unit 0 test review

nature-nurture issue

the standing 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

behavioral approach

focuses on observable behaviors and how they are shaped by the environment

biological approach

organism’s functioning can be explained in terms of bodily structures and biochemical processes that underlie behavior

cognitive psychology

scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

evolutionary psychology

study of evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection

humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people

psychodynamic psychology

study of how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior

sociocultural psychology

study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

psychometrics

studying the measurement of our abilities, attitudes, and traits

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

hindsight bias

tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

overconfidence

everyone wants to think they know more than they actually do

perceiving order in random events

an event that happened to 1 in a billion people actually happens about 7 times a day

three factors of scientific attitude?

1. curiosity

2. skepticism

3. humility

theory

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

hypothesis

testable prediction

operational definition

carefully worded statement of exact procedures used in study

replication

replicating study, usually with different participants and situations, to see whether basic finding is generalizable

case study

observation technique in which one person/group is studied in depth in hopes of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

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

survey

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

sampling bias

flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

population

all those in a group being studied

random sample

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

correlation

measure of the extent to which two factors vary together → how well either factor predicts other

correlation coefficient

statistical index of relationship between two things from -1.00 to +1.00

scatterplot

graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents values of two variables

illusory correlation

perception of a relationship where none exists

experiment

scientific procedure to test hypothesis by manipulating variable(s)

experimental group

group exposed to iv

control group

group not exposed to iv and serves to compare and evaluate effect of treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to both experimental and control conditions → minimizing pre-existing differences between groups

double-blind

both research participants and staff are “blind” to whether participants have received placebo

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

independent variable

manipulated variable

dependent variable

measured outcome factor derived from iv

confounding variable

any variable not controlled for that could change results of experiment (3rd party)

validity

extent to which test/experiment predicts what it is supposed to

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to describe characteristics of groups

mean

average

median

middle score

range

difference between largest and smallest score

skewed distribution

representation of scores that lack symmetry around mean value

mode

most frequently occurring value

standard deviation

computed measure of how much scores vary around mean score

normal curve

symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes distribution of many types of data

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize/infer from data probability of something being true in population

statistical significance (p)

statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result did not occur by chance → probability < 0.05

generalizability

a measure of how useful the results of a study are for the entire population studied

if there is a small stdev, you should use…

mean

if there is a big stdev, you should use…

median

n

number of people in study

p

probability

r

ratio/coRRelation

spurious correlation

relationship due to 3rd or 4th unrelated variable

deception

research staff cannot lie to people they are studying unless necessary for research

promote well-being of subjects

anything where the predicted outcome is painful, unpleasant, or unhealthy is generally considered unethical and is prohibited

informed consent

human subjects must be aware that they are part of experiment, what the research is about, and can quit at any time

debriefing

after a study, results must be explained to all participants

confidentiality

researchers should respect participants privacies by keeping identity confidential

longitudinal study

researchers repeatedly examine the same individuals to detect any changes that might occur over a period of time

cross-sectional study

observations of many different individuals at a given time, each observation belonging to a different individual