Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Psychology Midterm > Chapter 1 Psychology And Scientific Thinking > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Psychology And Scientific Thinking Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

Ad Hoc Immunizing Hypothesis

A

Escape hatch or loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Applied Research

A

Research examining how we can use basic research to solve real work problems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Basic research

A

Research examining how the mind works

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Behaviorism

A

School of psychology that focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking largely at observable behavior.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Belief perseverance

A

Tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Cognitive psychology

A

School of psychology that proposes that thinking is central to understanding behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Cognitive neuroscience

A

Relatively new field of psychology that examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Correlation-Causation fallacy

A

Error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another it must cause the other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Confirmation Bias

A

Tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Critical thinking

A

Set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open minded and careful fashion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Decline effect

A

Fact that the size of certain psychological findings appears to be shrinking over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Evolutionary psychology

A

Discipline that applies Charles darwins theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Falsifiable

A

Capable of being disproved

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Functionalism

A

School of psychology that aimed to understand the adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Hypothesis

A

Testable prediction derived from a scientific theory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Individual differences

A

Variations among people in their thinking, emotion, personality, and behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Introspection

A

Method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Level of analysis

A

Rungs on a ladder of analysis, with lower levels tied most closely to biological influences and higher levels tied most closely to social influences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Metaphysical claims

A

Assertion about the world that’s not testable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Multiplied determined

A

Caused by many factors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Natural selection

A

Principle that organisms that possess adaptations survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other organisms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Naive realism

A

Belief that we see the world precisely as it is

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Patternicity

A

The tendency to perceive meaningful patterns in their absence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Pseudoscience

A

Set of claims that seem scientific but isn’t

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Psychoanalysis

A

School of psychology founded by signing Freud that focuses on internal psychological processes of which we are unaware

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Psychology

A

The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Replicability

A

When a study’s findings are able to be duplicated ideally by independent investigators

28
Q

Scientific skepticism

A

Approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them

29
Q

Scientific theory

A

Explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world

30
Q

Structuralism

A

Uses introspection to identify basic elements or structures of experience

31
Q

Terror management theory

A

Theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror with which we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews

32
Q

Variable

A

Anything that can vary

33
Q

Blind

A

Unaware of whether one is in the experimental or control group

34
Q

Case study

A

Research design that examines one person or a small number of people in depth often over an extended time period

35
Q

Centers tendency

A

Measure of the central scores in a data set or where the group tends to cluster

36
Q

Control group

A

In an experiment the group of participants that does not receive the manipulation

37
Q

Correlational design

A

Research design that examines the extent to which two variables are associated

38
Q

Demand characteristics

A

Cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researchers hypothesis

39
Q

Dependent variable

A

Variable that an experimenter measures to see whether the manipulation produces an effect

40
Q

Descriptive statistics

A

Numerical characterizations that describe data (pg. 71)

41
Q

Double blind

A

When neither the researchers nor participants are aware of who’s in the experimental or control group

42
Q

Existence proofs

A

Demostration that a given psychological phenomenon can occur

43
Q

Experiment

A

Research design characterized by random assignment of participants to conditions and manipulation of an independent variable

44
Q

Experimenter expectancy effect

A

Phenomenon in which researchers hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of the study

45
Q

Experimental group

A

The participants that receive the manipulation

46
Q

External validity

A

Extent to which we can generalize findings to real world settings

47
Q

Heuristics

A

Mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps us to streamline our thinking and make sense of our world

48
Q

Illusory correlation

A

Perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exists

49
Q

Independent variable

A

Variable that an experimenter manipulates

50
Q

Inferential statistics

A

Mathematical methods that allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population

51
Q

Informed consent

A

Informing research participants of what’s involved in a study before asking them to participate

52
Q

Internal validity

A

Extent to which we can draw cause and effect inferences from a study

53
Q

Naturalistic observation

A

Watching behavior in real world settings without trying to manipulate the situation

54
Q

Operational definition

A

A working defined what a researcher is measuring

55
Q

Placebo effect

A

Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement

56
Q

Prefrontal lobotomy

A

Surgical procedure that severs fibers connecting the frontal lobes of the brain from the underlying thalamus

57
Q

Random assignment

A

Randomly sorting participants into two groups

58
Q

Random selection

A

Procedure that ensures every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate

59
Q

Reliability

A

Consistency of measurement

60
Q

Validity

A

Extent to which a measure assesses what it purports to measure

61
Q

Response set

A

Tendency of research participants to distort their responses to questionnaire items

62
Q

Scatter plot

A

Grouping of points on a two dimensional graph in which each dot represents a single persons data

63
Q

Standard deviation

A

Measure of variability that takes into account how far each data point is from the mean

64
Q

Statistics

A

Application of mathematics to describing and analyzing data

65
Q

Variability

A

Measure of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are

Psychology Midterm (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions