Chapter 1 - Psychology in Your Life

Psychology

The scientific study of mental activity and behavior, which are based on brain processes.

Empiricism

An evidence-based approach to gaining knowledge by conducting research that systematically investigates and measures phenomena of interest.

Science of learning

Research in psychology and other fields that suggests how you can improve your study skills, learning, and academic performance.

Improving

When you adopt a growth mindset, you believe you can do the hard work to change how you think, feel, and act to improve in the areas you have identified.

Monitoring

Self regulated learning helps you set goals, plan your studying, use good study strategies, and check your progress.

Practicing

By actively answering questions across several study sessions, you use repeated practice, which will improve your quiz and test performance.

Attending

By focusing your selective attention on what you need to study and by ignoring distractions, you will remember better.

Connecting

You can use cues to help you remember when you connect new information with your own knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Thinking deeply

When you use elaboration, you use an active process of explaining ideas and giving examples in order to learn better.

Critical thinking

Systematically evaluating information to reach conclusions based on the evidence that is presented.

Domains of psychology

The five interconnected areas of empirical research in modern psychology: biological, cognitive, developmental, social & personality, and mental & physical health domains.

Diversity

Any difference between people that becomes apparent in specific context.

Culture

The beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within as group of people who share a common language and environment, which are transmitted through learning from one generation to the next.

Ethics

Accepted standards of right and wrong that guide people’s behavior.

Institutional Review Board

Group of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted ethical standards of science and provides for participants’ physical and emotional wellbeing.

Scientific method

A continuous five-step process that allows systematic observation and measurement of phenomena to reach one or more scientific goals.

Theory

A series of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed in research and that makes predictions about future events.

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction of what should be observed in a study if a theory is correct.

Replication

Repetition of a research study to confirm or contradict the results.

Descriptive methods

Research methods that provide a systematic and objective snapshot of what is occurring at a certain point in time.

Control group

Allow in-depth investigation of one or a few people or an organization.

Observational studies

Allow researcher to watch what participants do in a natural environment or a laboratory.

Self-reports

Use surveys, questionnaires, or interviews to gather information directly from participants.

Correlational methods

Research methods that examine how variables are naturally related in the real world without revealing whether one factor causes changes in another.

Experimental methods

Research methods that can reveal causality by manipulating independent variables and measuring the effects on dependent variables.

Independent variable

In an experiment, the variable that the experimenter manipulates to examine its impact on the dependent variable.

Dependent variable

In an experiment, the variable that is measured to determine how it was affected by the manipulation of the independent variable.

Control group

In an experiment, a group of participants that receives either no treatment or a baseline manipulation that is expected to have little or no impact; this group serves as a comparison to the experimental group.

Experimental group

In an experiment, one or more groups of participants that experience treatment of interest based on manipulation of the independent variable.

Population

The group you want to know about.

Random sample

A sample of participants that fairly represents the population because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included.

Random assignment

Placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in such a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to either the control group or the experimental group.