PSYC 101 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Variables - Answers -the events, characteristics, behaviors, or conditions that
researchers measure and study.
subject or participant - Answers -an individual person or animal a researcher studies.
Sample - Answers -a collection of subjects researchers study. Researchers use
samples because they cannot study the entire population.
Population - Answers -the collection of people or animals from which researchers draw
a sample. Researchers study the sample and generalize their results to the population.
The Purpose of Research - Answers --To find ways to measure and describe behavior
-To understand why, when, and how events occur
-To apply this knowledge to solving real-world problems
The scientific method - Answers -a standardized way of making observations, gathering
data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results.
A theory - Answers -an explanation that organizes separate pieces of information in a
coherent way.
replicable - Answers -when others can repeat an experiment and get the same results.
hypothesis - Answers -a testable prediction of what will happen given a certain set of
conditions.
naturalistic observation - Answers -researchers collect information about subjects by
observing them unobtrusively, without interfering with them in any way.
case study - Answers -The researcher collects data about the subject through
interviews, direct observation, psychological testing, or examination of documents and
records about the subject.
survey - Answers -a way of getting information about a specific type of behavior,
experience, or event. When using this method, researchers give people questionnaires
or interview them to obtain information.
experiment - Answers -a researcher manipulates or changes a particular variable under
controlled conditions while observing resulting changes in another variable or variables.
Occam's razor - Answers -maintains that researchers should apply the simplest
explanation possible to any set of observations.
, correlation - Answers -measurement of the strength of the relationship between two
variables
reliability - Answers -if a test produces the same result when researchers administer it
to the same group of people at different times, it has reliability.
Validity - Answers -A test is valid if it actually measures the quality it claims to measure.
Bias - Answers -the distortion of results by a variable. Common types of bias include
sampling bias, subject bias, and experimenter bias.
Sensation - Answers -the process by which physical energy from objects in the world or
in the body stimulates the sense organs
perception - Answers -The brain interprets and organizes this sensory information in a
process called perception
absolute threshold - Answers -the minimum amount of stimulation required for a person
to detect the stimulus 50 percent of the time.
difference threshold - Answers -the smallest difference in stimulation that can be
detected 50 percent of the time. sometimes called the just noticeable difference (jnd).
Weber's Law - Answers -a principle demonstrating the fact that we can't detect the
difference between two stimuli unless they differ by a certain proportion and that this
proportion is constant.
Sensory Adaptation - Answers -the decrease in sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus.
Rods - Answers -The long, narrow cells, called rods, are highly sensitive to light and
allow vision even in dim conditions
Cones - Answers -cone-shaped cells that can distinguish between different
wavelengths of light, allowing people to see in color. Remember (C)ones, (C)olor.
papillae - Answers -receptors that are inside taste buds, which in turn are inside little
bumps on the skin called Papillae. Used to taste
Kinesthesis - Answers -the sense of the position and movement of body parts.
Gate-control theory - Answers -states that pain signals traveling from the body to the
brain must go through a gate in the spinal cord. If the gate is closed, pain signals can't
reach the brain. The gate isn't a physical structure like a fence gate, but rather a pattern
of neural activity that either stops pain signals or allows them to pass. Signals from the
Variables - Answers -the events, characteristics, behaviors, or conditions that
researchers measure and study.
subject or participant - Answers -an individual person or animal a researcher studies.
Sample - Answers -a collection of subjects researchers study. Researchers use
samples because they cannot study the entire population.
Population - Answers -the collection of people or animals from which researchers draw
a sample. Researchers study the sample and generalize their results to the population.
The Purpose of Research - Answers --To find ways to measure and describe behavior
-To understand why, when, and how events occur
-To apply this knowledge to solving real-world problems
The scientific method - Answers -a standardized way of making observations, gathering
data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results.
A theory - Answers -an explanation that organizes separate pieces of information in a
coherent way.
replicable - Answers -when others can repeat an experiment and get the same results.
hypothesis - Answers -a testable prediction of what will happen given a certain set of
conditions.
naturalistic observation - Answers -researchers collect information about subjects by
observing them unobtrusively, without interfering with them in any way.
case study - Answers -The researcher collects data about the subject through
interviews, direct observation, psychological testing, or examination of documents and
records about the subject.
survey - Answers -a way of getting information about a specific type of behavior,
experience, or event. When using this method, researchers give people questionnaires
or interview them to obtain information.
experiment - Answers -a researcher manipulates or changes a particular variable under
controlled conditions while observing resulting changes in another variable or variables.
Occam's razor - Answers -maintains that researchers should apply the simplest
explanation possible to any set of observations.
, correlation - Answers -measurement of the strength of the relationship between two
variables
reliability - Answers -if a test produces the same result when researchers administer it
to the same group of people at different times, it has reliability.
Validity - Answers -A test is valid if it actually measures the quality it claims to measure.
Bias - Answers -the distortion of results by a variable. Common types of bias include
sampling bias, subject bias, and experimenter bias.
Sensation - Answers -the process by which physical energy from objects in the world or
in the body stimulates the sense organs
perception - Answers -The brain interprets and organizes this sensory information in a
process called perception
absolute threshold - Answers -the minimum amount of stimulation required for a person
to detect the stimulus 50 percent of the time.
difference threshold - Answers -the smallest difference in stimulation that can be
detected 50 percent of the time. sometimes called the just noticeable difference (jnd).
Weber's Law - Answers -a principle demonstrating the fact that we can't detect the
difference between two stimuli unless they differ by a certain proportion and that this
proportion is constant.
Sensory Adaptation - Answers -the decrease in sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus.
Rods - Answers -The long, narrow cells, called rods, are highly sensitive to light and
allow vision even in dim conditions
Cones - Answers -cone-shaped cells that can distinguish between different
wavelengths of light, allowing people to see in color. Remember (C)ones, (C)olor.
papillae - Answers -receptors that are inside taste buds, which in turn are inside little
bumps on the skin called Papillae. Used to taste
Kinesthesis - Answers -the sense of the position and movement of body parts.
Gate-control theory - Answers -states that pain signals traveling from the body to the
brain must go through a gate in the spinal cord. If the gate is closed, pain signals can't
reach the brain. The gate isn't a physical structure like a fence gate, but rather a pattern
of neural activity that either stops pain signals or allows them to pass. Signals from the
