Psychology, A Journey 3e Objectives Chapter 1
OBJECTIVE 1.1—Define psychology, list reasons for studying psychology, and explain how psychology can be both a science and a profession.
OBJECTIVE 1.2—Define the term “behavior” and differentiate overt from covert behavior.
OBJECTIVE 1.3—Describe what is meant by “empirical evidence” and identify examples of
empirical evidence; define the terms “data,” “scientific observation,” and “research method;”
and explain why the study of some topics in psychology is difficult
OBJECTIVE 1.4—Write a brief summary of each of the following areas of specialization in
psychology:
a.developmentalf. biopsychology k. evolutionary
b.learningg. cognitive
c.personalityh. gender
d.sensation and perceptioni. social
e.comparativej. cultural
OBJECTIVE 1.5—Explain why animals are used in research and define the term “animal model” in your
discussion.
OBJECTIVE 1.6—Explain the four goals of psychology.
OBJECTIVE 1.7—For each of these schools of psychology—structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism,
Gestalt psychology, psychoanalytic, and humanism—answer each of the following questions:
a.its founder
b.reasons it was founded
c.its goal or main focus
d.its impact on modern psychology and/or possible use in psychotherapy
OBJECTIVE 1.8—Identify notable events within the history of psychology; describe the contribution of
women to the early history of psychology and their representation in the field then and now; and
explain what is meant by the eclectic approach that is used by most psychologists today.
OBJECTIVE 1.9—Describe the various views within the biological, psychological, and sociocultural
perspectives that are used in understanding behavior. Include a brief discussion of positive psychology,
human diversity, cultural relativity, and social norms.
OBJECTIVE 1.10—Characterize the differences in training, emphasis, expertise, and sources of
employment among psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, counselors, and psychiatric social
workers; describe the media’s portrayal of mental health professionals; and identify the types of
research conducted by different psychological specialties.
OBJECTIVE 1.11—List and define the six steps of the scientific method; define the terms hypothesis,
operational definition, and theory (building); explain the importance of publishing, and list and describe
the parts of a research report.
OBJECTIVE 1.12—Describe the technique of naturalistic observation and its advantages and limitations;
include the concepts of observer effect, observer bias, and anthropomorphic error in your discussion;
and define the term observation record.
Chapter 1 objectives, con’t
OBJECTIVE 1.13—Describe what a correlational study is, its advantages and limitations, how a
correlation coefficient is expressed and what it means, and why correlation does NOT demonstrate
causation.
OBJECTIVE 1.14—List and describe the three essential variables of the experimental method and explain
the nature and purpose of the control group and the experimental group in an experiment as well as the
purpose of randomly assigning subjects to these two groups.
OBJECTIVE 1.15—Describe the single-blind and double-blind experimental approaches and how they control for the placebo effect and the experimenter effect, respectively. Include a discussion of what a placebo is and how it works and the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
OBJECTIVE 1.16—Briefly describe the clinical method or case study method, including when it is used and its advantages and limitations.
OBJECTIVE 1.17—Briefly describe the use of the survey method, including its advantages and limitations and the new use of internet surveys, and define the terms population, representative sample, random selection, biased sample, and courtesy bias.
OBJECTIVE 1.18—Define the term “critical thinking” and describe each of the four principles which form the foundation of critical thinking.
OBJECTIVE 1.19—Briefly describe each of the following pseudo-psychologies—palmistry, phrenology, graphology, andastrology—and explain why they continue to thrive even though they have no scientific basis.
OBJECTIVE 1.20—List suggestions that your author gives to help you become a more critical reader of psychological information in the popular press.