Psychology Basics
The scientific study of behaviour and the mind.
what is psychology
This area studies and treats mental disorders.
What is clinical psychology?
Jordan repeatedly thinks, “I’m a failure,” and interprets friends being busy as proof that nobody likes them.
What is the psychological level of analysis?
This perspective examines how brain processes, genes, hormones and other bodily functions regulate behaviour.
What is the biological perspective?
This psychologist developed the first and most influential psychodynamic theory.
Who is Sigmund Freud?
A definition that explains exactly how a researcher will produce or measure a variable.
What is an operational definition?
Actions and responses that can be directly observed.
what is behaviour
This area studies mental processes such as attention, memory, decision-making and problem-solving.
what is cognitive psychology?
Jordan’s mother has experienced depression, suggesting Jordan may have inherited a genetic vulnerability.
What is the biological level of analysis?
This perspective focuses on how thoughts, perceptions, memories and other mental processes influence behaviour.
What is the cognitive perspective?
Name the three elements of personality proposed by Freud.
What are the id, ego and superego?
The variable that the researcher manipulates or controls.
What is the independent variable?
Internal states and processes, such as thoughts and feelings, that cannot be directly observed.
What is the mind?
This area studies how people develop physically, psychologically and socially throughout their lives.
What is developmental psychology?
After being cut from the soccer team, Jordan stopped participating in an activity they once enjoyed.
What is the environmental level of analysis?
This perspective focuses on observable behaviour and the way rewards, punishments and the external environment shape our actions.
What is the behavioural perspective?
This psychologist conducted the Little Albert experiment and focused on classical conditioning.
Who is John B. Watson?
Researchers investigate whether background music affects test performance. One group writes a test with music and another writes it in silence. What are the independent and dependent variables?
Research conducted to gain knowledge for its own sake.
What is basic research?
This area examines behaviour in the workplace, including leadership, teamwork, job satisfaction and employee performance.
What is industrial-organizational psychology?
Jordan places enormous pressure on themself to earn perfect grades and is highly sensitive to failure.
What is the psychological level of analysis?
This perspective emphasizes free will, personal growth, meaning and the drive toward self-actualization.
What is the humanistic perspective?
What was Watson trying to demonstrate through the Little Albert experiment?
Watson was trying to demonstrate that an emotional response, specifically fear, could be learned through classical conditioning by associating a neutral stimulus with a frightening stimulus.
Researchers test whether caffeine affects reaction time. Participants receive either a caffeinated or caffeine-free drink, and researchers measure how quickly they respond to a signal. What are the IV and DV?
Explain the difference between basic research and applied research.
Basic research seeks knowledge for its own sake, while applied research attempts to solve a specific practical problem.
Identify all four areas:
1. Biopsychology/neuroscience
2. Experimental psychology
3. Personality psychology
4. Social psychology
Identify the level of analysis for each factor:
1. Abnormal neurotransmitter activity
2. A pessimistic thinking style
3. The loss of a close friendship
Identify both perspectives:
1. Psychodynamic perspective
2. Sociocultural perspective
Name Skinner’s well-known experiment and explain what he was trying to demonstrate.
The Skinner box. Skinner used it to demonstrate operant conditioning—how consequences such as reinforcement or punishment can increase or decrease behaviour.
Identify all four research terms:
1. High internal validity
2. Low internal validity
3. Placebo effect
4. Double-blind procedure