Scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Structuralis m Early of psychology, used introspection to explore elemental structure of the mind Empiricism
View that knowledge comes from exp. via senses, and that science flourishes thru observation and experimentse Functionalis m School of psychology that focuses on functions of mental and behavioral processes and how they enable organisms to adapt, survive, and flourish Humanistic psychology Perspective that focused on growth potential, used custom methods to study personality
Naturenurtu Controversy over what genes and exp re issue contribute to dev of psychological traits and behaviors
Natural selection Principle that inherited trait variations that contribute to reproduction and survival will be passed on
Levels of analysis Complementary, differing views to analyze given phenomenons
Biopsychosocia l approach
Perspective that integrates bio, psych, and socialcultural views to analyze phenomenon
Basic research Pure science that increases scientific knowledge base
Applied research Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Counseling psychology Branch of psych that helps people with problems in living (school, marriage) and wellbeing
Clinical psychology Branch of psych that studies, assesses, and treats ppl w/ psych disorders Psychiatry
Branch of med that deals with psychological disorders using med treatments (drugs) and therapy
Hindsight bias
“I knew it all along” phenomenon, tendency to believe that one would have foreseen the outcome
Critical thinking Thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evals evidence
Theory
Explanation w/ integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations
Hypothesis
Testable prediction, usu. implied by theory Operational definition The procedures/ operations used to define research variables
Replication
Repeating a research study to see whether the finding is consistent across different events and ppl
Culture
Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by large group of people down generations
Case study
Observation technique in which one person is studied in depth to reveal universal principles
Survey
Technique for finding selfreported attitudes/ behaviors of people in a sample False consensus effect
Tendency to overestimate extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors Population
All cases in a group from which samples can be taken for study
Random sample Sample that represents population, since ea. member has equal chance of inclusion Naturalistic observation Observing and recording behaviors in natural situations w/out manipulating them
Correlation
Measure of how much 2 factors vary together and how 1 predicts the other
Correlation coefficient Mathematical expression of relationship from 1 to +1
Scatterplot
Graphed cluster of dots that represents interaction btwn 2 variables
Illusory correlation Perception of a relationship when none exists
Experiment
Research method in which investigator manipulates 1/more factors to observe effect on mental/ behavior processes
Doubleblind procedures Experimental procedure in which research participants and research staff don’t know if received treatment is real/ placebo
Placebo effect Results brought about just by expectation, the effects on behavior caused by administration of inert substance/ condition that is assumed to be active
Experimental condition Condition of experiment that exposes participant to treatment
(independent variable)
Control condition Condition of experiment that contrasts with exp. condition; acts as comparison to evaluate treatment’s effect
Random assignment Randomly assigning