Psych 8 Midterms

Science

A general approach to understanding the natural world.

Systematic Empiricism

The careful planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations of the natural world for the purposes of learning.

Empirical Questions

Questions about the way the world actually is and can be answered through systematic empiricism.

Public Knowledge

Scientists publish their work after asking empirical questions, making systematic observations, and drawing conclusions.

Pseudoscience

Activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific by their proponents, but are not.

Cryptozoology

The study of "hidden" creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and the chupacabra.

Homeopathy

The treatment of medical conditions using natural substances that have been diluted sometimes to the point of no longer being present.

Pyramidology

Odd theories about the origin and function of the Egyptian pyramids and the idea that pyramids in general have healing and other special powers.

Falsifiable

Scientific claims must be expressed in such a way that there are observations that would count as evidence against the claim.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A doctoral degree generally held by people who conduct scientific research in psychology.

Basic Research

Research conducted for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior, without necessarily trying to address any particular problem.

Applied Research

Research conducted primarily to address some practical problem.

Folk Psychology

Intuitive beliefs about people's behavior, thoughts, and feelings.

Heuristics

For example, if a belief is widely shared—especially if it is endorsed by “experts”—and it makes intuitive sense, we tend to assume it is true.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to focus on cases that confirm our beliefs and dismiss cases that disprove them.

Skepticism

An attitude in which one considers alternatives and searches for evidence.

Tolerance for Uncertainty

The acceptance of the unknown.

Psychology

The scientific study of human behavior and mental processes.

Critical-thinking attitudes

Skepticism and tolerance for uncertainty, which researchers in psychology cultivate to search for evidence and consider alternatives before accepting a claim about human behavior as true.

Clinical Practice of Psychology

The diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems.

Empirically Supported Treatments

Treatments that have been shown to work through systematic observation.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

A treatment for depression, panic disorder, bulimia nervosa, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Exposure therapy

A treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Behavioral therapy

A treatment for depression.

Behavioral couples therapy

A treatment for alcoholism and substance abuse.

Exposure therapy with response prevention

A treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Family therapy

A treatment for schizophrenia.

Variables

Quantities or qualities that vary across people or situations.

Quantitative Variable

A quantity that is typically measured by assigning a number to each individual.

Categorical Variable

A quality that is typically measured by assigning a category label to each individual.

Population

A very large group of people.

Sample

A small subset of a population.

Random sampling

A sampling method in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Convenience sampling

A sampling method in which the sample consists of individuals who happen to be nearby and willing to participate.

Operational Definition

A definition of the variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured.

Statistical Relationship

Occurs when the average score on one variable differs systematically across the levels of the other variable.

Correlation

A statistical relationship between two quantitative variables.

Scatterplots

A graph that shows correlations between quantitative variables.

Positive Relationship

Higher scores on one variable tend to be associated with higher scores on the other variable.

Negative Relationship

Higher scores on one variable tend to be associated with lower scores on the other variable.

Independent Variable (X)

The variable of a statistical relationship that is thought to cause the other variable.

Dependent Variable (Y)

The variable that is thought to be the effect of the independent variable.

Directionality Problem

Two variables can be statistically related because X causes Y or Y causes X.

Third-variable Problem

Two variables may be statistically related, but both may be caused by a third and unknown variable.

Interestingness

The level a research question is interesting to the scientific community and people in general.

Feasibility

The state or ability of being easily or conveniently completed.1. Research literature:All the published research in a particular field.

Professional journals

Periodicals that publish original research articles.

Empirical research

Reports that describe one or more new empirical studies conducted by the authors.

Review articles

Summaries of previously published research on a topic and usually present new ways to organize or explain the results.

Theoretical article

A type of review article primarily devoted to presenting a new theory.

Double-blind study

An experiment in which both the participants and the experimenters are blind to which condition the participants have been assigned to.

Scholarly books

Books written by researchers and practitioners mainly for use by other researchers and practitioners.

Monograph

A book written by a single author or a small group of authors and usually gives a coherent presentation of a topic much like an extended review article.

Edited volume

Books with an editor or a small group of editors who recruit many authors to write separate chapters on different aspects of the same topic.

PsycINFO

An electronic database covering thousands of professional journals and scholarly books produced by the APA.

Research ethics

The moral foundations and principles that guide ethical research practices.

Respect for persons

Respecting the autonomy of research participants and protecting those who may be incapable of exercising autonomy.

Concern for welfare

Ensuring participants are not exposed to unnecessary risks, considering privacy and confidentiality, and providing adequate information about risks and benefits.

Justice

Treating people fairly and equitably, considering the vulnerability of participants and avoiding unjust exclusion of historically marginalized groups.

Confederate

A helper of a researcher who pretends to be a real participant.1. Autonomy:A person's right to make their own choices and take their own actions free from coercion.

Informed Consent

Researchers obtain and document people's agreement to participate in a study after having informed them of everything that might reasonably be expected to affect their decision.

Privacy

A person's right to decide what information about them is shared with others.

Confidentiality

An agreement not to disclose participants' personal information without their consent or some appropriate legal authorization.

Justice

Researchers must conduct their research in a just manner, treating their participants fairly and ensuring that benefits and risks are distributed across all participants.

Nuremberg Code

A set of ten principles written in 1947 that provided a standard by which to compare the behavior of Nazi physicians on trial.

Declaration of Helsinki

An ethics code created by the World Medical Council in 1964, emphasizing the importance of a written protocol for research with human participants.

Protocol

A detailed description of the research that is reviewed by an independent committee.

Belmont Report

Published in 1978, this report explicitly recognized the principle of seeking justice and the importance of distributing risks and benefits fairly across different groups at the societal level.

Tri-Council Policy Statement

Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans:Canadian code of ethics that must be followed by researchers and research institutions.

Research Ethics Board (REB)

A committee responsible for reviewing research protocols for potential ethical problems.

Full REB Review

The default requirement for research involving humans.

Minimal Risk Research

When the likelihood and magnitude of possible harms faced by the participants is no greater than those encountered in everyday life.

APA Ethics Code

A code first published in 1953 that includes approximately 150 specific ethical standards for psychologists and their students to follow.

Consent Form

A document informing participants of procedure, risks, and benefits of the research that is signed during the process of informed consent.

Deception

Includes misinforming participants of the purpose of the study, using confederates, using fake equipment, or presenting false performance feedback.

Debriefing

The process of informing research participants as soon as possible of the purpose of the study, revealing deception, and correcting misconceptions they may have as a result of participating in the study.1. Informed Consent:The process of informing research participants about everything that might affect their decision to participate in a study.

Deception

The use of misleading information or withholding information from research participants, allowed under certain circumstances when the benefits outweigh the risks.

Prescreening

A procedure used to identify and eliminate participants who are at high risk.

Ethical Responsibilities

The responsibilities of researchers to know and accept ethical guidelines in conducting research.

Risks and Benefits

The weighing of potential risks against the benefits of a research study.

Informed Consent and Debriefing

Procedures to provide participants with information and debrief them after the study.

Phenomenon

A general result observed reliably in empirical research.

Blindsight

The ability of people with damage to their visual cortex to respond to visual stimuli they do not consciously see.

Bystander Effect

The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help in an emergency situation when more people are present.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to explain others' behavior based on their personal characteristics rather than the situation they are in.

McGurk Effect

The perception of a sound that is intermediate between two different speech sounds when audio and visual information are combined.

Other-race Effect

The tendency to recognize faces of people of one's own race more accurately than faces of people of other races.

Placebo Effect

The improvement in symptoms and functioning that can occur due to the belief in a fake treatment.

Mere Exposure Effect

The tendency for people to like something more when they have been exposed to it more frequently.

Serial Position Effect

The better recall of stimuli presented at the beginning and end of a list compared to stimuli presented in the middle.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response that had been extinguished after the passage of time.

Replication

Conducting a study again to ensure that it produces the same results.

Theory

A coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena.

Perspective

A broad approach to explaining and interpreting phenomena.

Hypothesis

A prediction or explanation based on a theory.

Theoretical Framework

The established context applied to understanding a phenomenon.

Parsimony

The principle that a theory should include only as many concepts as necessary to explain the phenomena of interest.

Occam's Razor

Another term for parsimony, which suggests that the simplest explanation is usually the best.

Prediction

The ability of theories to predict what will happen in new situations.

Generation of New Research

The role of theories in inspiring and guiding new research.1. Formality:The extent to which the components of the theory and the relationships among them are specified clearly and in detail.