1.8 CHAPTER REVIEW

Introduction and Research Methods

KEY POINTS

Introduction: What Is Psychology?

Contemporary Psychology

The Scientific Method

Descriptive Research

Experimental Research

Ethics in Psychological Research

KEY TERMS

Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

psychology
structuralism
functionalism
psychoanalysis (in psychotherapy)
behaviorism
humanistic psychology
neuroscience
positive psychology
culture
cross-cultural psychology
ethnocentrism
individualistic cultures
collectivistic cultures
evolutionary psychology
psychiatry
scientific method
empirical evidence
hypothesis
variable
operational definition
statistics
statistically significant
meta-analysis
replicate
theory
pseudoscience
confirmation bias
descriptive research
naturalistic observation
case study
survey
sample
representative sample
random selection
correlational study
correlation coefficient
positive correlation
negative correlation
experimental research
independent variable
dependent variable
confounding variable
random assignment
control group (control condition)
experimental group (experimental condition)
testing effect
double-blind technique
demand characteristics
placebo
placebo effect
natural experiment
critical thinking
positron emission tomography (PET scan)
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
comparative psychology
Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the individual over the needs and goals of the group.
The systematic observation and recording of behaviors as they occur in their natural setting.
The attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to another.
The study of the nervous system, especially the brain.
School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning.
A noninvasive imaging technique that produces highly detailed images of the body’s structures and tissues, using electromagnetic signals generated by the body in response to magnetic fields.
A numerical indication of the magnitude and direction of the relationship (the correlation) between two variables.
The branch of psychology that studies the behavior of different animal species.
A selected segment that very closely parallels the larger population being studied on relevant characteristics.
An experimental control in which neither the participants nor the researchers interacting with the participants are aware of the group or condition to which the participants have been assigned.
A fake substance, treatment, or procedure that has no known direct effects.
Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the purpose, or function, of behavior and mental experiences.
A finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases.
Cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the group over the needs and goals of the individual.
Fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence.
A research strategy that allows the precise calculation of how strongly related two factors are to each other.
A statistical technique that involves combining and analyzing the results of many research studies on a specific topic in order to identify overall trends.
Any change attributed to a person’s beliefs and expectations rather than an actual drug, treatment, or procedure.
Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the most basic components, or structures, of conscious experiences.
The study of positive emotions and psychological states, positive individual traits, and the social institutions that foster positive individuals and communities.
The tendency to seek out evidence that confirms an existing belief while ignoring evidence that might contradict or undermine the belief.
A set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions.
School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes each person’s unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction.
The finding that practicing retrieval of information from memory produces better retention than restudying the same information for an equivalent amount of time.
Scientific procedures that involve systematically observing behavior in order to describe the relationship among behaviors and events.
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
A selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied.; a subset of a population.
Verifiable evidence that is based upon objective observation, measurement, and/or experimentation.
A study investigating the effects of a naturally occurring event on the research participants.
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.
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.
A method of investigation used to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor.
A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables; a testable prediction or question.
A finding that two factors vary systematically in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together.
A type of psychotherapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts.
A factor or variable other than the ones being studied that, if not controlled, could affect the outcome of an experiment; also called an extraneous variable.
In an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, including the independent variable.
A tentative explanation that tries to integrate and account for the relationship of various findings and observations.
A factor that can vary, or change, in ways that can be observed, measured, and verified.
An intensive study of a single individual or small group of individuals.
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.
A branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data.
An invasive imaging technique that provides color-coded images of brain activity by tracking the brain’s use of a radioactively tagged compound, such as glucose, oxygen, or a drug.
A mathematical indication that research results are not very likely to have occurred by chance.
A questionnaire or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group.
Medical specialty area focused on the diagnosis, treatment, causes, and prevention of mental and behavioral disorders.
The application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena.
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.
To repeat or duplicate a scientific study in order to increase confidence in the validity of the original findings.
The active process of minimizing preconceptions and biases while evaluating evidence, determining the conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from evidence, and considering alternative explanations for research findings or other phenomena.
A precise description of how the variables in a study will be manipulated or measured.
Branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on behavior and mental processes.
In a research study, subtle cues or signals expressed by the researcher that communicate the kind of response or behavior that is expected from the participant.
A noninvasive imaging technique that uses magnetic fields to map brain activity by measuring changes in the brain’s blood flow and oxygen levels.
The purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change in an experiment; also called the treatment variable.
The factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment, thought to be influenced by the independent variable; also called the outcome variable.

KEY PEOPLE

Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) German physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879. (p. 4)

Edward B. Titchener (1867–1927) American psychologist who founded structuralism, the first school of psychology. (p. 4)

William James (1842–1910) American philosopher and psychologist who founded psychology in the U.S. and established the psychological school called functionalism. (p. 5)

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) English naturalist and scientist whose theory of evolution through natural selection was first published in On the Origin of Species in 1859. (p. 5)

G. Stanley Hall (1844–1924) American psychologist who established the first psychology research laboratory in the U.S.; founded the American Psychological Association. (p. 6)

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) American psychologist who established one of the first U.S. psychology research laboratories; first woman president of the American Psychological Association. (p. 6)

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939) American psychologist who was the first woman to earn a doctorate in psychology in the U.S. (p. 7)

Francis C. Sumner (1895–1954) American psychologist who was the first African American to receive a doctorate in psychology in the U.S. (p. 7)

Kenneth Bancroft Clark (1914–2005) First African American president of American Psychological Association whose research on the effects of racial discrimination was instrumental in ending segregation in U.S. schools. (p. 7)

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. (p. 7)

Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) Russian physiologist who contributed to the development of behaviorism; discovered the basic learning process that is now called classical conditioning, discussed in Chapter 5. (p. 8)

John B. Watson (1878–1958) American psychologist who founded behaviorism. (p. 8)

B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) American psychologist and leading proponent of behaviorism; developed a model of learning called operant conditioning, discussed in Chapter 5. (p. 8)

Carl Rogers (1902–1987) American psychologist who founded the school of humanistic psychology. (p. 9)

Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) American humanistic psychologist who developed a theory of motivation. (p. 9)

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