Psychology Perspectives, Research Methods, and Data Analysis Key Concepts

Psychodynamic Perspective

A psychological approach emphasizing unconscious processes and childhood experiences.

Behavioral Perspective

A psychological approach that focuses on observable behaviors and the ways they're learned.

Humanistic Perspective

An approach that emphasizes personal growth and the concept of self-actualization.

Cognitive Perspective

A psychological approach that focuses on mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving.

Biological Perspective

A viewpoint that examines the physiological bases of behavior in humans and animals.

Evolutionary Perspective

An approach that considers how behavior and mental processes have evolved over time.

Sociocultural Perspective

A viewpoint that examines how cultural and social contexts influence behavior.

Biopsychosocial

An integrative approach that considers biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding health and illness.

Quantitative Data

Numerical data used to analyze and understand psychological phenomena

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical data that provides insights into characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of one’s person.

Likert Scales

A rating scale used to measure attitudes or opinions, typically ranging from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'.

Structured Interviews

Interviews that follow a predetermined set of questions.

Survey Technique

A method of gathering information from a sample of individuals.

Wording Effect

The influence that the phrasing of a question can have on respondents' answers.

Social Desirability Bias

The tendency of respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.

Naturalistic Observation

A research method involving observing subjects in their natural environment.

Case Study

An in-depth analysis of an individual, group, or event.

Representative Sample

A subset of a population that accurately reflects the members of the entire population.

Random Sample

A sample that is selected randomly from a larger population.

Sample Bias

A bias that occurs when the sample is not representative of the population.

Generalizability

The extent to which findings from a study can be applied to larger populations.

Statistics

The science of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data. (In relation to the mind and behaviors)

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics that summarize or describe characteristics of a data set.

Inferential Statistics

Statistics that allow conclusions to be drawn about a population based on a sample.

Measure of Central Tendency

A statistical measure that identifies a single score as representative of an entire distribution.

Mean

The average of a set of numbers.

Median

The middle value in a list of numbers.

Confirmation Bias

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

Hindsight Bias

The inclination to see events as having been predictable after they have already occurred.

Overconfidence

A bias in which a person's subjective confidence in their judgments is greater than their objective accuracy.

Empirical Evidence

Information acquired by observation or experimentation.

Scientific Method

A systematic process for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between two or more variables.

Falsifiable

A characteristic of a hypothesis that allows it to be proven false. ( It can be proven wrong through observation/experimentation.)

Peer Review

The process by which a scholarly work is evaluated by experts in the field.

Replication

The process of repeating a study to see if the same results are obtained.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure or test over time.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

The American Psychological Association (APA)

A professional organization representing psychologists in the United States.

Research Design

The overall strategy used to integrate the different components of the study.

Methodology

Systematic approaches researches use to investigate behavior and mental processes!

Correlational Research

A type of research that examines the relationship between two or more variables.

Third Variable Problem

A situation in which a third variable influences both the independent and dependent variables.

Scatterplot

A visual representation of the relationship between two numerical variables, often used to explore correlations.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical measure that describes the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables. (-1=perfect neg corr. / 1=perfect pos corr./ 0=no corr.)

Positive Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which they both increase or decrease together. (+1)

Negative Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases. (-1)

Experimental Method

A research method that involves manipulating one variable to determine if it causes a change in another variable.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment. (CHANGE)

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured in an experiment.

(RESPONSE)

Confounding Variable

An outside influence that changes the effect of a dependent and independent variable.

Operational Definitions

Specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment.

Random Assignment

The process of assigning participants to different groups in an experiment by chance.

Placebo Effect

The phenomenon in which participants experience a change simply because they believe they are receiving treatment.

Experimenter Bias

The influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of the research.

Single-Blind Study

An experiment in which the participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control group.

Double-Blind Study

An experiment in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment.

Placebo Condition

A condition in which participants receive a placebo instead of the actual treatment.

Sample

A subset of a population used to represent the entire group.

Mode

The value that appears most frequently in a data set.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set.

Normal Curve

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data.

Regression to the Mean

The phenomenon where extreme values on a variable tend to be closer to the average on subsequent measurements.

Positive Skew

A distribution where most values are concentrated on the left and the tail extends to the right.

Negative Skew

A distribution where most values are concentrated on the right and the tail extends to the left.

Standard Deviation

A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.

Percentile Rank

A score that indicates the percentage of scores that fall below a certain value.

Bimodal Distribution

A distribution with two different modes.

Statistical Significance

A determination that a result is unlikely to have occurred by chance.

Effect Sizes

A quantitative measure of the magnitude of a phenomenon.

Meta Analysis

A statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies.

Institutional Review Boards (IRB)

Committees that review research proposals to ensure ethical standards are met.

Informed Consent

A process by which participants are fully informed about the research and agree to participate.

Informed Assent

An agreement by individuals who are not able to give legal consent to participate in research.

Confidentiality

The ethical principle that a researcher will not disclose information about participants.

Deception

A method used in research where participants are misled about the true nature of the study.

Confederates

Individuals who are part of the research team but * participants.

Debriefing

The process of informing participants about the study's true purpose and any deception used.

Article Analysis

A critical examination of a research article.

Question (AAQ)

A type of question that assesses attitudes and beliefs.

Evidence-Based Question (EBQ)

A question that is grounded in empirical evidence.

Defensible Claim

A statement that can be supported with evidence.