Ronith archinapalli
Cognitive Domain
An area of development that involves patterns of change in children's intellectual abilities, including reasoning, learning, attention, memory, and language skills.
Psychodynamic approach
an approach that regards personality as formed by needs, strivings, and desires largely operating outside of awareness-motives that can also produce emotional disorders
biological approach
an approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system
Evolutionary approach
An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.
Behavioral Approach
An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.
Socio-cultural approach
the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking
Cognitive approach
An approach to psychology emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.
Biopsychosocial approach
an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
Biological Domain
Humans are collections of biological systems, and these systems provide building blocks for behavior, thought, and emotion
Clinical Domain
a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Counseling Domain
assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being
Developmental Psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Educational Domain
studies how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning
Experimental Domain
Studies behavior and thinking using the experimental method
industrial-orginizational psychology
study of human behavior in the workplace
Personality Domain
the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Personality Domain
the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Psychometric Domain
Studies measurements of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.
Social Domain
change in variables that are associated with the relationship of an individual to others
Positive Domain
focuses on positive aspects and strengths of human behavior
Wilhelm Wundt
german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879
Structrualism
an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
introspection
A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings
William James
founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment
Functionalism
A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.
Sigmund Freud
Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.
Psychodynamic
how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
Gestalt
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Darwin
English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
Evolution
Change over time
Behaviorism
the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only
John B Watson
behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat
B.F Skinner
Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
Dorothea Dix
Activist who helped improve conditions of mental patients
nature vs nurture issue
the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
Case Study
an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
Naturalistic Observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Survey
a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group
Correlation
A measure of the relationship between two variables
Experiment
A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
Overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
Hindsight Bias
I knew it all along phenomenon
Theory
A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Independent Variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
dependent variable
The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
Confounding Variable
a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
wording effect
the effect that question phrasing and order have on how people answer surveys
Population
A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area
Random Sampling
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Sampling Bias
A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.
Experimental Condition
the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
Control Condition
they are given a placebo to see how it compares to experiment
Random Assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups
Correlation vs. Causation
correlation does not equal causation
Correlation Coefficient
a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1) When its closer to -1 or 1 it has a stronger correlation
positive vs negative correlation
Both variables increase or decrease at the same time vs. one variable increases while the other decreases
illusory correlation
the perception of a relationship where none exists
experimenter bias
a phenomenon that occurs when a researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained
Double Blind Procedure
an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.
central tendency
a measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of a group as a whole
When should mean be used as a central tendency
when your data distribution is continuous and symmetrical, such as when your data is normally distributed.
When should mode be used as a central tendency
can only be used when dealing with nominal data.
nominal data
data that can be labelled or classified into mutually exclusive categories within a variable
When should median be used as a central tendency
usually the preferred measure of central tendency when the distribution is not symmetrical.
p value
The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance).
statistical significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
APA Ethical Guidelines
No Coercion (voluntary). Informed Consent. Anonymity. Risk (not in risk of SERIOUS harm mentally or physically). Debriefing.
critical thinking, p. 4
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
empiricism, p. 7
the idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge.
structuralism, p. 7
an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.
introspection, p. 8
the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one's own psychological processes.
functionalism, p. 8
an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
behaviorism, p. 10
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
humanistic psychology, p. 11
a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.
cognitive psychology, p. 13
the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.
cognitive neuroscience, p. 13
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).
psychology, p. 13
the science of behavior and mental processes.
nature-nurture issue, p. 14
the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
natural selection, p. 14
the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
evolutionary psychology, p. 14
the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.
behavior genetics, p. 14
the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.
culture, p. 15
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
positive psychology, p. 16
the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
biopsychosocial approach, p. 17
an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.
behavioral psychology, p. 17
the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.
biological psychology, p. 17
the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. (Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.)
psychodynamic psychology, p. 18
a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.
social-cultural psychology, p. 18
the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.
testing effect, p. 20
enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
SQ3R, p. 20
a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.
psychometrics, p. 24
the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.
basic research, p. 24
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
developmental psychology, p. 24
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
educational psychology, p. 24
the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.
personality psychology, p. 24
the study of individuals' characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.
social psychology, p. 24
the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.