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Unit 0 Psych Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Applied Research | Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. |
| Behaviorism | view that psychology (1) should be an objective science and that (2) it studies the behavior without reference to mental processes. Most researchers agree with one and not two. |
| Bimodal Distribution | When there are two clearly separate groups in a distribution. |
| Biopsychosocial Approach | Integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. |
| Case Study | an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. |
| Central Tendency | Summary measure that attempts to describe a set of data with a single value representing the middle. |
| Clinical Psychology | branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. |
| Cognitivism | theoretical framework where humans learn from thinking and processes of the mind. |
| Confidentiality | the state of keeping secret/private |
| Confirmation Bias | tendency to search for information that supports preconceptions and ignores contradictory evidence. |
| Confounding Variable | factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment. |
| Control Group | in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment and serves as a baseline |
| Convenience Sampling | non-probability sampling where subjects are chosen due to ease of access. |
| Correlation Coefficient | statistical index of the relationship between two things (-1 to +1) |
| Correlational Study | type of research design that looks at relationships between two or more variables |
| Counseling Psychology | Focuses on assisting people in living (school, work, marriage, etc.) and in greater well-being. |
| Critical Thinking | Does not blindly accept but examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. |
| Culture | the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted through generations. |
| Debriefing | post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions to its participants. |
| Deception | when researchers lie or intentionally mislead subjects about a key aspect of research. |
| Dependent Variable | outcome factor; may change in response to manipulation of the independent variable. |
| Descriptive Statistics | organize/summarize a dataset; mean, median, mode, variance, etc. |
| Determinism | free will is an illusion; behavior determined by pre-existing conditions/causes |
| Developmental Psychology | branch that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout lifespan. |
| Double Blind | neither the researchers nor the subjects know whether a participant is getting the treatment or a placebo. |
| Eclectic | Approach to psychotherapy which uses techniques from various forms of therapy |
| Educational Psychology | study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning. |
| Effect Size | tells you how meaningful the relationship between variables or the difference between groups is, how large an impact a trait has on outcome |
| Empiricism | view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation |
| Ethics | moral rules that must be followed |
| Evolutionary Psychology | study of roots of behavior and mental processes using principles of natural selection. |
| Experimental Group | group exposed to the treatment, to one version of the independent variable. |
| Experimental Psychology | study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method |
| Experimentation | series of observations under controlled conditions to study a relationship to draw causal inferences. |
| Experimenter Bias | unintentional influence of researcher's expectations, beliefs, or ideas on the outcome of a study or research experiment. |
| Falsifiable | logical possibility that an assertion, hypothesis, or theory can be shown to be false by an observation or experiment. |
| Functionalism | school of psychology focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function. |
| Hindsight Bias | tendency to believe, after the fact, that an outcome could be predicted |
| Histogram | graph of continuous data using bars of different heights. |
| Human Factors | branch of psychology that explores how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use (their relationship with humans) |
| Humanistic | humans are unique beings and should be treated as such; stress free will. self efficacy; and self-actualization. |
| Hypothesis | a testable prediction, often implied by a theory |
| Illusory Correlation | perception of a relationship where none exists. |
| Independent Variable | experimental factor that's manipulated; variable whose effect is being studied. |
| Industrial-Organizational Psychology | the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in workplaces. |
| Inferential Statistics | ways of analyzing data that allow the researcher to make conclusions about whether a hypothesis was supported by the result. |
| Informed Consent | ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. |
| Institutional Review | federally-mandated, locally administered groups that evaluate risks and benefits of human participant research. |
| Introspection | the examination of one's conscious thoughts and feelings. |
| Likert Scales | rating scale that quantitatively assesses opinions, attitudes, or behaviors (questionnaire). |
| Mean | arithmetic average of a distribution |
| Median | meddle score of a distribution |
| Meta Analysis | procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies |
| Mode | Most frequently occurring score in a distribution |
| Naturalistic Observation | observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate/control the situation |
| Negative Skewed Distribution | data with long left tail |
| Neuroscientific (Biological) | branch of psychology that deals with how biological and chemical processes make the brain and nervous system function and how brain structures and neural circuits impact a patient |
| Nondeterminism | other things that are not outside factors affect human behavior; free will exists. |
| Normal Curve | Normal distribution with symmetry at the measure of center |
| Null Hypothesis | hypothesis where no relationship exists |
| Operational Definition | specifies concrete, replicable procedures designed to represent a construct. |
| Overconfidence | type of cognitive bias where people think they are better at something than they actually are. |
| Percentile Rank | percent of scores that are less than or equal to a specific score. |
| Peer Review | evaluation of work by others in the same field. |
| Personality Psychology | examines personality and its variation; aims to show why we're different due to psychological forces. |
| Placebo | substance/treatment with no effect to test efficacy of a treatment |
| Population | the items being studied; what does your sample represent? |
| Positive Skewed Distribution | a data with a long right tail |
| Psychiatry | medicine devoted to diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental illness. |
| Psychoanalytic | theories and treatments/techniques for treating mental disorders that deal with the UNCONCIOUS MIND based on the theory that our present is shaped by our past. |
| Psychology | The study of the human mind and its functions with a focus on behavior. |
| Psychometrics | study within psychology; theory and techniques of measurement for mental capacities and processes. |
| Qualitative Research | gather non-numerical data (attitudes/beliefs/motivations) |
| Quantitative Research | gather numerical data and analyze it with statistical methods. |
| Random Assignment | every participant has an equal chance of being experimental or control group |
| Random Sample | Every subject of a population has an equal chance of being selected (helps ensure data is representative of the population) |
| Range | area of variation between upper and lower data points |
| Regression Towards the Mean | following a random extreme event, the following is likely to be less extreme, outliers in data become more moderate upon retesting |
| Replicate | repetition of an experiment or trial for better results |
| Research Confederates | person who acts as a participant in an experiment but is actually working for the researchers |
| Sampling Bias | Samples selected do not accurately represent the population for non random reasons |
| Self-Report Bias | when subjects lie on a questionnaire (to make good impression or because they are unsure) |
| Scatter Plot | graph that plots data as points on x and y axis |
| Single Blind | Test/experiment where info that might lead to bias/treatment is concealed from either the researcher or the subject |
| Social-Cultural Psychology | studies how culture and society influence how people think, behave, and interact with each other |
| Social Desirability Bias | Form of response bias where respondents answer in a way that will make them look better to others |
| Social Psychology | study of your mind and behavior in social situations; look at personality, relationships, and group behavior. |
| Standard Deviation | measure of amount of deviation from the mean |
| Statistical Significance | expression of how rare your results are based on an assumption of the null; smaller=more rare |
| Structuralism | first school of psychology; focused on breaking down the structure of the brain/breaking down processes into simple components |
| Structured Interviews | quantitative research method where interviewer has a set of predetermined close-ended questions |
| Survey | asking participants questions to collect info on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors |
| Theory | research-based set of ideas to summarize and explain mental and behavioral patterns in context of culture and society |
| Validity | test measures exactly what it aims to, with accurate data that represents some generalizable truth |
| Variation | existence of qualitative differences in form, structure, behavior, and physiology among a population |
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