Psychology keywords (more terms will be added as we learn more)

For practicing important terms for psychology exam. There are terms and the terms have either a definition or how they fit with psychology because obviously you're not studying the definition of change but rather how its applied in psychology.

External validity

Ecological validity + population validity = external validity

How/if you generalize your findings outside the experiment

Internal validity

How/if you are sure that the independent variable affected the dependent variable

Construct validity

If the test or manipulation actually represents the concept you’re studying

Quantitative research

Using numerical data and statistical methods to study behavior and cognition

Qualitative research

Collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to understand behavior and cognition in a more detailed and subjective way

True experiment

Manipulates an IV and measures a DV and controls all other variables

Participants are randomly allocated

Test a hypothesis

Most of the time quantitative data

Highly stanardized procedure

Quasi experiment

Participants assigned to group based on existing characteristics

IV naturally changes; no manipulation

High ecological validity because IV is not manipulated

Repeated measures design

One sample of participants receive all conditions of the experiment

Independent sample design

Participants are randomly allocated a condition of the experiment

Cross-sectional design

Researchers study multiple groups (e.g., age groups) within the population

Purpose: understand the differences and similarities between the groups

Longitudinal cohort design

Repeated observations or measurements of the same participants at multiple points in time

Purpose: track developmental changes and patterns across different life stages

Matched pairs design

Matching participants based on a certain trait

Order effects

Order effects are changes in participants' responses that result from the order that the conditions are presented to them

Bias

Key concept

Systematic errors in thinking, research, and practice that can affect the validity and reliability of findings

Causality

Key concept

The cause of something

Patterns: Linear, domino, and cyclic causality

Change

Key concept

What changes can us and what can we change

Measurement

Key concept

How you measure data (e.g., quantitative vs. qualitative)

Perspective

Key concept

How you view psychological behaviours and approaches

Responsibility

Key concept

Legal, ethical and professional responsibilities of psychologists

Dependent variables (DV)

The variable that you measure

Independent variables (IV)

The variable that you manipulate

Control variables

The variables that are controlled to stay the same

Hypothesis

A specific, testable statement that predicts the relationship between variables or predicts the outcome of a study

Null hypothesis

The null hypothesis argues that the IV has no effect on the DV

One-tailed hypothesis

Predicts that the effect will go in a specific direction

Two-tailed hypothesis

Predicts that there will be a difference, but it could go either way

Confounding variable

A variable that was not controlled and could potentially make the experiment unreliable

Participant bias

Participants in a study consciously or subconsciously act in a way that they think the experimenter wants them to

Expectancy effect

When a researcher’s expectations are inadvertently conveyed to participants and influence their responses

Social desirability effect

When participants answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others

Researcher bias

When the researcher's beliefs or expectations influence the research design, data collection, or interpretation of the findings

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions

Interviewer bias

When the interviewer behavior leads to participants to answer in a certain way

Sampling (selection) bias

When the sample studied is not representative of the population intended to be analyzed

Cultural bias

Judging phenomena through the lens of one's own culture

Ecological fallacy

Assuming that because someone is a member of a cultural group, they share all the traits of the culture

WEIRD samples

Western

Educated

Industrialized

Rich

Democrats

Gender bias

Judging phenomena through the lens of gender

Alpha bias

The exaggeration of the differences between men and women

Beta bias

Minimising differences between the sexes

Publication bias

When journals mostly publish positive findings rather than null or negative results

P-hacking

Various techniques that researchers can use to increase the chances of finding statistically significant results, even if the results are not actually meaningful

Can lead to false reports

Recall bias

When participants do not accurately remember a past event or experience or leave out details

Optimism bias

When you believe that your behavior is better than it is and that you are at a lower risk of health problems than others

Peak-end rule

When people judge an experience based on the peak moment rather than the sum of the experience

Counterbalancing

One group of participants do condition A then condition B. The second group will do condition B then condition A

Single-blind approach

Either the researchers or the participants are unaware of certain details

Double-blind approach

Both the researchers and the participants are unaware of certain critical details

Emic approach

Striving to avoid imposing one's own cultural values and beliefs on other culture

Linear causality

An independent variable is manipulated, and its direct effect on a dependent variable is measured

Domino causality

Cause-and-effect relationships where an effect becomes the cause of another effect

Cyclical causality

Feedback loop for cause-and-effect

The cause leads to an effect that causes the "original cause"

Locus of control

How individuals perceive their control over events in their lives

Interpretivism

Philosophical approach that emphasizes understanding human behavior from the subjective perspective of individuals

Positivism

Advocates for the application of the scientific method to study behavior

Holism

Uses case studies to the bigger picture of a person’s life to understand their behavior

Reductionism

Uses experiments to determine cause-and-effect relationships

Cultural competence

Understanding and effectively interacting with people from different cultures

Reflexivity

When psychologists examine their own biases and preconceptions so that they do not influence their work

Socially sensitive research

Studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in the research or for the class of individual represented by the research

Biological perspective

Emphasizes the influence of biological factors on behavior

Cognitive perspective

Examines how mental processes such as thinking, memory, perception, and problem-solving, information processing influences behavior

Psychodynamic perspective

Emphasizes the influence of unconscious processes, early childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships on behavior (Sigmund Freud)

Humanistic perspective

Focuses on individual potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization.

Emphasizes subjective experiences and the inherent goodness of people

Sociocultural perspective

examines how social and cultural influences affect behavior

Evolutionary perspective

Explores how evolutionary principles, shape behaviors and mental processes that enhance survival and reproduction

Ecological perspective

Emphasizes how environmental factors influence behavior, development, and mental processes

Cross-cultural perspective

(Through the lens of cultural diversity) Explores how culture affects thought patterns, behaviors, and mental health

Inductive research

Gather data then look for patterns then develop theory

Deductive research

Theorize/hypothesize then analyze data then the null hypothesis is disproven or not

T.E.A.M.

Evaluating theories:

• Testable

• Empirical evidence

• Application

• Measurable

Duty of care

Psychologists’ legal and moral responsibility to provide quality care to clients

Client autonomy

Psychologists avoid imposing their personal values or influencing the client's decision-making inappropriately

Cultural sensitivity

Psychologists must be sensitive to their clients' cultural, social, and personal contexts

Stratified samples

The sample matches the makeup of the population

Participants from various subgroups of the population are randomly selected

Random samples

Each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Opportunity (convenience) samples

Participants are selected based on naturally occurring groups (based on based on their availability e.g. people shopping at your local supermarket)

Snowball sampling

Participants recommend other participants for a study

Self-selected (volunteer) samples

Volunteers responding to an advertisement

Bar graph

Use bars of different lengths to compare conditions and represent differences in the data

Box and whisker plot

They show the distribution of a dataset

The "box" is the interquartile range [IQR], which is the middle 50% of the data

The line inside is the median.

The "whiskers" go from the box to the smallest and largest data points within 1.5 times the IQR

Histogram

They look similar to bar graphs but show the distribution of the data

Inferential statistics

Infers properties of a population

Line graph

Displays the relationship between two variables

Outliers (in data)

Data points that differ significantly from other values in a dataset

Correlation

The measurement of the extent to which pairs of related values of two variables tend to change together or co-vary

Scatterplot

Graph that shows the relationship between two variables by displaying each data point as a dot

Sigmund Freud

Considered one of the Founding Fathers of psychology

Practiced interpretivism

Founded the iceberg model

Collected qualitative data

B.F. Skinner

Practiced positivism

Collected quantitive data

Made the Skinner box

Practice effect

When people get better at something because they keep doing it

Fatigue effect

When participants are asked to take part in several conditions of the same experiment and they get tired or bored

Placebo effect

Participants may experience changes in behavior, symptoms, or outcomes simply because they believe they are receiving a treatment

Nocebo effect

Expectation that negative effects will come from a treatment causing them to feel the effects with the effects being real

Screw-you effect

When a participant attempts to figure out the researcher's hypotheses, but only to destroy the study's credibility

Interference effect

When the fact that you have taken part in one condition affects your ability to take part in the next condition

Anecdotal data

Information based on personal stories, individual experiences, or isolated observations

Empirical data

Information obtained through systematic observation or experimentation

Research triangulation

Multiple researchers or investigators independently analyze the data and compare their interpretations

Help minimize bias

Method triangulation

Using multiple research methods or techniques to investigate the same phenomenon

Data triangulation

Using multiple sources of data to study a single phenomenon