Psychology: Core Concepts and Research Methods (Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key psychology concepts and research methods from Page 1-2 notes.

Cognitive psychology

Study of internal mental processes such as perception, memory, thinking, and problem solving.

Biological psychology

Explores how biology, especially brain and nervous system function, underlies behavior.

Sociocultural psychology

Examines how social and cultural contexts influence thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Behavioral psychology

Focuses on observable behavior and how it's shaped by conditioning and environment.

Evolutionary psychology

Looks at how natural selection has shaped behavior and mental processes over time.

Humanistic psychology

Emphasizes personal growth, self-actualization, and subjective experience.

Psychodynamic psychology

Emphasizes unconscious forces and early experiences in shaping behavior.

Cultural norms

Shared expectations about how to behave within a cultural group.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms beliefs.

Hindsight bias

Belief that events were predictable after they have happened.

overconfidence

Overestimating the accuracy of one's beliefs or judgments.

Experimental research

Research that manipulates variables to establish cause-and-effect relationships.

Non-experimental research

Research that observes without manipulating variables, often correlational or descriptive.

Independent variable (IV)

Variable deliberately changed or manipulated by the researcher.

Dependent variable (DV)

Variable measured to assess the effect of the IV.

Random assignment

Allocating participants to groups by chance to ensure equivalence.

Case study

In-depth study of a single person, group, or event.

Correlation

Statistical relationship between two variables; does not imply causation.

Meta-analysis

Statistical technique that combines results from multiple studies.

Naturalistic observation

Studying behavior in real-world settings without interference.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction derived from a theory.

Falsifiable

Capable of being proven false through empirical testing.

Operational definition

Precise, measurable definition of how a variable will be manipulated or measured.

Confounding variable

An outside variable that could influence the DV and obscure the relationship.

Population

All members of a defined group that researchers want to learn about.

Sample

Subset of the population studied.

Representative sample

Sample that reflects the characteristics of the population.

Random sample

Sample chosen by chance to represent the population.

Convenience sample

Sample chosen for ease of access, which may introduce bias.

Sampling bias

Systematic bias resulting from the method of selecting samples.

Generalizability

Extent to which findings apply beyond the study sample.

Experimental group

Group that receives the treatment or manipulation.

Control group

Group that does not receive the treatment or receives a standard condition.

Placebo

Inert substance or condition used as a control to test expectancy effects.

Placebo effect

Improvements due to participants' expectations rather than the treatment.

Single-blind procedure

Participants are unaware of which condition they are in; researchers know.

Double-blind procedure

Neither participants nor researchers know who is in which condition.

Experimenter bias

Researchers' expectations unintentionally influence results or interpretation.

Social desirability bias

Participants respond in ways they think will be viewed favorably.

Qualitative research

Research that collects non-numeric, descriptive data (e.g., interviews, observations).

Quantitative research

Research that collects numeric data and uses statistics.

Replication

Repeating a study to see if findings are consistent.

Third variable problem

Correlation may be explained by a hidden third variable.

Structured interview

Standardized questions administered in the same way to all participants.

Likert scale

Ordered response scale (e.g., 1-5) used to measure attitudes or opinions.

Institutional review

Ethical review by an institutional review board (IRB) before research with humans.

Informed consent

Participants agree to participate with understanding of risks and purpose.

No harm

Ethical principle to minimize physical and psychological risk to participants.

Confidentiality

Protecting participants' privacy and the secrecy of data.

Deception

Misleading participants about the study's purpose or procedures.

debriefing

Provide participants with full disclosure after participation; explain deception if used.

Histogram

Bar-graph showing frequency distribution of a variable.

Scatterplot

Graph plotting pairs of values to show relationships between two variables.

Measures of central tendency

Statistics that describe the center of a data set: mean, median, mode.

Mean

Arithmetic average of a set of numbers.

Median

Middle value when data are ordered.

Mode

Most frequent value in a data set.

Normal curve

Bell-shaped distribution that is symmetric and unimodal.

Skewed curve

Distribution with asymmetry where one tail is longer than the other.

Bimodal distribution

Distribution with two distinct peaks.

Range

Difference between the highest and lowest values.

Standard deviation

Average distance of scores from the mean; measures spread.

Percentile rank

Percentage of scores at or below a given score.

Regression toward the mean

Extreme scores tend to move toward the mean on subsequent tests.

Correlation coefficient

Numerical index (r) of the strength and direction of a linear relationship.

Effect size

Magnitude of a difference or relationship, indicating practical significance.

Statistical significance

Result unlikely due to chance (p-value below a threshold).

claim

A statement or assertion about findings that should be supported by data.