Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Psychology and Sociology

Research Environments: Field and Laboratory Settings

Research environments can be in the field or the laboratory.

Core Approaches to Scientific Research

• Empiricism
• Dialectical Materialism
• Positivism
• Phenomenology
• Structuralism

Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

The qualitative and quantitative approaches are complementary and enrich research; they are complemented or replaced in some cases:

1. Carry out observation and evaluation of phenomena.
2. Lay down assumptions or ideas as a consequence of observation and assessment.
3. Test and demonstrate the degree to which assumptions or ideas are unfounded.
4. Review such assumptions or ideas on the basis of evidence or analysis.
5. Propose new observations and assessments to establish, modify, cement, substantiate

Psychology

Psychology is the science of behavior and activity of organisms and also because of the internal mechanisms...

a) Basic Psychology:

A part of psychology is devoted to the study of basic psychological processes (perception, tension, feeling, emotion...) general memory.

b) Applied Psychology:

Those aspects of psychology take inf. Psicol. basic, applied knowledge to solve specific people's problems.

1.3 Evolutionary Psychology (Study of Human Development):

Concept: Science that collaborates in different stages: adolescence, maturity. Areas: - Biosocial: development of physical and social effects that affect - Cognitive: mental processes, thinking subject, learning, communication. - Psychosocial: emotions, personality traits, relations with... Continue reading "Psychology: The Science of Behavior and Human Development" »

Scientific Hypothesis Formulation and Feyerabend's View

A hypothesis is an assumption about what happens in the world. The scientific method does not establish how a scenario arises or how it occurs to the scientist. In the formulation of hypotheses, factors come into play that may seem unscientific:

• Imagination
• Invention
• Chance
• Luck

Paul Feyerabend extends the influence of the imagination to all scientific procedure. He argues that the revolutionary discoveries of modern science are made possible by the freedom and spontaneity of scientific activity. To constrain scientific activity to a series of fixed steps makes science rather dogmatic and sterile. Feyerabend argues it is an illusion to think that these scientific discoveries are the result... Continue reading "Scientific Method Challenges: Feyerabend, Popper, and the Physics Crisis" »

Brain Structure and Function

The brain is the most important organ of the nervous system. Weighing approximately 1200 grams, it consists of two hemispheres. It is responsible for motor actions in response to stimuli and hormonal reactions. The brain comprises:

Neocortex (Cerebral Cortex)

Processes information, prepares responses, and is responsible for reasoning. It is divided into 4 lobes with distinct features:

• Frontal (association)
• Temporal (auditory)
• Occipital (visual)
• Parietal (sensory, motor)

Mesocortex (Limbic System)

Plays an important role in psychic life and in regulating functions that affect emotional life in general.

Paleocortex

Governs the operation of very basic aspects such as sleep or appetite.

Philosophical Views: Dualism

Dualism believes... Continue reading "Brain Structure, Mind, and Philosophy" »

Humanistic theory C. Rogers developed a humanistic psychology whose primary purpose was to understand and improve personalidad.Reconoció that person's conduct is conditioned by:-The constitution biological-social forces, "Past experiences. But also defended personal liberty: In the theory of C. Rogers is crucial concept: Self: the configuration is consistent organized perceptions, values and ideals that form the image. The personality assessment is the description and measure individual characteristics. It has several methods of personality assessment: 1. Direct observation is to collect and record information in a systematic and structured, the occurrence and duration of spontaneous behaviors of some people 2. Clinical Interview: A method... Continue reading "Matter" »

Item 2: Behavioral Concepts

1. Define Learning

Learning is the process by which experience produces a permanent change in knowledge or behavior.

3. Define Key Behavioral Terms

• Punishment: A consequence that, immediately after a behavior, lowers the probability that the conduct is repeated.
• Reinforcement: Defined as an event presented immediately after the occurrence of a behavior that increases the likelihood that the conduct is repeated.

Positive Reinforcement

This means that when presented, it increases the chances for a response to occur again. Example: Giving points for participating in class makes a student repeat participation.

Negative Reinforcement

These are consequences that, when removed from the situation, increase the likelihood that the... Continue reading "Behavior Modification: Learning, Reinforcement, and Punishment Principles" »

Human Development: Progress and Well-being

Human development focuses directly on the progress of life and well-being; it is an evaluation of life. Human development is linked to strengthening specific skills related to the whole range of things a person can be and do in life. This involves the possibility for all people to increase their human potential fully and utilize that capacity in all areas—cultural, economic, and political—that is, in capacity-building.

Human development is about freedom to live as one likes.

Human development has to do with the expression of civil liberties and is associated with the possibility that all individuals are subjects and beneficiaries of development; that is, they are constituted as subjects.

Modifications

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is the center of the world, in the sense that all other cultures are classified according to their degree of approximation to the mainstream culture. Ethnocentrism has sometimes been presented as a scientific doctrine, as the Nazis attempted to establish rigorous biological criteria to distinguish different races. A graphic illustration of the critique of ethnocentrism is provided by the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss when he says that "The savage is he who calls another savage."

Although ethnocentrism is a critical concept, not all human cultures are comparable because there are significant differences between their cultural traits. While no culture... Continue reading "Ethnocentrism and Cultural Evolution: Understanding Differences" »

Cognitive psychology is a discipline that studies processes such as perception, memory, language, attention, and other processes involved in the handling of information by the subject.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget is known for his genetic theory of cognitive development, which proposes that children actively construct their understanding of the world through interaction.

Intelligence, according to Piaget, is the ability to maintain a constant adaptation of the subject's schemas to the world in which they operate.

Adaptation explains the development process of learning and is divided into two sub-processes:

• Assimilation: Integrating new information or experiences into existing schemas. For example, understanding a new concept

Understanding Heterosexuality

Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by sexual attraction, love, or sexual desire for people of the opposite sex. This contrasts with homosexuality and is usually distinguished from bisexuality.

Besides referring to sexual orientation, the term heterosexual also refers to sexual behavior between individuals of the opposite sex. Many animal species (those that engage in sexual reproduction and internal fertilization), including humans, reproduce through heterosexual sex. This is unlike hermaphroditic species, in which all individuals possess both sexes.

Homosexuality

Homosexuality (from the Greek ομος, homo, meaning 'equal', and the Latin sexus, meaning 'sex') is a sexual orientation defined... Continue reading "Understanding Heterosexuality and Related Sexual Practices" »