Exploring Psychology 9th Edition Chapter 1 Study Questions – Flashcards

Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological laboratory in 1879 in Germany. Two early schools were structuralism and funtionalism. Early researchers defined psychology as a "science of mental life" In the 1920's, under the influence of John B. Watson and the behaviorists, focus changed to the "scientific study of observable behavior" In the 1960's, humanistic psychologists and cognitive psychologists revived interest in the study of mental processes. Psychology ids now defined as the the science of behavior and mental processes.

the nature-nurture issue., which seeks to determine whether genetics or environment is the main factor on behavior. Contemporary science integrates these concepts. Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection has highly influenced contemporary psychological principles.

The biopsychosocial approach integrates information from three different but complementary levels of analysis: biological, psychological, and social-cultural.

basic research may be used to increase knowledge base, applied research to solve practical problems, counseling psychologists are in the helping professing, or clinical psychologists who study, assess, and treat people with psychological disorders. Psychiatrists do the same thing but are medical doctors, they may prescribe medication. Positive psychology attempts to discover and promote traits that help people thrive.

Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that we would have forseen it. Overconfidence in out judgements results from our bias to seek information that confirms them. These tendencies, plus our eagerness to perceive patterns in random events, leads us to overestimate our intuition.

The scientific attitude equips us to be curious, skeptical, and humble. We use this attitude to examine assumptions, discern values, and assess conclusions.

Psychological theories are explanations that apply a set of principles to organize observations and generate hypothesis-a prediction that can be used to check the theory.

These descriptive methods show us what can happen, and may offer ideas for further study. Descriptive methods cannot show cause and effect.

In a positive correlation, two factors increase or decrease together. In a negative correlation, one factor increase while another decreases. A correlation can indicate the possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but not prove it.

experiments, using random assignments.

Although the laboratory environment is intentionally controlled, the principles tested help explain everyday behaviors.

Attitudes and behaviors may vary somewhat, but our underlying processes and principles are more similar than different.

Some are interested in animal behavior, others want to understand humans better through animals. Government agencies, professional associations, and funding agencies all establish guidelines, as well as the APA.

Psychologists' values influence their choices of research topics, theories and observations, labels for behavior, and professional advice.

The testing effect shows that learning and memory are enhanced by actively retrieving. The SQ3R method applies principles derived from memory research.