Studied by 4 peoplebehavior
everything we do that can be directly observed
psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
science
the use of systematic methods to observe the natural world, including human behavior, and to draw conclusions
mental processes
the thoughts feelings, and motives that people experience privately privately but that cannot be observed directly
critical thinking
the process of thinking deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence
empirical method
gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning.
structuralism
Wundt's approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes
functionalism
James's approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaptation to the environment
natural selection
Darwin's principle of an evolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their environment will survive and produce offspring
biological approach
an approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system
neuroscience
is the scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system.
behavioral approach
an approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.
psychodynamic approach
emphasizes unconscious though, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences.
humanistic approach
an approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one's destiny.
cognitive approach
emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems
evolutionary approach
uses evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.
sociocultural approach
examines the influences of social and cultural environments on behavior.
variable
anything that can change
theory
is a broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations
hypothesis
is a testable prediction that derives logically from a theory
operational definition
provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study
case study
is an in-depth look at a single individual
correlational research
research that examines the relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether and how tow variables change together
third variable problem
the circumstance where a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables. Third variables are also know as confounds.
longitudinal design
a special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers, that involves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time.
experiment
is a carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable.
random assignment
means that researchers assign participants to groups by chance.
independent variable
is a manipulated experimental factor. The variable that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are.
confederate
a person who is given a role to play in study so that the social context can be manipulated
dependent variable
is the outcome - the factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable.
experimental group
consists of the participants in an experiment who receive the treatment that is of interest to the researcher, or a particular drug under study - that is, the participants who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents
control group
the participants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental groups as possible and who are treated in every way like the experimental group except for a manipulated factor, the independent variable.
external validity
the degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real-world issues it is supposed to address
internal validity
the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable.
validity
the soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment
experimenter bias
the influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of research
research participant bias
occurs when the behavior of research participants during the experiment is influenced by how they think they are supposed to behave or their expectations about what is happening to them.
placebo effect
the situation where participants' expectations, rather than the experimental treatment, produce an outcome
double-blind experiment
an experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are award of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until the results are calculated.
demand characteristics
are any aspects of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave
placebo
in a drug study, a harmless substance that has no physiological effect, given to participants in a control group so that they are treated identically to the experimental group except for the active agent
sample
the subset of the population chosen by the investigator for study.
population
the entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions
random sample
a sample that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.
naturalistic observation
is observing behavior in a real-world setting
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