Unit 2 Psychology Terms

Hypothesis

A prediction of the results of the experiment using prior knowledge

Independent variable (IV)

What is being changed and manipulated in the experiment

Dependent variable (DV)

What is being measured

Controlled variables

Variables the experimenter controls

Experimental group

Group of participants exposed to the IV

Control group

The baseline for the experiment - no changing variables only controlled variables.

Within-subjects design

Same group completes every experimental condition

Between-subjects design

Two groups and do one experimental condition each

Mixed design

An experimental design that combines both within-subjects and between-subjects approaches. Two groups complete the same tasks

Population

The group of people the sample is taken from

Sample

Portion of people used in experiment

Convenience sampling

Picking people readily available

Random sampling

Picking people from the population at complete random

Stratified sampling

Separating people into groups (strata's) and taking people proportionately to the groups.

Allocation

How the participants are assigned to experimental conditions or groups

Extraneous variables

Variables other than the IV that may cause an unwanted effect on the DV

Confounding variables

Variables other than the IV that create a systematic unwanted effect on the DV

Qualitative data

Data expressed using language and provides information as to what is being studied.

Quantitative data

Data expressed in numbers that can be compared and analysed.

Primary data

Data, evidence and research gathered first hand

Secondary data

Data, evidence and research sourced from somewhere else.

Objective data

Unbiased data that is unaffected by personal opinion or interpretation.

Subjective data

Data that relies on the investigators personal opinion or interpretation.

Accuracy

Whether the data measured is the true value - affected by systematic errors

Precision

Whether the measurement tool provides consistent data - affected by random errors

Systematic errors

Errors that differ from true value consistently

Random errors

Unsystematic errors that occur due to chance

Repeatability

Whether the experiment can be repeated the exact same and get the same results

Reproducibility

Whether the experiment could be replicated under different conditions and get similar results

Validity

Extent to which an investigation actually measures what its meant to measure

Internal validity

Whether the tools are effectively measuring what they are believed to measure

External validity

If the results could apply to the rest of the population

Beneficence

Maximising benefits and minimising risks of the investigation

Integrity

Searching for knowledge and understanding and honest reporting of all findings.

Justice

Ensure that all claims are considered fairly, no unfair burden on particular groups because of an action and there is fair distribution and access to benefits of an action.

Non-maleficence

Any potential harm should be avoided and minimised.

Respect

Respecting living things autonomy and considering all living things value.

Confidentiality

Keeping participants names and data confidential and private

Informed consent procedures

Making sure the participant has ALL the information about the experiment before agreeing to participate.

Use of deception in research

Withholding some information about this investigation if the information will affect their participants results.

Debriefing

Debriefing the participants after the experiment has finished and explaining the aim, hypothesis and results to them as well as explaining how the results will be used.

Voluntary participation

The participant has a choice in whether they participate and not being coerced into it.

Withdrawal rights

Having the rights to withdraw from the experiment at any time without suffering consequences.

External attribution

Judgement of the cause of behaviour as a result of situational factors outside the individual

Internal attribution

Judge behaviour as being caused by something personal within an individual

Base rate fallacy

Type of bias in which decisions, social perceptions and judgements are influenced more by vivid memories and experiences than statistical fact

Attitude

Evaluation of something, such as a person, object, event or idea

Behavioural component

Our outward and observable actions that reflect our point of view about something

Affective component

Our emotions and intuitive feelings towards something, reflected in our attitude

Cognitive component

Our thoughts and beliefs towards something

Fundamental attribution error

Our tendency to explain other peoples behaviour in terms of internal factors while ignoring possible external factors

Tri component model of attitudes

A model which illustrates the relationship between the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of our attitudes

Stereotypes

A widely held belief and generalisation about a group, such as people, animals or objects

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological tension that occurs when our thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviours do not align with one another

Cognitive biases

Unconscious, systematic tendencies to interpret information in a way that is neither rational nor based on objective reality

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for and accept information that supports our prior beliefs or behaviours and ignore contradictory information.

Halo effect

Tendency for the impression we form about one quality of a person to influence our overall beliefs about the person in other respects

False consensus bias

Tendency to overestimate the degree to which people share the same ideas and attitudes as we do

Actor observer bias

Tendency to attribute our own actions to external factors and situational causes while attributing other peoples actions to internal factors

Self serving bias

Tendency to attribute positive success to our internal character and actions and attribute our failures to external factors or situational causes

Prejudice

An often negative preconception held against people within a certain group or social category

Discrimination

The unjust treatment of people due to their membership within a certain social category

Social stigma

Negative stereotypes cause widespread feeling of disgrace

Self-stigma

Internalization of negative stereotypes

Social identity theory

The tendency for people to favour their in-group over an out-group to enhance their self-esteem

Social loafing

An individuals reduction in effort when work is performed in a group as compared to individually, due to a belief that others will put in the effort

Individualist culture

A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of individuals and values independence

Collectivist culture

A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of groups

Obedience

Complying with commands which are often given by a source of authority

Conformity

Adjusting one's thoughts, feelings, or behaviours to match those of others, a social group, or a social situation

Group-think

When perceived group consensus overrides an individual 's critical thinking

Group-shift

When the influence of the group causes an individual to adopt a more extreme position

Deindividuation

The tendency for individuals to lose their sense of identity and individuality within a group

Social comparison

A proposal that humans measure their self-worth in relation to the people around them, playing a significant role in mental wellbeing

Reactance

A motivational state of distress and resistance, caused by a desire to regain personal freedom that has been removed or threatened

Individuation

When an individual 's identity and contributions to a group are noticeable

Perceptual set

A predisposition of 'readiness' to perceive stimuli in a specific way; that is, interpreting what we see according to certain preconceptions of what we expect it to be (interpretation)

Apperceptive visual agnosia

Inability to recognise familiar visual stimuli due to problems with processing perceptions

Associative visual agnosia

Inability to recognise familiar visual stimuli, despite having no problems with processing perceptions

Brightness constancy

An object appears to maintain its level of brightness, despite changes in the amount of light being reflected from it on the retina

Shape constancy

The perception of the shapes of objects as remaining constant even when viewed from different orientations that would change the shape of the image on the retina

Size constancy

Tendency to view objects as stable in size even though the size of the image on the retina changes when viewed from different distances

Gestalt principle

The guiding rules of perception that allow us to organise and group visual stimuli into a meaningful whole

Proximity

Brain's tendency to group together items in an image based on their physical closeness to one another

Similarity

Brain's tendency to group together parts of an image that are similar in some way

Closure

Brain's ability to mentally complete images that are otherwise incomplete

Figure Ground

Brain's tendency to see some figures as being at the front of an image. E.g. foreground and background separated

Sustained attention

Maintaining a high degree of attention on one stimulus or task across a prolonged, continuous period of time

Divided attention

Splitting attention across two or more stimuli at one time

Selective attention

Exclusively focusing attention on a specific stimulus or task while ignoring all other stimuli or tasks

6 Stages of Sensation and Perception

(Sensation): Reception - Transduction - Transmission. (Perception): Selection - Organisation - Interpretation

Reception

The sensory receptors collect the stimulus energy

Transduction

The stimulus energy is converted by the receptor cells into electrochemical nerve impulses

Transmission

Electrochemically charged neural impulses leave their receptor sites and travel along neural pathways the the area of the brain that are specialized to receive them.

Selection

The brain can't possibly pay attention to all of the millions of stimuli it receives at the same time, so it pays attention to only the most important pieces and ignores the rest

Organisation

The process of regrouping selected features of sensory stimuli in order for them to be cohesively arranged

Interpretation

Involves giving meaning to the stimuli so we understand what the represent about the external world. To do this we us past experiences, expectations, culture, motives, values and context.

Motion parallax

Judges depth through perception of movement, the faster that objects in our visual field move, the closer they are to us.

Interposition

When objects overlap with one another we perceive the object that is covered by another as being further away than the one obscuring it.

Linear perspective

Parallel lines within our visual field appear to gradually converge as they recede into the distance