Chapter 1: The science of Psychology. Laura King

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

Case study

Also called a case history, 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 two 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 known 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

Random assignment

Researchers' assignment of participants to groups by chance, to reduce the likelihood that an experiment's results will due to preexisting differences between groups

Experiment

A carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable

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 but that cannot be observed directly

Behavior

Everything we do that can not be directly observed

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory ( with his two co-workers) in 1879 at the University of Leipzig in Germany

Structuralism

Wundt's approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes

William James (1842-1910)

James's approach became known functionalism

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

The scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion

Behavioral approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and environmental determinants

Psychodynamic approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands,and early childhood family experiences

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Freud was the founding father of the psychodynamic approach

Humanistic approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and freedom to choose one's destiny

Cognitive approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing : how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems

Evolutionary approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as basis for explaining specific human behaviors

Sociocultural approach

An approach to psychology that examines the influences of social and cultural environments on behavior

Variable

Anything that can change

Theory

A broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observation and to make predictions about future observations

Hypothesis

A testable prediction that derives logically from a theory

Operational definition

A definition that provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study

Independent variable

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 a study so that the social context can be manipulated

Dependent variable

The outcome- the factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable

Experimental group

The participants in an experiment who receive the drug or other treatment under study that is, those 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 group 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

In an experiment, the influence of participants' expectations, and of their thoughts about how they should behave, on their behavior

Placebo effect

The situation where participants' expectations, rather than the experimental treatment, produce an experimental outcome

Double-blind experiment

An experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until the results are calculated

Demand characteristics

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 had no physiological effect, given to participants in a 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 from

Random sample

A sample that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected

Naturalistic observation

The observation of behavior in a real-world setting

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You've started learning these terms. Keep it up!