Ap Psyc Unit 1 vocab bw

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the Prologue and Chapter 1 text covering key foundational psychology terms and research method concepts.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Humanistic Psychology

Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth.

Cognitive Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes.

Nature-Nurture Issue

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Natural Selection

The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Levels of Analysis

The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Applied Research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Counseling Psychology

A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Psychiatry

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

SQ3R

A study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon).

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Operational Definition

A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables.

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.

Case Study

An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

Survey

A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

Population

All the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn.

Random Sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from $-1$ to $+1$).

Scatterplots

A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation.

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable).

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

Double-Blind Procedure

An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo.

Placebo Effect

Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

Experimental Group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Control Group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Independent Variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Dependent Variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

Mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

Median

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

Normal Curve

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean ($68$ percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

Statistical Significance

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

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.