Prologue And Chapter 1 Vocab Ap Psych

Front 1

empiricism

Back 1

the view that (a) knowledge comes from experience, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment

Front 2

structuralism

Back 2

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Front 3

fuctionalism

Back 3

a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Front 4

psychology

Back 4

the science of behavior and mental processes

Front 5

nature-nuture issue

Back 5

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributors that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

Front 6

natural selection

Back 6

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Front 7

basic research

Back 7

pure science that aims to increase scientific knowledge base

Front 8

applied research

Back 8

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Front 9

clinical psychology

Back 9

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

Front 10

psychiatry

Back 10

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who provide medical treatments

Front 11

hindsight bias

Back 11

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Front 12

hypothesis

Back 12

a testable prediction often implied by a theory

Front 13

operational definition

Back 13

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Front 14

replication

Back 14

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants/situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Front 15

case study

Back 15

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Front 16

survey

Back 16

technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes/behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample

Front 17

false consensus effect

Back 17

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Front 18

population

Back 18

all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study

Front 19

random sample

Back 19

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Front 20

naturalistic observation

Back 20

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate/control the situation

Front 21

correlation coefficient

Back 21

a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Front 22

scatter plot

Back 22

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the value of 2 variables

Front 23

Illusory Correlation

Back 23

The perception of a relationship where none exists

Front 24

Illusory Correlation

Back 24

The perception of a relationship where none exists

Front 25

Experiment

Back 25

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on Some behavior or mental process (dependent variable)

Front 26

Illusory Correlation

Back 26

The perception of a relationship where none exists

Front 27

Experiment

Back 27

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on Some behavior or mental process (dependent variable)

Front 28

Double-Blind Procedure

Back 28

An experimental procedure in which bith the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) About whether the research participants have received treatment/ placebo

Front 29

Placebo Effect

Back 29

Experimental results caused by expectations alone, any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent

Front 30

Experimental Condition

Back 30

The condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is. To one version of the independent variable

Front 31

Control Condition

Back 31

The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experiment condition and serves as a comparison for evaluation of the treatment's effects

Front 32

Random Assignment

Back 32

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Front 33

Independent Variable

Back 33

The experimental factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied

Front 34

Dependent Variable

Back 34

The experimental factor that is being measured, the variable may change in response to manipulation of independent variables

Front 35

Independent Variable

Back 35

The experimental factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied

Front 36

Mode

Back 36

The most frequently occurring score in a distribution

Front 37

Mean

Back 37

The arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

Front 38

Median

Back 38

The middle score

Front 39

Mean

Back 39

The arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

Front 40

Range

Back 40

Difference between highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Front 41

Standard Deviation

Back 41

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score