Unit 3 Learning Targets – History and Research

  1. Explain the role that the following groups contributed to the early field of psychology:
  • The Egyptians
  • The Greeks
  • The Romans
  • Enlightenment thinkers
  1. Explain the purpose of trephination
  1. Explain why we use the psychological perspectives or approaches to help explain psychological theory.
  1. Explain the ideas behind each of the following perspectives (or approaches); identify the psychologists associated with each; and explain strengths and weaknesses of each perspective.

Perspective / Idea behind it / Psychologists associated with / Identify criticisms of the perspective / Identify strengths of the theory
Structuralism
Functionalism
Behaviorism
Psychoanalytic/
Psychodynamic
Humanism
Evolutionary
Biological
Cognitive
  1. Identify the rolethe following psychologists played in the history of psychology:
  2. Wilhelm Wundt
  1. G. Stanley Hall
  1. Mary Whitton Calkins
  1. Margaret Floy Washburn
  1. Charles Darwin
  1. Sigmund Freud
  2. William James
  1. Carl Rogers
  1. BF Skinner
  1. Jean Piaget
  1. Dorothea Dix
  1. Identify and explain the different fields (or domains of psychology)
  • Biological
  • Clinical
  • Cognitive
  • Counseling
  • Developmental
  • Educational
  • Experimental
  • human factors
  • industrial–organizational
  • personality
  • psychometric
  • social
  1. Explain the purpose, strengths and weaknesses of the following research methods

Purpose / Strengths / Weaknesses
Experiment
Correlational Study
Naturalistic Observation
Survey
Case Study
  1. Identify the type of variables and the sampling procedureused in each method of research

Type of Variables / Sampling procedure
Experiment
Correlational Study
Naturalistic Observation
Survey
Case Study
  1. Define operational definition and explain why they are needed in research.
  1. Explain what a confounding variable is and how a confounding variable can skew the results of research.
  1. Explain the difference between descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
  1. Explain the following type of statistic, what they describe (descriptive statistics), and identify the formula’s used to calculate them (see Statistics Practice Sheet for actually calculation):
  2. Measure of Central Tendency
  1. Mean
  1. Median
  1. Mode
  1. Measure of Dispersion
  1. Range
  1. Variance
  1. Standard Deviation
  1. Identify the following graphs commonly used to describe data in statistics:

a. What does “n” refer to in the graph above?

b. What does “r” indicate in the graph’s to the right?

c. Label the X and Y axis in the graph to the left.

  1. Explain how to determine the strength of a positive or negative correlation.
  1. Explain what statistical significance means in research.
  1. Define P- Value
  1. Identify what P value must be for results to be statistically significant.
  1. Explain the ethical guidelines that the American Psychological Association (APA) has set forth for animal research.
  1. Explain the ethical guidelines that the American Psychological Association (APA) has set forth for human research.