Introducing Psychology and Research Methods

CHAPTER 1 Introducing Psychology and Research Methods

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

To demonstrate mastery of this chapter, the student should be able to:

1. List two reasons for studying psychology. 2. Define “psychology.” 3. Define the term “behavior” and differentiate overt from covert behavior. 4. Explain the term “empirical evidence” and give an example of it. 5. Explain the term “scientific observation.” 6. Give two reasons why the study of some topics in psychology is difficult. 7. Write a brief summary of each of the following areas of specialization in psychology: a. developmental f. biopsychology k. cognitive b. learning g. psychology of gender c. personality h. social d. sensation and perception i. cultural e. comparative j. evolutionary 8. Explain why animals are used in research and define the term “animal model” in your discussion. 9. Explain the four goals of psychology. 10. Explain the sentence “Psychology has a long past but a short history.” 11. Describe the school of psychology known as structuralism, including: a. where and when it was established b. who established it (the “father” of psychology) c. the focus of its study d. research method and its drawback e. goal f. who took structuralism to the United States 12. Describe the functionalist school of psychology, including: a. its founder b. its goal c. major interests d. impact on modern psychology 13. Describe behaviorism, including: a. its founder b. why its founder could not accept structuralism or functionalism c. its emphasis d. Skinner’s contributions and his concept of a “designed culture” e. its application in therapy 14. Describe the view of cognitive behaviorism. 15. Describe the Gestalt school of psychology, including: a. who founded it b. its goal c. its slogan d. areas of interest 16. Describe the contribution of women in the early history of psychology, and contrast the representation of women in psychology then and now. Name the first woman to receive her doctorate in psychology. 17. Describe the psychoanalytic school of psychology, including: a. who founded it b. its major emphasis c. the concept of repression d. the method of psychotherapy 18. Describe the humanistic school of psychology, including: a. how its approach differs from psychoanalytic and behavioristic thought b. who its major representatives are c. its position on “free will” (as contrasted with determinism) d. its focus on psychological needs e. its stress on subjective factors rather than the scientific approach f. the concept of self-actualization 19. Describe the eclectic approach. 20. List and briefly describe the five major perspectives in modern psychology. 21. Briefly describe biopsychology and cognitive psychology. 22. Describe the field known as “positive psychology.” 23. Describe how an appreciation of cultural relativity and human diversity might enrich the understanding of psychology. 24. Characterize the differences in training, emphasis, and/or expertise among psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, counselors, and psychiatric social workers. Describe the roles of clinical and counseling psychologists, and define the term “scientist-practitioner model.” 25. List three points in the professional ethics code for psychologists established by the APA. 26. Identify the largest areas of specialization among psychologists. Name the major sources of employment for psychologists. 27. Differentiate basic from applied research.

The following objective is related to the material in the “Discovering Psychology” section of the text. 28. Identify other occupations that training in psychology can help you succeed in.

29. Explain the problem with using common sense as a source of information. 30. List the six steps of the scientific method. 31. Define the term “hypothesis” and be able to identify one. Explain what an operational definition is. 32. Explain the purpose of theory building and the importance of publication. 33. Describe the technique of naturalistic observation including both the advantages and limitations of this method. Explain what the “observer bias,” the “observer effect,” and the “anthropomorphic fallacy” are, and how they can lead to problems in psychological research. 34. Describe what a correlational study is, and list any advantages and disadvantages of this method. Explain what a correlation coefficient is, how it is expressed, what it means, and why it does not demonstrate causation. 35. List and describe the three essential variables of the experimental method. 36. Explain the nature and purpose for the control group and the experimental group in an experiment. 37. Explain the purpose of randomly assigning subjects to either the control or the experimental group. 38. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the experimental method. 39. Explain what a placebo is, how effective it is, how it probably works, and what its purpose in an experiment is. 40. Explain what single-blind and double-blind experimental arrangements are. 41. Explain the nature of the experimenter effect and how it is related to the self-fulfilling prophecy.

The following objective is related to the material in the “Critical Thinking” section of the text. 42. List and describe three areas of ethical concern in psychological experiments, and explain the position of the APA in terms of ethical guidelines.

43. Briefly describe the clinical method of research, including advantages and disadvantages. Give an example of a case in which the clinical method would be used. 44. Briefly describe the survey method of investigation, including the importance of a representative sample, and an advantage and a disadvantage of the method. Define the terms “representative sample,” “population,” and “courtesy bias.” 45. Define the term “critical thinking.” Describe each of the four principles which form the foundation of critical thinking. 46. Briefly describe each of the following pseudo-psychologies: a. palmistry b. phrenology c. graphology d. astrology 47. List and explain the three reasons why pseudo-psychologies continue to thrive even though they have no scientific basis. 48. List seven suggestions that your author gives to help you become a more critical reader of psychological information in the popular press.