Psychology Unit 1-2

mode

occurs most frequently -12, 13, 13, 17, 18 --> 13

operational definition

a definition that describes concepts with precise procedures/measures -human intelligence: what an intelligence test measures

scatterplot

a graph of clustered dots that illustrates 2 variables' relation

correlation

a measure that measures how closely 2 dif factors relatee to e/o, on a scale of -1 to 1 (-1 and 1 being extremely positively or negatively correlated)

illusory correlation

a perceived but nonexistent correlation -couples who conceive after adopting

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population b/c each member has an equal chance of getting chosen -randomly choosing participants to represent the ppl in your grade

functionalism

a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function-- how they let us adapt, survive, and flourish -thinking and smelling developed b/c it helped our ancestors survive

hypothesis

a testable prediction -ie "people with low self-esteem will score higher on a depression scale"

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors/events -the __ that low self-esteem feeds depression

eclectic approach

approach that considers many factors that influence beaver -using principles of multiple theories in psych practice

humanistic approach

approach that focuses on free will, views the individual as good, and the ability for humans to reach full potential -negatives: only focuses on the good, ignores both nature and nurture, and has no scientific validity

random assignment

assigning people to experimental/control groups by chance (eliminates their preexisting differences) -randomly assigning infants to one feeding group or another

double-blind procedure

both the participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the participants have received drugs -researchers can check a treatment's actual effects this way

behavioral psychology

branch of psych that involves the studying observable behavior, and its principles of learning as an explanation -determining which external stimuli trigger angry responses/ aggressive acts

industrial-organizational psychology

branch of psychology that involves the application of psych concepts to the optimizing of human behavior in the workplace (the psychs who help apple choose employees)

counseling psychology

branch that helps ppl with problems in living and achieving greater well-being -a psych who helps ppl deal with mental crises

clinical psychology

branch that studies, assesses, and treats ppl w/ psychological disorders -a psych that prescribe drugs to depressed patients (in most states I believe)

standard deviation

computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean

nature-nurture issue

controversy of the contributions that genes and experience vs. development of psychological traits -analyzing why somebody is intelligence-- 2 different routes you can go

structuralism

early school of psych that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the mind -studying how reactions to smelling a rose related

case study

examining one individual in depth in hopes of revealing stuff about us all -revealing findings about children's findings after carefully observing just a few

human factors psychology

how ppl and machines interact, the design of safe and easily used machines and environments -psychologist who studies assembly-line machinery

psychodynamic psychology

how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, using that info to treat ppl with psychological disorders -viewing an outburst as an outlet for unconscious ability -how do an individual's expectations, perceptions, and interpretations of their circumstances affect their level of happiness?

placebo effect

just thinking you are getting treatment boosts your spirit and relieves your symptoms -well-documented in relieving pain, depression, and anxiety

psychiatry

medicine branch that deals with psychological disorders -a clinical psychologist prescribing drugs

confounding variable

not an ind/dep variable, but other factors that can potentially influence the results of an experiment -the hours of sleep the person got in an experiment involving a memory test

informed consent

permission granted in the knowledge of the possible consequence; subject has full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits -part of the ethics of psychology. Researcher can't just get somebody's financial information without first getting their permission

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base -a biological psychologist that explores the links b/w mind and body

naturalistic observation

records/describes behavior in natural environments -watching chimpanzees, video-taping parent-child interactions in dif cultures

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually in a dif way, to see if you get the same findings -confirming the phenomenon of hindsight bias by replicating with dif people/ dif questions

debriefing

researcher explains the purpose of the study, explains the sue of deception, addresses any d;fdaljflkjadl -the subject is now sad, so the researcher attempts to restore the subject back to his/her original state

experiment

researchers' manipulation of variables to observe the effect on some behavior/mental process -experimenting how breast-fed babies have/don't have higher intelligence

correlational coefficient

statistical measure that helps us figure out 2 things' correlations + rise/fall together - inverse 0 with line= little relationship

survey

strategy that looks at many cases in less depth -anything Oracle does with handouts

cognitive psychology

study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating -how our interpretation of something affects our anger/how our anger affects our thinking -Might people be happy or unhappy for reasons they cannot fully know, based on influences at an unconscious level of the mind?

applied research

study that aims to solve practical problems -the psychologists who help Apple choose its employees

SQ3R

survey, question, read, rehearse, review -stupid

dependent variable

the "outcome factor" -- is a variable depending on an experiment's events -the score on the memory test

population

the WHOLE group you want to study and describe -randomly choosing participants to represent the ppl in your grade

biopsychosocial approach

the approach that incorporates levels of analysis and offers a more complete picture of any given behavior or mental process -the idea that behaviors are often directly related to illness

mean

the average of the #s -sum over # of scores

biological psychology (neuroscience)

the branch of psychology that studies the link b/w biological and psychological processes -studying brain circuits that make us red in the face -negative: doesn't rly take into consideration nurture -also not very personalized

independent variable

the experimental factor: what you control. the one that's being manipulated -from the book, the ex. of Viagra

range

the gap between the highest and lowest scores -largest-smallest= range

experimental group

the group exposed to treatment in an experiment -ie the group given a new hunger-depressent pill instead of a fake one

control group

the group that doesn't receive treatment in an experiment -the group NOT given that hunger-depressant pill

natural selection

the idea that nature selects which traits allow an organism to survive/reproduce -bird wing mutation allows it to live so that that trait is passed on to offspring

median

the midpoint/ 50th percentile -12, 17, 19, 18, 80 --> 19

statistical significance

the observed difference is probably not due to chance. A reliable sample average -IQ test- male and female scores. 98 and 100. little "statistical significance"

psychology

the science of behavior and mental processes -inferring a human's internal sensations from his/her behavior

social-cultural psychology

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking -how expressions of anger vary across cultural contexts (North Koreans have no idea that the middle finger is an insult..) -however, disregards genetic components of certain mental illnesses

psychometrics

the study of the measurement of human abilities/attitudes/traits -studying the ability of an infant to walk

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it -"I knew it all along!"

empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience, so science should rely on observation and experimentation -ie answering why the ocean produces waves w/ observation and experimentation

evolutionary psychology

the viewpoint that studies the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection -how anger allowed our ancestors to survive -however, not scientific: a significant lack of testability

critical thinking

thinking that doesn't blindly accept arguments and conclusions. It examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, assesses conclusions -always asking questions, not just blindly accepting stuff

normal curve

your typical bell-shaped distribution