Scientific Foundations of Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

structuralism

A

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and his student Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

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2
Q

functionalism

A

early school of thought promtoed by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function - how they allow the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

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3
Q

experimental psychology

A

study of behavior and thinking using experiments

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4
Q

behaviorism

A

view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without referencing mental processes; most psychologists agree with the former but not the latter

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5
Q

humanistic psychology

A

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people

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6
Q

cognitive neuroscience

A

interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory, and language)

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7
Q

Mary Whiton Calkins

A

mentee of William James; memory researcher and first female president of American Psychological Association

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8
Q

Margaret Floy Washburn

A

first woman to receive psychology PhD; animal behavior research (The Animal Mind)

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9
Q

Dorothea Dix

A

led reform movement to humane treatment of those with psychological disorders

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10
Q

empiricism

A

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

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11
Q

nature-nurture issue

A

controversy over the relative contributions that genes (nature) and experience (nurture) make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

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12
Q

natural selection

A

among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

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13
Q

levels of analysis

A

differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to sociocultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

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14
Q

clinical psychology

A

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

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15
Q

psychiatry

A

branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders

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16
Q

testing effect

A

testing not only assesses learning, but can also improve it

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17
Q

hindsight bias

A

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it

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18
Q

critical thinking

A

thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions, but rather examines assumptions, assesses the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

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19
Q

theory

A

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

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20
Q

hypothesis

A

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

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21
Q

operational definition

A

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study

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22
Q

replication

A

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

23
Q

case study

A

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

24
Q

naturalistic observation

A

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

25
Q

survey

A

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

26
Q

sampling bias

A

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

27
Q

population

A

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn (almost never referring to the population of a country)

28
Q

random sample

A

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

29
Q

correlation

A

measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other

30
Q

correlation coefficient

A

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1.0 to 1.0)

31
Q

scatterplot

A

graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables; slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables and amount of scatter suggests the amount of correlation

32
Q

illusory correlation

A

the perception of a relationship where none exists

33
Q

experiment

A

research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

34
Q

experimental group

A

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment (one version of independent variable)

35
Q

control group

A

in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

36
Q

random assignment

A

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

37
Q

double-blind procedure

A

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo

38
Q

placebo effect

A

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

39
Q

independent variable

A

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

40
Q

confounding variable

A

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

41
Q

dependent variable

A

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

42
Q

validity

A

extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

43
Q

descriptive statistics

A

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups; includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation

44
Q

histogram

A

bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

45
Q

mode

A

most frequently occurring score in a distribution

46
Q

mean

A

arithmetic average of a distribution

47
Q

median

A

middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

48
Q

skewed distribution

A

representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

49
Q

normal curve

A

symmetrical, bell-shaped curve with most scores towards the mean and fewer scores toward the extremes

50
Q

inferential statistics

A

numerical data that allow one to generalize to a larger population

51
Q

statistical significance

A

statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

52
Q

culture

A

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

53
Q

informed consent

A

ethical principle that research participants be hold enough to enable them to choose whether they whish to participate

54
Q

debriefing

A

post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deception, to its participants