UNIT 1 - Basics Flashcards
To remember the main types of psychological studies and key terms.
Psychology
The study of behaviour, thoughts and feelings using the scientific method.
Placebo
A substance or treatment with no real therapuetic value; however, a patient’s symptoms still improve because of their expectations.
Nocebo
A harmless substance that has negative effects because a patient believes it is going to cause a bad outcome.
Independent Variable
The variable that changes
Dependent Variable
The variable you measure
Controlled Variables
A variables that stay constant to make a fair test.
Likert Scale
A psychometric scale used to rate a response from survey questions.
Case Study
An in-depth study or examination of a particular situation with real-world context.
Longitudinal Study
A type of experiment which involves re-testing the same variables over a period of time.
Cross-sectional study
A study which takes place at one point in time and uses a population of several characteristics. (eg. people of all ages).
Observational study
An experiment where the subjects are only observed and the researcher is not allowed to interfere.
Experiment
A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.
Interview
A research technique which involves an interviewer asking open-ended questions to a interviewee to come to a conclusion or collect data.
Survey
A way to collect data in which a person gives insight into their own personal feelings, thoughts or behaviours.
Neuroplasticity
The ability of neural networks in the brain to change their shape through growth and reorganization.
Give an example of a controlled process.
eg. Writing an essay, playing soccer, driving a car.
Give an example of an automatic process.
eg. breathing, walking, reading (in some circumstances)
Population
The general/wider group that you want to gain a conclusion about. eg. high schoolers.
Sample
A smaller group from a large population. eg. the year 8’s at CCW.
