Psychological Science and Research Methodology Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts in psychological science, key historical schools of thought, and essential research methods.

Psychological Science

The study, through research, of mind, brain, and behavior.

Mind

Mental activity resulting from biological processes within the brain.

Behavior

Observable human or animal actions.

Critical Thinking

Systematically questioning and evaluating information using well-supported evidence.

Psychological Reasoning

Using psychological research to examine how people typically think to understand when and why they draw erroneous conclusions.

Fremdschämen

The experience of embarrassment for other people who do not realize that they should be embarrassed for themselves.

Culture

The beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language and environment.

Mind/Body Problem

A foundational psychological issue concerning whether the mind and body are separate and distinct, or if the mind is simply the physical brain's subjective experience.

Reaction Time

How quickly people can respond to events.

Structuralism

A school of thought pioneered by Edward Titchener aimed at identifying the basic parts, or structures, of the conscious mind.

Introspection

A method used to study consciousness where participants systematically inspect and report their subjective mental experiences.

Functionalism

An approach to psychology concerned with describing how the conscious mind aids adaptation to an environment.

Stream of Consciousness

A phrase coined by William James to describe each person's continuous series of ever-changing thoughts.

Adaptation

The characteristics that increase the chances of reproduction or survival and are therefore likely to be passed along to future generations.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A school of thought developed by Sigmund Freud focused on understanding how unconscious thoughts cause psychological disorders.

Unconscious

The place where mental processes operate below the level of conscious awareness.

Psychoanalysis

A therapeutic approach that attempts to bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness so that conflicts can be revealed.

Gestalt Movement

A school of thought founded by Max Wertheimer aimed at studying subjective perceptions as a unified whole.

Behaviorism

A psychological approach emphasizing the description of behavior in response to environmental stimuli and forces.

Humanistic Psychology

An approach investigating how people become happier and more fulfilled, focusing on the basic goodness of people.

Cognitivism

A school of thought that explores internal mental processes, such as intelligence, thinking, language, memory, and decision making, that influence behavior.

Cognitive Neuroscience

The study of the neural mechanisms underlying thought, learning, perception, language, and memory.

Localization of Function

The concept that specific brain areas are important for specific feelings, thoughts, and actions.

Human Genome

The basic genetic code, or blueprint, for the human body.

Evolutionary Psychology

A field that attempts to explain mental traits as products of natural selection.

Scientific Method

A systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena.

Theory

A model of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events.

Hypothesis

A specific prediction of what should be observed if a theory is correct.

Replication

Repetition of a research study to confirm or verify the results.

Descriptive Methods

Research methods that provide a systematic and objective description of what is occurring.

Observational Study

A specific type of descriptive method involving systematically assessing and coding observable behavior.

Reactivity

The phenomenon that occurs when knowledge that one is being observed alters the behavior being observed.

Self-Report

A descriptive method that consists of obtaining self-reports from research participants using questionnaires or surveys.

Case Study

A descriptive research method involving intensive examination of a few unique people or organizations.

Correlational Methods

Research methods that test the relationship between factors and examine how variables are naturally related in the real world.

Scatterplot

A graphical depiction of the relationship between two variables.

Positive Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which both variables either increase or decrease together.

Negative Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases when the other decreases.

Zero Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which one variable is not predictably related to the other.

Directionality Problem

A problem encountered in correlational studies where researchers find a relationship between two variables but cannot determine which variable caused changes in the other.

Third Variable Problem

A problem in correlational research occurring when an unmeasured variable is the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest.

Experimental Methods

Research methods that investigate what causes an outcome by manipulating independent variables and measuring dependent variables.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that gets manipulated in a research study.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable that gets measured in a research study.

Operational Definition

A definition that qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so the variable can be understood objectively.

Control Group

A comparison group of participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or receive an intervention unrelated to the independent variable.

Experimental Group

One or more treatment groups of participants in an experiment who receive the intervention of the independent variable being investigated.

Confound

Anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study.

Population

The specific group that a researcher wants to know about.

Random Sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Convenience Sample

A sample consisting of people who are conveniently available for the study.

Random Assignment

Placing participants into the control or experimental group at random so each person has an equal chance of being assigned to either group.

Culturally Sensitive Research

Studies that take into account the role that culture plays in determining thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Groups responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure it meets scientific standards and provides for participant well-being.

Confidentiality

An ethical requirement ensuring personal, identifying information about participants cannot be shared with others.

Anonymity

An ethical condition where researchers do not collect personal, identifying information from participants.

Risk/Benefit Ratio

An analysis of whether a research study is important enough to warrant placing participants at risk.

Informed Consent

The ethical principle that research volunteers have the right to know what will happen to them during the course of the study.

Construct Validity

The extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure.

External Validity

The degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations.

Internal Validity

The degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds.

Reliability

The degree to which a measure is stable and consistent over time.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study.

Central Tendency

A measure that represents the typical response or behavior of a group as a whole.

Mean

A measure of central tendency that is the mathematical average of a set of numbers.

Median

A measure of central tendency that is the value in a set of numbers falling exactly halfway between the lowest and highest values.

Mode

A measure of central tendency that is the most frequent score or value in a set of numbers.

Variability

How widely dispersed the values in a set of numbers are from each other and from the mean.

Standard Deviation

A statistical measure of how far away each value is, on average, from the mean.

Correlation Coefficient

A descriptive statistic that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables, ranging between $-1.0$ and $+1.0$.

Inferential Statistics

A set of procedures enabling researchers to decide whether differences between groups reflect true population differences or chance variations.

Statistically Significant

A designation for research results deemed very unlikely to be due to chance.

Meta-Analysis

A study of studies that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion.