What is armchair psychology?
trying to understand behavior and mental processes without relying on the psychological literature. Also called popular psychology or pop psychology
Be able to define serial learning. Be careful not to confuse it with the serial position effect.
Serial learning is recalling patterns of facts or stimuli in the order in which they were presented. The serial position effect is when the person recalls the first and last items in a series best.
What are learning styles?
auditory/visual/kinesthetic/tactil
What broad point is is illustrated by sleep learning and the Mozart effect? Be sure to mention both parts related shortcuts and exposure to material.
That passive study is a very ineffective method for acquiring knowledge
How does fluency compare and contrast with accuracy?
Fluency goes beyond accuracy and involves timing the speed of your performance and to perform without hesitation
What is the SAFMEDS technique?
a flash card self-study technique that minimized irrelvant hints, breaks material into small chunks, emphasizes vocal responding, utilizes fast responding with all cards in random order, and has frequent assessment
What is the definition of psychology?
Psychology is an academic and applied discipline that involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors.
What is empirical evidence?
observations and data that can be tested and on which scientific explanation can be based
Be able to summarize the nature vs. nurture debate
the long standing debate over whether human behavior and mental processes developed because of inherited or environmental factors
What is the scientific method?
Form hypothesisMake observationsRefine theoryDevelop theory
What is peer review?
Peer review is when scientific papers are reviewed by anonymous, independent experts.
What are replications and why are they important? What does this imply about any single psychological finding?
Replications are the partial or complete repetition of experimental procedures that result in similar experimental outcomes. It's important because even a broken clock is right twice a day n
What is pseudoscience?
Immitates science, has little research, no science based information
What are four major reasons pseudoscience is concerning?
Distractions, Peer pressure, Showing Off and Trying to impress
What are the four goals of psychology?
Describe, Explain, Predict and Modify behavior.
What is an operational definition?
Defining something through the use of testing/experimentation
What is the principle of falsifiability?
It is the principle that in hypothesis testing a proposition or theory cannot be considered scientific if it does not admit the possibility of being shown to be false.
What is Occam's razor? And how do you choose the best explanation for phemomenon
its a theory that says getting rid of unnecessary info is the best way to find the truth or solution
List and explain the guidelines for critical thinking
Identify the basics, analyze the material, address different perspectives, examine contents, identify own position, conclusion
Summarize and distinguish psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, biological, evolutionary, and sociocultural
Psychodynamic - Feelings and emotionsBehavioral - Concerned with observational behaviorHumanistic - Value and agency of human beingsCognitive - Attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solvingBiological - Application of psych. to biologyEvolutionary - Memory, language, etc. from evolutionary perspectiveSociocultural - Social and cultural factors
Difference between dependent and independent variable
an independent variable is deliberately changed and a dependent variable usually changed as a result of the independent variable
What is the experimental method?
Using experimentation to solve a problem
What are confounding variables?
Confounding variables are uncontrolled variables other than the independent variable that can have an impact on the dependent variable.
What is the expectancy effect?
Theory that suggest that people are motivated by two things:1) how much they want something and 2) how likely they are to get it.
What is the placebo effect?
Any change in participants response due to the belief that they are recieving some kind of experimental treatment and they respond according to that belief
What is a representative sample?
A version of a focus group where the members have been selected specifically to represent different perspectives and points of view in a community
What is the control group and what is the experimental group?
The group which does not receive the treatment, used to provide a baseline which to compare results.
What are between subject and within subject designs?
Between subject shows differences between individualsWithin subject shows variability of subject within individuals
What is the correlational method?
A measure of the extent of which two variables are related
Why does a correlation not establish a cause and effect relationship between the two variables.
Correlation studies the relationship between the two variables
What is reliability? What is validity?
Reliability= consistency Validity= measuring what is intended to be measured
What are self report measures?
Methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, like in surveys.
Can get lots of data in short time
What is naturalistic observation? What is laboratory observation?
Careful systemic observation but not intervention with subjects in the environment. Laboratory observation is a controlled environment.
What is a case study?
An intense, in depth study or investigation of some behaviour or event of interest in an individual or small group
What is informed consent?
Participant's agreement to take part in a study after being told what to expect.
