Chapter 1
American Psychological Association (APA)
professional organization representing psychologists in the United States
behaviorism
focus on observing and controlling behavior
biopsychology
study of how biology influences behavior
biopsychosocial model
perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to
determine an individual’s health
clinical psychology
area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior
cognitive psychology
study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
counseling psychology
area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other
aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals
developmental psychology
scientific study of development across a lifespan
dissertation
long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s
doctoral training
empirical method
method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation,
rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities
forensic psychology
area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within
and related to the justice system
functionalism
focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment
humanism
perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all
humans
introspection
process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to
break it into its component parts
ology
suffix that denotes “scientific study of”
personality psychology
study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique
,personality trait
consistent pattern of thought and behavior
PhD
(doctor of philosophy) doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives
housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences
postdoctoral training program
allows young scientists to further develop their research programs and broaden their
research skills under the supervision of other professionals in the field
psychoanalytic theory
focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior
psychology
scientific study of the mind and behavior
PsyD
(doctor of psychology) doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented
skills and focuses more on application of psychological principles in the clinical context
sport and exercise psychology
area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional
factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities
structuralism
understanding the conscious experience through introspection
Chapter 2
archival research
method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research
questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships
attrition
reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time
cause-and-effect relationship
changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined
only through an experimental research design
clinical or case study
observational research study focusing on one or a few people
confirmation bias
tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs
confounding variable
unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false
impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in
actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables
,control group
serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence
the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the
experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups
correlation
relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one
variable changes as the other does
correlation coefficient
number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between
variables, and usually represented by r
cross-sectional research
compares multiple segments of a population at a single time
debriefing
when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful
information about the experiment at its conclusion
deception
purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the
experiment
deductive reasoning
results are predicted based on a general premise
dependent variable
variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable
had
double-blind study
experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group
assignments
empirical
grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again,
regardless of who is observing
experimental group
group designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only
difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between
the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance
experimenter bias
researcher expectations skew the results of the study
fact
objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through
empirical research
falsifiable
able to be disproven by experimental results
, generalize
inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population
hypothesis
(plural: hypotheses) a testable prediction about how the world will behave if an idea is
correct, often worded as an if-then statement
illusory correlation
seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists
independent variable
variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a sound experimental
study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the
experimental and control group
inductive reasoning
conclusions are drawn from observations
informed consent
process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment,
any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person’s
consent to participate
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that
reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals
for research involving human participants
inter-rater reliability
measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular
event
longitudinal research
studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over
an extended period of time
naturalistic observation
observation of behavior in its natural setting
negative correlation
two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other
becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation
observer bias
when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations
operational definition
description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent
variables and manipulate the independent variables
opinion
American Psychological Association (APA)
professional organization representing psychologists in the United States
behaviorism
focus on observing and controlling behavior
biopsychology
study of how biology influences behavior
biopsychosocial model
perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to
determine an individual’s health
clinical psychology
area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior
cognitive psychology
study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
counseling psychology
area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other
aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals
developmental psychology
scientific study of development across a lifespan
dissertation
long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s
doctoral training
empirical method
method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation,
rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities
forensic psychology
area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within
and related to the justice system
functionalism
focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment
humanism
perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all
humans
introspection
process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to
break it into its component parts
ology
suffix that denotes “scientific study of”
personality psychology
study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique
,personality trait
consistent pattern of thought and behavior
PhD
(doctor of philosophy) doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives
housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences
postdoctoral training program
allows young scientists to further develop their research programs and broaden their
research skills under the supervision of other professionals in the field
psychoanalytic theory
focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior
psychology
scientific study of the mind and behavior
PsyD
(doctor of psychology) doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented
skills and focuses more on application of psychological principles in the clinical context
sport and exercise psychology
area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional
factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities
structuralism
understanding the conscious experience through introspection
Chapter 2
archival research
method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research
questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships
attrition
reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time
cause-and-effect relationship
changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined
only through an experimental research design
clinical or case study
observational research study focusing on one or a few people
confirmation bias
tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs
confounding variable
unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false
impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in
actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables
,control group
serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence
the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the
experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups
correlation
relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one
variable changes as the other does
correlation coefficient
number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between
variables, and usually represented by r
cross-sectional research
compares multiple segments of a population at a single time
debriefing
when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful
information about the experiment at its conclusion
deception
purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the
experiment
deductive reasoning
results are predicted based on a general premise
dependent variable
variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable
had
double-blind study
experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group
assignments
empirical
grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again,
regardless of who is observing
experimental group
group designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only
difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between
the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance
experimenter bias
researcher expectations skew the results of the study
fact
objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through
empirical research
falsifiable
able to be disproven by experimental results
, generalize
inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population
hypothesis
(plural: hypotheses) a testable prediction about how the world will behave if an idea is
correct, often worded as an if-then statement
illusory correlation
seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists
independent variable
variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a sound experimental
study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the
experimental and control group
inductive reasoning
conclusions are drawn from observations
informed consent
process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment,
any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person’s
consent to participate
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that
reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals
for research involving human participants
inter-rater reliability
measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular
event
longitudinal research
studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over
an extended period of time
naturalistic observation
observation of behavior in its natural setting
negative correlation
two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other
becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation
observer bias
when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations
operational definition
description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent
variables and manipulate the independent variables
opinion
