PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTERS 1-14
psychology - Answer-The scientific study of mind and behavior.
data - Answer-Any information collected through formal observation or
measurement.
hindsight bias - Answer-The tendency to think that we could have predicted
something that has already occurred that we probably would not have been able to
predict.
scientific method - Answer-The set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that
scientists use to conduct empirical research.
levels of explanation - Answer-The perspectives that are used to understand
behavior.
individual differences - Answer-The variations among people on physical or
psychological dimensions.
structuralism - Answer-Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic
elements or "structures" of psychological experience
functionalism - Answer-Attempts to understand why animals and humans have
developed the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess
psychodyamic - Answer-Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings,
and
memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior
behaviorism - Answer-Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively
study the mind, and therefore that psychologists should limit their attention to the
study of behavior itself
cognitive - Answer-The study of mental processes, including perception, thinking,
memory, and judgments
social-cultural - Answer-The study of how the social situations and the cultures in
which people find themselves influence thinking and behavior
heritability - Answer-The proportion of the observed differences on characteristics
among people (e.g., in terms of their height, intelligence, or optimism) that is due to
genetics.
nature vs nurture - Answer-Are genes or environment most influential in determining
the behavior of individuals and in accounting for differences among people?
,free will vs determinism - Answer-This question concerns the extent to which people
have control over their own actions. Are we the products of our environment, guided
by forces out of our control, or are we able to choose the behaviors we engage in?
accuracy vs inaccuracy - Answer-To what extent are humans good information
processors?
conscious vs unconscious - Answer-To what extent are we conscious of our own
actions and the causes of them, and to what extent are our behaviors caused by
influences that we are not aware of?
differences vs similarities - Answer-To what extent are we all similar, and to what
extent are we different?
plato and aristotle - Answer-Earliest psychologists that we know about. One believed
that knowledge was innate, and the other believed that each human is born as an
empty slate.
introspection - Answer-A method of learning about psychological processes in which
research participants are asked to describe exactly what they experience as they
work on mental tasks.
evolutionary psychology - Answer-A branch of psychology that applies the Darwinian
theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior.
fitness - Answer-The extent to which having a given genetic characteristic helps an
individual organism survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other members of
the species who do not have the characteristic.
psychodynamic psychology - Answer-An approach to understanding human behavior
that focuses on the role of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories.
social norms - Answer-The ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by
group members and are perceived by them as appropriate.
culture - Answer-A common set of social norms, including religious and family values
and other moral beliefs, shared by the people who live in a geographical region.
biopsychology and neuroscience - Answer-This field examines the physiological
bases of behavior in animals and humans by studying the functioning of different
brain areas and the effects of hormones and neurotransmitters on behavior.
clinical and counseling psychology - Answer-These are the largest fields of
psychology. The focus is on the assessment, diagnosis, causes, and treatment of
mental disorders.
developmental psychology - Answer-These psychologists conduct research on the
cognitive, emotional, and social changes that occur across the lifespan.
,forensic psychology - Answer-Apply psychological principles to understand the
behavior of judges, attorneys, courtroom juries, and others in the criminal justice
system.
health psychology - Answer-Concerned with understanding how biology, behavior,
and the social situation influence health and illness.
industrial- organizational and environmental psychology - Answer-Applies
psychology to the workplace with the goal of improving the performance and well-
being of employees.
personality psychology - Answer-These psychologists study people and the
differences among them. The goal is to develop theories that explain the
psychological processes of individuals, and to focus on individual differences.
school and educational psychology - Answer-This field studies how people
learn in school, the effectiveness
of school programs, and the psychology of teaching.
social and cross-cultural psychology - Answer-This field examines people's
interactions with other people. Topics of study include conformity, group behavior,
leadership, attitudes, and person perception
sports psychology - Answer-This field studies the psychological aspects of sports
behavior. The goal is to understand the psychological factors that influence
performance in sports, including the role of exercise and team interactions.
basic research - Answer-Research that answers fundamental questions about
behavior.
applied research - Answer-Research that investigates issues that have implications
for everyday life and provides solutions to everyday problems.
empirical - Answer-Based on systematic collection and analysis of data.
objective - Answer-Free from the personal bias or emotions of the scientist
laws - Answer-Principles that are so general as to apply to all situations in a given
domain of inquiry.
theory - Answer-An integrated set of principles that explains and predicts many, but
not all, observed relationships within a given domain of inquiry.
falsifiable - Answer-A characteristic of a theory or research hypothesis in which the
variables of interest can be adequately measured and the predicted relationships
among the variables can be shown through research to be incorrect.
research hypothesis - Answer-A specific and falsifiable prediction about the
relationship between or among two or more variables.
, variable - Answer-Any attribute that can assume different values among different
people or across different times or places.
conceptual variables - Answer-Abstract ideas that form the basis of research
hypotheses.
measured variables - Answer-Variables consisting of numbers that represent the
conceptual variables.
operational definition - Answer-A precise statement of how a conceptual variable is
turned into a measured variable.
deception - Answer-A situation that occurs whenever research participants are not
completely and fully informed about the nature of the research project before
participating in it.
institutional review board - Answer-A committee of at least five members whose goal
is to determine cost-benefit ratio of research conducted within an institution.
informed consent - Answer-A procedure, conducted before a participant begins a
research session, designed to explain the research procedures and inform the
participant of his or her rights during the investigation.
debriefing - Answer-A procedure designed to fully explain the purposes and
procedures of the research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation.
research design - Answer-An approach used to collect, analyze, and interpret data.
descriptive research - Answer-Research designed to provide a snapshot of the
current state of affairs. Complete picture, but does not assess relationships among
variables.
correlational research - Answer-Research designed to discover relationships among
variables and to allow the prediction of future events from present knowledge. Can
assess relationships in everyday life events, but cannot be used to draw inferences
based on relationships between variables.
experimental research - Answer-Research in which initial equivalence among
research participants in more than one group is created, followed by a manipulation
of a given experience for these groups and a measurement of the influence of the
manipulation. Allows conclusions to be drawn, can't manipulate variables, is also
very expensive.
case studies - Answer-A descriptive record of one or more individual's experiences
and behavior.
survey - Answer-A measure administered through either interviews or written
questionnaires to get a picture of the beliefs or behaviors of a sample of people of
interest.
psychology - Answer-The scientific study of mind and behavior.
data - Answer-Any information collected through formal observation or
measurement.
hindsight bias - Answer-The tendency to think that we could have predicted
something that has already occurred that we probably would not have been able to
predict.
scientific method - Answer-The set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that
scientists use to conduct empirical research.
levels of explanation - Answer-The perspectives that are used to understand
behavior.
individual differences - Answer-The variations among people on physical or
psychological dimensions.
structuralism - Answer-Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic
elements or "structures" of psychological experience
functionalism - Answer-Attempts to understand why animals and humans have
developed the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess
psychodyamic - Answer-Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings,
and
memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior
behaviorism - Answer-Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively
study the mind, and therefore that psychologists should limit their attention to the
study of behavior itself
cognitive - Answer-The study of mental processes, including perception, thinking,
memory, and judgments
social-cultural - Answer-The study of how the social situations and the cultures in
which people find themselves influence thinking and behavior
heritability - Answer-The proportion of the observed differences on characteristics
among people (e.g., in terms of their height, intelligence, or optimism) that is due to
genetics.
nature vs nurture - Answer-Are genes or environment most influential in determining
the behavior of individuals and in accounting for differences among people?
,free will vs determinism - Answer-This question concerns the extent to which people
have control over their own actions. Are we the products of our environment, guided
by forces out of our control, or are we able to choose the behaviors we engage in?
accuracy vs inaccuracy - Answer-To what extent are humans good information
processors?
conscious vs unconscious - Answer-To what extent are we conscious of our own
actions and the causes of them, and to what extent are our behaviors caused by
influences that we are not aware of?
differences vs similarities - Answer-To what extent are we all similar, and to what
extent are we different?
plato and aristotle - Answer-Earliest psychologists that we know about. One believed
that knowledge was innate, and the other believed that each human is born as an
empty slate.
introspection - Answer-A method of learning about psychological processes in which
research participants are asked to describe exactly what they experience as they
work on mental tasks.
evolutionary psychology - Answer-A branch of psychology that applies the Darwinian
theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior.
fitness - Answer-The extent to which having a given genetic characteristic helps an
individual organism survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other members of
the species who do not have the characteristic.
psychodynamic psychology - Answer-An approach to understanding human behavior
that focuses on the role of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories.
social norms - Answer-The ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by
group members and are perceived by them as appropriate.
culture - Answer-A common set of social norms, including religious and family values
and other moral beliefs, shared by the people who live in a geographical region.
biopsychology and neuroscience - Answer-This field examines the physiological
bases of behavior in animals and humans by studying the functioning of different
brain areas and the effects of hormones and neurotransmitters on behavior.
clinical and counseling psychology - Answer-These are the largest fields of
psychology. The focus is on the assessment, diagnosis, causes, and treatment of
mental disorders.
developmental psychology - Answer-These psychologists conduct research on the
cognitive, emotional, and social changes that occur across the lifespan.
,forensic psychology - Answer-Apply psychological principles to understand the
behavior of judges, attorneys, courtroom juries, and others in the criminal justice
system.
health psychology - Answer-Concerned with understanding how biology, behavior,
and the social situation influence health and illness.
industrial- organizational and environmental psychology - Answer-Applies
psychology to the workplace with the goal of improving the performance and well-
being of employees.
personality psychology - Answer-These psychologists study people and the
differences among them. The goal is to develop theories that explain the
psychological processes of individuals, and to focus on individual differences.
school and educational psychology - Answer-This field studies how people
learn in school, the effectiveness
of school programs, and the psychology of teaching.
social and cross-cultural psychology - Answer-This field examines people's
interactions with other people. Topics of study include conformity, group behavior,
leadership, attitudes, and person perception
sports psychology - Answer-This field studies the psychological aspects of sports
behavior. The goal is to understand the psychological factors that influence
performance in sports, including the role of exercise and team interactions.
basic research - Answer-Research that answers fundamental questions about
behavior.
applied research - Answer-Research that investigates issues that have implications
for everyday life and provides solutions to everyday problems.
empirical - Answer-Based on systematic collection and analysis of data.
objective - Answer-Free from the personal bias or emotions of the scientist
laws - Answer-Principles that are so general as to apply to all situations in a given
domain of inquiry.
theory - Answer-An integrated set of principles that explains and predicts many, but
not all, observed relationships within a given domain of inquiry.
falsifiable - Answer-A characteristic of a theory or research hypothesis in which the
variables of interest can be adequately measured and the predicted relationships
among the variables can be shown through research to be incorrect.
research hypothesis - Answer-A specific and falsifiable prediction about the
relationship between or among two or more variables.
, variable - Answer-Any attribute that can assume different values among different
people or across different times or places.
conceptual variables - Answer-Abstract ideas that form the basis of research
hypotheses.
measured variables - Answer-Variables consisting of numbers that represent the
conceptual variables.
operational definition - Answer-A precise statement of how a conceptual variable is
turned into a measured variable.
deception - Answer-A situation that occurs whenever research participants are not
completely and fully informed about the nature of the research project before
participating in it.
institutional review board - Answer-A committee of at least five members whose goal
is to determine cost-benefit ratio of research conducted within an institution.
informed consent - Answer-A procedure, conducted before a participant begins a
research session, designed to explain the research procedures and inform the
participant of his or her rights during the investigation.
debriefing - Answer-A procedure designed to fully explain the purposes and
procedures of the research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation.
research design - Answer-An approach used to collect, analyze, and interpret data.
descriptive research - Answer-Research designed to provide a snapshot of the
current state of affairs. Complete picture, but does not assess relationships among
variables.
correlational research - Answer-Research designed to discover relationships among
variables and to allow the prediction of future events from present knowledge. Can
assess relationships in everyday life events, but cannot be used to draw inferences
based on relationships between variables.
experimental research - Answer-Research in which initial equivalence among
research participants in more than one group is created, followed by a manipulation
of a given experience for these groups and a measurement of the influence of the
manipulation. Allows conclusions to be drawn, can't manipulate variables, is also
very expensive.
case studies - Answer-A descriptive record of one or more individual's experiences
and behavior.
survey - Answer-A measure administered through either interviews or written
questionnaires to get a picture of the beliefs or behaviors of a sample of people of
interest.
