Vocab Unit 0

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, focusing on understanding thoughts, emotions, and actions.

The Scientific Attitude

A mindset in research characterized by curiosity, skepticism, and humility, allowing psychologists to ask questions, rigorously test theories, and understand complex human behavior.

Critical Thinking

The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue or situation to form a judgment, important in psychology for assessing evidence and arguments.

Cultural norms

the shared expectations and rules that guide behavior within a society or group, influencing how individuals think and act.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

Hindsight bias

The inclination to see events as having been predictable after they have already occurred, often leading to overconfidence in one's ability to foresee outcomes.

Overconfidence

A cognitive bias characterized by an individual's excessive certainty about their own answers, judgments, or abilities.

Case study

A research method that involves an in-depth analysis of a single individual, group, or event to explore complex issues and gain insights.

Peer review

A process in which experts evaluate the quality and validity of research before publication, ensuring standards of academic integrity and rigor.

Naturalistic observation

A research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment without interference or manipulation.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between variables, often formulated prior to conducting research.

Falsifiable

A characteristic of a hypothesis or theory that allows it to be tested and potentially proven false through experimentation or observation.

Operational definitions

Specific statements that define how variables are measured or interpreted in research.

Replication

The process of repeating a study or experiment to verify results and ensure reliability and validity of findings.

Population

A group of individuals or items from which samples may be drawn for statistical analysis in research.

Representative sample

A subset of a population that accurately reflects the characteristics of the whole population, allowing for generalization of results.

Random sampling

A technique used in statistical analysis where each individual or item in a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample, reducing bias.

Convenience sampling

A non-random sampling technique where individuals are selected based on ease of access and availability, often leading to biased results.

Generalizing

The process of applying findings from a representative sample to the larger population from which it was drawn, assuming similarity.

Structured interviews

A research method where participants are asked pre-determined questions in a consistent order, allowing for easier comparison of responses.

Scatterplot

A graphical representation of two variables' values plotted along two axes, showing correlations and trends between them.

Correlation

the degree of a relationship (usually linear) between two variables

Correlation coefficient

a numerical value that quantifies the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

Positive Correlation

a relationship between two variables in which both rise and fall together.

Negative Correlation

a relationship between two variables in which the value of one variable increases as the value of the other decreases.

Directionality problem

in correlational research, the situation in which it is known that two variables are related although it is not known which is the cause and which is the effect.

Third variable problem

occurs when a correlation between two variables is actually caused by a third, unmeasured variable

Experimental group

a group of participants in a research study who are exposed to a particular manipulation of the independent variable

Control group

a comparison group in a study whose members receive either no intervention at all or some established intervention.

Random assignment

in experimental design, the assignment of participants or units to the different conditions of an experiment entirely at random, so that each unit or participant has an equal likelihood of being assigned to any particular condition.

Independent variables

the variable in an experiment that is specifically manipulated or is observed to occur before the dependent, or outcome, variable, in order to assess its effect or influence

Dependent variables

the outcome that is observed to occur or change after the occurrence or variation of the independent variable in an experiment, or the effect that one wants to predict or explain in correlational research.

Confounding variables

an extraneous factor in a study that is related to both the independent and dependent variables, distorting the true relationship between them and leading to inaccurate conclusions about cause and effect

Placebo

a pharmacologically inert substance, such as a sugar pill, that is often administered as a control in testing new drugs

Placebo effect

a clinically significant response to a therapeutically inert substance or nonspecific treatment (placebo), deriving from the recipient’s expectations or beliefs regarding the intervention.

Single-blind study

the research participants are unaware of which experimental condition or group they are in, while the researchers or experimenters know the group assignments

Double-blind study

neither the participants nor the researchers know who is in the experimental group (receiving the treatment) and who is in the control group (receiving a placebo or standard treatment)

Qualitative research

a method of research that produces descriptive (non-numerical) data, such as observations of behavior or personal accounts of experiences.

Quantitative research

a method of research that relies on measuring variables using a numerical system, analyzing these measurements using any of a variety of statistical models, and reporting relationships and associations among the studied variables.

Institutional review

the process by which an Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews research proposals involving human participants to ensure ethical standards are met and to protect participants' rights, safety, and well-being

Informed consent

A person’s voluntary agreement to participate in a procedure on the basis of their understanding of its nature, its potential benefits and possible risks, and available alternatives.

Informed assent

a child's voluntary agreement to participate in a psychological study or therapy after the information has been explained in age-appropriate terms, acknowledging their developmental stage, even though they cannot provide legally-binding informed consent due to their age or cognitive status.

Protection from harm

a fundamental ethical principle requiring researchers and practitioners to ensure participants and clients are not exposed to any significant physical, psychological, or social harm as a result of their involvement in a study or treatment

Confidentiality

a principle of professional ethics requiring providers of mental health care or medical care to limit the disclosure of a patient’s identity, their condition or treatment, and any data entrusted to professionals during assessment, diagnosis, and treatment

Deception

any distortion of or withholding of fact with the purpose of misleading others.

Debriefing

the process of giving participants in a completed research project a fuller explanation of the study in which they participated than was possible before or during the research.

Bimodal distribution

a set of scores with two peaks or modes around which values tend to cluster, such that the frequencies at first increase and then decrease around each peak.

Central tendency

the middle or center point of a set of scores.

Mean

the numerical average of a set of scores, computed as the sum of all scores divided by the number of scores.

Median

the midpoint in a distribution, that is, the score or value that divides it into two equal-sized halves.

Mode

the most frequently occurring score in a set of data, which is sometimes used as a measure of central tendency.

Variation

in statistics, the degree of variance or dispersion of values that is obtained for a specific variable.

Percentile rank

indicates the percentage of scores in a distribution that are equal to or less than a specific score. For example, a score at the 75th percentile rank means that 75% of the scores in the comparison group are at or below that score.

Range

a measure of dispersion obtained by subtracting the lowest score in a distribution from the highest score.

Standard deviation

a measure of the variability of a set of scores or values within a group, indicating how narrowly or broadly they deviate from the mean.

Inferential statistics

a broad class of statistical techniques that allow inferences about characteristics of a population to be drawn from a sample of data from that population while controlling (at least partially) the extent to which errors of inference may be made.

Normal curve

a symmetrical, bell-shaped graph representing how data is distributed around its average

Meta - analysis

examination of data from a number of independent studies of the same subject, in order to determine overall trends.

Statistical significance

determines the likelihood that an observed outcome is not due to random chance but is instead a real effect or relationship

Effect size

a quantitative measure of the magnitude of a relationship between variables or the size of the difference between groups, indicating the practical significance of a research finding