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Details Title: Vocab 1 Description: History and scientific methods Total Flash Cards: 58 Created: 01/09/2005 13:00:52	To study from this set of flash cards, or to create your own your own study flash cards, register HERE. If you are already a registered user, CLICK HERE.
Cards Term Applied psychology Definition The branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems Term Behavior Definition Any observable response or activity by an organism Term Behaviorism Definition A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior Term Biological approach Definition A psychological viewpoint that examines how our genes, hormones, and nervous systems interact with our environments to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions, coping techniques and other traits. Term Clinical psychology Definition the branch of psychology concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders. Term Cognition Definition The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge Term Critical thinking Definition the use of cognitive skills and strategies that increase the probability of a desired outcome Term Culture Definition the widely shared customs, beliefs, values , norms, institutions, and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations. Term Empiricism Definition the premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation Term Ethnocentrism Definition the tendency to view one's own group as superior to others and as the standard for judging the worth of foreign ways. Term Evolutionary psychology Definition theoretical perspective that examines behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value for a species over the course of many generations Term functionalism Definition a school of psychology based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of conciousness, rather than its structure. Term Humanism Definition a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth Term introspection Definition careful, systematic observation of one's own concious experience. Term Natural selection Definition Principles stating that heritable characteristics that provide a survival reproductive advantage are more likely than alternative characteristics to be passed on to subsequent generations and thus, come to be selected over time. Term Psychiatry Definition A branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems Term Psychoanalytic theory Definition The theory developed by Freud fact that attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior Term Psychology Definition The science that studies behavior and the psychological and cognitive processes that underlie it and a profession that applies accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems Term SQ3R Definition The study system designed to promote effective reading by means of five steps: survey, question, read, recite and review Term Stimulus Definition any detectable input from the environment Term structuralism Definition The school of psychology based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and to investigate how these elements are related Term Theory Definition a system of interrelated ideas that is used to explain a set of observations Term unconcious Definition According to Frued thoughts, memories and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior Term Anecdotal evidence Definition personal stories about specific incidents and experiences Term Case study Definition an in-depth investigation of an individual subject Term Confounding of variables Definition The condition that exist whenever two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their independent effects Term Control group Definition subjects in a study who do not recieve the special treatment given to the experimental group Term Correlation coefficient Definition a numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables Term Data collection techniques Definition procedures for making empirical observations and measurements Term Dependant variable Definition in an experiment, the variable that is thought to be affected by the manipulation of the independent variable Term descriptive statistics Definition statistics that are used to organize and summarize data. Term double blind procedure Definition The condition that exist whenever two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their independent effects Term Experiment Definition A research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in the second variable as a result Term experimental group Definition the subjects in a study who recieve some special treatment in regard to the independent variable Term Experimenter bias Definition A phenomenon that occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained Term Extraneous variable Definition Any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study Term Hypothesis Definition a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables Term Independent variable Definition In an experiment, a condition or an event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable Term Inferential statistics Definition statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions Term Naturalistic observation Definition A descriptive research method in which the researcher engages in careful, usually prolonged, observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects Term Operational definition Definition a definition that describes the actions or operations that will be made to measure or control a variable Term Placebo effect Definition the fact that subjects' expectations can lead them to experience some change even though they recieve an empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment Term Population Definition The larger collection of animals or people from which a sample is drawn and that researchers want to generalize about Term Random assignment Definition The constitution of groups in a study such that all subject have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition Term replication Definition The repetition of the study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated Term research methods Definition Different approaches to the manipulation and control of variables in empirical studies Term response set Definition A tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions Term sample Definition The collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study Term sampling bias Definition A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which is drawn Term scientific method Definition a general approach to gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimum Term social desirability bias Definition A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself Term standard deviation Definition An index of the amount of variability in a set of data Term statistical significance Definition The condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low Term statistics Definition The use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical data Term subjects Definition The persons or animals whose behavior is systematically observed in a study Term survey Definition A descriptive research method in which researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of subjects’ behavior Term variability Definition The extent to which the scores in a data set tend to vary from each other and from the mean Term variables Definition Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed from the mean