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| The variable that the experimenter manipulates as a basis for making predictions about the dependent variable. |
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| The variable that is measured or recorded in an experiment. |
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| The entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions. |
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| The subset of the population that the investigator studies in order to learn about the population at large. |
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| A procedure in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being picked to participate in a study. |
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| An intensive study of one person. |
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| The degree to which a study's participants, stimuli, and procedures adequately reflect the world as it actually is. |
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| The cues in a study that might tell a research participant what behaviors are expected or desirable in that setting, i.e. "You do brush your teeth, don't you?" |
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| The technique of assigning participants to experimental conditions while keeping both the participants and the researchers unaware of who is assigned to which group. |
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| Mathematical procedures that allow a researcher to characterize a data pattern; these procedures include measures of central tendency and of variability. |
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| A measure of central tendency computed by calculating the sum of all the observations, then dividing by the number of observations; the average. |
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| A measure of central tendency taken by putting the data values in order and finding the value that divides the distribution in half. |
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| The degree to which scores in a frequency distribution depart from the central value. |
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| A measure of the variability of a data set, calculated as the square root of the variance. |
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| The tendency of two variables to change together. If one goes up as the other goes up, the correlation is positive; if one goes up as the other goes down, the correlation is negative. |
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| Correlation coefficient (r) |
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| A number that expresses both the size and the direction of a correlation, varying from +1.00 (perfect positive correlation) to -1.00 (perfect negative correlation). |
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| The degree of consistency with which a test measures a trait or attribute, i.e. test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability. |
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| The extent to which a method or procedure measures what it is intended to measure. |
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| The magnitude of the difference between groups in a study, often computed by subtracting the mean of one group's scores from the mean of the other's scores. |
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| A calculation central to inferential statistics that describes the likelihood that the results of a study happened by chance. |
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| A comparison that relies on already-existing groups (i.e., groups that the experimenter did not create). |
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| Studies in which the investigator analyzes the relationships among variables that were in place before the study, without manipulating those variables. |
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| The possibility that two correlated variables may be changing together only due to the operation of a third variable. |
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| A study of causal relationships in which the researcher manipulates an independent variable to examine its effect on a dependent variable. |
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| The group within an experiment that experiences the researcher's manipulation of the independent variable. |
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| A group within an experiment that does not experience the experimental manipulation. |
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| In an experimental design, the random placement of participants in either the experimental or control groups, ensuring that the groups are matched at the outset of the experiment. |
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| Within-subject comparisons |
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| Within a study, comparing the data about each participant in one situation to data about the same participant in another situation. |
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| Between-subject comparisons |
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| Within a study, comparing one group of individuals to a different group. |
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| The characteristic of a study that allows us to conclude that the manipulation of the independent variable caused the observed changes in the dependent variable. |
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| A repetition of an experiment that yields the same results. |
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| A statistical technique for combining the results of many studies on a particular topic, even when the studies used different data collection methods. |
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| A research participant's agreement to take part in the study, based on full information about what the experiment will involve. |
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| A step at the end of an experiment in which the researcher explains the study's purpose and design to each participant and undoes any manipulation to participants' beliefs or state. |
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| Measures how well you know a particular subject; measures past learning. |
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| Measure your innate ability to learn; intended to predict future performance. |
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| Tests that allow the subject to create his own answer, thus facilitating the expression of conflicts, need, and impulses. The content of the response is then interpreted by the test administrator. |
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| A type of projective test that requires the subject to describe what he sees in each of ten inkblots. Scoring is complex. Validity of the test is highly questionable. |
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| Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) |
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| Type of projective test that involves 31 cards depicting various interpersonal scenes. The test subject is then required to tell a story about each of the cards, revealing aspects of their personality. |
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| Involves studying the same objects at different points in their lifespan and provides better, more valid results than most other methods. However, these types of studies are costly and time-consuming. |
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| Also known as the Rosenthal effect; when researchers see what they want to see. Minimized in a double-blind experiment. |
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| When subjects alter their behavior because they know they are being observed. |
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| Variables that are simply given descriptive names; there is no order or relationship among the variables other than to separate them into groups. "Nominal" comes from the Latin word for name. |
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| Ordered variables; not necessarily equally spaced, i.e., first, second, and third place. |
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| Capable of showing order and spacing because equal spaces lie between the values; do not include a real zero, i.e., temperature. |
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| Variables that have order, equal intervals, and a real zero, i.e., age. |
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| An error that occurs when you incorrectly reject the null hypothesis, in other words, when you state that your findings were significant but they really were not. |
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| An error that occurs when you wrongly accept the null hypothesis, in other words, when you stated that your findings were insignificant when really they had statistical significance. |
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| A test of significance that compares the means of two different groups. |
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| A test of significance used when the n-cases in a sample are classified into categories or cells. The test tells us whether the groups are significantly different in size. |
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| Analysis of variance; analyzes the differences among means of continuous variables, but it more flexible than the t-test in that it can measure the difference among more than 2 groups. |
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| Tests whether the means on one outcome or dependent variable are significantly different across groups. |
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| Tests the effects of two independent variables or treatment conditions at once. |
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| Measured by the same individual tester taking the test more than once; on a test with high test-retest reliability, that person would get approximately the same score each time. |
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| Measures the extent to which the different items within a measure test the same thing. |
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| The extent to which a test measuures what it intends to measure. There are several types of external validity. |
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| Type of external validity; whether the scores on a new measure positively correlate with other measures known to test the same construct. |
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| Type of external validity; whether the test measures the abstract construct being measured. |
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| Type of external validity; whether the content of the test covers a good sample of the construct being measured, not just part of it. |
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| Type of external validity; whether the test items simply look like they measure the construct at face value. |
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| A specialized cell in the nervous system that accumulates and transmits information. It is estimated that there are nearly 100 billion neurons in the human brain, each connecting to as many as 50,000 others. |
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| The branched part of the neuron that receives impulses and conducts them toward the cell body. |
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| The portion of the neuron containing the metabolic machinery that keeps the cell alive and functional. |
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| The part of a neuron that transmits impulses to the glands, muscles, or other neurons. |
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| Nerves that carry messages outward from the central nervous system; generally carry information from the brain to somewhere outside the brain. |
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| Nerves that carry messages inward toward the central nervous system; keeps the nervous system informed about both the external world and the body's internal environment. |
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| Neurons that are neither afferent or efferent, but instead carry information from one neurons to another; make local connections within the nervous system and usually have either very short axons or none at all. |
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| A brief change in the electrical charge of a neuronal membrane; the physical basis of the signal that travels the length of the neuron. |
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| The voltage difference between the inside and the outside of a neuronal membrane when the neuron is not firing; inside of the axon is electrically negative relative to the outside. |
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| The voltage difference between a neuron's interior and exterior that, if exceeded, causes the neuron to fire. |
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| The time after an action potential during which a neuron's cell membrane is unprepared for the next action potential. |
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| The law that all action potentials have the same strength and speed regardless of the triggering stimulus; however, neurons can vary the rate of their firing. A stronger stimulus will elicit more rapid firing. |
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| The small gap between two adjacent neurons, consisting of the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons' membranes and the space between them. |
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| Chemicals released by one neuron (usually the presynaptic neuron) which trigger a response in another neuron (usually the postsynpatic neuron); the chief means of communication among neurons. |
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| The presynaptic neuron's process of reabsorbing its own neurotransmitters after signaling so that they can be released again the next time the neuron fires. |
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| Neurotransmitter; involved in many of the mechanisms of sleep, mood, and arousal. |
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| Neurotransmitter; helps control arousal level; influences wakefulness, learning, and memory. |
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| Neurotransmitters; influences movement, motivation, and emotion. |
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| Drugs that enhance a neurotransmitter's activity. |
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| Drugs that impede the activity of a neurotransmitter. |
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| Electroencephalogram (EEG) |
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Definition
| A record of the brain's electrical activity recorded by placing electrodes on the scalp. |
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| CT scan (computerized tomography) |
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| A technique for examining brain structure by constructing a composite of X-ray images taken from many different angles. |
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| MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) |
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| A neuroimaging technique that documents the effects of strong magnetic pulses on the molecules that make up the brain tissue. A computer then assembles this information into a picture of brain structure. |
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| PET scan (positron emission tomography) |
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Definition
| A technique for examining brain function by observing the amount of metabolic activity in different brain regions. |
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| Functional MRI (fMRI) scan |
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Definition
| A technique for examining brain function by measuring blood flow and oxygen use within the brain. |
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Definition
| The brain and the spinal cord. |
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| Peripheral nervous system |
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Definition
| The afferent and efferent nerves that extend from the brain and spinal cord to connect them with organs and muscles. |
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| The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the skeletal muscles and transmits sensory information. |
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| The division of the peripheral nervous system that receives information from and controls the internal organs. |
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| The division of the autonomic nervous system that mobilizes the organism for physical extertion; tends to "rev up" bodily activities in preparation for vigorous action; dilates pupils, relaxes bronchi, strenghtens/accelerates heartbeat, inhibits digestive activity, and contracts blood vessels. |
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| The division of the autonomic nervous system that restores the body's normal resting state and conserves energy; contracts pupils, constricts bronchi, slows heartbeat, stimulates digestive activity, dilates vessels. |
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| The brain region at the top of the spinal cord that includes the medulla and pons. |
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| The part of the brain that controls muscular coordination and equilibrium. |
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| The outermost layer of the forebrain. |
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| The area at the front of each cerebral hemisphere; includes tissue crucial for many aspects of planning and controlling thoughts and behavior. |
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| The area in each cerebral hemisphere that lies between the frontal and occipital lobes; includes tissue crucial for receiving information from the skin senses. |
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| The areas in each cerebral hemisphere lying below the temples; includes tissue crucial for hearing and many aspects of language use. |
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| The rearmost area of each cerebral hemisphere; includes tissue crucial for processing visual information. |
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| A subcortical structure that plays a vital role in controlling many motivated behaviors, like eating, drinking, and sexual activity. |
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| A group of interconnected structures that are crucial for emotion, motivation, and many aspects of learning and memory. |
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| An almond-shaped, temporal lobe structure that plays a central role in emotion and evaluating stimuli. |
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| A temporal lobe structure that plays a pivotal role in learning and forming new memories. |
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| The thick bundle of fibers connecting the cerebral hemispheres. |
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| A serious disturbance in beginning or carrying out voluntary movements. |
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| The inability to recognize a visual stimulus despite the ability to see and describe it. |
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| The result of certain right parietal lobe lesions that leave a patient completely inattentive to stimuli to her left, including the left side of her own body. |
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| Any of a number of linguistic disorders caused by injury to or malformation of the brain. |
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| Caused by damage to Broca's area of the brain, which is located in the left frontal lobe; can understand speech but has difficulty speaking. |
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| Caused by damage to Wernicke's area of the brain, which is located in the left temporal lobe; can speak but no longer understands how to correctly choose words; speaks fluently but nonsensically. |
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