Terminology

Question 1

The scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes.

Answer 1

Psychology

Question 2

The set of procedures used for gathering and interpreting objective information in a way that minimizes error and yields dependable generalizations.

Answer 2

Scientific method

Question 3

The actions by which an organism adjusts to its environment.

Answer 3

Behavior

Question 4

Observational reports about the behavior of organisms

and the conditions under which the behavior occurs or changes.

Answer 4

Behavioral data

Question 5

What are the four components of the definition of psychology?

Answer 5

1. Describe
2. Explain
3. Predict
4. Control

…What happens

Question 6

The study of the structure of mind and behavior; the view that all human mental experience can be understood as a combination of simple elements or events.

Answer 6

Structuralism

Question 7

Individuals’ systematic examination of their own thoughts and feelings.

Answer 7

Introspection

Question 8

A school of psychology that maintains that psychological phenomena can be understood only when viewed as organized, structured wholes, not when broken down into primitive perceptual elements.

Answer 8

Gestalt Psychology

Question 9

The perspective on mind and behavior that focuses on

the examination of their functions in an organism’s interactions with the environment.

Answer 9

Functionalism

Question 10

A psychological model in which behavior is explained in terms of past experiences and motivational forces;
actions are viewed as stemming from inherited instincts, biological drives, and attempts to resolve conflicts between personal needs and social requirements.

Answer 10

Psychodynamic Perspective - Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Question 11

The psychological perspective primarily concerned with observable behavior that can be objectively recorded and with the relationships of observable behavior to environmental stimuli.

Answer 11

Behaviorist Perspective

Question 12

A scientific approach that limits the study of psychology to measurable or observable behavior.

Answer 12

Behaviorism

Question 13

A psychological model that emphasizes an individual’s phenomenal world and inherent capacity for making rational choices and developing to maximum potential.

Answer 13

Humanistic Perspective

Question 14

The perspective on psychology that stresses human thought and the processes of knowing, such as attending, thinking, remembering, expecting, solving problems, fantasizing, and consciousness.

Answer 14

Cognitive Perspective

Question 15

The approach to identifying causes of behavior

that focuses on the functioning of genes, the brain, the nervous system, and the endocrine system.

Answer 15

Biological Perspective

Question 16

A multidisciplinary field that attempts to understand the brain processes that underlie behavior.

Answer 16

Behavioral Neuroscience

Question 17

A multidisciplinary field that attempts to understand the brain processes that underlie higher cognitive functions in humans.

Answer 17

Cognitive Neuroscience

Question 18

The approach to psychology that stresses the importance of behavioral and mental adaptiveness, based on the assumption that mental capabilities evolved over millions of years to serve particular adaptive purposes.

Answer 18

Evolutionary Perspective

Question 19

The psychological perspective that focuses on cross-cultural differences in the causes and consequences of behavior.

Answer 19

Sociocultural Perspective

Question 20

Psychodynamic analysis of aggression:

Answer 20

Analyse aggression as a reaction to frustrations caused by barriers to pleasure, such as unjust authority. View aggression as an adult’s displacement of hostility originally felt as a child against his or her parents.

Question 21

Behaviorist analysis of aggression:

Answer 21

Identify reinforcements of past aggressive responses, such as extra attention given to a child who hits classmates or siblings. Assert that children learn from physically abusive parents to be abusive with their own children.

Question 22

Humanistic analysis of aggression:

Answer 22

Look for personal values and social conditions that foster self-limiting, aggressive perspectives instead of growth-enhancing, shared experiences.

Question 23

Cognitive analysis of aggression:

Answer 23

Explore the hostile thoughts and fantasies people experience while witnessing violent acts, noting both aggressive imagery and intentions to harm others. Study the impact of violence in films and videos, including pornographic violence, on attitudes toward gun control, rape, and war.

Question 24

Biological analysis of aggression:

Answer 24

Study the role of specific brain systems in aggression by stimulating different regions and then recording any destructive actions that are elicited. Also analyse the brains of mass murderers for abnormalities; examine female aggression as related to phases of the menstrual cycle.

Question 25

Evolutionary analysis of aggression:

Answer 25

Consider what conditions would have made aggression an adaptive behavior for early humans. Identify psychological mechanisms capable of selectively generating aggressive behavior under those conditions.

Question 26

Sociocultural analysis of aggression:

Answer 26

Consider how members of different cultures display and interpret aggression. Identify how cultural forces affect the likelihood of different types of aggressive behavior.

Question 27

Focus and practice: Study the origins of psychological disorders and day-to-day problems to evaluate treatment options; provide diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other issues of personal adjustment

Answer 27

Clinical psychologists Counselling psychologists Community psychologists Psychiatrists

Question 28

Focus and practice: Provide assessment and counselling for people with illnesses or disabilities; offer coping strategies and education to affected individuals, caretakers, employers, and community members

Answer 28

Rehabilitation psychologists

Question 29

Focus and practice: Study the biochemical bases of behavior, feelings, and mental processes

Answer 29

Biological psychologists | Psychopharmacologists

Question 30

Focus and practice: Use laboratory experiments, often with nonhuman participants, to study basic processes of learning, sensation, perception, emotion, and motivation

Answer 30

Experimental psychologists | Behavior analysts

Question 31

Focus and practice: Study mental processes such as memory, perception, reasoning, problem solving, decision making, and language use

Answer 31

Cognitive psychologists | Cognitive scientists

Question 32

Develop tests and theories to understand differences in personalities and behaviors; study the influence of genetics and environments on those differences

Answer 32

Personality psychologists | Behavioral geneticists

Question 33

Study how people function in social groups as well as the processes by which people select, interpret, and remember social information

Answer 33

Social psychologists

Question 34

Study the changes that occur in the physical, cognitive, and social functioning of individuals across the life span; study the influence of genetics and environments on those changes

Answer 34

Developmental psychologists

Question 35

Study the factors that influence performance and morale in the general workplace or on particular tasks; apply those insights in the workplace

Answer 35

Industrial–organizational psychologists | Human factors psychologists

Question 36

Study how to improve aspects of the learning process; help design school curricular, teaching–training, and child-care programs

Answer 36

Educational psychologists | School psychologists

Question 37

Study how different lifestyles affect physical health; design and evaluate prevention programs to help people change unhealthy behaviors and cope with stress

Answer 37

Health psychologists

Question 38

Apply psychological knowledge to human problems in the field of law enforcement

Answer 38

Forensic psychologists

Question 39

Assess the performance of athletes and use motivational, cognitive, and behavioral principles to help them achieve peak performance levels

Answer 39

Sports psychologists

Question 40

Develop and evaluate new statistical methods; construct and validate measurement tools

Answer 40

Quantitative psychologists | Psychometricians

Question 41

Develop mathematical expressions that allow for precise predictions about behavior and tests of contrasting psychological theories

Answer 41

Mathematical psychologists

Question 42

An organized set of concepts that explains a phenomenon or set of phenomena.

Answer 42

Theory

Question 43

The doctrine that all events physical, behavioral, and mental—are determined by specific causal factors that are potentially knowable.

Answer 43

Determinism

Question 44

A tentative and testable explanation of the relationship between two (or more) events or variables; often stated as a prediction that a certain outcome will result from specific conditions.

Answer 44

Hypothesis

Question 45

The distortion of evidence because of the personal motives and expectations of the viewer.

Answer 45

Observer bias

Question 46

A set of uniform procedures for treating each participant in a test, interview, or experiment, or for recording data.

Answer 46

Standardization

Question 47

A definition of a variable or condition in terms of the specific operation or procedure used to determine its presence.

Answer 47

Operational definition

Question 48

In an experimental setting, a factor that varies in amount and kind.

Answer 48

Variable

Question 49

In an experimental setting, a variable that the researcher manipulates with the expectation of having an impact on values of the dependent variable.

Answer 49

Independent variable

Question 50

In an experimental setting, a variable that the researcher measures to assess the impact of a variation in an independent variable.

Answer 50

Dependent variable

Question 51

Research methodology that involves the manipulation of independent variables to determine their effects on the dependent variables.

Answer 51

Experimental method

Question 52

A stimulus other than the variable an experimenter explicitly introduces into a research setting that affects a participant’s behavior.

Answer 52

Confounding variable

Question 53

Result that occurs when a researcher or observer subtly communicates to participants the kind of behavior he or she expects to find, thereby creating that expected reaction.

Answer 53

Expectancy effect

Question 54

A change in behavior in the absence of an experimental manipulation.

Answer 54

Placebo effect

Question 55

Consistent procedure for giving instructions, scoring responses, and holding all other variables constant except those being systematically varied.

Answer 55

Control procedure

Question 56

An experimental technique in which biased expectations of experimenters are eliminated by keeping both participants and experimental assistants unaware of which participants have received which treatment.

Answer 56

Double-blind control

Question 57

An experimental condition in which treatment is not administered; it is used in cases where a placebo effect might occur.

Answer 57

Placebo control

Question 58

A research design in which different groups of participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions or to control conditions.

Answer 58

Between-subjects design

Question 59

A procedure by which participants have an equal likelihood of being assigned to any condition within an experiment.

Answer 59

Random assignment

Question 60

A group in an experiment that is exposed to a treatment or experiences a manipulation of the independent variable.

Answer 60

Experimental group

Question 61

A group in an experiment that is not exposed to a treatment or does not experience a manipulation of the independent variable.

Answer 61

Control group

Question 62

The entire set of individuals to which generalizations will be made based on an experimental sample.

Answer 62

Population

Question 63

A subset of a population selected as participants in an | experiment.

Answer 63

Sample

Question 64

A subset of a population that closely matches the overall characteristics of the population with respect to the distribution of males and females, racial and ethnic groups, and so on.

Answer 64

Representative sample

Question 65

A procedure that ensures that every member of a population has an equal likelihood of participating in an experiment.

Answer 65

Random sampling

Question 66

A research design that uses each participant as his or her own control; for example, the behavior of an experimental participant before receiving treatment might be compared to his or her behavior after receiving treatment.

Answer 66

Within-subjects design

Question 67

Research methodology that determines to what extent two variables, traits, or attributes are related.

Answer 67

Correlational method

Question 68

A statistic that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables.

Answer 68

Correlation coefficient (r)

Question 69

The degree to which a test produces similar scores each time it is used; stability or consistency of the scores produced by an instrument.

Answer 69

Reliability

Question 70

The extent to which a test measures what it was intended to measure.

Answer 70

Validity

Question 71

A self-behavior that is identified through a participant’s own observations and reports.

Answer 71

Self-report measure

Question 72

Overt actions or reaction that is observed and recorded, exclusive of self reported behavior.

Answer 72

Behavioral measure

Question 73

A research technique in which unobtrusive observations are made of behaviors that occur in natural environments.

Answer 73

Naturalistic observation

Question 74

Intensive observation of a particular individual or small group of individuals.

Answer 74

Case study

Question 75

The process through which individuals are informed about experimental procedures, risks, and benefits before they provide formal consent to become research participants.

Answer 75

Informed consent

Question 76

A procedure conducted at the end of an experiment in which the researcher provides the participant with as much information about the study as possible and makes sure that no participant leaves feeling confused, upset, or embarrassed.

Answer 76

Debriefing

Question 77

Statistical procedures that are used to summarize sets of scores with respect to central tendencies, variability, and correlations.

Answer 77

Descriptive statistics

Question 78

Statistical procedures that allow researchers to determine whether the results they obtain support their hypotheses or can be attributed just to chance variation.

Answer 78

Inferential statistics

Question 79

A summary of how frequently each score appears in a set of observations.

Answer 79

Frequency distribution

Question 80

A statistic, such as a mean, median, or mode, that provides one score as representative of a set of observations.

Answer 80

Measure of central tendency

Question 81

The score appearing most frequently in a set of observations; a measure of central tendency.

Answer 81

Mode

Question 82

The score in a distribution above and below which lie 50 percent of the other scores; a measure of central tendency.

Answer 82

Median

Question 83

The arithmetic average of a group of scores; the most commonly used measure of central tendency.

Answer 83

Mean

Question 84

A statistic, such as a range or standard deviation, that indicates how tightly the scores in a set of observations cluster together.

Answer 84

Measure of variability

Question 85

The difference between the highest and the lowest scores in a set of observations; the simplest measure of variability.

Answer 85

Range

Question 86

The average difference of a set of scores from their mean; a measure of variability.

Answer 86

Standard deviation (SD)

Question 87

A statistic that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables.

Answer 87

Correlational coefficient (r)

Question 88

The symmetrical curve that represents the distribution of scores on many psychological attributes; allows researchers to make judgments of how unusual an observation or result is.

Answer 88

Normal curve

Question 89

A difference between experimental groups or conditions that would have occurred by chance less than an accepted criterion; in psychology, the criterion most often used is a probability of less than 5 times out of 100, or p < .05.

Answer 89

Significant difference

Question 90

Darwin’s theory that favorable adaptations to features of the environment allow some members of a species to reproduce more successfully than others.

Answer 90

Natural selection

Question 91

The genetic structure an organism inherits from its parents.

Answer 91

Genotype

Question 92

The observable characteristics of an organism, resulting from the interaction between the organism’s genotype and its environment.

Answer 92

Phenotype

Question 93

The biological transmission of traits from parents to offspring.

Answer 93

Heredity

Question 94

The study of the inheritance of physical and psychological | traits from ancestors.

Answer 94

Genetics

Question 95

The area of study that evaluates the genetic component of individual differences in behaviors and traits.

Answer 95

Human behavior genetics

Question 96

A field of research that focuses on evolutionary explanations for the social behavior and social systems of humans and other animal species.

Answer 96

Socio-biology

Question 97

The study of behavior and mind using the principles of evolutionary theory.

Answer 97

Evolutionary psychology

Question 98

The physical basis for the transmission of genetic information.

Answer 98

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Question 99

The biological unit of heredity; discrete section of a chromosome responsible for transmission of traits.

Answer 99

Gene

Question 100

Chromosome that contains the genes that code for the development of male or female characteristics.

Answer 100

Sex chromosome

Question 101

Characteristic that is influenced by more than one gene.

Answer 101

Polygenic trait

Question 102

The genetic information for an organism, stored in the DNA of its chromosomes.

Answer 102

Genome

Question 103

The relative influence of genetics—versus environment—in determining patterns of behavior.

Answer 103

Heritability

Question 104

The scientific study of the brain and of the links between brain activity and behavior.

Answer 104

Neuroscience

Question 105

A cell in the nervous system specialized to receive, process, and/or transmit information to other cells.

Answer 105

Neuron

Question 106

One of the branched fibers of neurons that receive incoming signals.

Answer 106

Dendrite

Question 107

The cell body of a neuron, containing the nucleus and cytoplasm.

Answer 107

Soma

Question 108

The extended fiber of a neuron through which nerve impulses travel from the soma to the terminal buttons.

Answer 108

Axon

Question 109

A bulblike structure at the branched ending of an axon that contains vesicles filled with neurotransmitters.

Answer 109

Terminal button

Question 110

Neuron that carries messages from sense receptors toward the central nervous system.

Answer 110

Sensory system

Question 111

Neuron that carries messages away from the central nervous system toward the muscles and glands.

Answer 111

Motor neuron

Question 112

Brain neuron that relays messages from sensory neurons to other interneurons or to motor neurons.

Answer 112

Interneuron