Psychology Ch. 1 Key Terms

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

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

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions

The extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

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

An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) that whether the research participants and received the treatment or the placebo

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variables)

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

Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

The perception of a relationship where none exists

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we should have foreseen it

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation