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| the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. |
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Titchener
early school of psychology that emphasized studying the most basic components, or structures, of conscious experiences. |
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William James
early school of psychology that emphasized studying the purpose, or function, of behavior and mental experiences. |
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Freud
personality theory and form of psychotherapy that emphasize the role of unconscious factors in personality and behavior. |
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James B. Watson
school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning. |
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| school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction. |
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| cross-cultural psychology |
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| branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on behavior and mental processes. |
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| the application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena. |
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| a set of assumptions, attitudes and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions. |
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| a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. |
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| a factor that can vary, or change, in ways that can be observed, measured and verified. |
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| a precise description of how the variable in a study will be manipulated or measured. |
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| a branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data. |
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| statistically significant |
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| a mathematical indication that research results are not very likely to have occurred by chance. |
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| a tentative explanation that tries to integrate and account for the relationship of various findings and observations. |
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| descriptive research methods |
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Definition
scientific procedures that involve systematically observing behavior in order to describe the relationship among behaviors and events.
naturalistic observation: the systematic observation and recording of behaviors as they occur in their natural setting.
case study: an intensive study of a single individual or small group of individuals.
survey: a questionnaire or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group.
correlational study: a research strategy that allows the precise calculation of how strongly related two factors are to each other. |
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| a selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied. |
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| a selected segment that very closely parallels the larger population being studied on relevant characteristics. |
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| process in which subjects are selected randomly from a larger group such that every group member has an equal chance of being included in the study. |
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| a numerical indication of the magnitude and direction of the relationship (the correlation) between two variables. |
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| a finding that two factors vary systematically in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together. |
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| a finding that two factors vary systemtically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases. |
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| a method of investigation used to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor. |
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| the purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change in an experiment; also referred to as the treatment of interest. |
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| the factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment; thought to be influenced by the independent variable. |
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| the process of assigning participants to experimental conditions so that all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions or groups in the study. |
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| experimental group (experimental condition) |
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| in an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, including the independent variable or treatment of interest. |
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| control group (control condition) |
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| in an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, except the independent variable; the group against which changes in the experimental group are compared. |
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| in an experiment, a control group in which the participants are exposed to a fake independent variable, or placebo. the effects of the placebo are compared to the effects of the actual independent variable, on the experimental group. |
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| experimental technique in which neither the participants nor the researcher interacting with the participants is aware of the group or condition in which the participants have been assigned. |
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