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behaviorism

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view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

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humanistic psychology

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emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

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cognitive psychology

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interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with mental activity

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psychology

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science of behavior and mental processes

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critical thinking

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thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, uncovers hidden values, weighs evidence, and assesses conclusions.

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biopsychosoical approach

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integrated approach that incorporates different but complementary views from biological, psychological, and social-cultural perspectives

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culture

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enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

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nature-nurture issue

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the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

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dual processing

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principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

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positive psychology

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scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

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hindsight bias

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tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we could have predicted it (aka I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

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theory

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explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

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hypothesis

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a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

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operational definition

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statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables

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replication

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repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

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case study

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descriptive technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

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survey

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descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of a population

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random sample

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sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

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naturalistic observation

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descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to change or control the situation

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correlation

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measure of the extent to which two events vary together, and thus of how well either one predicts the other

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correlation coefficient

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mathematical expression of the relationship, ranging from -1 to +1

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illusory correlation

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perception of a relationship where none exists

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experiment

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method in which researchers vary one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

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random assignment

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assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing any differences between the groups

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experimental group

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the group in an experiment that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

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control group

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the group in an experiment that is not exposed to the treatment and therefore serves as a comparison with the experimental group for evaluating the effect of the treatment

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placebo

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an inactive substance or condition that is sometimes given to control group members in place of the treatment given to the experimental group

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double-blind procedure

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a procedure in which participants and research staff are ignorant (blind) about who has received the treatment or a placebo

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placebo effect

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results caused by expectations alone

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independent variable

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the experimented factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

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dependent variable

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the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

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Wilhelm Wundt performed experiments to study

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mental processes

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To personality theorist, Sigmund Freud, was an Austrian

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physician

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The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as

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behaviorism

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Which major pioneer in psychology emphasized unconscious sexual conflicts?

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Freudian psychology

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Humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of people's

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potential for healthy growth

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In the early 1960's, the cognitive revolution in psychology renewed interest in the scientific study of

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mental processes

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Cognitive neuroscience studies relationships between

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thought processes and brain functions

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Contemporary psychology is best defined as the scientific study of

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behavior and mental processes

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Which perspective studies the relative contributions of our genes and our environment on our individual differences?

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behavior genetics

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The main feature of the psychodynamic perspective is its emphasis on

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unconscious conflicts

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Which perspective most clearly focuses on how we learn observable responses?

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behavioral

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The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how

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people encode, process, store and retrieve information

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Dr. Wong investigates the relationship between brain chemistry and intelligence. Dr. Wong is working in which psychological subfield?

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biological psychology

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Dr. Santaniello studies how children's moral thinking changes as they grow older. Dr. Santaniello is most likely a(n) ___________ psychologist.

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developmental

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Dr. Caleigh researches people's ability to solve problems. Dr. Caleigh is most likely a(n) __________ psychologist.

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cognitive

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Dr. Vazquez helps people make career choices by assisting them in identifying their strengths and interests. Dr. Vazquez is most likely a

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counseling psychologist

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Clinical psychologists specialize in

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providing therapy to troubled people

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The specialist most likely to have a medical degree is a

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psychiatrist

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If you assess whether conclusions are based on the existing evidence, you are using

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critical thinking

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Different views of the same behavior that together can give us a complete description represent different

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levels of analysis

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Efforts to discover whether intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their genes or by their home environment are most directly related to the debate regarding the issue of

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nature vs. nurture

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The simultaneous processing of information at both conscious and unconscious levels is called

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dual processing

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The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to

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believe that they would have foreseen the outcome of past events

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Our tendency to believe we know more than we do illustrates

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overconfidence

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The three key elements of the scientific attitudes are

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curiosity, skepticism, and humility

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A scientific theory is most useful if it produces testable

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predictions

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A hypothesis is a(n)

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prediction that allows us to test a theory

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In a written report of their research, psychologists state exactly how anxiety is measured, this providing their readers with a(n)

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operational definition

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The case study is a research method in which

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a single individual is studied in great depth

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The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it

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may be atypical

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Which research method would be best for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion?

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the survey

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Surveys indicate that people are much less approving of "welfare" than to "aid to the needy." These survey results best illustrate the importance of

answer

wording effects

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In a survey, psychologists select a random sample of research participants to ensure that

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the participants are representative of the larger population they are interested in studying

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Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzee families in their jungle habitats are using a research method known as

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naturalistic observation

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Correlational research is most useful for purposes of

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prediction

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