Invitation to Psychology, Chapter 1

validity

The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure

correlation

A measure of how strongly two variables are related to each other

psychoanalysis

A theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy, originally formulated by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconcious motives and conflicts

trained introspection

Volunteers are taught to carefully observe, analyze, and describe their own sensations, mental images, and emotional reactions

volunteer bias

A shortcoming of findings derived from a sample of volunteers instead of a representative sample; the volunteers may differ from those who did not volunteer

hypothesis

A statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena

significance tests

Statistical tests that assess how likely it is that a study's results occurred merely by chance

descriptive statistics

Statistics that organize and summarize research data

standard deviation

A commonly used measure of variablity that indicates the average difference between scores in a distribution and their mean

experiment

A controlled test of a hypothesis in which the researcher manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another

evolutionary psychology

A field of psychology emphasizing evolutionary mechanisms that may help explain human commalities in cognition, development, emotion, social practices, and other areas of behavior

representative sample

A group of individuals, selected from a population for study, which matches that population on important characteristics such as age and sex

coefficient of correlation

A measure of correlation that ranges in value from -1.00 to +1.00

biological perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with actions, feelings, and thoughts

functionalism

An early psychological approach that emphasized the function or purpose of behavior and conciousness

double-blind study

An experiment in which neither the participants nor the individuals running the study know which participants are in the control group and which are in the experimental group until after the results are tallied

single-blind study

An experiment in which subjects do not know whether they are in an experimental or control group

variable

Characteristics of behavior or experience that can be measured or described by a numeric scale; manipulated and assessed in scientific studies

social-cognitive learning theorists

Combine elements of behaviorism with research on thoughts, values and intentions; believe that people learn not only by adapting their behavior to the environment, but also by imitating others and by thinking about the events happening around them

Wilhelm Wundt

Credited for formally initiating the movement to make psychology a science

clinical psychologist

Diagnose, treat, and study mental or emotional problems; trained to do psychotherapy with severely disturbed people

psychotherapist

Does any kind of psychotherapy; may have anything from no degree to an advanced professional degree; unregulated term

psychiatrist

Does work similiar to that of a clinical psychologist but is likely to take a more biological approach

Sigmund Freud

Father of psychoanalysis

behaviorists

Focus on the environmental rewards and punishers that maintain or discourage specific behaviors

counseling psychologist

Generally help people deal with problems of everday lie such as test anxiety, family conflicts, or low job motivation

control condition

In an experiment, a comparison condition in which subjects are not exposed to the same treatment as those in the experimental condition

William James

Leader of functionalism

descriptive methods

Methods that yield descriptions of behavior but not necessarily causal explanations

replicate

Must avoid drawing firm conclusions until other researchers have repeated their studies and verified their findings

naturalistic observation

Purpose is to find out how people or other animals act in their normal social environments

surveys

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions

inferential statistics

Statistical procedures that allow researchers to draw inferences about how statistically meaningful a study's results are

effect size

The amount of variance among scores in a study accounted for by the independant variable; thus it is a measure of strength or power of that variable

psychology

The discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism's physical state, mental state, and external environment

applied psychology

The study of psychological issues that have direct practical significance; also, the application of psychological findings

confirmation bias

The tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one's own belief, and ignore, trivialize, or forget information that disconfirms that belief

school psychologist

Work with parents, teachers and students to enhance students' performance and resolve emotional difficulties

correlational study

A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena

longitudinal study

A study in which individuals are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time

cross-sectional study

A study in which individuals of different ages are compared at a given time

case study

A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated

operational definition

A precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being defined

random assignment

A procedure for assigning people to experimental and control groups in which each individual has the same probability as any other of being assigned to a given group

meta-analysis

A procedure for combining and analyzing data from many studies; it determines how much of the variance in scores across all studies can be explained by a particular variable

learning perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes how the environment and experience affect a person's or animal's actions; it includes behaviorism and social-cognitive learning theories

cognitive perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior

sociocultural perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior

psychodynamic perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes unconcious dynamics within the individual, such as inner forces, conflicts, or the movement of instinctual energy

observational study

A study in which the researcher carefully and systematically observes and records behavior without interfering with the behabior; it may involve either naturalistic or laboratory observation

independant variable

A variable that an experimenter manipulates

dependent variable

A variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable

negative correlation

An association between increases in one variable and decreases in another

positive correlation

An association between increases in one variable and increases in another, or between decreases in one and in the other

arithmetic mean

An average that is calculated by adding up a set of quantities and dividing the sum by the total number of quantities in the set

placebo

An inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experiment

theory

An organized system of assumptions and principles that purports to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships

field research

Descriptive or experimental research conducted in a natural setting outside the laboratory

norms

In test construction, established standards of performance

reliability

In test construction, the consistency of test socres from one time and place to another

standardize

In test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test

psychoanalyst

Practices psychoanalysis and has specific training in this approach with an advanced degree

psychological tests

Procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values

empirical

Relying on or derived from observation, experimentation, or measurement

critical thinking

The ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion or anecdote

informed consent

The doctrine that human research subjects must participate voluntarily and must know enough about a study to make an intelligent decision about whether to participate

phrenology

The now-discredited theory that different brain areas account for specific character and personality traits, which can be "read" from bumps on the skull

principle of falsifiability

The principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are scientific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of deconfirmation

basic psychology

The study of psychological issues in order to seek knowledge for its own sake rather than for its practical application