General Psychology 830:101 - Chapter 1 - Psychology is Science

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions.

Structuralism

Foundational philosophy focused on the structure of the mind.

Functionalism

Foundational philosophy focused on how the mind functions.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior, not mental processes.

Humanistic Psychology

A historically important perspective that emphasized human growth potential.

Cognitive Psychology

Branch of psychology studying the mental processes involved in being functional.

Cognitive Neuroscience

Interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with mental activity.

Psychology

Science of behavior and mental processes.

Cultural Group

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and passed down generations.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An approach that integrates different but complementary views from biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.

Nature-nurture Issue

Age-old controversy over the relative influence of genes and experience in the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Dual Processing

The principle that our mind processes information at the same time on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Counseling Psychology

Branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well-being.

Clinical Psychology

Branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Psychiatry

Branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders. They can give medical treatments and perform psychological therapy.

Community Psychology

Branch of psychology studying how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affects individuals and groups.

Positive Psychology

Scientific study of human flourishing and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.

Hindsight Bias

Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we could have predicted it. “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon.

Scientific Attitude’s Three Principles

Curiosity, skepticism, and humility

B.F. Skinner

Interested in studying people’s behavioral responses to different situations.

Peer Reviewers

Scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy.

Theory

Explanation using principles that organize observations and predict behaviors or events.

Hypotheses

A testable prediction, often implifed by a theory.

Operational Definitions

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study.

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

Preregistration

Publicly communicating planned study design, hypotheses, data collection, and analyses.

Good Theory

Organizes observations, has clear predictions, and often stimulates replications.

Case Study

A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

Naturalistic Observations

Descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without changing or controlling the situation.

Survey

Descriptive Technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of that group.

Population

All those in a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn.

Random Sample

Sample that fairly represents a population thanks to each member having an equal change of inclusion.

Correlation

Measure of the extent to which two variables relate to each other, and how well either one predicts the other.

Correlation Coefficient

Ranging from -1.00 to +1.00, it is a mathematical expression of the relationship, with 0 indicating no relationship.

Experiments

Method that manipulates the variables of interest and holds constant (controlling) other variables to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process.

Randomly Assigned

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance.

Experimental Group

The group exposed to the treatment.

Control Group

The group not exposed to the treatment.

Double-blind Procedure

Procedure in which both the participants and research staff are uniformed (blind) about who has received the treatment or a placebo.

Placebo Effect

Results caused by expectations alone.

Confounding Variables

Other variables that could influence a study’s results.

Operational Definitions

Precise instructions for the variables in the study to increase replication.

Informed Consent

Permission based on researchers giving people enough information about a study to enable them to decide whether they wish to participate.

Debrief

After an experiment ends, explaining to participants the study’s purpose and any deceptions researchers used.

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also called the retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

SQ3R

Study Method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review