Midterm 1

Psychology 101 with Brown at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

About this deck

By: Megan Miyata
Textbook:

Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior
Created: 2010-01-23
Size: 45 flashcards
Views: 85

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Describe the three primary attitudes associated with scientific inquiry.

Curiosity, skepticism, and open-mindedness.

Illustrate five steps of scientific inquiry

Identify questions of interests
Hypothesize
Test hypothesis
Analyze data, draw conclusions, and report findings.
Build a body of knowlegdge

Explain the major drawbacks of hindsight understanding.

The major drawback is that there are many possible answers and there is no way to assess which answer is correct.

List the characteristics of a good theory.

A good theory organizes known facts, gives rise to additional hypothesis that are testable, and is supported be the findings of new research, and is parsimonious (simpler theory is better theory)

describe the importance of operational definitions and recognize the examples of them.

An operational definition defines a concept or variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce and measure it.

Ex: self reports and reports by others,measures of overt behavior, psychological tests, and physiological measures.

Identify the major ethical issues in human and animal research.

Key issues for humans: informed consent, right to privacy, and potential risks, and use of deceptions

Key issues for animals: animals must be treated humanely and risks that they are exposed to should be justified by the potential importance of the research.

Name advantages and disadvantages of descriptive research.

Descriptive research describes how organisms behave, often in natural settings.

advantages: suggests ideas for other research.

disadvantages: poor methods of establishing cause-effect relations.

Explain the importance of random sapling when conducted survey research.

Random sampling is important because though it doesn't eliminate fact that all participants are different, it balances the difference across various conditions of the experiments.

Describe the purpose and methods of correlational research.

correlational research measures the relation between naturally occurring variables.

why are scientists unable to draw causal conclusions from correlational research?

because variable Z can be the cause of both variable X and Y.

Describe and interpret correlation coefficient and scatter plots, and explain how correlational research can be used to predict behavior.

If two variables are correlates, wither positively or negatively, knowing scores of of one variable helps us estimates the score on the other variable.

Describe the characteristics of an experiments, and explain how experiments can be used to investigate causal relations can be used to predict behavior.

good experiments have one or more variables that are manipulated, their effects are on other variables are measured, and extraneous factors are eliminated or reduced so that cause-effect conclusions can be drawn.

Define and distinguish dependent and independent variables.

Independent variables are the manipulated variables. It is viewed as the cause.

Dependent variables are are measured, not manipulated Viewed as the effect.

Described how random assignment and counterbalancing are used in designing an experiments.

In random assignments, different participants are randomly assigned to each conditions.

In other experiments, the same participants exposed to all conditions are presented as counterbalanced.

Explain the process of using two independent variables in the same experiments.

Researchers study several causal factors within on experiment by manipulating different independent variables and assessing the separate influences have on behavior and analyze whether the two independent variables combines produce an distinct effect.

Define internal validity and explain how it is threatened by confounding variables, demand characteristics, placebo effects, and experimenter expectancy.

An experiment has high internal validity when it is designed well and permits clear causal conclusions.

confounding: independent variable mixed up with another so no can tell which caused effect.

demand characteristics: experimenter gives off cues on how participant should react

Placebo effect: mere expectation of treatment produces change in behavior.

experimenter expectancy: the subtle ways the experimenter's behavior influences the participant to act in way the proves hypothesis

Explain how placebo effect and experimenter expectancy can be minimized.

double blind procedure.

Define external validity and explain why replication is important.

External validity is the degree which findings can be generalized.

replication is needed because it is a way to established external validity.

List three methods of central tendency and two measures of variability.

Central tendency: Mode, Median, mean

variability: range, and standard deviation. ( how much each score in distribution differs from mean.

Explain purpose of inferential statistics and describe statistical significance.

inferential statistics allows researchers to assess whether their their findings reflect chance occurrence.

Statistical analysis means that is is very unlikely that a particular result occurred by chance alone.

explain purpose of meta-analysis

meta-analysis statistically combines the results of many experiments with the same variables it calculates the overall relation between those variables.

Explain how critical thinking skills can be used to evaluate claims made in everyday life.

it prevents us from developing false impressions about how the world operates and from being duped by unsubstantial claims.

Distinguish sensation and perception

9Sensation: The stimulis detection process by which our organs translate environmental stimuli into nerve stimuli that are sent to the brain.

Perception: Active process in which mind gives meaning to what we sense.

Define absolute threshold:

the lowers intensity at which a stimulus can be detected 50% of the time. The lower the absolute threshold, the higher the sensitivity.

Define the Signal detection theory

this theory is concerned with the factors that influence sensory judgements.

Describe research findings on how subliminal stimuli affect attitudes and behavior.

Subliminal Stimuli is a stimuli so weak that it is not perceived consciously.

Studies show that subliminal stimuli can influence behavior and attitude but it cannot outright control them.

Differentiate between absolute and difference thresholds.

Absolute threshold is the smallest stimuli that you can predict where as the difference threshold is the smallest difference between two stimuli that you can perceive.

Contrast bottom-up process and top-down process.

Bottom up takes in all individual stimuli and combines them into unified perception.

Top-down takes your existing knowledge and uses it interpret small stimuli.

Describe the 2 complementary processes that occur in attention.

Inattentional blindness: the failure of unattended stimuli to register in consciousness.

Environmental and personal factors: attention factors are based on innate biological factors and past experiences that make stimulus important or meaningful to us.

Provide examples of Gestalt principles of perceptual organization.

similarity: things that are similar will often be perceived together.

Proximity: Things that are put close together are likely to be perceived as being together.

Closure: We'll fill in gaps or breaks in figures to perceive them more whole then they actually are.

Continuity: We'll link individual things to make them seem like a line or continuous pattern

Perceptual Schema

mental template that allows us to classify and identify sensory input in top-down fashion.

Perceptual Sets

A readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way.

Perceptual Consitancies

allows us to recognize familiar stimuli under changing conditions. In the visual realm, there are three constancies: shape, brightness, and size

Describe the factors that account for shape, brightness, and size in vision

shape: allows us to recognize ppl and other objects from many different angles.

Brightness: brightness of object remains the same under different conditions of illumination.

Size: perception that the size of objects remains relatively constant even though images on retina change in size with variations to distance.

Describe and recognize monocular binocular cues and cues for movement.

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Illusions

Compelling and incorrect perceptions

Most visual illusions can be attributed to perceptual constances that ordinarily help us perceive more accurately

Describe the biological development of perpetual skills, and explain how they are affected by cross-cultural factors, critical periods, experiences.

cultural factors can influence certain aspects of perceptions including pic perception and susceptibility to illusions.

Describe how studies of restricted stimulation and restored vision illustrate the role of critical periods in perceptual development.

Visual deprivation studies, manipulation of visual input, and studies of restored vision have shown that the normal biological developments of perceptual system depends on certain sensory experiences at early periods of development.

genotype

specific genetic makeup of the individual

Phenotypes

individuals observable characteristics

can be affected by other genes and environment.

contrast the behavioristic and ethological assumptions regarding the development of behavior.

behaviorists believe that organisms are born with a blank tablet. Ethologists believe that we are born with certain prewritten behaviors.

discuss relation of evolution and culture to learning.

two ways evolution effects learning: through species adaptation and through personal adaptation.

In culture, we share a shared environment with others and our unique experiences which are our unshared environments.

Explain how natural selection produces adaptation.

Adaptations are the product of a species increasing it's likelihood to survive and procreate.

Describe the functions of the three main parts of the neuron.

Cell body/Soma: contains biochemical structures needed to keep neuron alive. Neurons also contain genetic material that determines all functions and developments.

Explain the importance of myelin sheath

The myelin sheath is a whitish fatty insulation layer derived from glial cells during development.

myelinated axons are white matter and when stimulated, moves form axon to axon.

Unmyelinated axons are grey matter and moves like a fuse. slow.

About this deck

By: Megan Miyata
Textbook:

Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior
Created: 2010-01-23
Size: 45 flashcards
Views: 85

About StudyBlue

“Simply amazing. The flash cards are smooth, there are many different types of studying tools, and there is a great search engine. I praise you on the awesomeness.”
Dennis