Psychology quiz 1

informed consent

a document signed by participants affirming that they have been told the basic outlines of the study and are aware of what their participation will involve

placebo

a false treatment such as a pill or other substance without any significant chemical properties or active ingredient

control group

a group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment

hypothesis

a prediction stemming from a theory stated in a way that allows it to be tested

random assignment to condition

a procedure in which participants are assigned to different experimental groups or conditions on the basis of chance and chance alone

introspection

a procedure used to study the structure of the mind in which subjects are asked to describe in detail what they are experiencing when they are exposed to a stimulus

naturalistic observation

research in which an investigator simply observes some naturally occuring behavior and does not make a change in the situation

archival research

research in which existing data, such as census documents, college records and new newspaper clippings are examined to test a hypothesis

survey research

research in which people chosen to represent a larger population are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts or attitudes.

correlational research

research in which the relationship between the two sets of variables is examined to determine weather they are associated or correlated

replicated research

research that is repeated, sometimes using other procedures settings and groups of participants to increase confidence in prior findings

psychodynamic perspective

the approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control

cognitive perspective

the approach that focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world.

Humanistic perspective

the approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop and be in control of their lives and behavior

behavioral perspective

the approach that suggests that observable, measureable behavior should be the focus of study

neuroscience perspective

the approach that view behaviour from the perspective of the brain, the nervous sytem, and other biological functions.

neuroscience perspective

the approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, nervous system and other biological functions

scientific method

the approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest

experimental manipulation

the charge that an experimenter deliberately produces in a situation

free will

the idea that people's behavior is cause primarily by choices that are made freely by the individual

determinism

the idea that people's behavior is produced primarily by factors outside of their willful control

experiment

the investigation of the relationship between two or more variables by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects of that change on the other aspects of the situation

treatment

the manipulation implemented by the experimenter

psychology

the study of behavior and mental processes

operational definition

the translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed

independent variable

the variable that is manipulated by an experimenter

dependent variable

the variable that is measured and is expected to change as a result of changes caused by the experiments manipulation of the independent variable

structuralism

wundt's approach which focuses on uncovering the fundemental mental components of consciousness, thinking and other kinds of mental states and activities

functionalism

an early approach to psychology that concentrated on what the mind does-the functions of mental activity- and the role of behaviour in allowing people to adapt to their environments

case study

an in-depth intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people

significant outcome

an outcome in which the observed outcome would be expected to have occurred by the chance by the probability of .05 or less.

experimental group

any group participating in an experiment that receives the treatment

variables

behaviors, events or other characteristics that can change, or vary in some way.

theories

broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest

gestalt psychology

An approach to psychology that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a "whole" sense rather than on the individual elements of perception

experimental bias

factors that distort how the independent variable affects the dependent variable in an experiment