vocab


 * Empiricism-empirical method or practice.
 * Structuralism- any theory that embodies structural principles
 * Functionalism- the doctrine that emphasizes the adaptiveness of the mental or behavioral processes
 * Psychology- the science of the mind or of mental states and processes
 * Nature-nurture issue- an issue asking if the result is because of how someone was born or if it was because of how someone was raised.
 * Natural selection- survival of the fittest
 * Basic research- [|research] carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles
 * Applied research- [|research] accessing and using some part of the research communities' (the [|academy]'s) accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often [|state], [|commercial], or [|client] driven purpose
 * Clinical psychology- the scientific study and application of [|psychology] for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or [|dysfunction] and to promote subjective [|well-being] and personal development
 * Psychiatry- the practice or science of diagnosing and treating mental disorders


 * Hindsight bias- you trick yourself into thinking you knew the answer the whole time
 * Critical thinking-is purposeful and reflective judgment about what to believe or what to do in response to [|observations], [|experience], [|verbal] or [|written] expressions, or [|arguments].
 * Theory-in the general sense of the word, is an analytic structure designed to explain a set of observations.
 * Hypothesis- A statement before an experiment that begins with if. and consists of what you intend on finding out in your experiments
 * Operational definition-is a demonstration of a process — such as a [|variable], [|term], or [|object] — relative in terms of the specific [|process] or set of [|validation tests] used to determine its presence and quantity.
 * Case study-is one of several ways of doing [|research] whether it is [|social science] related or even [|socially] related.
 * Survey-something to gauge information through peoples answers.
 * False consensus effect- you believe people believe the same things as you
 * Population- amount of people in an area.
 * Random sample- random survey given.
 * Naturalistic observation- is a method of observation, commonly used by [|psychologists], [|behavioral scientists] and [|social scientists], that involves observing subjects in their [|natural habitats].
 * Correlation-relations between two variables
 * Scatterplot-is a type of [|display] using [|Cartesian coordinates] to display values for two [|variables] for a set of data.
 * Illusory correlation- you believe theres a relation between 2 things when there are none


 * Experiment:a method of investigating causal relationships among variables. An experiment is a cornerstone of the [|empirical] approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences. An experiment can be used to help solve practical problems and to support or negate theoretical assumptions.
 * Double-blind procedure:describes an especially stringent way of conducting an [|experiment], usually on human subjects, in an attempt to eliminate subjective bias on the part of both experimental subjects and the experimenters. In most cases, double-blind experiments are held to achieve a higher standard of scientific rigour.
 * Placebo effect:a medical phenomenon where the results of such intervention are affected by the patient's ideas about how effective the treatment is. Placebos are widely used in contemporary [|healthcare] and the placebo effect is a pervasive phenomenon.
 * Experimental condition:a vital part of the [|scientific method], since they can eliminate or minimise unintended influences such as researcher [|bias], environmental changes and biological variation. Controlled experiments are used to investigate the effect of a [|variable] on a particular system
 * Control condition: a vital part of the [|scientific method], since they can eliminate or minimise unintended influences such as researcher
 * Random assignment: an [|experimental] technique for assigning subjects to different treatments (or no treatment). The thinking behind random assignment is that by randomizing treatment assignment, then the group attributes for the different treatments will be roughly equivalent and therefore any effect observed between treatment groups can be linked to the treatment effect and is not a characteristic of the individuals in the group.
 * Independent variable:used in similar but subtly different ways in [|mathematics] and [|statistics] as part of the standard terminology in those subjects. They are used to distinguish between two types of quantities being considered, separating them into those available at the start of a process and those being created by it, where the latter (dependent variables) are dependent on the former (independent variables)
 * Dependent variable:
 * Extraneous and confounding variable: variables **other than** the independent variable which may have an effect on the dependent variable . They are important when designing your experiment because they could potentially alter your results leading to misinterpretation and flawed conclusions! They are variables outside your control that may affect the results of the experiment.
 * Mode
 * Mean
 * Median
 * Range
 * Standard deviation
 * Statistical significance
 * Culture
 * Bias
 * Ethics