Ap Psychology- Chapter 1 Terms

Front 1

Psychology

Back 1

The science of behavior and mental processes

Front 2

Nature vs. Nurture Issue

Back 2

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions of genes and experiance to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Front 3

Basic Research

Back 3

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Front 4

Applied research

Back 4

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Front 5

Clinical Psychology

Back 5

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

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Psychiatry

Back 6

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example:drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

Front 7

Critical thinking

Back 7

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

Front 8

Hindsight bias

Back 8

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it

Front 9

Theory

Back 9

An explaination using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations

Front 10

Hypothesis

Back 10

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Front 11

Replication

Back 11

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different subjects in different situations, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other subjects and circumstances

Front 12

Case Study

Back 12

An observation technique in which one person is studies in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Front 13

Survey

Back 13

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

Front 14

False Consensus effect

Back 14

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

Front 15

Population

Back 15

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

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Random sample

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

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Naturalistic observation

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Observing and recording behavior in naturally occuring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

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Correlation

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A statistical measure that indicates the extent of which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other

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Illusory correlation

Back 19

The perception of a relationship where none exists

Front 20

Experiment

Back 20

A research method in which the investrigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) while controlling other relevant factors by random assignment of subjects

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Experimental condition

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The condition of an experiment that exposes subjects to the treatment (to one version of the "independent variable")

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Control condition

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The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental treatment and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

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Random Assignment

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

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Independent variable

Back 24

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

Front 25

Dependent variable

Back 25

The experimental factor- in psychology, the behavior or mental process- that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to maipulations of the independent variable

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Operational Definition

Back 26

A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables

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Placebo

Back 27

An insert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent

Front 28

Double-blind procedure

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An experimental procedure in which both the subject and the research staff are ignorant (bllind) about whether the subject has received the treatment of a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Front 29

Culture

Back 29

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next