Exploring Psychology Chapter 1.

Wilhelm Wundt

Man who launched the first psychological laboratory in 1879. Created an experimental apparatus that measured the time lag between hearing a ball hit a platform and pressing a telegraph key.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist. His experiment linked salivation of a dog to an external stimulus.

Hermann Ebbinghaus

This man reported the first experiments on memory in 1885.

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon

Two men who published the first intelligence test for use with parisian schoolchildren in 1905.

Edward Thorndike

Man who conducted the first experiments on animal learning in 1898.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first woman to receive a PhD in psychology, synthesizes research on animal behavior in "the animal mind" (1908)

William James

Man who published the widely used "Principles of Psychology" in the US.

Sigmund Freud

Famed personality theorist and therapist who introduced his psychoanalytic theory in "Interpretation of Dreams" (1900).

Mary Whiton Calkins

First female president of the APA in 1905.

John B. Watson

In the united states champions psychology as the science of behavior.

introspection

focusing on inner sensations, images, and feelings.

behaviorists

Defined psychology as "the scientific study of observable behavior.

humanistic psychologist

type of psychologist that emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential, and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied.

cognitive neuroscience

The study of brain activity linked with mental activity.

psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes.

behavior

any action that an organism does-any action we can observe and record.

mental processes

subjective experiences: sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.

nature vs. nurture

the controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience to the development of our traits and behaviors: Do our human traits develop through experience, or are we born with them?

biopsychosocial approach

Considers the influences of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors.

neuroscience perspective

How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences.

evolutionary perspective

How the natural selection of traits promoted the survival of genes.

behavior genetics perspective

how much our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.

psychodynamic perspective

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts.

behavioral perspective

how we learn observable responses

cognitive perspective

How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

social cultural perspective

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

biological psychologist

psychologist that explores the links between brain and mind.

developmental psychologist

psychologist that studies our changing abilities from womb to tomb.

cognitive psychologist

psychologist that studies how we perceive, think, and solve problems.

social psychologist

psychologist that studies how we view and affect one another.

industrial organizational psychologist

psychologist that uses psychology's concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems.

counseling psychologist

psychologist that helps people to cope with challenges and crises and to improve their personal, and social functioning.

clinical psychologist

psychologist that assesses and treats mental, emotional, and behavior disorders.

psychiatrist

Doctor who often provides psychotherapy, and prescribes drugs, and otherwise treats physical causes of psychological disorders.

hindsight bias

also known as (I knew it all along phenomenon). Finding that something has happened makes it seem inevitable.

critical thinking

Examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. Whether reading a news report or listening to a conversation, critical thinkers ask questions.

scientific theory

explains through an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

hypothesis

A good theory produces a testable prediction, also called a _________.

descriptive method

method of testing hypothesis in which behaviors are described, often using case studies, surveys or naturalistic observations. the purpose is to observe and record behavior.

correlational method

method of testing our hypothesis in which different factors are associated. the purpose is to detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another.

experimental method

method of testing our hypothesis in which factors are manipulated to discover their effects. The purpose is to explore cause and effect.

case study

Examines one individual in depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all.

survey

looks at many cases in less depth

population

the whole group you want to study

random sample

In this, every person in the entire group has an equal chance of participating.

naturalistic observations

ranging observations that record behavior in natural environments.

correlate

Surveys and naturalistic observations often show us that one trait or behavior is related to another. In such cases, we say that the two _________.

positive correlation

A direct relationship, meaning that two things increase together and decrease together.

negative correlation

Indicates an inverse relationship: As one thing increases, the other decreases.

illusory correlation

A perceived but non-existant correlation.

hypotheses

the predictions implied by a theory

experiment

these enable a researcher to focus on the possible effects of one or more factors by manipulating the factors of interest and holding constant (controlling) other factors.

double blind procedure

neither the participants nor the research assistants collecting the data will know which group is receiving the treatment in this procedure.

placebo effect

results created by the participants' belief in a treatment's healing powers or the staff's enthusiasm for its potential.

Independent variable

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

culture

shared ideas and behaviors that one generation passes on to the next.