Unit 1 Psychological Science and Research Methods

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering psychological research methods, historical schools of thought, and statistics.

Survey

Technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people.

Social Desirability Bias

The tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Critical Thinking

The process of not taking arguments and conclusions without evaluating the evidence and thinking about it.

Experiment

A research method to determine a cause and effect relationship where an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variable) to observe the effect on behavior or mental processes (dependent variable).

Statistical Significance

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

P score

A measure of statistical difference; if the result is in the $5\%-1\%$ range, it indicates no connection or that results did not occur by chance.

Null Hypothesis

A statement that a study will find no change or difference, and any results are just due to chance rather than a real effect.

Hawthorne effect

A phenomenon where research subjects alter their behavior because they know they are being observed.

Longitudinal study

A research design that examines how people develop by studying the same sample over a long period of time.

Nature-nurture

The debate over the relative contribution that genes (nature) and experience (nurture) make to psychological traits and behaviors.

Effect Size

A measure that quantifies the strength of a relationship between two variables or the difference between two groups.

Percentile Rank

An indicator of where a score stands relative to others; for example, being in the $75\text{th}$ percentile means you scored better than $75\%$ of people.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes using evidence rather than common sense.

Pseudo-psychology

Phony, unscientific psychology that lacks scientific backing, such as horoscopes or palm reading.

Empirical Approach

A study conducted via careful observations and scientifically-based research, relying on observable evidence.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's concept that the mind at birth is a "blank slate," representing the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate.

Structuralism

A historical school of psychology, founded by Wilhelm Wundt, devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought.

Introspection

The process used by structuralists of reporting one's own conscious mental experiences; often described as "looking inward."

Functionalism

A historical school led by William James that believed mental processes are best understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function.

Gestalt Psychology

A historical school that studied how people construct "perceptual wholes" and believed the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Psychoanalysis

An approach founded by Sigmund Freud emphasizing that behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts hidden below awareness.

Behaviorism

A school of psychology founded by John Watson and B.F. Skinner focused only on objective, observable behavior, excluding mental processes.

Eclectic Approach

A modern approach that uses multiple perspectives together rather than sticking to just one school of thought.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to attend to evidence that confirms our beliefs while ignoring evidence that does not.

Empiricism

The theory that knowledge originates in experience and that we learn through observation and sensing.

Hindsight Bias

The "I knew it all along" phenomenon where people believe they could have predicted research findings after hearing the results.

Operational Definition

An exact explanation of how a variable will be measured so that other researchers can replicate the study.

Representative Sample

A sample that reflects the larger population being studied so results can be generalized.

Random Sample

The process of picking participants by chance to increase the likelihood of a representative sample.

Stratified Sample

A sampling process that ensures the sample directly mirrors the population on specific criteria like race or gender.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that the researcher manipulates or changes to see if it causes an effect.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The outcome variable that is measured; its value depends on the changes made to the independent variable.

Confounding / Extraneous Variable

Any difference between experimental and control conditions (other than the IV) that might affect the results of the DV.

Random Assignment

The process of assigning participants to control or experimental groups by chance to control for bias.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental procedure where neither the subjects nor the researchers know who is receiving the treatment or the placebo.

Placebo Effect

A phenomenon where subjects experience effects simply because they believe they are receiving a real treatment.

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables, though it does not prove causation.

Case Study

An in-depth, detailed study of an individual or small group, useful for rare cases but hard to generalize.

Mean

A measure of central tendency representing the mathematical average of a set of scores.

Standard Deviation (SD)

The average distance of any score in a distribution from the mean.

Normal Curve (Bell Curve)

A theoretical bell-shaped curve where $68\%$ of scores fall within $\pm 1\,SD$, $95\%$ within $\pm 2\,SD$, and $99\%$ within $\pm 3\,SD$.

Z-Score

A measure of the distance of a score from the mean in standard deviation units.

Inferential Statistics

Statistical methods that determine if findings from a sample can be reliably applied to a larger population.

Correlational Coefficient

A number ranging from $-1$ to $+1$ that shows the strength and direction of a relationship between variables.