Chapter 1: Intro to Psych and Methods Flashcards
Critical Thinking
Process of objectively evaluating, comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing information
Debriefing
Involves explaining the reasons for conducting the research and clearing up any misconceptions or concerns on the part of the participant
Psychology
Scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Nature-Nurture Controversy
Ongoing dispute over the relative contributions of nature (heredity) and nurture (environment)
Behavioral perspective
Emphasizes objective observable enviromental influences on overt behavior
Biopsychosocial model
Drawls from all seven modern perspectives and also incorporates biological psychological and social processes
Cognitive Perspective
Focuses on thinking, perceiving, and information processing
Evolutionary Perspective
Focuses on natural selection, adaptation, and evolution of behavior and mental processes
Humanistic Perspective
Emphasizes free will, self-actualization, and human nature as naturally positive and growth-seeking
Bio psychology/Neuroscience
Investigates the relationship between biology, behavior, and mental process, including now physical and chemical processes affect the structure and function of the brain and nervous system
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Perspective
Focuses on unconscious processes and unresolved past conflicts
Sociocultural Perspective
Emphasizes social interaction and cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes
Applied Research
Research designed to solve practical problems
Basic Research
Research conducted to advance scientific knowledge
Hypothesis
Specific, testable prediction about how one factor, or variable, is related to another
Informed consent
Participants are aware of the nature of the study and significant factors that might influence their willingness to participate
Theory
Interrelated set of concepts that explain a body of data
Meta-Analysis
Statistical procedure for combining and analyzing data from many studies
Correlational
Statistical analysis of relationships between variables
Experimental bias
When conducting research this tendency of experiments to influence the results in the experimental direction
Double blind study
In which neither the observer nor the participant knows which group received experimental treatment
Placebo
A fake pill or injection
Ethnocentrism
When we assume that behavior is typical in our culture is typical in all cultures
Sample bias
Systematic differences among the groups being studied
Random assignment
Ensures that each participant is equally likely to be assigned to any particular group differences among the participants will be spread out across all experimental conditions
Participant bias
Can occur when experimental conditions influence participants behavior or mental process
Missattribution of arousal
Different emotions process produce similar feelings of arousal which leads to mistaken inferences about these emotions and the source of arousal
DeScriptive research
Observes and describes behavior and mental processes without manipulating variables
Case study
Such an in-depth study of a single research participant
Correlational research
When researchers want to determine how one trait or behavior accompanies another and the degree of relationship or correlation between these naturally occurring variables
Naturalistic observation
Researchers systematically measure and record the observable behaviors of participants as it occurs in the real world without interfering
Correlational coefficient
Numerical values from correlational research that indicates the degree and direction of the relationship between two variables
Operational Definition
Precise description of how the variables in a study will be observed and measured. (For example, drug abuse might be defined as “the number of missed work days she to excessive use of an addictive substance.”)
Development Psychology
Studies the course of human growth and development from conception until death
Educational and School Psychology
Studies the process of education and works to promote the intellectual, social, and emotional development of children in the school environment
Experimental Psychology
Examines processes such as learning, conditioning, motivation, emotion, sensation, and perception in humans and other animals. (The term experimental psychologist is somewhat misleading because psychologists working in most all areas of specialization also conduct research.)
Biological research
Studies of the brain and other parts of the nervous system
Positive Psychology
Scientific study of optimal human functioning, emphasizing positive emotions, positive traits, and positive institutions
Biopsychosocial Model
Unifying theme of modern psychology that incorporates biological (e.g. genetics, brain functions, neurotransmitters, and evolution), psychological (e.g. learning, thinking, emotion, personality, and motivation), and sock processes (e.g. family, culture, ethnicity, social class, and politics)
Neuroscience/Biopsychology Perspective
Emphasizes genetics and other biological processes in the brain and other parts of the nervous system
Forensic Psychology
Applies principles of psychology to the legal system, including jury selection, psychological profiling, and so on
Prediction
Identifying the conditions under which a future behavior or mental process is likely to occur
Counseling Psychology
Overlaps with clinical psychology, but practitioners tend to work with less seriously disturbed individuals and conduct more career and vocational assessment
Experimental research
Manipulation and control of variables
Introspection
Monitoring and reporting on the contents of consciousness
Gender and/or Cultural Psychology
Investigates how men and women and different cultures differ from one another and how they are similar
Social Psychology
Investigates the role of social forces and interpersonal behavior, including aggression, prejudice, love, helping, conformity, and attitudes
Cognitive perspective
Recall psychologies earliest days that emphasizes thinking perceiving and information processing
Control group
Group that receives no treatment in an experiment
Dependant variable
Variable that is measured it is affected by the independent variable
Experimental group
Group that receives a treatment in an experiment
Survey
poles and interviews to measure a wide variety of psychological behaviors and attitudes
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Applies the principles of psychology to the workplace, including personnel selection and evaluation, leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation, and group processes within the organization
Positive psychology
The scientific study of optimal human functioning
