Final Exam Review

Structuralism Vs Functionalism

Structuralism Functionalism
Founded by William Wundt Founded by William James
Introspection – The examination of observation Pragmatism – If something works in a
of one’s own mental processes particular situation then it is true
Behaviorism, also known as
Sensation & Perception - Sensation is an
behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning
animal’s; including humans', detection of
based on the idea that all behaviors are
external or internal stimulation (e.g., eyes
acquired through conditioning. Conditioning
detecting light waves, ears detecting sound
occurs through interaction with the
waves). It is different from perception, which
environment. Behaviorists believe that our
is about making sense of, or describing, the
responses to environmental stimuli shape our
stimulation (e.g., seeing a chair, hearing a
actions.
guitar).
Sensation involves three steps:

1. Sensory receptors detect stimuli.

2. Sensory stimuli are transduced into
electrical impulses (action potentials)
to be decoded by the brain.
3. Electrical impulses move along neutral
pathways to specific parts of the brain
wherein the impulses are decoded into
useful information (perception).

7 Approaches to Psychology

Biological - Biological psychology is the study of the physiological bases of behavior.

Someone has their amygydala not working, so they cannot feel emotions.

Behavioral - Behavioral psychology is the study of the connection between our minds and our
behavior.  The researchers and scientists who study behavioral psychology is trying to
understand why we behave the way we do and they are concerned with discovering patterns in
our actions and behaviors.

My cousin has a phobia of elevators due to a traumatizing experience of being stuck 2 hours in
one.

Psychodynamic - Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest

sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces
that underlie human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate to early
experience.

Humanistic - Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole

individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization. Rather
than concentrating on dysfunction, humanistic psychology strives to help people fulfill their
potential and maximize their well-being.

My mom bites her nails because she had an anxiety causing event in her childhood.

Evolutionary - Along with cognitive psychologists, evolutionary psychologists propose that

much, if not all, of our behavior can be explained by appeal to internal psychological
mechanisms.

 No one likes a cheater. My brother once cheated on a big test and got into lots of trouble. I guess
that was the opposite of reciprocal altruism, the notion of helping others with something back in
return.

Sociocultural - Sociocultural Perspective is a theory used in fields such as psychology and is

used to describe awareness of circumstances surrounding individuals and how their behaviors are
affected specifically by their surrounding, social and cultural factors.

When a child is growing up, their personality can change based on their surroundings and
upbringing.

Cognitive - Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as "attention,
language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and thinking".

My brother makes judgments on situations all the time. He once made a judgment that someone
did not like him, based on the information received by one of his best friends.

Specializations in Psychology

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human beings change over the
course of their life.
Clinical psychology is a broad branch of psychology that focuses on diagnosing and treating
mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

The specialty of industrial-organizational psychology (also called I/O psychology) is

characterized by the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the work place. The
specialty focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and
applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work.
Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and
healthcare. It is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural
factors contribute to physical health and illness.

Research Methods

Journals Vs. Magazines

Journals Magazines
Peer reviewed Not peer reviewed
Primary source Secondary source
APA Reference primary
4 Sections of a journal article

Introduction – Background info->

1. Hypothesis
2. Methods – Participants and procedures
3. Results – Stats, only #’s. Discussion – What results mean.

Six Steps in a Scientific Method

1. Theory (custom/idea) Holmes 1971

2. Specifying hypothesis – specific statement (ends in period) about 2 sentences.
3. Design study – Survey LC plus Survey PI
4. Collect data – Administer surveys.
5. Analyze data – Used stats – high correlation LC plus PI
6. Report findings – publish in a journal of Psych or a Semantic Medline.

What is Meta Analysis? Meta analysis is combining individual research studies with
statistical methods.

Types of Research

Descriptive research is defined as a research method that describes the characteristics of

the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This methodology focuses more on the
“what” of the research subject rather than the “why” of the research subject.

Range, Standard Deviation

Correlation research is a type of nonexperimental research in which the researcher

measures two variables and assesses the statistical relationship (i.e., the correlation) between
them with little or no effort to control extraneous variables.
Researcher is studying a correlation between cancer and marriage. In this study, there are
two variables: cancer and marriage. Let us say marriage has a negative correlation with
cancer. This means that people who are married are less likely to develop cancer.

Experimental research is a study that strictly adheres to a scientific research design. It

includes a hypothesis, a variable that can be manipulated by the researcher, and variables that
can be measured, calculated and compared. Most importantly, experimental research is
completed in a controlled environment.

Conducting a laboratory test.

Types of Statistics

Descriptive statistics are brief descriptive coefficients that summarize a given data set,

which can be either a representation of the entire or a sample of a population.

Inferential statistics is one of the two main branches of statistics. Inferential statistics use

a random sample of data taken from a population to describe and make inferences about the
population.