Introduction and Research Methods

1
Introduction and Research Methods

2
Psychology

3
The scientific study of behavior and mental
processes

4
Structuralism

5
Early school of psychology that emphasized the
most basic components, or structures, of
conscious experiences

6
Functionalism

7
Early school of psychology that emphasized
studying the purpose, or function, of behavior
and mental experiences

8
Psychoanalysis

9
Personality theory and form of psychotherapy that
emphasizes the role of unconscious factors in
personality and behavior

10
Behaviorism

11
School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint
that emphasizes the study of observable
behaviors, especially as they pertain to the
process of learning

12
Humanistic psychology
13

• School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint
  that emphasizes each persons unique potential
  for psychological growth and self-direction

14
Culture

15

• The attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors
  shared by a group of people and communicated from
  one generation to another

16
Cross-cultural psychology

17

• Branch of psychology that studies the effects of
  culture on behavior and mental processes

18
Ethnocentrism

19

• The belief that ones own culture or ethnic group
  is superior to all others, and the related
  tendency to use ones own culture as a standard
  by which to judge other cultures

20
Individualistic cultures

21

• Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of
  the individual over the needs and goals of the
  group

22
Evolutionary psychology

23

• The application of principles of evolution,
  including natural selection, to explain the
  psychological processes and phenomena

24
Collectivistic cultures

25

• Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of
  the group over the needs and goals of the
  individual

26
Scientific method

27

• A set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures
  that guide researchers in creating questions to
  investigate, in generating evidence, and in
  drawing conclusions

28
Critical thinking

29

• The active process of trying to minimize the
  influence of preconceptions and biases while
  rationally evaluating evidence, determining what
  conclusions can be drawn from the evidence, and
  considering alternative explanations

30
Empirical evidence

31

• Evidence that is based upon objective
  observation, measurement, and/or experimentation

32
Hypothesis

33

• A tentative statement about the relationship
  between two or more variables

34
Variable

35

• A factor that can vary, or change , in ways that
  can be observed, measured, and verified

36
Operational definition

37

• A precise description of how the variables in a
  study will be manipulated or measured

38
Statistics

39

• A branch of mathematics used by researchers to
  summarize data and draw conclusions based on the
  data

40
Statistically significant

41

• A mathematical indication that research results
  are not very likely to have occurred by chance

42
Meta-analysis

43

• A statistical technique that involves combining
  and analyzing the results of many research
  studies on a specific topic in order to identify
  overall trends

44
Replicate

45

• To repeat or duplicate a scientific study in
  order to increase confidence in the validity of
  the original findings

46
Theory

47

• A tentative explanation that tries to integrate
  and account for the relationship and account for
  the relationship of various findings and
  observations

48
Descriptive methods
49

• Scientific procedures that involve systematically
  observing behavior in order to describe the
  relationship amount behaviors and events

50
Naturalistic observation
51

• The systematic observation and recording of
  behaviors as they occur in their natural setting

52
Case study

53

• A highly detailed description of a single
  individual or event

54
Survey
55

• A questionnaire or interview designed to
  investigate the opinions, behaviors, or
  characteristics of a particular group

56
Sample

57

• A selected segment of the population used to
  represent the group that is being studied

58
Representative sample

59

• A selected segment that very closely parallels
  the larger population being studied on relevant
  characteristics

60
Random selection

61

• Process in which subjects are selected randomly
  from a larger group such that every group member
  has an equal chance of being included in the study

62
Correlation study

63

• A research strategy that allows the precise
  calculation of how strongly related two factors
  are to one another

64
Correlation coefficient

65

• A numerical indication of the magnitude and
  direction of the relationship (the correlation)
  between two variables

66
Positive correlation

67

• A finding that two factors vary systematically in
  the opposite direction, increasing or decreasing
  together

68
Negative correlation

69

• A finding that two factors vary systematically in
  the opposite directions, one increasing as the
  other decreases

70
Experimental method

71

• A method of investigation used to demonstrate
  cause-and-effect relationships by purposely
  manipulating a factor thought to produce change
  in a second factor

72
Independent variable

73

• The purposely manipulated factor thought to
  produce change in an experiment also referred to
  as the treatment of interest

74
Dependant variable

75

• The factor that is observed and measured for
  change in an experiment thought to be influenced
  by the independent variable

76
Random assignment

77

• Assigning participants to experimental conditions
  in such a way that all participants have an equal
  chance of being assigned to any of the conditions
  or groups in the study

78
Experiment group or experimental condition

79

• In an experiment, the group of participants who
  are exposed to all experimental conditions,
  including the independent variable or treatment
  of interest

80
Control group or control condition

81

• In an experiment, the group of participants whoa
  re exposed to all experimental conditions, expect
  the independent variable or treatment of
  interest the group against which changes in the
  experimental group are compared

82
Placebo control group

83

• In an experiment, a control group in which the
  participants are exposed to a fake independent
  variable or placebo, effects of which are
  compared to a group receiving the actual
  independent variable, or treatment of interest

84
Expectancy effects

85

• Changes in a subjects behavior produced by the
  subjects belief that change should happen also
  called placebo effects

86
Double-blind study
87

• Experimental technique in which neither the
  participants is aware of the group or condition
  to which the participants have been assigned

88
Demand characteristics

89

• In a research study, subtle cues or signals
  expressed by the researcher that communicate the
  kind of response or behavior that is expected
  from the participant

90
Pseudoscience

91

• A fake or false science that makes claims based
  on little or no scientific evidence

92
Paranormal phenomena

93

• Alleged abilities or events that fall outside the
  range of normal experience and established
  scientific explanations

94
Rule of falsifiability

95

• In order for a claim to be scientifically tested
  and proved true, there must be identifiable
  evidence that could prove the claim false

96
Illusory correlation

97

• The mistaken belief that two factors or events
  are related when they are not

98
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)

99

• American psychologist who conducted research on
  memory, personality, and dreams established one
  of the first U.S. psychology research
  laboratories first woman president of the
  American Psychological Association

100
Charles Darwin(1809-1882)

101

• English naturalist and scientist whose theory of
  evolution through natural selection was first
  published in On the Origin of Species in 1859

102
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

103

• Austrian physician and founder of psychoanalysis

104
G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924)

105

• American psychologist who established the first
  psychology research laboratory in the United
  States founded the American Psychological
  Association

106
William James (1842-1910)

107

• American philosopher and psychologist who founded
  psychology in the United States and established
  the psychological school called functionalism

108
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

109

• American humanistic psychologist who developed a
  theory of motivation

110
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

111

• Russian physiologist whose pioneering research on
  learning contributed to the development of
  behaviorism discovered the basic learning
  process that is now called classical conditioning