psychology- test 1

chapters 1-4

materialism

the belief that humans, and other living beings, are composed exclusively of physical matter

gestalt psychology

an approach emphasizing that psychologists need to focus on the whole of perception and experience, rather than its parts

behaviourism

an approach that dominated the first half of the 20th century of North American psychology and had a singular focus on studying only observable behaviour, with little to no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behaviour

determinism

the belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause-and-effect relationships

cognitive psychology

a modern psychological perspective that focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language

empiricism

a philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience

zeitgeist

refers to a general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history

intergenerational trauma

the transmission of the negative social and emotional consequences of oppression from one generation to the next

social psychology

the study of the influence of other people on our behaviour

functionalism

the study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience

principle of parsimony

the simplest of all competing explanations of a phenomenon should be the one we accept

psychoanalysis

a psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes

falsifiable

the hypothesis is precise enough that it could be proven false

clinical psychology

the field of psychology that concentrates on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

scientific literacy

the ability to understand, analyze, and apply scientific information

scientific method

a way of learning about the world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions

pseudoscience

an idea that is presented as science but does not actually utilize basic principles of scientific thinking or procedure

humanistic psychology

focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each person’s freedom to act, their rational thought, and the belief that humans are fundamentally different from other animals

critical thinking

involves exercising curiosity and skepticism when evaluating the claims of others, and with our own assumptions and beliefs

psychophysics

the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience

nature and nurture relationships

the inquiry into how heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) influence behaviour and mental processes

hypothesis

a testable prediction about processes that can be observed and measured

psychology

the scientific study of behaviour, thought, and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors

personality psychology

the study of how different personality characteristics can influence how we think and act

localization of brain function

the idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics

theory

an explanation for a broad range of observations that also generate new hypotheses and integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole

structuralism

an attempt to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together

biopsychosocial model

a means of explaining behaviour as a product of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

dualism

the idea that there are properties of humans that are not material (i.e., there is a mind or soul separate from the body)

naturalistic observations

observations that unobtrusively observe and record behaviour as it occurs in the subject’s natural environment

skewed distribution

an asymmetrical distribution with a large cluster of scores on one side and a long ‘tail’ on the other

statistical significance

the means of the groups are farther apart than you would expect them to be by random chance alone

hawthorne effect

behaviour change that occurs as a result of being observed

case study

an in-depth report about the details of a specific case

debriefing

when researchers explain the true nature of the study, and especially the nature of and reason for any deception

variable

the object, concept, or event being measured

qualitative research

examining an issue or behaviour without performing numerical measurements of the variables

quantitative research

examining an issue or behaviour by using numerical measurements and/or statistics

frequency

the number of observations that fall within a certain category or range of scores

quasi-experimental research

a research technique in which the two or more groups that are compared are selected based on predetermined characteristics, rather than random assignment

variability

the degree to which scores are dispersed in a distribution

ecological validity

the results of a laboratory study can be applied to or repeated in the natural environment

experimental group

the group in the experiment that receives a treatment or the stimuli targeting a specific behaviour

random assignment

a technique for dividing samples into two or more groups in which participants are equally likely to be placed in any condition of the experiment

anecdotal evidence

an individual’s story or testimony about an observation or event that is used to make a claim as evidence

standard deviation

a measure of variability around the mean

validity

the degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it claims to measure

informed consent

a potential volunteer must be informed (know the purpose, tasks, and risks involved in the study) and give consent (agree to participate based on the information provided) without pressure

double-blind study

a study in which neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the exact treatment for any individual

mode

the category with the highest frequency (that is, the category with the most observations)

hypothesis test

a statistical method of evaluating whether differences among groups are meaningful (a concept known as a statistically significant difference) or could have been arrived at by chance alone

operational definitions

statements that describe the procedures (or operations) and specific measures that are used to record observations

independent variable

the variable that the experimenter manipulates to distinguish between two or more groups

objective measurements

the measure of an entity or behaviour that, within an allowed margin of error, is consistent across instruments and observers

replication

the process of repeating a study and finding a similar outcome each time

convenience samples

samples of individuals who are the most readily available

appeal to common sense

a claim that appears to be sound, but lacks supporting scientific evidence

within-subjects designs

an experimental design in which the same participants respond to all types of stimuli or experience all experimental conditions

random sample

a sampling technique in which every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included

single-blind study

a study in which participants do not know the true purpose of the study, or else do not know which type of treatment they are receiving (e.g., a placebo or a drug)

demand characteristics

inadvertent cues given off by the experimenter or the experimental context that provide information about how participants are expected to behave

appeal to authority

the belief in an “expert’s” claim even when no supporting data or scientific evidence is present

generalizability

the degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals, or events

dependent variable

the observation or measurement that is recorded during the experiment and subsequently compared across all groups

median

the 50th percentile - the point on the horizontal axis at which 50% of all observations are lower and 50% of all observations are higher

deception

misleading or only partially informing participants of the true topic or hypothesis under investigation

correlational research

involves measuring the degree of association between two or more variables

central tendency

a measure of the central point of a distribution

null hypothesis

assumes that any differences between groups (or conditions) are due to chance

placebo effect

a measurable and experienced improvement in health or behaviour that cannot be attributable to a medication or treatment

descriptive statistics

a set of techniques used to organize, summarize, and interpret data

population

the group that researchers want to generalize about

confounding variable

a variable outside of the researcher’s control that might affect or provide an alternative explanation for the results

research ethics board (REB)

a committee of researchers and officials at an institution charged with the protection of human research participants

third variable problem

the possibility that a third, unmeasured variable is responsible for a well-established correlation between two variables

mean

the arithmetic average of a set of numbers

normal distribution

a symmetrical distribution with values clustered around a central, mean value

reliability

consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in time

social desirability

research participants respond in ways that increase the chances that they will be viewed favourably by the experimenter and/or other participants

sample

a select group of population members

self-reporting

a method in which responses are provided directly by the people who are being studied, typically through face-to-face interviews, phone surveys, paper-and-pencil tests, and web-based questionnaires

research design

a set of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested

control group

the group that does not received the treatment or stimuli targeting a specific behaviour; this group therefore serves as a baseline to which the experimental group is compared

experimental hypothesis

assumes that any differences are due to a variable controlled by the experimenter

illusory correlations

relationships that exist only in the mind, rather than in reality

peer review

a process in which papers submitted for publication in scholarly journals are read and critiqued by experts in the specific field of study

between-subjects design

an experimental design in which we compare the performance of participants who are in different groups

hormones

chemicals secreted by the glands of the endocrine system

positron emission tomography (PET)

a type of scan in which a low level of a radioactive isotope is injected into the blood, and its movement to regions of the brain engaged in a particular task is measured

adrenal glands

a pair of endocrine glands adjacent to the kidneys that release stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine

amygdala

a group of nuclei in the medial portion (near the middle) of the temporal lobes in each hemisphere of the brain that facilitates memory formation for emotional events, mediates fear responses, and appears to play a role in recognizing and interpreting emotional stimuli, including facial expressions

genes

the basic units of heredity; responsible for guiding the process of creating the proteins that make up our physical structures and regulate development and physiological processes throughout the lifespan

epinephrine

a hormone and neurotransmitter created in the adrenal gland on the kidneys

myelin

a fatty sheath that insulates axons from one another, resulting in increased speed and efficiency of neural communication

evolutionary psychology

attempts to explain human behaviours based on the beneficial function(s) they may have served in our species’ evolutionary history

hemispheric specialization

the two sides of the cortex often perform very different functions

dizygotic twins

fraternal twins who comes from two separate eggs fertilized by two different sperm cells that share the same womb; these twins have approximately 50% of their genes in common

hypothalamus

a brain structure that regulates basic biological needs and motivational systems

hunter-gatherer theory

links performance on specific tasks to the different roles performed by males and females over the course of our evolutionary history

evolution

the change in the frequency of genes occurring in an interbreeding population over generations