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Chapter 1
The Human Puzzle Chapter 1 Study Material
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Archival Research | Describes research that relies on preexisting records such as census counts, birth records, and school achievement records. |
| Assumption | A belief that guides reasoning and research, accepted as fact, but often unprovable. |
| Average | A mathematical indication of central tendency, obtained by summing the numbers that describe a characteristic and dividing by the number of cases involved. |
| Behaviorism | A general term for approaches to psychology concerned primarily with the observable components of behavior (such as stimuli and responses). |
| Bubba Psychology | An expression for folk beliefs in psychology; also referred to as naive or implicit theories. Bubba (or sometimes bubbe or bubbie) means grandmother. |
| Case Studies | A method of observation that involves the intensive examination of a single subject or unit. |
| Clinical Psychologists | Trained psychologists specializing in helping people with emotional and behavioral problems. (See counseling psychologists.) |
| Cognitivism | A general term for approaches to learning concerned with intellectual events such as problem solving, information processing, thinking, and imagining. |
| Control Group | In an experiment, a group comprising individuals as similar to the experimental group as possible except that they are not exposed to an experimental treatment. (See experimental group.) |
| Correlation | A statistical relationship between variables. High positive correlation means that high scores on one variable are generally accompanied by high scores on the second. A high negative correlation means that high scores on one are typically associated with low scores on the second. |
| Correlation Fallacy | The mistaken belief that if two variables are correlated, they must be causally related. Correlation is not proof of causation. |
| Correlational Research | Research designed to uncover relationships between variables without determining cause and effect. |
| Counseling Psychologists | Psychologists whose main function is to counsel individuals regarding issues relating to vocational or educational choices, learning problems, relationships, and mild emotional, physical, and mental disorders. (See clinical psychologists.) |
| Criterion (Plural Criteria) | A standard,value, or goal by which something is judged; a necessary condition. |
| Cross-sectional Study | Method of investigation that involves observing and comparing different subjects, usually at different age levels. |
| Dependent Variable | The variable (measurement, outcome, behavior) that reflects the assumed effects of manipulations of the independent variable(s) in an experiment. The “then” part of the if-then equation implicit in an experimental hypothesis. (See independent variable.) |
| Descriptive Research | Describes the characteristics of an individual or of a group. Designed to answer one or more questions relating to who, what, where, when, and how (for example: What is the average age at which North American children say their first word?). |
| Deterministic | Having to do with the belief that every action has an identifiable cause that can be predicted given sufficient knowledge about prior events and their effects. Often contrasted with belief in free will. |
| Developmental Psychologists | Study cognitive, physical, and emotional changes that occur between conception and death. |
| Double-blind Procedure | An experimental procedure in which neither the subjects nor the examiners know who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group. |
| Educational Psychologists | Are concerned with issues relating to understanding and improving teaching and learning in educational settings. |
| Evolutionary Psychology | An approach in psychology defined by its attention to biology and genetics as sources of explanation for human learning and behavior. |
| Ex Post Facto Study | A study in which the experimenter does not assign subjects to experimental conditions or exercise control over these conditions; the experimenter simply studies participants on the basis of differences that already exist among them. |
| Experimental Group | In an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to a treatment. (See control group.) |
| Experimental Psychologists | Psychologists involved in the use of experimental (scientifically controlled) research. |
| Experimenter Bias | An unconscious phenomenon whereby experimenters’ expectations influence their observations. Not to be confused with experimenter dishonesty. |
| Functionalism | An early American movement in psychology associated with William James. In contrast with structuralism, it urged that psychology look at the purpose of mental activity rather than at its structure. (See structuralism.) |
| Generalize | To engage in a process whereby conclusions derived under one set of circumstances are extended to other similar circumstances. The objective of most scientific investigations is to arrive at conclusions that can be generalized. |
| Genomics | The discipline that studies genomes in an attempt to establish relationships between genes and characteristics. |
| Hawthorne Effect | Describes the observation that individuals who are aware that they are members of an experimental group sometimes perform better simply for that reason. |
| Humanism | A philosophical and psychological orientation primarily concerned with our worth as individuals and with those processes that are considered to make us more human. |
| Humanistic Psychology | A branch of psychology whose primary concern is with the development of the self and with the uniqueness of the individual. Sometimes referred to as third force psychology; the other two forces are behaviorism and Freudian theory. (See humanism.) |
| Hypothesis | An educated guess, often based on theory, which can be tested. A prediction based on partial evidence of some effect, process, or phenomenon, which must then be verified experimentally. |
| Independent Variable | The variable that is manipulated in an experiment to see if it causes changes in the dependent variable. The “if” part of the if-then equation implicit in an experiment. (See dependent variable.) |
| Industrial Organizational Psychologists | Psychologists concerned with applying psychological principles to workplace-related issues. |
| Introspection | A once popular method of psychological investigation involving careful self-examination followed by an attempt to arrive at laws and principles that explain the introspector’s own behavior and can be generalized to others. |
| Longitudinal Study | Psychological investigation in which the same subjects are examined over a period of time. |
| Naturalistic Observation | Observation that takes place in naturally occurring circumstances or environments rather than in contrived environments, and where the phenomena being observed are not affected by the observer. |
| Neuroscience | A biologically based science that looks at the nervous system— especially the brain—to understand consciousness and higher mental processes. |
| Nonnaturalistic Observation | Observations that occur in a laboratory or in other circumstances where the investigator deliberately manipulates or otherwise affects the phenomena being observed. |
| Philosophy | The pursuit of wisdom; the study of reality in an attempt to arrive at an accurate and unified conception of the universe and its nature. Because people are part of the universe, philosophy originally included attempts to understand humans— which is now the discipline of psychology. |
| Population | In an experiment, the group to which results are to be generalized. |
| Psychiatrists | Medical doctors with extensive additional training in the identification and treatment of mental and emotional disorders. |
| Psychoanalysis | An approach to psychotherapy developed by Freud, based on the notion that emotional disorders result from unconscious conflicts and impulses. |
| Psychodynamic | Relating to conscious and unconscious forces that influence behavior and personality. |
| Psychology | The science that examines behavior and mental processes. |
| Random Sampling | A sampling procedure in which each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample. |
| Sample | A subset of a population. A group with characteristics similar to those of the larger group from which they are selected. |
| School Psychologists | Psychologists who deal with behavioral and learning problems affecting schoolchildren and issues relating to testing and placement of gifted or challenged children. |
| Science | An approach and an attitude toward the search for knowledge that emphasize objectivity, precision, and replicability. |
| Scientific Method | A method of inquiry involving a number of objective, logical steps designed to test the tenability of a scientific hypothesis. (See hypothesis.) |
| Significant | In research, refers to findings that would not be expected to occur by chance alone more than a small percentage (for example, 5 or 1 percent) of the time. |
| Single-blind Procedure | An experimental procedure in which either the investigators or the participants are not aware of who are members of the experimental group and who are members of the control group. |
| Statistical Procedure | A way of analyzing data (observations). Typically used in scientific investigations to determine whether a set of observations might have been expected to occur by chance. |
| Stimulus (pl. Stimuli) | A physical stimulus is any change in the physical environment capable of exciting a sense organ. Stimuli can also be internal events such as glandular secretions or even thoughts. |
| Stratified Sampling | A sampling procedure that takes steps to ensure that sub- groups of the population are represented proportionally in the final sample. |
| Structuralism | The first “school” in psychology, associated with Wilhelm Wundt, based on the notion that the mind can best be understood by analyzing its elements (looking at its component structure) using introspection. Studied such “elements” of consciousness as sensations, feelings, and images. (See functionalism.) |
| Survey | A research method that involves sampling a large group of individuals. |
| Synesthesia | A condition in which different sensations overlap and are processed simultaneously. A person with synesthesia might see a musical note or hear a color. |
| Theory | A body of information pertaining to a specific topic; a set of explanations for related phenomena that explains the phenomena and allows the investigator to make predictions (hypotheses). |
| Third Force Psychology | Maslow’s term for the humanistic movement in psychology—so labeled to differentiate it from the first force (behaviorism) and the second force (Freudian psychodynamic theory). |
| Variable | A property, measurement, or characteristic that can vary from one situation to another. In psychological investigations, qualities such as intelligence, sex, personality, age, and so on can be important variables. |
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