Unit 0: Scientific Foundations of Psychology - Fill-in-the-Blank Flashcards

Fill-in-the-blank flashcards covering key concepts from Unit 0: Scientific Foundations of Psychology.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions.

What was structuralism?

Structuralism was an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener that used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

What was functionalism?

Functionalism was a school of thought that explored how mental and behavioral processes function.

What is behaviorism?

Behaviorism is the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

What is hindsight bias?

Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe that one would have foreseen an outcome.

What is a hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

What is an operational definition?

An operational definition is a statement of exact procedures (operations) used in a research study.

What is replication in research?

Replication is repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

What is a case study?

A case study is a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

What is naturalistic observation?

Naturalistic observation is the technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate.

What is a population in a study?

A population is all in a group being studied from which samples may be drawn.

What is random assignment?

Random assignment is assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups.

What is a correlation coefficient?

A correlation coefficient is a statistical index of the relationship between two variables.

What is correlation?

Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and how well either factor predicts the other.

What is a scatterplot?

A scatterplot is a graph cluster of dots representing the values of two variables.

What is a control group?

A control group is the group NOT exposed to the treatment.

What is the independent variable?

The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied.

What is the dependent variable?

The dependent variable is the outcome that is measured.

What is quantitative research?

Quantitative research is measurable data that stems from research.

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative research is data that cannot be measured.

What is positive correlation?

Positive correlation is when two variables are moving in the same direction.

What is negative correlation?

Negative correlation is when two variables are moving in opposite directions.

What is standard deviation?

Standard deviation is a statistical measurement that shows how spread out the data is.

What is a double-blind study?

Double-blind study is a situation in which neither the researcher nor the participants know which groups are receiving the experimental treatment.

What is bimodal distribution?

Bimodal distribution is a distribution with two distinct peaks.

What is variation?

Variation is differences that exist within a population or set of data.

What is an experimental group?

Experimental group is the group that is receiving the variable being tested.

What is random sampling?

Random sampling is a method used in psychology experiments to select a group from a larger population.