Psychology final

Psy 101 03/24

Action potential

Electrical signal along a neuron's axon

Adrenal gland

Secretes hormones involved in stress response

Agonist

Drug mimicking or strengthening neurotransmitter effects

All-or-none

Incoming signal either reaches excitation threshold or not

Allele

Specific version of a gene

American Psychological Association (APA)

Professional organization representing psychologists in the United States

Amygdala

Involved in emotion experience and memory association

Antagonist

Drug blocking or impeding neurotransmitter activity

Archival research

Uses past records to answer research questions

Attrition

Reduction in research participants over time

Auditory cortex

Responsible for processing auditory information

Autonomic nervous system

Controls internal organs and glands

Axon

Major extension of a neuron's soma

Behaviorism

Focus on observing and controlling behavior

Biological perspective

Associates psychological disorders with neurotransmitter imbalances

Biopsychology

Study of how biology influences behavior

Biopsychosocial model

Perspective asserting biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine health

Broca's area

Critical for language production

Cause-and-effect relationship

Changes in one variable cause changes in another

Central nervous system (CNS)

Brain and spinal cord

Cerebellum

Controls balance, coordination, and movement

Cerebral cortex

Associated with highest mental capabilities

Clinical or case study

Observational study focusing on one or few people

Clinical psychology

Focuses on diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Cognitive psychology

Study of thoughts and their relationship to experiences and actions

Confirmation bias

Tendency to ignore evidence disproving beliefs

Confounding variable

Unanticipated factor affecting variables of interest

Control group

Basis for comparison in a study

Correlation

Relationship between two or more variables

Correlation coefficient

Number indicating strength and direction of variable relationship

Counseling psychology

Focuses on improving emotional, social, and vocational aspects of psychologically healthy individuals

Cross-sectional research

Compares population segments at a single time

Debriefing

Providing truthful information to participants post-experiment

Deception

Purposefully misleading participants in an experiment

Deductive reasoning

Predicting results based on a general premise

Dependent variable

Variable measured to see the effect of the independent variable

Developmental psychology

Scientific study of development across a lifespan

Dissertation

Long research paper part of doctoral training

Double-blind study

Both researchers and participants blind to group assignments

Empirical

Grounded in objective, observable evidence

Empirical method

Acquiring knowledge based on observation and experimentation

Experimental group

Group designed to answer research questions

Experimenter bias

Researcher expectations skewing study results

Fact

Objective and verifiable observation

Falsifiable

Able to be disproven by experimental results

Forensic psychology

Applying psychology to issues within the justice system

Functionalism

Focuses on how mental activities help organisms adapt to the environment

Generalize

Inferring sample results apply to the larger population

Humanism

Psychological perspective emphasizing innate human potential for good

Hypothesis

Testable prediction about the world's behavior

Illusory correlation

Seeing relationships where none exist

Independent variable

Variable controlled by the experimenter

Inductive reasoning

Drawing conclusions from observations

Informed consent

Informing participants about the experiment and risks

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Reviews research proposals involving non-human animals

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Reviews research proposals involving human participants

Inter-rater reliability

Measure of agreement among observers

Introspection

Process of examining one's conscious experience

Longitudinal research

Studies individuals repeatedly over an extended period

Naturalistic observation

Observing behavior in its natural setting

Negative correlation

Two variables change in opposite directions

Observer bias

Skewing observations to align with expectations

Ology

Suffix denoting 'scientific study of'

Operational definition

Description of actions used to measure variables

Opinion

Personal judgment or attitude

Participants

Subjects of psychological research

Peer-reviewed journal article

Article reviewed by experts before publication

Personality psychology

Study of unique patterns of thoughts and behaviors

Personality trait

Consistent pattern of thought and behavior

PhD

Doctoral degree in various disciplinary perspectives

Placebo effect

Expectations influencing experience

Population

Overall group of individuals researchers are interested in

Positive correlation

Two variables changing in the same direction

Postdoctoral training program

Further develops research skills under professional supervision

Psychoanalytic theory

Focuses on unconscious's role in behavior

Psychology

Scientific study of mind and behavior

PsyD

Doctoral degree focusing on clinical application of psychological principles

Random assignment

Equal chance of participants being assigned to groups

Random sample

Subset where every member has an equal chance of selection

Reliability

Consistency and reproducibility of a result

Replicate

Repeating an experiment with different samples

Sample

Subset of individuals from a larger population

Single-blind study

Experiment where only the researcher knows group assignments

Sport and exercise psychology

Focuses on mental, emotional factors in physical performance

Statistical analysis

Determines likelihood of differences due to chance

Structuralism

Understanding conscious experience through introspection

Survey

List of questions for data collection

Theory

Set of ideas explaining observed phenomena

Validity

Accuracy in measuring what is intended