Psychology Ch.1 Vocab

Front 1

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

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psychology

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Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the most basic components, or structures, of conscious experience (thought).

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structuralism

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Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the purpose, or function, of behavior and mental experiences.

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functionalism

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Personality theory and form of psychotherapy thyat emphasize the role of the unconscious factors in personality and behavior.

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pschoanalysis

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School of psychology and theorectical viewpoint that emphasize the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning.

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behaviorism

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School of psychology and theorectical viewpoint that emphasize each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction.

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humaistic psychology

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The attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to another.

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culture

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Branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on behavior and mental processes.

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cross-cultural psychology

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The belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to all others, and the related tendency to use one's own culture as a standard by which to judge other cultures.

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ethnocentrism

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Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the individual over the needs and goals of the group.

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individualistic cultures

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Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the group over the needs and goals of the individual.

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collectivistic cultures

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The application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena.

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evolutionary psychology

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A set of assumptions, attitudes and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions.

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scientific method

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Evidence that is based on objective observation, measurement, and/or experimentation.

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empirical evidence

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A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

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hypothesis

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A factor that can vary in ways that can be observed, measured, and verified.

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variable

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A precise description of how the variables in a study will be manipulated or measured.

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operational definition

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The active process of trying to minimize the influence of preconceptions and biases while rationally evaluating evidence, determining the conclusions that can be drawn from evidence, and considering alternative explanations.

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critical thinking

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A branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data.

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statistics

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A mathematical indication that research results are not very likely to have occurred by chance.

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statistically significant

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A statistical technique that involoves combining and analyzing the results of many research studies on a specific topic in order to identify overall trends.

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meta-analysis

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To repeat or duplicate a scientific study in order to increase confidence in the validity of the original findings.

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replicate

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A tentative explanation that tries to integrate and account for the relationship of various findings and observations.

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theory

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Scientific procedures that involve systematically observing behavior in order to describe the relationship among behaviors and events.

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descriptive research methods

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The systematic observation and recording of behaviours as they occur in their natural setting.

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naturalistic observation

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A fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence.

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psuedoscience

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Alleged abilities or events that fall outside the range of normal experience and established scientific explanations.

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paranormal phenomena

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In order for a claim to be scientifically tested and proved true, there must be identifiable evidence that could prove the claim false.

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rule of falsifiability

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The mistaken belief that two factors or events are related when they are not.

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illusory correlation

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An intensive study of a single individual or small group or individuals.

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case study

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A questionnaire or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group.

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survey

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A selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied.

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sample

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A selected segment that very closely parallels tha larger population being studied on relevant characteristics.

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representative sample

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Process in which subjects are selected randomly from a larger group such that every group member has an equal chance of being included in the study.

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random selection

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A research study that allows the precise calculation of how strongly related two factors are to each other.

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correlational study

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A numerical indication of the magnitude and direction of the relationship between two variables.

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correlation coefficient

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A finding that two factors vary systematically in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together.

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positive correlation

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A finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, on increasing as the other decreases.

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negative correlation

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A method of investigation used to demonstrate case-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor.

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experimental method

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The purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change in an experiment; also called the <i>treatment of interest</i>.

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independent variable

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That factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment; thought to be influenced by the independent variable.

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dependent variable

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The process of assigning participants to experimental conditions so that all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions or groups in the study.

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random assignment

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In an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, including the independent variable or treatment of interest.

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experimental group or experimental condition

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In an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, except the independent variable or treatment of interest; the group against which changes in the experimental group are compared.

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control group or control condition

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In an experiment, a control group in which the participants are exposed to a fake independent variable, or placebo. The effects of the placebo are compared to the effects of the actual independent variable, or treatment of interest, on the experimental group.

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placebo control group

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Any change in performance that results from mere repetition of a task.

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practice effect

Front 47

Changes in a subject's behaviour produced by the subject's belief that change should happen; also called placebo effects.

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expectancy effects

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Experimental technique in which neither of the participants nor the researcher intereacting with the participants is aware of the group or condition to which the participants have been assigned.

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double-blind study

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In a research study, subtle cues or signals expressed by the researcher that communicate the kind of response or behvaiour that is expected from the participant.

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demand characteristics

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Branch of psychology that studies the behavior of different animal species.

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comparative psychology