Psychology Chapter 1: Intro and Research Methods

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering basic concepts, historical perspectives, models, goals, and research methodologies in general psychology.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Pseudoscience

Information or beliefs based on fantasy, folk-wisdom, or superstition rather than scientific evidence, such as psychics, astrology, mediums, pop psych books, and palm readers.

Critical Thinking

Objectively evaluating value-based claims in order to decide which is most logically defensible.

Metacognition

The awareness and regulation of your personal cognitive processes.

Scientific Thinking

Thinking focused on fact-based evidence (empiricism) gathered through the scientific method.

Fact

A statement backed by direct verifiable evidence.

Theory

A broad explanation for a set of observations/facts, substantiated by repeated testing, that serves as a tool to predict facts.

Rationalism

Logically valuing truth and following scientific facts using logic plus reason.

Wilhelm Wundt

Considered the father of psychology; established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879 and focused on conscious experiences through introspection.

Introspection

A research technique in which participants self-monitor and report on their conscious experiences.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology brought to the US by Edward Titchener that sought to identify the basic building blocks or structures of mental life using introspection.

Functionalism

An early school of psychology that examined how mental and behavioral processes function to help humans and animals adapt to their environment.

William James

A functionalist considered to be the father of American psychology who established the first psychological laboratory in the US.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

A perspective developed by Sigmund Freud focusing on unconscious dynamics, internal motives, conflicts, and past experiences.

Behavioral Perspective

A perspective emphasizing the objective, observable effect of the environment on behavior, founded by John B. Watson in 1913.

Humanistic Perspective

A perspective emerging in the 1950s that stresses free will and self-actualization, associated with Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

Self-actualization

An in-born desire to develop all of one's talents and capabilities.

Positive Psychology

A contemporary research specialty founded by Martin Seligman studying optimal human functioning.

Cognitive Perspective

A perspective emphasizing mental processes such as perception, memory, imagery, problem-solving, and language, viewing the mind as a computer.

Biological Perspective

A perspective focusing on genetics and the biological processes of the brain and nervous system.

Evolutionary Perspective

A perspective stressing natural selection, adaptation, and reproduction.

Sociocultural Perspective

A perspective emphasizing social interactions and cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes such as ethnicity, religion, occupation, and SES.

Biopsychosocial Model

An integrative model recognizing that behavior and mental states are influenced by biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

APA's Five Pillar Model

A model founding psychology on five pillars: Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social and Personality, and Mental and Physical Health.

Description (Goal of Psychology)

The psychological goal of classifying or characterizing behaviors and mental processes through careful observation.

Explanation (Goal of Psychology)

The psychological goal that tells why a behavior or mental process occurred.

Prediction (Goal of Psychology)

The psychological goal involving identifying when and under what conditions a future behavior or mental process is likely to occur.

Change (Goal of Psychology)

Applying psychological science to prevent unwanted outcomes or bring about desired goals.

Basic Research

Research conducted to advance core scientific knowledge, often using non-human participants.

Applied Research

Research designed to solve practical, real-world problems.

Variable

Any factor that can vary or change and can be observed, measured, and verified.

Operational Definition

A precise description of how the variables in a study will be observed, manipulated, and measured.

Hypothesis

A tentative and testable explanation about the relationship between two or more variables; a testable prediction or question.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental or control conditions so that each participant has an equal chance of being in either group.

Meta-analysis

A statistical technique for combining and analyzing data from many studies in order to determine overall trends.

Informed Consent

An ethical agreement where participants are made aware of the nature, expectations, and risks of an experiment before it begins.

Debriefing

An ethical procedure after a study providing participants with an explanation of the research design, purpose, and any deception used.

Naturalistic Observation

Systematic assessment and recording of behavior in natural, real-world settings without interfering.

Case Study

An in-depth study of a single research participant.

Archival Research

A descriptive research method involving the study of previously recorded data.

Thalamus

A major sensory relay center in the brain through which most incoming sensory information is sent before reaching higher regions of the cerebral cortex.

Correlational Research

Research that examines whether or how two variables change together to meet the psychological goal of prediction.

Third Variable Problem

A scenario in correlational research where an unmeasured variable is responsible for the relationship between two or more measured variables.

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship between two variables when no factual connection actually exists.

Saliency Bias

The tendency to notice illusory correlation events and make connections that are not actually there.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to seek out evidence that supports existing beliefs while discarding evidence that contradicts them.

Experimental Research

A rigorous research method manipulating and controlling variables to determine cause and effect.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or independent variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment and serves as a baseline comparison.

Confounding Variable

An extraneous factor that must be controlled because it could influence the outcome of an experiment.

Demand Characteristics

Cues in an experiment that lead participants to behave in ways they think are expected of them.

Ethnocentrism

The assumption that behavior in the experimenter's own culture is typical of all cultures.

Single-blind Study

A study design where participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control group.

Double-blind Study

A study design where neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is in the experimental or control group.

Placebo Effect

A change or improvement occurring purely because a participant believes they are receiving an active treatment.

Quasi-experimental Design

A research design that compares groups without random assignment because random assignment is impossible or unethical.

Cross-sectional Research

A developmental research design that measures different groups of participants at a single point in time.

Longitudinal Research

A developmental research design that takes repeated measures of one group over an extended period of time.

Cross-Sequential Research

A developmental research design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal research approaches.