Unit 1 Vocab

Question 1

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Answer 1

Critical Thinking

Question 2

the idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge

Answer 2

Empiricism

Question 3

created the first psychology department; his experiments led to metacognition (being aware/understanding one’s thoughts)

Answer 3

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 4

Wundt’s student who used introspection to search for the mind’s structural elements -> introduced structuralism

Answer 4

Bradford Titchener

Question 5

an early school of psychology that used introspection (observation of one’s mind mental and emotional process) to explore the elemental structure of the human

Answer 5

Structuralism

Question 6

founder of functionalism; he thought that human functions, such as hearing and smelling, were adaptive; consciousness was a function that allows us to consider our past, adjust to our present, and plan our future

Answer 6

William James

Question 7

the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes.

Answer 7

Introspection

Question 8

the first woman admitted into James’ graduate seminar; She surpassed all of the male student’s scores on qualifying exams; She was denied a degree from Harvard and instead was offered a lesser degree from their “sister” school -> she refused it and resisted the unequal treatment

Answer 8

Mary Calkins

Question 9

an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Answer 9

Functionalism

Question 10

(Watson and Skinner) the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

Answer 10

Behaviorism

Question 11

a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential

Answer 11

Humanistic Psych

Question 12

the study of mental processes, such as occurs when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems

Answer 12

Cognitive Psych

Question 13

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Answer 13

Cognitive Neuroscience

Question 14

the science of behavior and mental processes

Answer 14

Psychology

Question 15

the long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Answer 15

Nature-Nurture Issue

Question 16

the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Answer 16

Natural Selection

Question 17

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Answer 17

Evolutionary Psych

Question 18

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Answer 18

Behavior Genetics

Question 19

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Answer 19

Culture

Question 20

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

Answer 20

Positive Psych

Question 21

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints

Answer 21

Biopsychosocial Approach

Question 22

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

Answer 22

Behavioral Psych

Question 23

the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes (neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, etc.)

Answer 23

Biological Psych

Question 24

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

Answer 24

Psychodynamic Psych

Question 25

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Answer 25

Social-Cultural Psych

Question 26

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading information (aka retrieval practice effect)

Answer 26

Testing Effect

Question 27

a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review

Answer 27

SQ3R

Question 28

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitude, and traits

Answer 28

Psychometrics

Question 29

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Answer 29

Basic Research

Question 30

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Answer 30

Developmental Psych

Question 31

the study of how psychological processes affect can enhance teaching and learning

Answer 31

Educational Psych

Question 32

the study of individuals' characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting

Answer 32

Personality Psych

Question 33

the scientific study of how we think about influence and relate to one another

Answer 33

Social Psych

Question 34

a scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Answer 34

Applied Research

Question 35

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Answer 35

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psych

Question 36

a field of psych allied with I/O psych that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

Answer 36

Human Factor Psych

Question 37

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well-being (ex: school counselor)

Answer 37

Counseling Psych

Question 38

a branch of psych that studies, asses, and treats people with psychological disorders

Answer 38

Clinical Psych

Question 39

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who are licensed to provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy (basically a therapist who can prescribe meds)

Answer 39

Psychiatry

Question 40

a branch of psych that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

Answer 40

Community Psych

Question 41

the tendency to believe, after learning and outcome, that one would have foreseen it (aka I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

Answer 41

Hindsight Bias

Question 42

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors/events

Answer 42

Theory

Question 43

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study; ex: human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Answer 43

Operational Definition

Question 44

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

Answer 44

Replication

Question 45

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Answer 45

Case Study

Question 46

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

Answer 46

Naturalistic Observation

Question 47

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes/behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Answer 47

Survey

Question 48

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Answer 48

Sampling Bias

Question 49

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn (does not apply to a country's whole pop. unless it is a national study)

Answer 49

Population

Question 50

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Answer 50

Random Sample

Question 51

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other (how closely two variables are related)

Answer 51

Correlation

Question 52

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1.00 to 1.00)

Answer 52

Correlation Coefficient

Question 53

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Answer 53

Variable

Question 54

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables -> the slope suggests the direction of the relationship; the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (tighter the line, higher the correlation)

Answer 54

Scatterplot

Question 55

perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship (all in your ✨imagination✨)

Answer 55

Illusory Correlation

Question 56

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average (outliers correcting)

Answer 56

Regression towards the Mean

Question 57

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more independent factors to observe the effect on some behavior/mental process (dependent variable); random assignment of participants -> aims to control other relevant factors (confounding variable)

Answer 57

Experiment

Question 58

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment that is, to one version of the independent variable (gets the drug/experiment)

Answer 58

Experimental Group

Question 59

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment (placebo effect group)

Answer 59

Control Group

Question 60

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Answer 60

Random Assignment

Question 61

an experimental procedure in which both participants and staff are ignorant/blind about whether the participants have received the treatment (a variable that they are experimenting with) or a placebo

Answer 61

Double-Blind Procedure

Question 62

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition (false treatment/nothing that will actually help the participant), which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Answer 62

Placebo

Question 63

in an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied (what they are changing)

Answer 63

Independent Variable

Question 64

a factor other than the factor(s) being studied that might influence a study's results (not part of the study's purpose itself; however still influences it)

Answer 64

Confounding Variable

Question 65

in an experiment, the outcome that is measured (changes based off of the independent variable)

Answer 65

Dependent Variable

Question 66

the extent to which a test/experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to do

Answer 66

Validity

Question 67

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Answer 67

Informed Consent

Question 68

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions to its participants (basically what they did to the participant)

Answer 68

Debriefing

Question 69

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

Answer 69

Descriptive Statistics

Question 70

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Answer 70

Histogram

Question 71

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

Answer 71

Skewed Distribution

Question 72

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Answer 72

Range

Question 73

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Answer 73

Standard Deviation

Question 74

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (average) with fewer and fewer in the near extremes

Answer 74

Normal Curve (Bell-Curve)

Question 75

numerical data that allow one to generalize ---- infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Answer 75

Inferential Stats

Question 76

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Answer 76

Statistical Significance