Chapter 1 Terms

Question 1

empiricism

Answer 1

the view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment

Question 2

structuralism

Answer 2

an early school of psychology that useed introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Question 3

functionalism

Answer 3

a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Question 4

psychology

Answer 4

the science of behavior and mental processes

Question 5

nature-nurture issue

Answer 5

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

Question 6

basic research

Answer 6

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Question 7

applied research

Answer 7

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Question 8

clinical psychology

Answer 8

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

Question 9

psychiatry

Answer 9

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

Question 10

hindsight bias

Answer 10

the tendency to believe after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (aka the ‘I-knew-it-all-along’ phenomenon)

Question 11

critical thinking

Answer 11

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Question 12

theory

Answer 12

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations

Question 13

hypothesis

Answer 13

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Question 14

operational definition

Answer 14

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Question 15

replication

Answer 15

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Question 16

case study

Answer 16

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Question 17

survey

Answer 17

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

Question 18

population

Answer 18

all the cases in a group, form which samples may be drawn for a study (note: except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population)

Question 19

random sample

Answer 19

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

Question 20

naturalistic observation

Answer 20

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

Question 21

correlation coefficient

Answer 21

a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Question 22

illusory correlation

Answer 22

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Question 23

experiment

Answer 23

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variable) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experiment controls other relevant factors

Question 24

placebo

Answer 24

an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent

Question 25

double-blind procedure

Answer 25

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have receive the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Question 26

placebo effect

Answer 26

any effect on behavior caused by a placebo

Question 27

experimental condition

Answer 27

the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, tat is, to one version of the independent variable

Question 28

control condition

Answer 28

the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Question 29

random assignment

Answer 29

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Question 30

independent variable

Answer 30

the experimental factor hat is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

Question 31

dependent variable

Answer 31

the experimental factor-in psychology, the behavior or mental process0that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Question 32

culture

Answer 32

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Question 33

SQ3R

Answer 33

a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review