PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING: Psychological testing is the branch of psychology in which we use standardized tests, construct them in order to understand individual differences. Psychological testing is a term that refers to the use of psychological tests. It refers to all the possible uses, applications, and underlying concepts of psychological tests. TEST: Test is defined as…
SURVEY METHOD The survey method involves handing out questionnaires to try to get an idea to establish people’s attitude, beliefs and behavior. You have a population of interest; who you are interested in surveying. E.g. You want to study Canadian teenagers about their attitude on the legalization of marijuana Ideally, you would give a survey…
What is psychology? Psychology is the study of abnormal behaviour, how brain and nervous systems affect and control our behaviour, how we sense and perceive the world, what motivates us, what happens when we sleep, how a child’s mind grows and changes and a whole lot more. 4 goals of psychology The first step is…
In his essay, On Being Sane in Insane Places, D. L. Rosenhan discusses a series of experiments that he participated in involving psychiatric institutions and the effect of misdiagnoses of psychological disorders on the patients admitted to the hospitals. Rosenhan’s research shows us that the labels associated with mental illness (particularly schizophrenia) have a significant…
Throughout the history of this country, hypnosis has been dismissed as a form of gimmickry. Contrary to this, for centuries numerous cultures have used hypnosis as a means of mental and spiritual healing. Hypnosis is defined as an induced trance-like state in which one is highly susceptible to suggestions, or commands. There are three commonly…
In “Boys and girls: The development of gender roles,” Beale gives us revealing overview of Freud’s personality theory. Beale point out both strengths and weaknesses of his answer to the questions of “Why” and “How” in gender development, but still leaves a chance for a reader to make up her/his own mind about whether or…
Method Primary Feature Main Advantages Main Disadvantages Case Studies An individual, group, or event is examined in detail, often using several techniques (Ex. Observation, interview, psychological test) Provides rich descriptive info, often suggesting hypotheses for further study. Can study rare phenomena in depth Poor method for establishing cause-effect relations. The person or event may not…
Evolutionary Sociobiology: using evolutionary biology to under social behavior of animals (i.e humans) Certain sexual behaviours evolved because it gave ancestors an evolutionary advantage Natural Selection: best adapted will contribute more offspring Evolution: hereditable traits passed on Attempts to explain why we court each, how we judge appearance, emotional care/bonds Sexual Selection: selection that results…
Phrenology is basically the study of personality through the study of the shape of the skull. The basis of this theory is that the brain conforms to the shape of the head and its contours. This pseudoscience says that because we have isolated where different parts of personality come from we can tell how dominant…
Alfred Binet, born in Nice, France, on the eleventh of July, whose mother was an artist and whose father was a physician, became one of the most prominent psychologists in French history. Having received his formal education in both Nice and later, in Paris, at the renowned Lycee Louis -le-Grand, Binet went on to become…
Background Information 1904 Born March 20th. 1930 Initiated research in reflexes.1930-31 Received Harvard Fellowship.1936 Married Yvonne Blue.1938 The Behavior of Organisms was published.1942 Awarded the Warren Medal by the Society of Experimental Psychologists.1945 Skinner took over the Psychology Department at the University of Indiana1948 Skinner began his research with pigeons.1949 Elected president of the Midwestern…
Coined by Auguste Comte (1798-1857), meaning the study of society- socius (being with others) ology (the study of) Henslin et al: “simply put, sociology is the discipline study of human social behaviour, especially the investigation of the origins, classifications, institutions, and development of human society on a global level” “the systematic study of social behaviour…
Urie Bronfenbrenner founded the Ecological Systems Theory to understand the complex relationship between the infant, the family, and society and how they impact child development. The Ecological Systems Theory influenced the way psychologists and other social scientists approached the study of human beings in their environment. Before Bronfenbrenner, child psychologists studied the child, sociologists examined…
Prior to the early twentieth century, scientific observations of children were not common. Arnold Gesell was one of the first psychologists to systematically describe children’s physical, social, and emotional achievements through a quantitative study of human development from birth through adolescence. He focused his research on the extensive study of a small number of children.…
§ Maria Montessori pioneered the Montessori educational method which is a child-centered, alternative education method based on her theories of child development. § The method is primarily applied in preschool and elementary school settings, and it emphasizes self-directed activity on the part of the child, and observation on the part of the teacher. § The…
Kohlberg’s six-stage theory was an extension of Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory (how people learn and use knowledge is affected by both social and psychological factors). Kohlberg extended on Piaget’s theory, proposing that moral development is a continual process that occurs throughout the lifespan (the stage you are in life determines your level of moral…
Erikson’s theories are the best-known theories of personality and development. Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of predetermined stages. His theories are psychosocial, and not psychosexual. Describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan. In each stage of development, Erikson described conflicts that act as turning points in life. In Erikson’s…
Psychology = The scientific study of behaviour and the factors that influence it. Taking into account Biological, Individual and Environmental factors. Basic and Applied Science Two types of research: Basic research: Knowledge gained purely for its own sake. The goals are to describe how people behave and to identify factors that influence it. Research maybe…
Descriptive Statistics: Summarizes and describes characteristics of a set of scores for a group Frequency Distribution: # of people who received each score Histogram: frequency distribution turned into a graph. The measure of central tendency: mean (average), median (middle), mode (most often) The measure of variability: provide info about the spread of scores (i.e range)…
Burrhus Frederic Skinner Born March 20, 1904 Died August 18, 1990 Received his BA in English and attempted to be a writer Went back to school at Harvard and received his masters in psychology in 1930 and then his doctorate in 1931 One of the best psychology writers: Walden II, Behaviour of Organisms, Science Human…