Psych- Unit 1/9 Vocab Flashcards
industrial-organizational psychology
applying psych concepts to behavior in workplaces
psychometrics
study and measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits
natural selection
traits contributing to reproduction and survival will be passed to succeeding generations
social-cultural psychology
how situations and cultures affect behavior and thinking
personality psychology
study of individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
humanistic psychology
emphasizes individual’s potential for personal growth
forensic psychology
applies psychological principles to legal issues
levels of analysis
differing complementary views for analyzing any situation (biological, psychological, social-cultural)
structuralism
used introspection to explore structural elements of human mind (Wundt)
nature-nurture issue
controversy whether genes or experiences shape psychological traits and behaviors
human factors psychology
how people and machines interact and how this interaction can be safe to use
psychodynamic psychology
how unconscious conflicts influence behaviors
social psychology
how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
functionalism
how mental and behavioral processes function- enable us to adapt and survive (William James)
psychiatry
branch of medicine for psychological disorders
behavioral psychology
study of observable behavior explained by principles of learning
cognitive psychology
mental activities associated with thinking, remembering, and communicating
positive psychology
human functioning to discover strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities survive
cognitive neuroscience
study of brain activity linking with cognition
experimental psychology
studies behavior and thinking through the experimental method
community psychology
how people interact in social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups
developmental psychology
physical, cognitive, and social change throughout life span
biopsychosocial approach
incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural analysis
basic research
aims to increase scientific knowledge base
clinical psychology
studies, assesses, and treats psychological disorders
empiricism
knowledge originates in experience, science should rely on observation and experimentation
evolutionary psychology
roots of behavior and mental processes based on natural selection
counseling psychology
assists people with problems in living and achieving well-being
educational psychology
how psychological processes affect teaching and learning
biological psychology
studies link between biology and behavior
testing effect
enhanced memory after retrieving rather than rereading information
behaviorism
psychology is an objective science, studies behavior with no reference to mental processes
applied research
studies aimed to solve practical problems
inferential statistics
infer the probability of something from sample data
standard deviation
measure of how the scores vary around the mean score
random assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance
naturalistic observation
observing behavior in natural situations without manipulation
normal curve
bell-shaped curve describing distribution of many types of data
replication
repeating a research study to see if results are the same
statistical significance
statement of how likely the results occurred by chance (not chance if p value is less than .05)
operational definition
the procedures used to define research variables (ex. human intelligence is operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures)
validity
the extent to which a test measures what it’s supposed to
mode
most frequently occurring score
random sample
a sample fairly representing a population
correlation coefficient
measure of relationship between relative movements of two variables (-1 to +1)
independent variable
manipulated experimental factor being studied
culture
behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values shared by a group
debriefing
post-experimental explanation to participants (mandatory by APA ethical standards)
descriptive statistics
data used to measure and describe central tendencies and measure of variations
case study
observation technique where one person is studied in depth to reveal universal principles
sampling bias
flawed sampling process that produces unrepresentative sample
dependent variable
outcome factor; what may change in response to manipulations
control group
group that is not exposed to treatment (contrasts experimental group)
correlation
measures extent to which one factor predicts another factor
experimental group
group exposed to treatment in an experiment (contrasts control group)
hindsight bias
I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon
confounding variable
factor other than independent variable that could affect the experiment
third variable
confounding variable affects the independent and dependent variable
illusory correlation
perception of relationship between factors where there is none
histogram
bar graph depicting frequency distribution
foot in door phenomenon
first agree to small request later comply to big request
attribution theory
explain behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition
central route persuasion
using data and facts to convince people of an argument
altruism
unselfish regard for the welfare of others
campanionate love
affectionate attachment we feel for those whose lives are intertwined with ours
aggression
physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt others
informational social influence
influence from willingness to accept others’ opinions on reality
attitude
feelings, influenced by beliefs, that influence how we react to situations
deindividuation
loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group settings
group polarization
enhancement of group’s ideas through group discussion
just-world phenomenon
belief that world is fair and people get what they deserve
frustration-aggression principle
frustration creates anger which creates aggression
cognitive dissonance theory
how we act when two thoughts are inconsistent
self-disclosure
revealing personal aspects of oneself to others
equity
people receive in proportion what they give in a relationship
superordinate goals
shared goals override differences in a group
fundamental attribution error
observers underestimate impact of situation and overestimate person’s disposition
groupthink
mode of thinking when group desires harmony more that realistic solution
ingroup
people with whom we share a common identity
passionate love
aroused state present at beginning of love relationship
mirror-image perceptions
views held by conflicting sides; each side sees itself as ethical and other side as aggressive
bystander effect
person less likely to help out if others are present
self-fulfilling prophecy
belief that leads to its own fulfillment
normative social influence
influence from person’s desire to gain approval
ingroup bias
tendency to favor our own group
outgroup
those seen as different or apart from ingroup
peripheral route persuasion
people influenced by incidental cues (ex. speaker’s attractiveness)
social trap
conflicting parties, pursuing self-interest, are caught in mutually destructive behavior
scapegoat theory
prejudice offers outlet of anger because it provides someone to blame
social exchange theory
social behavior is exchange process; maximizes benefits, minimizes costs
social-responsibility norm
expectation that people will help those dependent on them
other-race effect
recalling faces of one’s own race more accurately that faces of other races
social facilitation
stronger responses one simple, well-learned tasks in the presence of others
personal space
buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies
door in face phenomenon
convince respondent to comply by making a larger requests knowing they will turn it down
social script
culturally modeled guide on how to act in social situations
reciprocity norm
people will help those who have helped them
social loafing
people put in less effort when judged as a group rather than individually
Mary Whiton Calkins
first woman president of APA
Charles Darwin
natural selection and evolution
Dorothea Dix
humane treatment for those with psychological disorders
Sigmund Freud
interpretation of dreams and the unconscious
Ivan Pavlov
foundation for behaviorism; psychology should be objective
Jean Piaget
influential observer of children
Carl Rogers
humanistic psychology; Freudian psych and behaviorism limiting
Wilhelm Wundt
structuralism, introspection
Solomon Asch
why people conform; effects of social pressure
Leon Festinger
cognitive dissonance and social comparison
Stanley Milgram
obedience to authority and commands
Philip Zimbardo
prison experiment; people conform to expected behavioral roles
