1 Scientific Foundations

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.)

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.

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

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

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample.

all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country's whole population.)

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

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

a statistical index of the relationship between two thingsto things (from -1 to +1).

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slopeslop of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation).

the perception of a relationship where none exists.

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

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

in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

an experiment procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

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

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.

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

the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

the difference between the highest and lower scores in a distribution.

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes

numerical data that allow one to generalize – to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population.

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

the post experimental explanation for a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants.

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

34.1%, 13.6%, 2.1%, 0.1%

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely and observation and experimentation.

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function and how they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish

the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and individual's potential for fostering personal growth

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

The science of behavior and mental processes

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

the principle that, among the range of inherited variation, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

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

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

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (genetic, neural, and hormonal, including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

the study of individual's characteristics patternpatter of thinking, feeling, and acting.

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

the study of how people and machines interact and the design of safe and easily used machines and environments.

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strength and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information; sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

a study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, rehearse, review.

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions.

the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences and behaviour

the enduring behaviours, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next one

• Structuralist

• Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany

• Studied “atoms of the mind”

• G. Stanley Hall’s and Edward Bradford Titchener’s Teacher

• Structuralist

• Studied the “atoms of the mind” under Wundt

• Established the first US psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University

• Structuralist

• Wundt’s student

• Introduced Structuralism to search for the mind’s structural elements

• Functionalist

• Considered the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings

• Studied down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness

• As functionalist, opposed structuralism

• Darwin stated that nature selects those that best enable the organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment

• Survival of the fittest

• Nature versus nurture

• Functionalist

• Student of William James

• First female president of American Psychological Association

• Became pioneering memory researcher

• Functionalist

• First woman to receive a psychology PhD

• Synthesized animal behaviour research in Animal Mind (1908)

• Behaviourist

• Dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behaviour”

• Leading Behaviourist

• Rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behaviour

• Controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity’s self-understanding

• Psychoanalytic approach

• Emphasized the effect of unconscious mind and childhood experiences on behaviour

• Humanistic psychologist

• Humanistic

• Found both behaviourism and Freudian psychology too limiting

• Rather than focusing on conditioned responses or childhood memories, humanistic psychologists focused on our potential for personal growth

• Humanistic psychologist

• Humanistic

• Found both behaviourism and Freudian psychology too limiting

• Rather than focusing on conditioned responses or childhood memories, humanistic psychologists focused on our potential for personal growth

• Behaviourist

• Pioneered the study of learning

• Swiss biologist

• Last century’s most influential observer of children

• Led the way to humane treatment of those with psychological disorders

• Dualism: believed that the mind was separate from the body

• Ideas believed to be innate

• Mind believed to continue to exist after death

• Suggested that the soul is not separable from the body and that knowledge and ideas grow from experience

• Like Socrates and Plato, believed in soul/mind-body separation, but wondered how the immaterial mind and physical body communicated

• Memories open pores in the brain

• “Animal spirits”

One of the founders of modern science, particularly the experimental method

Argued that the mind was a tabula rasa (blank slate) at birth and experiences wrote on it