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Psychology

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The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

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Structuralism

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Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the most basic components, or structures, of conscious experiences

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Functionalism

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Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the purpose, or function, of behavior and mental experiences

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Psychoanalysis

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Personality theory and form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the role of unconscious factors in personality and behavior

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Behaviorism

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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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Humanistic Psychology

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School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasize each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction

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Biological Perspective

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Emphasizes studying the physical bases of human and animal behavior, including the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and genetics

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Psychodynamic Perspective

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Emphasize the importance of unconscious influences, early life experiences, and interpersonal relationships in explaining the underlying dynamics of behavior or in treating people with psychological problems

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Humanistic Perspective

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Focuses on the motivation of people to grow psychologically, the influence of interpersonal relationships on a person's self-concept, and the importance of choice and self-direction in striving to reach one's potential

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Cognitive Perspective

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A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior

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Cross-Cultural Perspective

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A psychological approach that emphasizes mental process, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions

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Culture

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The attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to another

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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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Ethnocentrism

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The belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to all others, and the related tendency to use one's own culture as a standard by which to judge other cultures

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Individualistic Cultures

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cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the individual over the needs and goals of the group

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Evolutionary Psychology

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The application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena

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Collectivistic Cultures

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Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the group over the needs and goals of the individual

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Biological Psychology

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Focuses on the relationship between behavior and the body's physical systems, including the brain and the rest of the nervous system, the endocrine system, the immune system, and genetics

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Cognitive Psychology

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Investigates mental processes, including reasoning and thinking, problem solving, memory, perception, mental imagery, and language

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Experimental Psychology

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The term traditionally used to describe research focused on such basic topics as sensory processes, principles of learning, emotion, and motivation

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Developmental Psychology

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Studies the physical, social, and psychological changes that occur at different ages and stages over the lifespan, from contraception to old age

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Social Psychology

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Explores how people are affected by their social environments, including how people think about and influence others

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Personality Psychology

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Examines individual differences and the characteristics that make each person unique, including how those characteristics originated and developed

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Health Psychology

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Focuses on the role of psychological factors in the development, prevention, and treatment of illness

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Educational Psychology

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Studies how people of all ages learn

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I/O (Industrial/Organizational) Psychology

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Concerned with the relationship between people and work.

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Clinical Psychology

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Studies the causes, treatment, and prevention of different types of psychological disorders, such as debilitating anxiety or depressions, eating disorders, and chronic substance abuse

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Scientific Method

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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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Critical Thinking

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The active process of trying to minimize the influence of preconceptions and biases while rationally evaluating evidence, determining what conclusions can be drawn from the evidence, and considering alternative explanations

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Empirical Evidence

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Evidence that is based upon objective observation, measurement, and/or experimentation

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Hypothesis

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A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

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Variable

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A factor that can vary, or change, in ways that can be observed, measured, and verified

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Operational Definition

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A precise description of how the variables in a study will be manipulated or measured

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Statistics

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A branch of mathematics used by researchers to summarize data and draw conclusions based on the data

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Statistically Significant

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A mathematical indication that research result are not very likely to have occurred by chance

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Meta-Analysis

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A statistical technique that involves combining and analyzing the results of many research studies on a specific topic in order to identify overall trends

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Replicate

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To repeat or duplicate a scientific study in order to increase confidence in the validity of the original findings

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Theory

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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 Methods

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Scientific procedures that involve systematically observing behavior in order to describe the relationship among behaviors and events

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Naturalistic Observation

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The systematic observation and recording of behaviors as the occur in their natural setting

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Case Study

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A highly detailed description of a single individual event

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Survey

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A questionnaire or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group

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Sample

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A selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied

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Representative Sample

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A selected segment that very closely parallels the larger population being studied on relevant characteristics

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Random Selection

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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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Correlational Study

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A research strategy that allows the precise calculation of how strongly related two factors are to one another

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Correlational Coefficient

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A numerical indication of the magnitude and direction of the relationship (the correlation) between two variables

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Positive Correlation

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A finding that two factors vary systematically in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together

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Negative Correlation

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A finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases

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Experimental Method

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A method of investigation used to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating a factor thought to produce change in a second factor

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Independent Variable

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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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Dependent Variable

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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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Random Assignment

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Assigning participants to experimental conditions in such a way that all participants have and 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 or treatment of interest; the group against which changes in the experimental group are compared

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Placebo Control Group

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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 which are compared to a group receiving the actual independent variable, or treatment of interest

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Expectancy Effect

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Changes in a subject's behavior produced by the subject s belief that change should happen; also called the placebo effect

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Double-Blind Study

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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 to which the participants have been assigned

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Demand Characteristic

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In a research study, subtle cues or signals expressed by the researcher that communicated the kind of response or behavior that is expected from the participant

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Pseudoscience

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A fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence

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Paranormal Phenomena

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Alleged abilities or events that fall outside the range of normal experience and established scientific explanations

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Rule of Falsifiability

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In order for a claim to be scientifically tested and proved true, there must be identifiable evidence that could prove the claim false

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Illusory Correlation

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The mistaken belief that two factors or events are related when they are not

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Mary Whiton Calkins

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American psychologist who conducted research on memory, personality, and dreams; established one of the first U.S. psychology research laboratories; first woman president of the APA

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Charles Darwin

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English naturalist and scientist whose theory of evolution through natural selection was first published in "On the Origin of Species" in 1859

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Sigmund Freud

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Austrian physician and founder of psychoanalysis

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G. Stanley Hall

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American psychologist who established the first psychology research laboratory in the U.S.; founded the APA

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William James

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American philosopher and psychologist who founded psychology in the U.S. and established the psychological school called functionalism

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Abraham Maslow

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American humanistic psychologist who developed a theory of motivation

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Ivan Pavlov

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Russian physiologist whose pioneering research on learning contributed to the development of behavioralism; discovered the basic learning process that is now called classical conditioning

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Carl Rogers

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American psychologist who founded the school of humanistic psychology

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B. F. Skinner

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American psychologist and leading proponent of behaviorism; developed a model of learning called operant conditioning; emphasized studying the relationship between environmental factors and observable behavior

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Edward B. Titchener

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British-born American psychologist who founded structuralism, the first school of psychology

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Margaret Floy Washburn

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American psychologist who was the first woman to earn a doctorate in psychology in the United States; published research on mental processes in animals

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John B. Watson

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American psychologist who founded behaviorism, emphasizing the study of observable behavior and rejecting the study of mental processes

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Wilhelm Wundt

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German physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychological research laboratory in 1879

Chapter 1: Introduction and Research Methods – Flashcards

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