Intro To Psychology (Ch. 1 Vocab)

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Psychology

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the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

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Behavioral neuroscience

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subfield of psychology that focuses on how the brain and the nervous system, as well as other biological aspects of the body, determine behavior

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Experimental psychology

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branch of psychology that studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world

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Cognitive psychology

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focuses on higher mental processes, including thinking, memory, reasoning, problem solving, judging, decision making, and language

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Developmental psychology

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studies how people grow and change from the moment of conception through death

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Health psychology

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explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease

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Clinical psychology

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the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders

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Counseling psychology

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focuses primarily on educational, social, and career adjustment problems

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Cross-cultural psychology

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investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups

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Evolutionary psychology

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considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors

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Behavioral genetics

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focuses on the biological mechanisms, such as genes and chromosomes, that enable inherited behavior to unfold

seeks to understand how we might inherit certain behavioral traits and how the environment influences whether we actually display such traits

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Clinical neuropsychology

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unites the areas of neuroscience and clinical psychology

focuses on the origin of psychological disorders in biological factors

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Structuralism

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focuses on uncovering the fundamental mental componenets of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activites

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Introspection

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to determine how basic sensory processes shape our understanding of the world by presenting people with a stimulus, and asking them to describe what they were experiencing

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Functionalism

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concentrated on what the mind does and how behavior functions

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Gestalt psychology

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emphasizes how perception is organized

studying how people consider individual elements together as units or wholes

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Neuroscience perspective

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considers how people and nonhumans function biologically: how individual nerve cells are joined together, how the inheritance of certain characteristics from parents and other ancestors influences behavior, how the functioning of the body affects hopes and fears, which behaviors are instinctual, and so forth

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Psychodynamic perspective

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the approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner foreces over which the individual has little control

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Behavioral perspective

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the approach that suggests that observable, measurable behavior should be the focus of study

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Cognitive perspective

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the approach that focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world

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Humanistic perspective

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the approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behaviors

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Free will

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the idea that behavior is caused primarily by choices that are made freely by the individual

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Determinism

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the idea that people"s behavior is produced primarily by factors outside of their willful control

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Scientific method

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the approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest

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Theories

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broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest

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Hypothesis

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a prediction, stemming from a theory, stated in a way that allows it to be tested

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Operational definition

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the translation of a hypothesis into specific, test-able procedures that can be measured and observed

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Archival research

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research in which existing data, such as census documents, college records, online databases, and newspaper clippings, are examined to test a hypothesis

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Naturalistic observation

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research in which an investigator observes some naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation

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Survey research

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research in which people chosen to represent a larger population are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes

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Case study

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an in-depth, intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people

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Variables

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behaviors, events, or other characteristics that can change, or vary, in some way

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Correlational research

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research in which the relationship between two sets of variables is examined to determine whether they are associated, or "correlated."

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Experiment

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theinvestigations of the relationship between two (or more) variables by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation

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Experimental manipulation

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the change that an experimenter deliberately produces in a situation

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Treatment

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the manipulation implemented by the experimenter

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Experimental group

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any group participating in an experiment that receives a treatment

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Control group

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a group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment

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Independent variable

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the variable that is manipulated by an experimenter

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Dependent variable

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the variable that is measured in an experiment. It is expected to change as a result of the experimenter's manipulation of the independent variable

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Random assignment to condition

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a procedure in whihc participants are assigned to different experimental groups or "conditions" on the basis of chance and chance alone

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Significant outcome

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meaningful results that make it possible for researchers to feel confident that they have confirmed their hypotheses

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Replicated research

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research that is repeated, sometimes using other procedures, settings, and groups of participants, to increase confidence in prior findings

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Informed consent

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a document signed by participants affirming that they have been told the basic outline of the study and are aware of what their participation will involve

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Experimental bias

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factors that distort how the independent variable affects the dependent variable in an experiment

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Placebo

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a false treatment, such as a pill, "drug," or other substance, without any significant chemical properties or active ingredient