Psychology

Front 1

Correlation Coefficient

Back 1

A mathematical expression of the relationship between two variables

Front 2

Culture

Back 2

The beliefs, customs, habits, and language shared by the people living in a particular time and place

Front 3

Debriefing

Back 3

A discussion of procedures, hypotheses, and participant reactions at the completion of the study

Front 4

Demand Characteristic

Back 4

Cue that makes participants aware of how the experimenter expects them to behave

Front 5

Dependent Variable

Back 5

The variable measured by the experimenter

Front 6

Descriptive Method

Back 6

Procedure for measuring or recording behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in their natural state (including naturalistic observations, case studies, archival studies, and surveys

Front 7

Evolutionary Perspective

Back 7

A theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce

Front 8

Experiement

Back 8

A research method in which the researcher sets out to systematically manipulate one source of influence while holding others constant

Front 9

Experimental Method

Back 9

Procedure for uncovering causal processes by systematically manipulating soe aspect of a situation

Front 10

External Validity

Back 10

The extent to which the results of an experiement can be generalized to other circumstances

Front 11

Field Experimentation

Back 11

The manipulation of independent variables using unknowing praticipants in natural settings

Front 12

Generalizability

Back 12

The extent to which the findings of a particular research study extend to other similar circumstances or cases

Front 13

Hypothesis

Back 13

A researcher's prediction about what he or she will find

Front 14

Independent Variable

Back 14

The variable manipulated by the experimenter

Front 15

Internal Validity

Back 15

The extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect

Front 16

Natural Selection

Back 16

The process by which characteristics the help animals survive and reproduce are passed on to their offspring

Front 17

Naturalistic Observation

Back 17

Recording everyday behaviors as they unfold in their natural settings

Front 18

Observer bias

Back 18

Error introduced into measurement when and observer overemphasizes behaviors he or she expects to find and fails to notice behaviors he or she does not expect

Front 19

Person

Back 19

Features or characteristics that individuals carry into social situations

Front 20

Psychological Test

Back 20

Instument for assessing a person's abilities, cognitions, motivations, or behaviors

Front 21

Random Assignment

Back 21

The practice of assigning articipants to treatments so each person has an equal chance of being in any condition

Front 22

Reliability

Back 22

The consistency of the score yielded by a psychological test

Front 23

Representative sample

Back 23

a group of respondencts having characteristics that match those of the larger population the researcher wants to describe

Front 24

Situation

Back 24

Environmental events or circumstances outside the person

Front 25

Social Cognitive perspective

Back 25

a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences

Front 26

Social desirability bias

Back 26

the tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable

Front 27

Social learning perspective

Back 27

a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person's social behaviors

Front 28

Social Norm

Back 28

a rule or expectation appropriate social behavior

Front 29

Social Psychology

Back 29

The scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people

Front 30

Sociocultural Perspective

Back 30

The theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in influences from larger social groups

Front 31

Survey method

Back 31

A technique in which the researcher asks people to report on their beliefs, feelings, or behaviors

Front 32

Theory

Back 32

Scientific explanation that connects and organizes existing observations and suggests fruitful paths for future research

Front 33

Validity

Back 33

the extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure

Front 34

Adaptation

Back 34

A characteristic that is well designed for survival and reproduction in a particular environment

Front 35

Archival Method

Back 35

Examination of systematic data originally collected for other purposes (such as marriage licences of arrest records)

Front 36

Case Study

Back 36

an intensive examination of an individual or group

Front 37

Confound

Back 37

a variable yhat systematically changes along with the independent variable, potentially leading to a mistaken conclusion about the effect of the independent variable

Front 38

Correlation

Back 38

the extent to which two or more variables are associated with one another