unit one - psychology's history and approaches

Question 1

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, 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

an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Answer 3

structuralism

Question 4

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

Answer 4

introspection

Question 5

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 5

functionalism

Question 6

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

Answer 6

behaviorism

Question 7

a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.

Answer 7

humanistic psychology

Question 8

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

Answer 8

cognitive psychology

Question 9

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

Answer 9

cognitive neuroscience

Question 10

the science of behavior and mental processes.

Answer 10

psychology

Question 11

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Answer 11

nature-nurture issue

Question 12

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 12

natural selection

Question 13

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

Answer 13

evolutionary psychology

Question 14

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

Answer 14

behavior psychology

Question 15

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

Answer 15

culture

Question 16

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

Answer 16

positive psychology

Question 17

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

Answer 17

biopsychosocial psychology

Question 18

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

Answer 18

behavioral psychology

Question 19

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

Answer 19

biological psychology

Question 20

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

Answer 20

socio-cultural psychology

Question 21

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

Answer 21

psychodynamic psychology

Question 22

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

Answer 22

testing effect

Question 23

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

Answer 23

SQ3R

Question 24

the scientific study focusing on the techniques of measurement concerning human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

Answer 24

psychometrics

Question 25

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Answer 25

basic research

Question 26

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan.

Answer 26

developmental psychology

Question 27

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

Answer 27

educational psychology

Question 28

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

Answer 28

personality psychology

Question 29

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

Answer 29

social psychology

Question 30

a scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Answer 30

applied research

Question 31

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

Answer 31

industrial-organizational psychology

Question 32

a field of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.

Answer 32

human factors psychology

Question 33

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Answer 33

counseling psychology

Question 34

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Answer 34

clinical psychology

Question 35

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who are licensed to provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

Answer 35

psychiatry

Question 36

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

Answer 36

community psychology

Question 37

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

Answer 37

descriptive statistics

Question 38

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution.

Answer 38

histogram

Question 39

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

Answer 39

mode

Question 40

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

Answer 40

mean

Question 41

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

Answer 41

median

Question 42

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value.

Answer 42

skewed distribution

Question 43

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Answer 43

range

Question 44

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

Answer 44

standard deviation

Question 45

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data

Answer 45

normal curve

Question 46

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

Answer 46

inferential studies

Question 47

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

Answer 47

statistical significance

Question 48

first female president of the APA; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)

Answer 48

Mary Whiton Calkins

Question 49

the grandfather of evolutionary psychology, discovered natural selection

Answer 49

Charles Darwin

Question 50

advocate for the mentally ill who revolutionarily reformed the way mentally ill patients are treated

Answer 50

Dorothea Dix

Question 51

austrian neurologist known for his work on the unconscious mind. Father of psychoanalysis.

Answer 51

Sigmund Freud

Question 52

launched the American Journal of Psychology, and served as the American Psychological Association's first president (1892)

Answer 52

G. Stanley Hall

Question 53

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment; third president of APA

Answer 53

William James

Question 54

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

Answer 54

Ivan Pavlov

Question 55

Known for his theory on the 4 stages of cognitive development in children

Answer 55

Jean Piaget

Question 56

a humanist, he emphasized the unique quality of humans especially their freedom and potential for personal growth; founded person-centered therapy

Answer 56

Carl Rogers

Question 57

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Answer 57

B.F. Skinner

Question 58

first woman to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 13th president of the APA (1921)

Answer 58

Margaret Floy Washburn

Question 59

founder of behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study

Answer 59

John B. Watson

Question 60

german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

Answer 60

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 61

an organized whole. emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Answer 61

gestalt psychology

Question 62

perspective developed by freud, which assumes that psychological problems are the result of anxiety resulting from unresolved conflicts and forces of which a person might be unaware

Answer 62

psychoanalytic perspective

Question 63

psychological perspective that analyzes how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

Answer 63

psychodynamic perspective

Question 64

study of how cultural and political experiences affect our life

Answer 64

sociocultural psychology

Question 65

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.)

Answer 65

hindsight bias

Question 66

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

Answer 66

theory

Question 67

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Answer 67

hypothesis

Question 68

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study.

Answer 68

operational definition

Question 69

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

Answer 69

replication

Question 70

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

Answer 70

case study

Question 71

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

Answer 71

naturalistic observation

Question 72

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

Answer 72

survey

Question 73

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample.

Answer 73

sampling bias

Question 74

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country's whole population.)

Answer 74

population

Question 75

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

Answer 75

random sample

Question 76

in an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.

Answer 76

dependent variable

Question 77

in an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Answer 77

independent variable

Question 78

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

Answer 78

informed consent

Question 79

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants.

Answer 79

debriefing

Question 80

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Answer 80

experiment

Question 81

a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other

Answer 81

correlational study

Question 82

the most popular technique for gathering primary data, in which a researcher interacts with people to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes

Answer 82

survey research

Question 83

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Answer 83

naturalistic observations

Question 84

a research method that involves the intensive examination of unusual people or organizations

Answer 84

case study

Question 85

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Answer 85

longitudinal study

Question 86

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Answer 86

cross-sectional study

Question 87

an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment

Answer 87

double-blind experiment

Question 88

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

Answer 88

random sampling

Question 89

a descriptive statistic that indicates the strength of the relationship between two variables

Answer 89

correlational coefficient

Question 90

organization that reviews research in advance to ensure ethical considerations are met

Answer 90

IRB

Question 91

charged with reviewing animal research procedures and ensuring that all regulations are adhered to

Answer 91

IACUC

Question 92

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Answer 92

overconfidence

Question 93

a variable that influences both the dependent variable and independent variable

Answer 93

confounding variable