Psych ch1: history

Vocabulary flashcards covering the introductory chapter on the history, perspectives, and scientific research methods of psychology.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Dualism

The philosophical doctrine proposed by René Descartes that the mind and body are separate entities that interact to produce sensations, emotions, and other conscious experiences.

Nativism

The philosophical view, associated with Plato, that certain kinds of knowledge and capabilities are inborn or innate.

Physiology

The branch of biology that studies the functions, structures, and parts of living organisms, including humans.

Indigenous Psychology

A framework or understanding of psychology that is developed directly from local culture and context rather than imported from external cultures.

Wilhelm Wundt

A German physiologist recognized as the founder of psychology who established the first psychology research laboratory in $1879$ at the University of Leipzig.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology founded by Edward B. Titchener which held that complex conscious experiences can be broken down into elemental structures or component parts of sensations and feelings.

Introspection

An experimental technique used in structuralism where trained research participants viewed a simple stimulus and reconstructed their immediate sensations and feelings.

Functionalism

An early school of psychology advocated by William James and influenced by Charles Darwin that emphasized studying how behaviors and mental processes function to allow people and animals to adapt to their environments.

Psychoanalysis

A school of thought and form of psychotherapy founded by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes the role of unconscious conflicts, childhood experiences, and sexual and aggressive impulses in determining behavior and personality.

Behaviorism

A school of psychology founded by John B. Watson that redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior, rejecting the study of consciousness and introspection.

Humanistic Psychology

A perspective founded largely by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that emphasizes self-determination, free will, the importance of choice, and each person's unique potential for psychological growth.

Cognitive Psychology

The scientific study of mental processes, focusing on how perception, thought, memory, and reasoning are processed and influence behavior.

Biological Perspective

A psychological perspective that emphasizes studying the physical bases of human and animal behavior, including neuroscience, the endocrine system, the immune system, and genetics.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to all others and the related tendency to use one's own culture as the standard by which to judge others.

Individualistic Cultures

Cultures that emphasize the needs, goals, and achievements of the individual over the group, viewing personal identity as autonomous and distinctive.

Collectivistic Cultures

Cultures that prioritize the needs and harmony of the group over individual desires, viewing the self as interdependent with family, tribe, or society.

Psychiatry

A medical specialty practiced by physicians ($\text{M.D.}$ or $\text{D.O.}$) focused on the diagnosis, treatment, causes, and prevention of mental disorders, authorized to prescribe medical therapies and hospitalize patients.

Scientific Method

A cyclical process of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures consisting of four steps: 1. Formulate a Testable Hypothesis, 2. Design the Study and Collect the Data, 3. Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions, and 4. Report the Findings.

Empirical Evidence

Verifiable evidence that is the direct result of objective observation, measurement, and experimentation.

Operational Definition

A precise description of how a variable in a study will be observed, manipulated, measured, or changed.

Preregistration

The practice of documenting and stating the hypotheses, study methods, and statistical analysis plans in advance of data collection.

Descriptive Research

Scientific procedures that systematically observe and record behavior without manipulating variables, identifying factors associated with a particular phenomenon.

Longitudinal Design

A research design that repeatedly observes and tracks a variable or set of variables in the same group of individuals across time, often spanning several years.

Cross-Sectional Design

A research strategy that studies a variable or set of variables simultaneously among groups of participants of different ages or developmental stages at a single point in time.

Naturalistic Observation

The systematic recording of behaviors as they naturally unfold in their real-world environments without intervention or detection by the researcher.

Case Study

An in-depth, intensive investigation of an individual, family, or social unit using multiple sources such as interviews, psychological testing, and biographical records.

Representative Sample

A selected subgroup that closely parallels the larger population under study across critical demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race, and education.

Random Selection

A sampling procedure in which every individual member of the target population has an equal opportunity of being chosen for the study sample.

Correlation Coefficient

A numerical indicator (symbolized by $r$) ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$ that represents the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables.

Positive Correlation

A statistical association in which two variables move in the same direction, either increasing together or decreasing together.

Negative Correlation

A statistical association in which two variables move in opposite directions; as one variable increases, the other decreases.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is systematically manipulated or changed by the experimenter to assess its causal impact on another factor.

Dependent Variable

The outcome variable measured in an experiment that is hypothesized to change as a result of manipulating the independent variable.

Extraneous Variable

An uncontrolled factor other than the independent variable that could unintentionally produce differences in the dependent variable and confound study results.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental technique in which neither the research participants nor the researchers interacting with them are aware of which group received the active treatment versus the control.

Placebo Effect

Any psychological or physiological change caused by a participant's beliefs and expectations about a treatment rather than by any active therapeutic ingredient.

Statistically Significant

A mathematical statement indicating that research findings are unlikely to have arisen simply by chance or random variation.

Effect Size

A standardized statistical measure that indicates the magnitude or strength of an experimental finding in practical terms.

Meta-Analysis

A statistical procedure that aggregates and combines the numerical effect sizes from multiple separate studies on the same research question into a single overall estimate.