Psychology Perspectives and Research Methods Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering fundamental psychological perspectives, research design, statistical concepts, research methods, and AP Psychology free-response question formats based on the provided lecture transcript.

Psychodynamic Perspective

An approach that emphasizes unconscious thoughts, desires, conflicts, and early experiences as influences on behavior and mental processes.

Behavioral Perspective

An approach that focuses on how behavior is learned through interactions with the environment, especially through conditioning and consequences.

Humanistic Perspective

An approach emphasizing free will, personal growth, self-awareness, and the desire to reach one's full potential.

Cognitive Perspective

An approach focusing on how thoughts, beliefs, memories, expectations, and other mental processes influence behavior.

Biological Perspective

An approach explaining behavior and mental processes through biological factors such as the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics.

Evolutionary Perspective

An approach considering how behaviors and mental processes may have developed because they helped organisms survive and reproduce.

Sociocultural Perspective

An approach examining how social interactions, cultural norms, expectations, and cultural environments influence behavior and mental processes.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

An approach explaining behavior and mental processes through interacting biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Mental Processes

Internal experiences and activities such as thinking, remembering, feeling, perceiving, and reasoning.

Behavior

An observable action or response made by an individual or organism.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to look for, interpret, and remember information that supports what you already believe.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after an event has happened, that you could have predicted it beforehand.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident in one's knowledge, predictions, or abilities than is justified.

Empirical Evidence

Evidence obtained through observation, measurement, or experimentation rather than personal opinion or speculation.

Scientific Method

A systematic process for investigating questions through observation, hypothesis formation, research, data collection, analysis, and conclusions.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between variables or about an expected outcome.

Experimenter Bias

A researcher's expectations or beliefs that unintentionally influence the study, participants, observations, or interpretation of results.

Single-Blind Study

A study in which one group involved in the research, usually the participants, does not know which condition participants are in.

Double-Blind Study

A study in which both participants and researchers interacting with them do not know which condition participants are in.

Placebo Condition

A condition in which participants receive an inactive treatment that resembles the actual treatment.

Sample

The group of participants actually studied in a research project.

Representative Sample

A sample whose important characteristics closely resemble those of the larger population being studied.

Random Sample

A sample in which every member of the population has an equal or known chance of being selected.

Sample Bias

A systematic problem in the way a sample is selected that causes it to differ from the population it should represent.

Generalizability

The extent to which study results can be applied to a larger population or other situations.

Statistics

Numerical methods used to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics used to summarize and describe the data collected in a study.

Inferential Statistics

Statistics used to make conclusions or estimates about a population from sample data.

Measure of Central Tendency

A statistic that identifies the center or typical value of a data set, such as the mean, median, or mode.

Falsifiable

Able to be tested in a way that could potentially show the hypothesis is false.

Peer Review

Evaluation of research by qualified experts in the same field before publication or acceptance.

Replication

Repeating a research study to determine whether its findings can be reproduced.

Reliability

The consistency of a measurement or research result.

Validity

The extent to which a measurement or study actually measures or tests what it is intended to measure or test.

The American Psychological Association (APA)

A major professional organization for psychology in the United States that develops professional, educational, and ethical standards.

Research Design

The overall plan or structure used to conduct a research study.

Methodology

The methods and procedures used to conduct research and collect data.

Quantitative Data

Numerical data that can be counted or measured.

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical data involving descriptions, observations, experiences, or interpretations.

Likert Scales

Rating scales in which participants indicate the degree to which they agree, disagree, or respond to a statement.

Structured Interviews

Interviews using a predetermined and standardized set of questions.

Survey Technique

A research method in which participants provide information by answering questions.

Wording Effect

The tendency for the phrasing of a question to influence how people respond.

Social Desirability Bias

The tendency to give answers that make a person appear favorable, socially acceptable, or appropriate.

Mean

The arithmetic average of a set of scores.

Median

The middle score in an ordered set of scores.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a data set.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data set.

Normal Curve

A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution in which most scores cluster around the mean.

Regression to the Mean

The tendency for unusually high or low scores to move closer to the average when measured again.

Positive Skew

A distribution with a long tail toward higher values; the mean is typically greater than the median.

Negative Skew

A distribution with a long tail toward lower values; the mean is typically less than the median.

Standard Deviation

A measure of how much scores in a data set typically differ from the mean.

Percentile Rank

The percentage of scores in a distribution that fall at or below a particular score.

Bimodal Distribution

A distribution with two distinct peaks or modes.

Statistical Significance

A result that is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone according to a specified statistical criterion.

Effect Sizes

Measures indicating the magnitude or strength of a difference or relationship found in research.

Meta-Analysis

A statistical method that combines results from multiple studies on the same topic to determine an overall pattern or effect.

Institutional Review Boards (IRB)

Committees that review research involving human participants to ensure ethical standards and protections are met.

Informed Consent

A participant's agreement to take part in research after receiving information about the study, including relevant risks and procedures.

Informed Assent

A person's affirmative agreement to participate in research when the person may not be legally able to provide full informed consent.

Confidentiality

Protecting participants' private information and limiting improper disclosure of their identities or data.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in a natural environment without interfering with the behavior.

Case Study

An in-depth investigation of one individual, group, or situation.

Correlational Research

Research that measures the relationship between variables without manipulating them.

Third Variable Problem

A problem in correlational research in which an unmeasured variable may explain the relationship between two measured variables.

Scatterplot

A graph that displays paired scores for two variables and shows the direction and strength of their relationship.

Correlation Coefficient

A number from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$ indicating the direction and strength of a correlation.

Positive Correlation

A relationship in which increases in one variable are associated with increases in the other variable.

Negative Correlation

A relationship in which increases in one variable are associated with decreases in the other variable.

Experimental Method

A research method in which researchers manipulate an independent variable and use random assignment to test for cause and effect.

Independent Variable

The variable that the researcher deliberately manipulates.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured to determine whether it changes because of the independent variable.

Confounding Variable

An unwanted variable that changes along with the independent variable and could provide an alternative explanation for the results.

Operational Definitions

Precise descriptions of how the variables in a study are measured or manipulated.

Experimental Group

The group that receives the treatment or experiences the independent variable being tested.

Control Group

The comparison group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

Random Assignment

The process of assigning participants to experimental conditions by chance.

Placebo Effect

A change in behavior or symptoms caused by expectations about a treatment rather than by the treatment itself.

Deception

Intentionally withholding or misleading participants about some aspect of a study when ethically justified and necessary.

Confederates

Individuals who appear to be participants but are actually working with the researchers.

Debriefing

Explaining the true purpose, procedures, and any deception involved in a study after participants finish.

Article Analysis Question (AAQ)

An AP Psychology free-response question requiring analysis of a summarized research article and identification or interpretation of research elements.

Evidence-Based Question (EBQ)

An AP Psychology free-response question requiring a defensible psychological claim supported with evidence from provided sources.

Defensible Claim

A clear claim or conclusion supported by appropriate psychological evidence and reasoning.