Butterfly Gardens

Psychology

Syllabus | Lesson Plan | Attendance | Grade Scale

Syllabus

(Subject to change)

Unit 1
Introduction and Overview
Thinking Critically About Psychology: Chapter 1

Unit 2
Biology and Behavior: Chapter 2
Nature vs. Nurture: Chapter 3

Unit 3
Sensation and Perception: Chapter 5
Memory Functions: Chapter 8
States of Consciousness: Chapter 6

Unit 4
Social Psychology: Chapter 15
Learning and Motivation: Chapter 7 & 10
Emotions, Stress, and Health: Chapter 11

Unit 5
Theories of Personality: Chapter 12
Psychological Disorders: Chapter 13
Therapy: Chapter 14

Unit 6
The Developing Person: Chapter 4

Lesson Plan

Vocabulary

Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

psychology: the science of behavior and mental processes.

nature-nurture issue: the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

basic research: pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

applied research: scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

clinical psychology: a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

psychiatry: a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

hindsight bias: the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.

critical thinking: thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

theory: an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.

hypothesis: a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

operational definition: a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.

replication: repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances.

case study: an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

survey: a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them.

population: all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.

random sample: a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

naturalistic observation: observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

correlation coefficient: a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

illusory correlation: the perception of a relationship where none exist.

experiment: a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors.

placebo: [pluh-SEE-bo; Latin for �I shall please�] an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent.

double-blind procedure: an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

placebo effect: any effect on behavior caused by a placebo.

experimental condition: the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control condition: the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

random assignment: assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

independent variable: the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable: the experimental factor - in psychology, the behavior or mental process - that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to the manipulations of the independent variable.

culture: the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Homework

Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

  1. Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. The perspective in psychology that focuses on how behavior and thought differ from situation to situation and from culture to culture is the
    1. cognitive perspective
    2. behavioral perspective
    3. social-cultural perspective
    4. neuroscience perspective

  2. In the history of psychology, one of the main debates has been over the nature-nurture issue. Nature is to nurture as
    1. personality is to intelligence
    2. biology is to experience
    3. intelligence is to biology
    4. psychological traits are to behaviors.

  3. The behavioral perspective in psychology emphasizes observable responses and how they are acquired and modified. A behavioral psychologist would be most likely to study
    1. the effect of school uniforms on classroom behaviors.
    2. the hidden meaning in children�s themes and drawings.
    3. the age at which children can learn algebra.
    4. whether certain mathematical abilities appear to be inherited.

  4. A psychologist who treats emotionally troubled adolescents at the local mental health agency is most likely to be a(n)
    1. research psychologist
    2. psychiatrist
    3. industrial/organizational psychologist
    4. clinical psychologist

  5. A psychologist who conducts basic research to expand psychology�s knowledge base would be most likely to
    1. design a computer screen with limited glare and assess the effect on computer operators� eyes after a day�s work
    2. treat older people who are overcome by depression
    3. observe 3 and 6-year old children solving puzzles and analyze differences in their abilities
    4. interview children with behavioral problems and suggest treatments

  6. Psychology tells us what we already know from common sense, say some skeptics. Hindsight bias refers to our tendency to
    1. perceive events as obvious or inevitable after the fact
    2. assume that two events happened because we wished them to happen
    3. overestimate our abilities to predict the future
    4. make judgments that fly in the face of common sense

  7. As scientists, psychologists view theories with skepticism, humility, and curiosity. This means that they
    1. approach research with a negative cynicism
    2. assume that an article published in a reputable journal must be true
    3. realize that some issues should not be studied
    4. persistently ask questions and are willing to reject ideas that cannot be
    5. verified by research

  8. A newspaper article describes how a �cure for cancer has been found.� A critical thinker probably will
    1. immediately dismiss the article as untrue because there is no evidence to back up the facts
    2. accept the information as a wonderful breakthrough
    3. question the article, evaluate the evidence, and assess the conclusions.
    4. question the article but quickly accept it as true due to the author�s excellent reputation

  9. In psychology a good theory implies hypotheses, or predictions that can be tested. When hypotheses are tested, the result is typically
    1. increased skepticism
    2. rejection of the merely theoretical
    3. confirmation or revision of the theory
    4. personal bias on the part of the investigator

  10. Psychology�s basic research strategies are description, correlation, and experimentation. Which of the following would you use in an attempt to predict college grades from high school grades?
    1. a case study
    2. naturalistic observation
    3. correlational research
    4. experimental research

  11. You wish to take an accurate poll in a certain country by questioning people who truly represent the country�s adult population. Therefore, you need to make sure the people are
    1. at least 30% urban dwellers
    2. registered voters
    3. a very large sample of the population
    4. a random sample of the population

  12. Suppose a psychologist finds that the more natural childbirth training classes a woman attends, the less pain medication she requires during childbirth. The relationship between the number of training sessions and the amount of pain medication required is a
    1. positive correlation (direct relationship)
    2. negative correlation (inverse relationship)
    3. cause-and-effect relationship
    4. controlled experiment

  13. Knowing that two events are correlated does no tell us what is the cause and what is the effect, However, it does provide
    1. a basis for prediction
    2. an explanation of events
    3. proof that as one increases, the other also increases
    4. an indication that an underlying third factor is at work

  14. Some people wrongly perceive that their dreams predict future events. This is an example of a(n)
    1. negative correlation
    2. positive correlation
    3. illusory correlation
    4. naturalistic correlation

  15. A researcher wants to determine whether noise level affects the blood pressure of elderly people. In one group she varies the level of noise in the environment and records blood pressures. In this experiment the level of noise is the
    1. control condition
    2. dependent variable
    3. independent variable
    4. cause of any blood pressure variations

  16. To test the effect of a new drug on depression, we randomly assign people to control and experimental conditions. Those in the experimental take a pink pill containing the new medication; the control group takes a pink pill that contains no medication. Which statement is true?
    1. the medication is the dependent variable
    2. depression is the independent variable
    3. participants in the control group take a placebo
    4. neither the experimental nor the control group is told the purpose of the experiment

  17. To eliminate the biasing effect of a researcher�s positive expectations on the outcome of a health clinic�s research experiment
    1. patients are randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups
    2. members of the experimental group are carefully matched for age, sex, income, and level of education with members of the control group
    3. neither the patients nor the researcher will know whether a given person has been assigned to the experimental or control condition
    4. people in the experimental group are chosen by selecting every tenth person in an alphabetical listing of all the clinic�s patients

  18. Description is to explanation as case study is to
    1. correlation
    2. naturalistic observation
    3. experiment
    4. survey

  19. In a laboratory experiment, features of everyday life can be simulated, manipulated, and controlled. The laboratory environment is designed to help us
    1. exactly re-create the events of everyday life
    2. re-create psychological forces under controlled conditions
    3. create opportunities for naturalistic observation
    4. minimize the use of animals and humans in psychological research

  20. Which of the following is true regarding gender differences and similarities?
    1. differences between the genders outweigh any similarities
    2. despite some gender differences, the underlying processes of human behavior are the same
    3. both similarities and differences between the genders depend more on biology than on environment
    4. gender differences are so numerous, it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons.

  21. The animal protection movement has protested the use of animals in all fields of scientific research. In defending their experimental research with animals, psychologists have noted that
    1. animals� physiology and behavior can tell us much about our own
    2. they do not torture or needlessly exploit animals
    3. advancing the well-being of humans justifies animal experimentation
    4. all of the above

Also, take a look at the Timeline of Psychology.

Grading Scale

Attendance

Alden, Skyler
Alleyne, David
Halden, Cole
Guevara, Julia
Keller, Julian
O'Connor, Brian

If you wish to see your grades, go to the Gradebooks.

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