are
going to measure it (states the procedures used to define research variables)
- What are confounding variables? - -factors other than the independent
variable that might produce an effect
- Why is no single study perfect? - -because if one study gets a result, it
does not mean it's a fact; it takes many studies on the same phenomena for
results to be believed
- What is random assignment? - -assigning participants to experimental and
control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between
the different groups
- What is a double-blind design? - -an experimental procedure in which both
the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether
the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo
- What information does a test of statistical significance provide? - -it
provides a mathematical estimation of how likely the results are due to
chance
Questions and Answers
What is Psychology? - -The science of behavior and mental processes
- Arm-Chair Psychology - -Based on speculation and casual observation,
influenced by beliefs. Biased because people tend to notice what they
believe to be true
- Wilhelm Wundt - -created first psych lab
- William James - -first U.S. psych lab
- How has psychology shifted between the study of cognition and the study
of behavior (i.e., behaviorism backlash, etc.)? - -focused on cognitive
processes until 20s (since you couldn't observe cognitive events, they were
considered off limits) then focused on the study of behavior from 20s-60s,
then argued that you can't study the mind scientifically unless you focus on
behavior as people respond to different situations, and that everything was a
result of learning
- Psychologists vs. Psychiatrists - -Psychologists have a PhD in psych while
psychiatrists have medical degrees and can prescribe medications
- What is Modern Psychology? - -A mix between studying cognition and
behavior
- What do behavioral psychologists study? - -observable behavior
- What do cognitive psychologists study? - -mental processes (thinking,
language, memory, how thought influences behavior)
- What do biological psychologists study? - -influences of biology on
psychological processes, the brain/how it works, genes, evolution, and
neuroscience
- What do developmental psychologists study? - -influence of age: how
people change physically, cognitively, and socially throughout their lifespans
- What do personality psychologists study? - -study of individual differences
- What do social psychologists study? - -interpersonal influences - how we
think about, influence, and relate to one another
, - What do industrial/organizational psychologists study? - -application of
psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in work
places
- What do clinical psychologists study? - -diagnosis and treatment
- What do school psychologists study? - -behavior/learning problems
- What is abnormal psychology? - -study of psychopathology
- What is the biopsychosocial approach? - -an integrated approach that
incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis,
Any given behavior is simultaneously influences by biological psychological
and social factors (Nature vs Nurture
- What is meant by nature and nurture? - -DNA and Environment
- How does nature vs nurture work - -They are inseparable, Inherit
predispositions are MODIFIED by the environment, nature then nurture
- How can an environment act on genes? - -Environment can act on genes
in the sense that genes are active in some environments and not others
- What do genes do? - -Genes code for the making of proteins in your body -
indirect effect on psych
- What is the nature nurture debate? - -the longstanding controversy over
the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the
development of psychological traits and behaviors; today's science sees
traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
- What is wrong with the nature or nurture debate? - -It doesn't allow for
both the ideas to be relevant
- What are the aspects of critical thinking? - -Questioning and evaluating of
information a person receives in order to see if it is valid and reliable
information.
1. question others and yourself
2. Examine how terms are defined ("victims of katrina"
3. Look for potential bias
4. Inspect evidence
5. Watch for over generalizations/oversimplifications (animals to humans,
Western college students vs all college students)
6. Consider alternative interpretations of the evidence
7. Be cautious of reports in the popular media
8. Recognize that a single study is not definitive
,9. Exceptions to the general rule don't necessarily disprove the rule
10. Don't allow vivid personal examples to influence you more than hard
data. (a friend telling you to take a class v.s. class ratings)
- Ethnocentrism - -belief that ones own group is normal, standard or correct
- Scientific Method - -1. Identify hypothesis
2. Plan to test hypothesis
3. Gather data
4. Analyze data
5. Draw conclusions
6. Communicate results
- What is a theory? - -in depth explanation of a phenomena that simplifies
and summarizes a body of research findings, good theories should generate
testable hypotheses, theory worthless if it can't be tested, proved, or
disproved
- What is a hypothesis? - -a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
- Methods of gathering data - -case studies, naturalistic observation, and
surveys
- What are case studies and what are their downfalls? - -In depth analysis of
a single case for an individual, usually for. a rare disorder or unusual
circumstances. It may not apply to others since it is such a specific case/
dont prove anything
- What is naturalistic observation and downfalls? - -Observing a person in a
natural habitat with no manipulation. Its hard to decipher cause and effect
and difficult to conceal observing data. Allows for bias as we may only see
what we expect, not the unexpected
- What are surveys and their downfalls? - -Questionaires or interviews with
large groups of people. Self-report/ honesty, wording of questions
- What is sampling? - -process of selecting participants
- What is a representative sample? - -random sampling where every
member of a popluation has an equal chance of being picked, easer with
larger population or larger samples
- What types of samples are most represetative? - -Larger samples
- Volunteer bias - -when a person involved in a study has particular
interests that could alter the study in an unnatural way
, - What kind of info does correlational research provide? - -if theres a linear
relationship between two variables, allows you to predict the relationship to
some degree of accuracy
- Positive correlations - -direct relationship (variables increase & decrease
together
- Negative correlation - -inverse relationship (one variable increases, the
other decreases)
- How does a correlation coefficient (r) indicate the strength and direction of
a relationship between variables? - -the closer to 1 the value, the stronger
the relationship. sign indicates the direction of the relationship (-1 is a strong
negative relationship)
- What are intervening/third variables? - -unmeasured variable that has
effect on two correlated variables and leads to circular reasoning
- What method allows one to assess cause-and-effect relationships between
variables? - -the experimental method
- What is the experimental method? - -holds all variables constant while
manipulating one variable
- Operational definitions - -says what you are measuring and how you are
going to measure it (states the procedures used to define research variables)
- What are confounding variables? - -factors other than the independent
variable that might produce an effect
- Why is no single study perfect? - -because if one study gets a result, it
does not mean it's a fact; it takes many studies on the same phenomena for
results to be believed
- What is random assignment? - -assigning participants to experimental and
control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between
the different groups
- What is a double-blind design? - -an experimental procedure in which both
the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether
the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo
- What information does a test of statistical significance provide? - -it
provides a mathematical estimation of how likely the results are due to
chance
