MTC Psychology1120A Chapter 1 Review

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

A view that holds that thoughts and feelings (the mind) are distinct from the world of real objects and our bodies.

An approach to knowledge that relies on collecting data, generating a theory to explain the data, producing testable hypotheses based on theory, and testing those hypotheses empirically.

Systematic explaination of a phenomenon; it organizes known facts, allows us to predict new facts, and permits us to exercise a degree of control over the phenomenon.

Specific, testable predictions derived from a theory.

School of psychology that stresses the basic units of experience and the combinations in which they occur.

Theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its enviroment.

Personality theories contending that behavior results from psychological factors that interact within the individual, often outside conscious awareness.

School of psychology that studies only observable and measurable behavior.

School of psychology that studies how people perceive and experience objects as whole patters.

School of psychology that emphasizes nonverbal experience and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one's full human potential.

School of psychology that focuses on the meaninglessness and alienation of modern life, and how these factors lead to apathy and psychological problems.

Emphasizes the importance of diversity and the important ways in which culture, gender, race, amd ethnicity can affect virtually all aspects of human behavior.

Belief that biological processes are the sole determinant of thoughts and behavior.

School of psychology devoted to the study of mental processes in the broadest sense,

An approach to, and sub field of, psychology that is concerned with the evolutionary origins of behaviors and mental process, their adaptive value, and the purposes they continue to server.

An emerging field of psychology that focuses on positive experiences, including subjective well-being, self-determination, the relationship between positive emotions and physical health, and the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.

The psychological and social meanings attached to being biologically male or female.

Feminist theories offer a wide variety of views on the social roles of women and men, the problems and rewards of those roles, and prescriptions for changing those roles.

A subpopulation of a species, defined according to an identifiable characteristic (that is, geographic location, skin color, hair texture, genes, facial features, and so forth).

A common cultural heritage including religion, language, or ancestry-that is shared by a group of individuals.

The tangible goods and the values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that are passed from one generation to another.

Research method involving the systematic study of animal or human behavior in natural settings rather than in the laboratory.

Expectations or biases of the observer that might distort or influence his or her interpretation of what was actually observed.

Intensive description and analysis of a single individual or just a few individuals.

Research technique in which questionnaires or interviews are administered to a selected group of people.

Research technique based on the naturally occurring relationships between two or more variables.

Research technique in which an investigator deliberately manipulates selected events or circumstances and then measures the effects of those manipulations on subsequent behavior.

Individuals whose reactions or responses are observed in an experiment.

In an experiment, the variable that is manipulated to test its effects on the other, dependent variables.

In an experiment, the variable that is measured to se how it is changed by manipulations in the independent variable.

In a controlled experiment, the group subjected to a change in the independent variable.

In a controlled experiment, the group not subjected to a change in the independent variable; used for comparison with the experimental group.

Expectations by the experimenter that might influence the results of an experiment or its interpretation.

Sample in which each potential participant has an equal chance of being selected.

Sample carefully chosen so that the characteristics of the participants correspond closely to the characteristics of the larger population.

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