Unit 1 Terms

Question 1

Critical Thinking

Answer 1

Critical thinking allows one to evaluate the validity of a claim. This style of thinking is neither gullible nor cynical, and is thus open to new ideas while retaining a healthy amount of skepticism. Critical thinking is essential for uncovering the truth—not as it is believed to be, but as it really is.

Question 2

Empiricism

Answer 2

The idea that what we know comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge

Question 3

Structuralism

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Introspection

Answer 4

The process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes

Question 5

Functionalism

Answer 5

An early school of thought promoted by William James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Question 6

Behaviorism

Answer 6

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not (2)

Question 7

Humanistic Psychology

Answer 7

A historically significant perspective that emphasizes human growth potential and the idea that all people are inherently good.

Question 8

Cognitive Psychology

Answer 8

The scientific exploration of how we perceive, process, and remember information and of how thinking and emotion interact in anxiety, depression, and other disorders

Question 9

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 9

A combination of cognitive psychology and neuroscience in which researchers study the brain activity underlying mental activity

Question 10

Psychology

Answer 10

The science of behavior and mental processes

Question 11

Nature-Nurture Issue

Answer 11

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Question 12

Natural Selection

Answer 12

The principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other traits variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Question 13

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 13

The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection; how behavior and the mental processes that underly it helped humans survive and reproduce

Supported by David Buss, Martin Daly, Margo Wilson, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby

Question 14

Behavior Genetics

Answer 14

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Question 15

Culture (term)

Answer 15

The shared ideas and behaviors passed along through generations. Significant in shaping our behavior and beliefs

Question 16

Positive Psychology

Answer 16

The scientific study of human flourishing with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

An approach followed by researchers such as Martin Seligman

Question 17

Biopsychosocial Approach

Answer 17

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints and offers a better understanding than any single theoretical perspective (humanistic, psychodynamic, etc.)

Question 18

Behavioral Psychology

Answer 18

How we learn observable responses

Question 19

Biological Psychology

Answer 19

How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.

Supported by James Olds, Roger Sperry, David Hubel, and Torsten Weisel

Question 20

Psychodynamic Psychology

Answer 20

A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

Question 21

Social-Cultural Psychology

Answer 21

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Question 22

Testing Effect

Answer 22

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also known as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

Question 23

SQ3R

Answer 23

A study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, retrieve, review

Question 24

Hindsight Bias

Answer 24

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

Question 25

Theory

Answer 25

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behavior or events; how x affects y

Question 26

Hypothesis

Answer 26

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Question 27

Operational Definition

Answer 27

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Question 28

Replication

Answer 28

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

Question 29

Case Study

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 30

A descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

Question 31

Survey

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Sampling Bias

Answer 32

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Question 33

Population

Answer 33

All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

Question 34

Random Sample

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Correlation

Answer 35

When one trait or behavior tends to coincide with another

Question 36

Correlation Coefficient

Answer 36

A statistical measure of how closely two things vary together

Question 37

Variable

Answer 37

Anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Question 38

Scatterplot

Answer 38

A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation)

Question 39

Illusory Correlation

Answer 39

Perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

Question 40

Regression towards the mean

Answer 40

The tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average

Question 41

Experiment

Answer 41

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (the independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

Question 42

Experimental Group

Answer 42

In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

Question 43

Control Group

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Random Assignment

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Double-Blind Procedure

Answer 45

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. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Question 46

Placebo Effect

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Independent Variable

Answer 47

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

Question 48

Confounding Variable

Answer 48

A factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s results

Question 49

Dependent Variable

Answer 49

In an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Question 50

Validity

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Informed Consent

Answer 51

Giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Question 52

Debriefing

Answer 52

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

Question 53

Descriptive Statistics

Answer 53

Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation

Question 54

Histogram

Answer 54

A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Question 55

Skewed Distribution

Answer 55

A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

Question 56

Standard Deviation

Answer 56

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Question 57

Normal Curve

Answer 57

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean and fewer near the extremes

Question 58

Inferential Statistics

Answer 58

Numerical data that allow one to generalize–to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population