Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Psychology and sociology for Baccalaureate

The Hypothetical-Deductive Method: Core Principles

The method of experimental science is called the hypothetical-deductive method. (From Greek 'meta-odos', meaning 'the way after' or 'pursuit of a path'.) The main element of this method is the hypothesis. A hypothesis is a general statement that establishes a causal relationship between two types of natural phenomena that are linked or associated. For example: "Whenever A appears, B will always follow."

This type of relationship establishes a universal and necessary causal connection. For example, "All bodies are attracted to the Earth with an acceleration of 9.8 m/s²" is a hypothesis.

Formulating Predictions

Once a hypothesis is formulated, we proceed to make a prediction. A prediction is a statement...

Types of Research Studies

Exploratory Studies

• Objective: To examine an issue or research problem rarely studied or not yet addressed.
• Increase familiarity with little-known phenomena.
• Rarely an end in themselves.

Descriptive Studies

• Aim to specify the important qualities of any phenomenon to be tested.
• Select a range of issues and measure each independently to describe what is being researched.
• Require considerable knowledge of the area under investigation to formulate specific questions.
• Can offer rudimentary predictions.

Correlational Studies

• Aim to measure the degree of relationship between two or more variables.
• Measure two or more variables in the same subjects to determine if they are related, then analyze the correlation.
• Their usefulness lies in

Understanding Rationality and Knowledge

Rationality is the specific feature that distinguishes humans from other animals. It enables humans to know and act on appropriate reasons, remaining firm and secure.

Rationalism vs. Empiricism

• Empiricism: What is perceived by the senses is real.
• Empiricism: The mind begins as a tabula rasa.
• Rationalism: Reason discovers within itself the first principles of knowledge.
• Rationalism: The senses deceive us.

Characteristics of Sensations

• Qualitative: Each sense always reacts the same way, regardless of the nature of the stimuli.
• Selective: Of the stimuli surrounding us, only a few can produce sensations.
• Inexact: They are not an exact copy of the stimuli; everything influences the sensations.
• First Level of Knowledge:

Defining Culture

Originally, the word 'culture' referred to the cultivation of fields in agriculture. For a field to yield good harvests, it must be cared for, cultivated, and prepared. From this concept of field cultivation, the word 'culture' came to mean the cultivation of the mind or spirit. The human mind was conceived as a field that must be cultivated to yield the best fruits. Thus, culture came to mean education.

Jaeger's Concept of Culture

According to the classicist Werner Jaeger, the concept of culture encompasses the following:

1. The result of education: An educated person is considered cultured.
2. The content of education: Education involves teaching specific skills or content. However, not just anything is taught. The content is selected,

Hate Crimes: Week 10

Hate Crime Statistics in Toronto

Three most frequently reported criminal offences motivated by hate in 2021 were mischief to property, assault, and uttering threats.

Most Frequently Victimized Groups

• Jewish → Black → East and Southeast Asian, and then the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Events That Affect Hate Crime Reporting

• International events

• Community educational programs and hate crime training

• Increased media coverage and public awareness

• Toronto 2021: there was a notable increase in hate crimes targeting East and Southeast Asian people in the month of March.

  • This coincides with the Atlanta spa shooting on March 16, 2021, where 6 of the 8 victims were Asian women.

Why Victims Are Reluctant to Report Hate Crimes

• May not recognize that

Forensic Linguistics and Communication Analysis

Identification and Intertextuality

• Identification: Identify the author, speaker, and language.
• Intertextuality: Relate texts, assess independence, and form communicative groups (e.g., gangs).

Text Classification and Threat Assessment

• Text-Typing: Classify by text kind, assessing threatening communication, predatory chat, or evaluating a statement.

Linguistic Profiling

• Linguistic Profiling: Determine social and demographic characteristics by speech or language. Identify dialect, native language, gender, age, and educational level.

Automated Linguistic Identification

• ALIAS (Automated Linguistic Identification and Assessment System): An automated system for linguistic identification and assessment.

Neuro-Linguistic

Defining Science

• A process of understanding phenomena through observation, generalization, and verification.
• Relies fundamentally on experiment and observation.

Understanding Scientific Claims

• Science makes **no claim** to have all the answers or to be right all the time.
• It claims that if we honestly, consistently, and vigorously pursue knowledge using scientific techniques, we will generate ever more accurate and consistent depictions and explanations of phenomena in our universe.

The Role of Bias in Observation

• Bias is a belief based on personal feelings.
• Observations can be biased by:
  • Existing knowledge or lack thereof.
  • Available technology.
  • Social trends and culture (*ethnocentrism* is a form of bias).

Science is Self-Correcting

• Science is not a perfect

Altered States of Consciousness

Altered states of consciousness include dreams, hypnosis, hallucinations, meditation, and psychedelic experiences. Consciousness can be altered by many events, both natural and artificial. Throughout our lives, we experience alternative states of consciousness such as sleeping, dreaming, or delirium from a high fever, as well as states induced by personal choice (yoga, intoxication, or drugs). Intense emotions like jealousy can also trigger altered states.

Potential Effects

• Disorders of thought: You may experience varying degrees of impairment in cognitive processes, including attention, memory, and judgment.
• Lost track of time: You may feel that time passes quickly or has stopped. For a paranoid individual, one

Learning is the process through which they acquire new abilities , skills , knowledge , behavior or values ​​as a result of the study , the experience , the instruction , reasoning and observation .

Learning Laws
1 .- Law of Preparation: When a tendency for action is activated by adjustments, provisions and attitudes high schools, etc, the implementation of the action likely to prove successful, and failure, annoying. Preparation means then, prepare for action: the body adjusts to prepare to act, such as the animal prepares to pounce on prey.
2.-Law for the year: The connections are strengthened through practice (law ​​of use) and weak or forget when practice is discontinued (law ​​of disuse). The strength of a habit or connection

Major Theories of Personality

Personality theories can be categorized into three primary perspectives:

• Intrapersonal Factors: These focus on internal elements such as psychoanalysis and humanistic approaches, which classify personality into specific types.
• Situational Factors: These emphasize environmental influences, viewing personality as a set of learned habits expressed in established behavioral patterns of the organism, as proposed by Watson and Skinner.
• Interactionist Perspective: This suggests personality results from the interaction between the subject and their environment, involving cognitive and affective processes developed within a social context, as seen in the work of Bandura, Erikson, and Rotter.

Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Freud...