Psych Chapter 1

Front 1

Psychology

Back 1

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Front 2

Evolutionary Psychology

Back 2

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

Front 3

Cross-Cultural Psychology

Back 3

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

Front 4

Structuralism

Back 4

Wundt's approach; focuses on uncovering the fundamental mental components of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities

Front 5

Introspection

Back 5

procedure used to study the structure of the mind in which subjects are asked to describe in detail what they are experiencing when they are exposed to a stimulus

Front 6

Functionalism

Back 6

early approach to psychology that concentrates on what the mind does - the functions of mental activity, behavior, and the role in allowing people to adapt to their environment

Front 7

Gestalt Psychology

Back 7

approach to psychology that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a whole rather than the small elements

Front 8

Neuroscience Perspective

Back 8

views behavior from the perspective of the brain, the nervous system, and other biological functions

Front 9

Psychodynamic Perpective

Back 9

behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control

Front 10

Behavioral Perspective

Back 10

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

Front 11

Cognitive Perspective

Back 11

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

Front 12

Humanistic Perspective

Back 12

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

Front 13

Free Will

Back 13

behavior is caused by choices that are made freely

Front 14

Determinism

Back 14

behavior is produced by factors outside of willful control

Front 15

Scientific Method

Back 15

approach psychologists use to systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest

Front 16

Theories

Back 16

broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest

Front 17

Hypothesis

Back 17

prediction; stemming from a theory, stated to be tested

Front 18

Operational Definition

Back 18

translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed

Front 19

Archival Research

Back 19

existing data is examined to test hypothesis

Front 20

Naturalistic Observation

Back 20

investigator simply observes sure, naturally occurring behavior and does not make changes in studies

Front 21

Survey Research

Back 21

people choose to represent a larger population

Front 22

Case Study

Back 22

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

Front 23

Variables

Back 23

behaviors, events, or other characteristics that may vary in some way

Front 24

Correlational Research

Back 24

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

Front 25

Experiment

Back 25

investigation of the relationship between two or more variables by changing one variable to see how it affects the final outcome

Front 26

Experimental Manipulation

Back 26

change that an experimenter produces in an experiment

Front 27

Treatment

Back 27

manipulation implemented by the experimenter

Front 28

Experimental Group

Back 28

group participating in an experiment that receives treatment

Front 29

Control Group

Back 29

receives no treatment

Front 30

Independent Variable

Back 30

manipulated by experimenter

Front 31

Dependent Variable

Back 31

remains the same through experiment

Front 32

Random Assignment to Condition

Back 32

procedure in which participants are assigned to different experimental groups on chance and chance alone

Front 33

Significant Outcome

Back 33

meaningful results that make it possible to feel confident that they have confirmed the hypothesis

Front 34

Replicated Research

Back 34

repeated research, using other procedures to increase confidence in prior findings

Front 35

Informed Consent

Back 35

document signed by participants affirming they were told the basic outlines of the study and are aware of what their participation will involve

Front 36

Experimental Bias

Back 36

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