Psychology Notes PDF

explain what an experiment is; - An experiment is a structured method of investigation where researchers manipulate one variable (the independent variable) to observe its effect on another variable (the dependent variable) identify variables of interest - **Independent-** the variable...

explain what an experiment is; - An experiment is a structured method of investigation where researchers manipulate one variable (the independent variable) to observe its effect on another variable (the dependent variable) identify variables of interest - **Independent-** the variable that is manipulated by the experiment- what the scientist changes - **Dependent-** It is something that depends on other factors, changed not because of anything the scientist did - Extraneous- any outside factor that might affect the outcome- sci) - Confounding- a type of extraneous variable that specifically distorts the relationship you\'re trying to study - **control conditions** - *experimental group- receives the treatment,* - *control group- No treatment or placebo* know the difference between: - **Correlation-** Correlation shows how two variables are related without changing anything - **Experiment-** changing one variable to see how it affects another, allowing us to determine cause and effect. From Personality: - Understand **Freud's Contributions** to theories of personality: - [The roles of] - [ **unconscious motivation -**] assumption that behavior is determined by unconscious desires and wishes - **[Conflict-]** notion that societal demands are in direct conflict with unconscious urges - The first three stages of psychosexual development: - **Oral-** 0-2 Gets gratification though mouth, if needs aren\'t met become fixation- smoking - **Anal-** 2-3 Gratification- through defecation - Anal excessive is rebelling from expectations by using the bathroom whenever they want- messy adult - Anal frustration is keeping it all in- uptight adult - **Phallic-** 3-7 Gratification through genitals - Oedipal conflict- Little boys would want to kill their father and have sex with their mother as they see their father as competition - castration anxiety- fear someone will take your penis because they are jealous - Electra conflicts- Girls competition with her mother for possession of her father due to penis envy - penis envy- Girls feel castrated when they realize they have no peepee - Know in general about the **trait or dispositional theories** of personality - - Review the **Five-factor Model of Personality Traits** - Openness to experience- curious flexible imaginative artistic sensibilities - Conscientiousness- disciplined organized dependable - Extraversion- outgoing upbeat friendly assertive - Agreeableness- sympathetic trusting cooperative straightforward - Neuroticism- Anxious, hostile, self-conscious. From Social Psychology: - **Attribution theory**: - dispositional attributions **Internal factors like personality and free will** - situational attributions. **external factors such as social influence or socialization** - Know about **Cognitive Dissonance Theory** - When attitude and behaviors don\'t match- psychological tension motivates us to make them match eg: quitting smoking to relive the psychological tension caused by belief smoking is bad OR change attitude to smoking isn\'t dangerous) Review **Milgram's Obedience Experiments** ========================================== Be able to describe and explain Milgram's study and findings ============================================================ - Participants (teachers) were instructed to administer electric shocks to a learner (confederate) for incorrect answers, with shock levels increasing to 450 volts. - Despite the learner's apparent distress, about 65% of participants continued to the maximum shock level, demonstrating high levels of obedience. - - Be familiar with the four factors that determined obedience - Emotional distance of the victim - Closeness and legitimacy of the authority - Institutional authority - The liberating effects of group influence From Development: - Review the main cognitive developments in **Piaget's 4 stages of cognitive development**: - **Sensorimotor**: object permanence - Learning through senses and actions (cannot think using symbols or language) - object permanence: when object is not in sight it does not exist - **Preoperational**: - Masters use of symbols but cannot see situations from multiple perspectives or imagine how situations can change. Able to classify objects but only by single feature - Centration: tendency to focus on just one feature of a problem - Egocentrism: Limited ability to share another\'s view point - **Concrete operational**: - Capable of using multiple perpectives and imagination to solve complex problems but can only apply this thinking to concrete objects or events - Decentration: able to focus on more than one problem simultaneously - conservation recognizing the amount of substance does not change just because appearance has changed - (**know about how Piaget's conservation task tested this ability**) Pouring liquid from wide container to skinny container and maintaining that the same amount of liquid is still stored in both - **Formal operational**: abstract thought - Can reason about abstract problems and hypothetical propositions (climate change, poverty, love) - abstract thought From Health & Stress: - It is important to know and be able to answer questions about Seyle's **General Adaptation Syndrome** (GAS) - Be able to explain the three stages: - alarm, - Heart rate, blood pressure, sugar level increases - Gives energy to cope with situation - Resistance - Intense physiological efforts to resist or adapt to stressors - Exhaustion - Occurs when failure to resist stressor - Explain why Seyle's theory does not account for **appraisal** - Seyle\'s theory did not account for any psychological factors, assessment was based on intensity of the stress (how bad the situation is objectively. Eg: how long, how much, how fast) **Lazarus & Folkman's Psychological Theory of Stress** ====================================================== - Explain how this theory takes into account the importance of appraisal - People must appraise (perceive) a situation as stressful to feel stress. - Stress is not just how bad the situation is, stress is how bad we perceive the situation to be **[Psychological Disorders (Ch. 13)]** ================================================== - How likely is it that you or someone you know will be affected by a psychological disorder in your lifetime? - 1 in 4 people - What is a **psychological disorder**? - Patterns of behaviour or mental processes that cause emotional distress or significant impairment in day to day functioning - How can we distinguish **normal** from **abnormal** behaviour? - Abnormal behaviour is when unusual or socially unacceptable behaviours emerge and cause personal distress. It can involve a disconnect in interpretation of reality and be dangerous - What are the **major perspectives** on psychological disorders (and abnormality) used by mental health professionals? - Biological / Medical perspective - Abnormal behvaiour is due to physiological factors (chemical imbalance or brain injury) - Psychoanalytic perspective - Abnormal behaviour stems from unresovled issues from childhoos and an imbalence between the ego, the super ego and the ID - Behavioural (learning) perspective - Abnormal behaviour is a learned response. Behvaiour itself is the issue. - Cognitive perspective - Abnormal behaviour is caused by thoughts and beliefs. Maladpative ways of thinkinf - Humanistic Perspective - Something interfering with achieving our full potential results in abnormal behaviour, people are responsible for their own behaviours even if abnormal