Exam 1

Question 1

independent variable

Answer 1

variable being manipulated

Question 2

naturalistic observation

Answer 2

describes settings, frequency, and characteristics of certain behaviors in real world

Question 3

psychodynamic perspective

Answer 3

emphasizes unconscious psychological processes (for example, wishes and fears of which we’re not fully aware), and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality

Question 4

mean

Answer 4

a measure of central tendency that is calculated by adding all of the scores in a data set and dividing by the total number of scores

Question 5

extraneous variables

Answer 5

a measure that is not under investigation in an experiment but may potentially affect the outcome or dependent variable and thus may influence results

Question 6

experiment

Answer 6

only 1 that allows for cause and effect

Question 7

mode

Answer 7

a measure of central tendency which is calculated by reporting the most frequently occurring number in a data set

Question 8

reliability

Answer 8

degree to which the operational definition measures the construct consistently for good reliability, large # of items or multiple raters should be used

Question 9

humanistic perspective

Answer 9

emphasizes looking at the whole individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization

Question 10

psychological specialties

Answer 10

clinical pyschologists, cognitive & perceptual psychologists, community, counselling, developmental, etc.

Question 11

cognitive perspective

Answer 11

This approach focuses on how internal thoughts and feelings influence one’s behavior

Question 12

ethics for animal research

Answer 12

Researchers must have respect for animals’ worth, regardless of their utility value, and for animals’ interests as living, sentient creatures.

Question 13

random assignment

Answer 13

each subject has an equal chance of being assigned to any of the experimental conditions

Question 14

placebo group

Answer 14

receives an intervention or treatment but it should have no effect on subjects

Question 15

research dimensions

Answer 15

research is done to discover which PSA is most effective

Question 16

standard deviation

Answer 16

a measure of dispersion that shows the spread of scores around the mean

Question 17

positive relationship

Answer 17

as one variable increases, the other variable increases

Question 18

representative samples

Answer 18

a selected segment of a group that closely parallels the population as a whole in terms of the key variables under examination

Question 19

applied dimension

Answer 19

results of research are applied to benefit general public

Question 20

theory

Answer 20

fact-based ideas that describe a phenomenon of human behavior

Question 21

median

Answer 21

a measure of central tendency that is calculated by finding the middle score when the data set is placed in numerical order

Question 22

negative relationship

Answer 22

as one variable increases, the other variable decreases

Question 23

range

Answer 23

a measure of dispersion obtained by subtracting the lowest score in a distribution from the highest score

Question 24

behavioral perspective

Answer 24

psychological approach that suggests that the keys to understanding development are observable behavior and external stimuli in the environment

Question 25

evolutionary perspective

Answer 25

the assumption that many of your core behaviors and ways of processing information are a result of evolution

Question 26

case study

Answer 26

It is a thorough investigation of one person; it usually includes information about the person’s past and is often used by clinical psychologists in studying patients in psychotherapy; it does not demonstrate cause and effect.

Question 27

operational definition

Answer 27

defining a construct by the operation intended to measure it; turning dependent variable into #s

Question 28

correlation scatterplots

Answer 28

displays the strength, direction, and form of the relationship between two quantitative variables

Question 29

correlational study

Answer 29

studies relationship between 2 variables; 2 variables are measured on each subject, the subjects are not randomly assigned to different experimental conditions

Question 30

dependent variable

Answer 30

what is being measured and how it is

Question 31

survery method

Answer 31

collects data from a sample that represents larger population

Question 32

correlation coefficient

Answer 32

that expresses the strength & direction of the relationship; the higher the #, the stronger the relationship

Question 33

control group

Answer 33

receives no intervention or treatment

Question 34

T-test

Answer 34

assesses statistical significance between the means of 2 experimental groups