Experience Psychology Chapter 1

random sample

A sample that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.

evolutionary approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors

cognitive approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

psychodynamic approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences.

sociocultural approach

An approach to psychology that examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior.

double-blind experiment

An experiment that is conducted so that neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until after the results are calculated.

natural selection

Darwin's principle of an eolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their environment will survive and produce offspring

functionalism

James's approach to mental processes, emphasizing the funcitons and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaptation to the environment

clinical psychologists

Psychologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and everyday behavioral problems.

third variable problem

The circumstance where a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables

control group

The participants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental group as possible and who are treated in every way like the experimental group except for a manipulated factor, the independent variable.

placebo effect

The situation where participants' expectations, rather than the experimental treatment, produce an experimental outcome.

sample

The subset of the population chosen by the investigator for study.

structuralism

Wundt's approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes

theory

a broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations

experiment

a carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable

operational definition

a definition that provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study

independent variable

a manipulated experimental factor, the variable that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are

confederate

a person who is given a role to play in a study so that the social context can be manipulated

longitudinal design

a special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers, that involves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time

humanistic approach

an approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny

behavioral approach

an approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants

biological approach

an approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

hypothesis

an educated guess that derives logically from a theroy; a prediction that can be tested

demand characteristics

any aspects of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave

variable

anything that can change

behavior

everything we do that can be directly observed

empirical method

gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning

placebo

in a drug study, a harmless substance that has no physiological effect, given to participants in a control group so that they are treated identically to the experimental group except for the active agent

research participant bias

in an experiment, the influence of participants' expectations, and of their thoughts about how they should behave, on their behavior

descriptive research

involves finding out about the basic dimensions of some variable

case study

is an in-depth look at a single individual

correlational research

research that examines the relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether and how two variables change together

random assignment

researchers' assignment of participants to groups by chance, to reduce the likelihood that an experiment's results will be due to preexisting differences between groups

external validity

the degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real world issues it is supposed to address

internal validity

the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable

population

the entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions

experimenter bias

the influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of research

naturalistic observation

the observation of behavior in a real world setting

dependent variable

the outcome factor; the factor that can chane in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable

experimental group

the participants in an experiment who receive the drug or other treatment under study--that is, those who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents

critical thinking

the process of thinking deeply and actively asking questions, and evaluating the evidence

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

neuroscience

the scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion.

validity

the soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment

mental processes

the thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly. (n.)

science

the use of systematic methods, to pbserve the natural wordl, including human behavior, and to draw conclusions