Psychology General Vocab

grey matter

• shows where the most neurons have made connections and is biological proof for skill devlopment

• the place where the processing of sensation, perception, voluntary movement, learning, speech and cognition takes place

conditions

• different groupings of participants

sample size

• the amount of participants in a study

participants

• term for people in a study

psychology

• the scientific study of the mind and behavior

the mind

• the coordinated responses of whole living organisms to internal and/or external stimuli

attitudes

• feelings of like or dislike towards an object, person, or idea

• affects behavior and both positive and negative ways

emotions

• combination of physiological and cognitive processes

• there are seven basic emotions:

  • happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt

theory

• an explanation for a psychological phenomenon

• a statement that summarizes, organizes, and explains observations

• used to make predictions of human behavior

• probable and open to doubt

• cannot explain all psychological phenomenons

• theories are built on concepts:

  • hypothetical constructs that must be carefully defined so they can be tested

  • they must well defined and tested and often require the development of tools to measure

• god theories are testable and if they aren’t, they are unfalsifiable

• use anecdotal data

• empirical evidence is used to support theories

• has high heuristic validity

• good theories aren’t biased

anecdotal data

• personal experiences that support theories are considered

empirical evidence (empirical support)

• characteristic of a good study

• found in the form of:

  • experiment, observation, interview, and case studies

• empirical evidence must be replicated to be well-supported

high heuristic validity

• characteristic of a good theory

• application in a practical way

reductionism

• a theory that excludes certain factors

• describing a phenomenon in terms of simple explanations or singular variables

experiment

• widely used method to study behavior

• has a goal to determine whether a cause-and-effect relationship exists between two variables

• generates numerical data that can be statistically tested for significance to rule out the role of chance

independent variable

• variable that causes change in another variable

dependent variable

• measured after manipulation of the independent variable

control

• key characteristic of an experiment, keeps other possible variables from changing

operationalized

• variables must be written and clear and establishes what is being measured

standardized

• characteristic of a study, procedure must be written in a way that it can be repeated

true experiment

• randomly allocates participants to conditions, lessens potential for individuals characteristics to influence results

hypothesis

• developed based on the studies aim

• predicts how the independent variable will affect the dependent variable

experimental hypothesis

• predicts the relationship between the independent and dependent variable and what is expected to come out of the manipulation of the independent variable

control condition

• comparison between two conditions of the experiment

null hypothesis

• created alongside an experimental hypothesis, states that the independent variable will have no effect on the dependent variable or that any change in the dependent variable will be due to chance

• typically created to reject as to show the predicted cause-and-effect relationship exists as psychologists can only disprove, not prove

extraneous variables

• other variables that may impact study results

low ecological validity

• occurs when experiments occur in a controlled environment and does not reflect the realities of life in the results

field experiment

• conducted outside of the lab in the “real world“

• cannot control extraneous variables

• cannot be easily replicated

• many ethical considerations must occur

• difficult to receive informed consent

quasi experiment

• when participants are not randomly allocated to conditions

• participants are grouped based on traits or behaviors

  • variables that are wanted to be studied cannot be assigned randomly

• does not show direct causation but does imply a casual relationship between the independent and dependent variable

natural experiments

• a subset of quasi experiments where participants are not randomly allocated to conditions

• when an independent variable is environmental in nature and outside of the control of the researcher

• uses pre-test and post-test design to measure behavior

• does not show direct causation but does imply a casual relationship between the independent and dependent variable

extraneous variables

• AKA: confounding variables

• undesirable variables that influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variables

demand characteristics

• when participants act differently because they know they are going to be in a study

• participants may guess the studies aim and act accordingly

• in qualitative research, demand characteristics are called participant expectations

expectancy effect

• the participant attempts to discern the experimenter’s hypothesis with the goal of “helping“ the researcher

• results in acting a certain way, giving the “right answer“

screw you effect

• the participant attempts to discern the experimenter’s hypothesis to destroy the credibility of a study

social desirability effect

• when the participant answers in a way that makes them look good to the researcher

• done to avoid judgement or embarrassment

double blind control

• avoids researcher bias

• participants does not know if they are in the control or experimental group

• person carrying out the experiment doesn’t know the studies aim or which group is which

participant variability

• limitation of a study when characteristics of the sample affect the dependent variable

• can be controlled by selecting a random sample and randomly allocating participants to experimental groups

artificiality

• the situation created is unlikely where the validity is questioned

correlational studies

• an experiment cannot be carried out, but collected data shows a relationship between two variables

• when one variable changes, so will the other

• positive correlation:

  • when both variables are affected in the same way

• negative correlation:

  • when one variable increases, the other decreases

• also considered that there may not be a cause-and-effect relationship or that there may be an alternative variable

bidirectional ambiguity

• seen in correlational research

• when no independent variable is manipulated, it is impossible to know if:

  • X causes Y, Y causes X, if they interact to cause behavior, if it is coincidental, or if results are due to a third variable

deductive approach

• hypothesis is already decided before the study begins

cross sectional

• the behavior of participants was not measured over time but in a “snapshot of time” and was then compared

high attrition rate

• many participants may drop out of the study over time