psychology :: essays research papers

Psychology – study of behavior and the mind Dualism - the mind is spiritual and the body is physical and they are connected the mind can’t be studied Introspection – Wundt Observers report their reactions TO light, colors, and time perception Psychoanalysis – Freud’s theory of personality and method of psychotherapy, both of which assume the importance of the unconscious process. Behaviorism – scientific study of observable behavior Cognition – the mental process thinking, knowing, and remembering. Basic research – research that tests theories. Applied research – research to solve practical human problems Theory – describes predicts and explains a phenomenon. Hypothesis – testable prediction, usually derived from theory Laboratory research – in regulated environment and everything can be observed Field research – in the real world Self-report – asking people about their own thoughts and feelings Behavioral observation – a form of research based on firsthand observation of a subject’s behavior. Archival research – research that relies on preexisting records Statistics – math used to analyze research data Case studies – research that involves in depth personal observations Surveys – research method that interviews or questions large groups of people Epidemiology – study of distribution of an illness in a population Random sample – a method of selection in which everyone has an equal chance of being chosen Naturalistic observation – observation of behavior as it occurs naturally in real-world settings. Correlation – a statistical measure of the extent to which two variables are associated Scatterplot – a graph which has dots for X and Y and reveals direction and strength of their correlation. Experiment – research in which an investigator changes and keeps constant the variables on randomly assigned subjects. Independent variable – any variable that the researcher manipulates in an experiment Dependant variable – a variable that is being measured in an experiment Experimental group – the group that is exposed to the independent variable Control group – the group that isn’t exposed to the independent variable Random assignment – random assignments to an experiment Replication – the process of repeating an experiment to see if the results are reliable enough to be duplicated. Generalizability – the extent to which a finding relates to, such as a certain population. Meta-analysis – statistical procedures used to review a body of evidence by combining the results of individual studies. Deception – misleading subjects to the true purpose of a study. Informed consent – ethical requirement if one wants to participate in a study (of ones own free will) Evolutionary psychology – principles of evolution to understand human social behavior Behavioral genetics – genes and their affect on behavior