Science Practices

Question 1

Biological/Neuroscience Perspective

Answer 1

Focuses on brain and body chemistry and how messages are transmitted through the body.
Ex - Some individuals are more likely to experience PTSD after a traumatic experience than others because of brain chemistry.

Question 2

Evolutionary Perspective

Answer 2

Applies the principles of evolution to explain psychological processes and phenomena.
Ex - Humans have difficulty resisting un-healthy food options because genes that encourage the consumption of high-fat and high-calorie foods helped early humans survive.

Question 3

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Perspective

Answer 3

Focuses on the role of the unconscious in driving behavior.
Ex - phobias have unconscious origins.

Question 4

Behavioral Perspective

Answer 4

Focuses on observable behaviors and sets feelings and emotions aside.
Ex - Children who misbehave at dinner are more likely to repeat this action in the future because it serves as reinforcement.

Question 5

Humanistic Perspective

Answer 5

Focuses on teaching people to grow psychologically by focusing on one’s self-concept.
- Emphasizes the importance of choice and self-direction.
Ex - Individuals who have a self-concept that is not consistent with reality may be more suspectable to depression.

Question 6

Cognitive Perspective

Answer 6

Focuses on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.
Ex - Feeding and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa are primarily the result of distorted though processes and irrational beliefs.

Question 7

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Answer 7

Proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957, this theory suggests that individuals experience discomfort when they hold conflicting beliefs or attitudes.

Question 8

Social Learning Theory

Answer 8

Developed by Albert Bandura in 1970s, emphasized the role of observational learning and modeling in shaping behavior.

Question 9

Attachment Theory

Answer 9

Originated from John Bowlby in the 1950s, this theory explores the bonds formed between infants and caregivers and their impact on emotional development.

Question 10

Dual Process Theory

Answer 10

Proposes that human cognition operates through two distinct systems - one fast, intuitive, and automatic, and the other slow, deliberate, and analytical.

Question 11

Hindsight Bias

Answer 11

The tendency to believe that we knew the outcome of an event all along, especially after learning the actual result.

Question 12

Overconfidence

Answer 12

Occurs when we believe we know more or are more capable than we truly are.
Ex - Overestimating our ability to accurately predict the weather forecast can result in being unprepared for sudden changes in weather conditions.

Question 13

Perceiving Order in Random Events

Answer 13

Arises because our brains are wired to seek connections and make sense of the world around us, even when no real connections are present.
“Third Time is The Charm”, “Winning Streak”

Question 14

Case Study

Answer 14

Focuses on analyzing one individual or group in-depth to uncover universal truths.
Not reliable enough to represent general population.

Question 15

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 15

Involves recording responses in natural settings to identify purposes, strengths, and limitations.
Ex - Bird migration or social interactions.

Question 16

Survey

Answer 16

Involves asking participants a set of structured questions, allowing data to be collected from large groups efficiently

Question 17

Meta-analysis

Answer 17

Involves analyzing and combining data from multiple studies to draw more accurate and reliable conclusions.

Question 18

Random Sampling

Answer 18

Selecting participants randomly where every individual in the population has an equal chance of being included.

Question 19

Convenience Sampling

Answer 19

Surveying the people who are the easiest to reach.

Question 20

Independent Variable

Answer 20

The thing that is being manipulated in the experiment.

Question 21

Dependent Variable

Answer 21

The behavior change that results from manipulating the independent variable.

Question 22

Experimental Group

Answer 22

Exposed to the independent variable.

Question 23

Control Group

Answer 23

Not exposed to an independent variable. Serves as a baseline for comparison.

Question 24

Confounding Variables

Answer 24

External factors that can influence the dependent variable.

Question 25

Random Assignment

Answer 25

Ensures that participant are assigned to groups unbiasedly.

Question 26

Placebo Effect

Answer 26

In which participants' behavior changes after receiving a fake treatment.

Question 27

Double Blind Study

Answer 27

Participants and administration staff are kept unaware of who is receiving the treatment.

Question 28

Quasi-Experiment

Answer 28

Resembles an actual experiment but lacks random assignment to groups. Ex- Studying the impact of trauma on individuals.

Question 29

Correlation Studies

Answer 29

Identifies natural relationships and predict how one variable affects another without manipulation (Non experimental). Cannot establish causation

Question 30

Longitudinal Studies

Answer 30

Examine changes over an extended period without manipulation (Non experimental). Risk of participants dropping out.

Question 31

Cross-Sectional Studies

Answer 31

Comparison of different groups at a single time point. Cannot determine causation.

Question 32

Ethics

Answer 32

Ensures the well being of both human and animal subjects. - Clear purpose for research must be valid in animals and treated humanely. - Humans can't be forced and no psychological or physical harm must be done. - Personal info must be kept private.

Question 33

Pearson Correlation Coefficient

Answer 33

Range from -1.00 to +1.00. Further from 0 is a stronger correlation

Question 34

Effect Size

Answer 34

Indicates the magnitude of the relationship between variables.

Question 35

Illusory Correlations

Answer 35

Can create a false sense of control by linking personal actions to chance events, influenced by the statistical concept of regression toward the mean.

Question 36

Descriptive Statistics

Answer 36

Tools used to organize and summarize data to identify patterns and trends within a set of information.

Question 37

Central Tendency

Answer 37

Provides a single reference point representing a set of scores.

Question 38

Mean Median Mode

Answer 38

Average Average of middle scores in ascending order Most frequent

Question 39

Normal Distribution

Answer 39

The median, mean, and mode are all the same and fall at the highest peak of the curve of a bell-shaped polygon.

Question 40

Range

Answer 40

Describes the distance from the highest to lowest scores on a data set.

Question 41

Standard Deviation

Answer 41

Another measure of variance that describes the distance of scores around the mean.

Question 42

Inferential Statistics

Answer 42

The practice of using sampled data to draw conclusions or make predictions about a larger sample data sample or population.

Question 43

T-Test

Answer 43

A hypothesis test used to determine if there is a significant difference between the means of two groups.

Question 44

Independent Samples T-Test

Answer 44

Used when comparing the means of two independent groups.

Question 45

Paired Samples T-Test

Answer 45

Used when comparing the means of two related groups.

Question 46

One-Sample T-Test

Answer 46

Used when comparing the mean of a single group to a known value.