Introductory Psychology Concepts and Methods

Vocabulary flashcards generated directly from psychology lecture notes covering experimental design, research methods, major historical schools of thought, defense mechanisms, learning theories, and core definitions.

Experimental Method

A research method used to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Independent Variable

The factor in an experiment that is manipulated and whose effect is being studied.

Confounding Variable

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The factor that is measured in an experiment; it may change when the independent variable is manipulated.

Between-Groups Design

An experimental design in which each group in the experiment is composed of a different set of participants.

Repeated Measures Design

An experimental design in which each group in the experiment is exposed to all the conditions of an independent variable.

Internal Validity

Refers to how confidently we can say that the changes in the dependent variable were caused by the independent variable, not other factors.

External Validity

Refers to how well the results of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations.

Placebo Effect

Occurs when a person experiences a real change because they expect the treatment to work, even though the treatment itself has no active ingredient or therapeutic effect.

Experimenter Expectancy

When a researcher's expectations unintentionally influence participants or the way the study is conducted, affecting the results.

Descriptive Research

Systematic objective observation of people with the goal of providing a clear, accurate picture of people's behaviours.

Correlational Research

A measure of how closely 2 factors vary together or how well you can predict a change in one from observing a change in the other.

Positive Correlation

A correlation ($0$ to $+1$) indicating a direct relation where two things increase together or decrease together.

Negative Correlation

A correlation ($-1$ to $0$) indicating an inverse relation where as one thing increases, the other decreases.

Scatterplot

A graph that depicts the correlation between variables, showing the direction ($+$ or $-$) of the relationship.

Bidirectionality

Two-way causality where variable $X$ causes variable $Y$, and variable $Y$ causes variable $X$.

Spurious Association

A non-genuine association between variables that is caused by a 3rd variable.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology led by Edward Tincher focusing on the analysis of the mind in terms of basic elements like thoughts, sensations, and feelings through introspection.

Edward Tincher

English psychologist who studied under Wilhelm Wundt for many years and introduced structuralism.

Functionalism

An early school of psychology led by willium James that studied how mental and behavioral processes function to enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

willium James

American philosopher and psychologist known as the 'Father of american psychology' who authored the 1890 landmark text Principles of Psychology and offered the first psychology course in the US.

Repression

A defense mechanism involving pushing unacceptable thoughts, memories, or urges out of conscious awareness.

Projection

A defense mechanism involving projecting your own unacceptable thoughts or feelings onto someone else.

Denial

A defense mechanism defined as refusing to accept or acknowledge an obvious, painful reality.

Displacement

A defense mechanism involving redirecting an impulse or emotion onto someone else, to a less threatening substitute.

Sublimation

A defense mechanism involving channeling socially unacceptable behaviours onto productive, socially admirable behaviour.

Regression

A defense mechanism involving reverting to a childish stage of development when stressed.

Rationalization

A defense mechanism involving creating logical, socially acceptable justifications for an action that is actually driven by less honorable motives.

Reaction Formation

A defense mechanism involving expressing the exact opposite of how you are feeling or thinking because your true feelings are threatening.

Behaviorism

School of psychology that defined psychology as 'the scientific study of observable Behaviour' without reference to mental processes, viewing the human mind as tabula rasa.

Tabula Rasa

The concept of the human mind as a blank slate upon which experiences are written.

Psychoanalysis

Perspective introduced by sigmud Freud emphasizing how unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences affect later behaviour.

Eros and Thantos

The primitive sexual (Eros) and aggressive (Thantos) instincts that primarily drive human behaviour according to psychodynamic theory.

Free Association

A psychodynamic technique where patients say whatever is on their minds without editing, censoring, or filtering their thoughts, thereby bypassing the ego.

Edward Thorndike

American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University, known for trial-and-error learning and the theory of connectionism.

B. Skinner

American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher known for operant conditioning and asserting that voluntary behavior is shaped by rewards or punishments.

Ivan P. Paviou

Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and psychologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that explains how living creatures learn to associate a new signal with a natural biological reflex.

Psychology

The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.

Behaviour

Actions and responses that can be observed.

Mental Processes

Internal states and processes that cannot be seen directly and must be observed through measurable responses.

Empirical Evidence

Evidence gained through experience and observation.

Critical Thinking

The ability to objectively evaluate info in order to form a reasoned judgement by taking an active role in understanding the world around you.