Psychology Past Paper PDF

CH.1 Mod. 1 -- Psychologists atWork Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of thoughts, feelings, and behavior, as well as mental processes. It encompasses emotions, perceptions, memories, and biological activities of humans, aiming to explain human behavior and mental processes. Major Subfi...

CH.1 Mod. 1 -- Psychologists atWork Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of thoughts, feelings, and behavior, as well as mental processes. It encompasses emotions, perceptions, memories, and biological activities of humans, aiming to explain human behavior and mental processes. Major Subfields in Psychology What are the biological foundations of behavior?  Behavioral Neuroscience: Describes the biological foundations of behavior. How Do People Sense, Perceive, Learn, and Think About the World?  Experimental Psychology: Studies the processes of sensation, perception, learning, and thinking about the world.  Cognitive Psychology: A subspecialty of experimental psychology that focuses on thinking, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, judgment, decision-making, and language. What Are the Sources of Change and Stability in Behavior Across the Life Span?  Developmental Psychology: Examines how people grow and change from conception through death.  Personality Psychology: Focuses on consistency in people's thoughts, feelings, and behavior throughout their lives. How Do Psychological Factors Affect Physical and Mental Health?  Health Psychology: Explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical health or disease.  Clinical Psychology: Involves the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders.  Counseling Psychology: Addresses educational, social, and career adjustment problems. How Do Our Social Networks Affect Behavior?  Social Psychology: Investigates how people's thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by others.  Cross-Cultural Psychology: Studies similarities and differences in thoughts, feelings, and behavior across various cultures and ethnic groups. Mod.2 – the roots of psychology Structuralism  Definition: Focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components of consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other mental states.  Founder: Wilhelm Wundt.  Method: o Introspection: Subjects describe in detail their experiences when exposed to a stimulus. o Limitations:  Not scientifically reliable (no external verification).  Difficulty describing emotions and inner experiences. Functionalism  Definition: Concentrated on what the mind does and the role of behavior in helping people adapt to their environment.  Founder: William James.  Focus: o Role of behavior in survival and adaptation. o Examined emotions, such as fear, as tools for emergency responses. o Explored the stream of consciousness and its role in adapting to the environment.  Applications: Inspired John Dewey’s development of school psychology. Gestalt Psychology  Definition: Explains how we organize bits of information into meaningful wholes.  Founders: German psychologists Hermann Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer.  Core Idea: o “The whole is different from the sum of its parts.” o Perception is more meaningful than individual components.  Contributions: Significant advancements in understanding human perception. DA AGGIUNGERE  Psychodinamic: freud  Behavioral:john b. watson,b.f. skinner0   Cognitiveand represent it withinn themselves and how our way of thinking about the world influence our behavior;thinking ois information processing  Humanistic:carl rogers and abraham maslow;people have the ability to make their own choices abot their behavior rather than relying on social standards ; in contrast with determinism (behavior are caused or determined by things beyond person’s control;the emphasis is on free will  Free will: the idea that behavior is caused primarily by choices that are made freely by the individual.  Determinism: the idea that people’s behavior is produced primarily by factors outside their willful control.  Universal principles are those that underlie the behavior of all humans. Research Method Description Advantages Shortcomings Descriptive and Researcher observes a Offers insight into Cannot determine causality correlational previously existing situation relationships between research but does not make a change variables in the situation. Archival research Examines existing data to Ease of data collection Dependent on availability of data confirm hypothesis because data already exist Naturalistic Observation of naturally Provides a sample of people Cannot control the “natural habitat” observation occurring behavior, without in their natural environment being observed making a change in the situation A woman is standing outside of a building, speaking to a man in front of her. She holds a notebook with some pamphlets in her left hand. A sample is chosen to A small sample can be used Sample may not be representative of Survey research represent a larger population to infer attitudes and the larger population; participants may and asked a series of behavior of a larger not provide accurate responses to questions. population. survey questions. Ethnographic Extended examination of a Offers a source of Researchers may misinterpret research small group or members of a hypotheses for more behavior due to a lack of familiarity different culture focused and objective with the culture. research methods Case study Intensive investigation of an Provides a thorough, in- Results may not be generalizable individual or small group depth understanding of beyond the sample. participants  Few people wearing lab coats, gloves, and masks are working in a laboratory. There are many test tubes on the countertop in front of them. Investigator produces a Experiments offer the only To be valid, experiments require Experimental change in one variable to way to determine cause- random assignment of participants to research observe the effects of that and-effect relationships. conditions, well-conceptualized change on other variables. independent and dependent variables, and other careful controls. Latanè and Darley test  Recall the diffusion of responsibility theory.  In testing their hypothesis, Latané and Darley could not be sure the results were truly meaningful until they determined whether those results represented a significant outcome.  Significant outcome indicates that the findings of a research study are statistically meaningful.  Only when differences between groups are large enough that statistical tests show them to be significant is it possible for researchers to confirm a hypothesis.  Latané and Darley tested the hypothesis that an increase in the number of bystanders in an emergency situation would decrease the likelihood of helping behavior. They placed participants in a room and told them they would discuss personal problems over an intercom, without revealing that the real purpose was to test helping behavior in emergencies.  The independent variable was group size, with participants assigned to groups of two, three, or six. Each group included one confederate, who was an actor pretending to be a participant. During the discussion, the confederate faked an epileptic seizure and called for help.  The dependent variable was the time it took for the actual participants to start helping. If no one helped within six minutes, the experiment ended.  Results confirmed the hypothesis: the larger the group, the less likely it was that anyone would offer help. The more bystanders present, the longer it took for someone to intervene.