AP psych unit 1

Empiricism

view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses and (b) science flourishes through observation & experiment

Experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variables) By random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

Functionalism

a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind.

Psychology

the science and behavior and mental processes

nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contribution that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits & behaviors

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

clinical psychology

a branch of psychological studies that assess and treats with psychological disorders

psychiatry

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (e.g. drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (aka. the I knew it all along phenomenon

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments & conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, and discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, & assesses conclusions

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes & predicts observations

hypothesis

a testable prediction often implied by a theory

operational definition

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables.

replication

a repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants & circumstances

case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

population

all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has a an equal chance of inclusion

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

correlation coefficient

a statistical measure of the extent to which 2 factors vary together and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship when none exists

placebo

Latin for "I shall please" an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent

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.

placebo effect

any effect on behavior caused by a placebo

experimental condition

the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment that is to one version of the independent variable

control condition

the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

independent variable

the experimental factor that is manipulated the variable whose effect is being studied

dependent variable

the experimental factor in psychology, the behavior or mental process-- that is being measure the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

SQ3R

a study method incorporating 5 steps: Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme of unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward the average

correlation coefficient

A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

standard deviation

a measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

mean

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

mode

the most frequently occurring score in a distribution