Psychology
The science of behavior and mental processes; literally the study of the mind.
Pseudopsychology
Erroneous assertions or practices set forth as being scientific psychology (ex. - astrology, graphology)
Confirmation bias
The tendency to attend to evidence that complements and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not.
Facilitated communication
An example of a failed consequence of pseudopsychology involving "facilitators" helping children with autism to communicate through pointing. But the facilitators were consciously and subconsciously creating the messages.
Experimental psychologists
Psychologists who do research on basic psychological processes - as contrasted with applied psychologists; also called research psychologists.
Teachers of psychology
psychologists whose primary job is teaching, typically in high schools, colleges, and universities.
Applied psychologists
psychologists who use the knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems
Psychiatry
A medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
Structuralism
A historical school of psychology devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought. Structuralists sought the "elements" of conscious experience. Founded by Wilhelm Wundt
Introspection
the process of reporting on one's own conscious mental experience
Functionalism
A historical school of psychology that believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function. Founded by William James.
Gestalt psychology
A historical school of psychology that sought to understand how the brain works by studying perception and perceptual learning. Gestalt psychologists believed that percepts consist of meaningful wholes.
Behaviorism
A historical school (as well as a modern perspective) that has sought to make psychology an objective science that focused only on behavior - to the exclusion of mental processes.
Psychoanalysis
An approach to psychology based on Sigmund Freud's assertions, which emphasize unconscious processes. The term is used to refer broadly both to Freud's psychoanalytic theory and to his psychoanalytic treatment method.
Biological view
The psychological perspective that searches for the causes of behavior in the functioning of genes, the brain and nervous system, and the endocrine (hormone) system.
Neuroscience
the field devoted to understanding how the brain creates thoughts, feelings, motives, consciousness, memories, and other mental processes
Evolutionary psychology
a relatively new specialty in psychology that sees behavior and mental processes in terms of their genetic adaptations for survival and reproduction
Developmental view
the psychological perspective emphasizing changes that occur across the lifespan.
Cognitive view
the psychological perspective emphazsizing mental processes, such as learning, memory, perception, and thinking, as forms of information processing
Cognitions
mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception
Cognitive neuroscience
A hybrid field emphasizing brain activity as information processing
Clinical view
the psychological perspective emphasizing mental health and mental illness. Psychodynamic and humanistic psychology are variations on the clinical view.
Psychodynamic psychology
A clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts
Humanistic psychology
A clinical viewpoint emphasizing human ability, growth, potential and free will
Behavioral view
a psychological perspective that finds the source of our actions in environmental stimuli, rather than in inner mental processes
Trait view
a psychological perspective that views behavior and personality as the products of enduring psychological characteristics
Sociocultural view
A psychological perspective emphasizing the importance of social interaction, social learning, and a cultural perspective
Culture
a complex blend of language, beliefs, customs, values, and traditions developed by a group of people and shared with others in the same environment
Scientific method
a five-step process for empirical investigation of a hypothesis under conditions designed to control biases and subjective judgments
Empirical investigation
an approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research data
Theory
a testable explanation for a set of facts or observations. In science, a theory is not just speculation or a guess.
Hypothesis
a statement predicting the outcome of a scientific study; a statement describing the relationship among variables in a study.
Operational definitions
specific descriptions of concepts involving the conditions of a scientific study. Operational definitions are stated in terms of how the concepts are to be measured or what operations are being employed to produce them
Independent variable
a stimulus condition so named because the experimenter changes it independently of all the other carefully controlled experimental conditions
Random presentation
a process by which chance alone determines the order in which the stimulus is presented
Data
pieces of information, especially information gathered by a researcher to be used in testing a hypothesis
Dependent variable
the measured outcome of a study; the responses of the subjects in a study
Replicate
in research this refers to doing a study over to see whether the same results are obtained. As a control for bias, replication is often done by someone other than the researcher who performed the original study.
Experiment
A kind of research in which the researcher controls all the conditions and directly manipulates the conditions, including the independent variable
Placebo
Substances that appear to be drugs but are not. Placebos are often referred to as "sugar pills" because they might contain only sugar, rather than a real drug. Placebos cause a placebo effect in many people who take them.
Experimental group
Participants in an experiment who are exposed to the treatment of interest
Control group
participants who are used as a comparison for the experimental group. The control group is not given the special treatment of interest
Random assignment
a process used to assign individuals to various experimental conditions by chance alone
Correlational study
a form of research in which the relationship between variables is studied, but without the experimental manipulation of an independent variable
Positive correlation
A correlation coefficient indicating that the variables change simultaneously in the same direction: as one grows larger or smaller, the other grows or shrinks in a parallel way
Negative correlation
A correlation coefficient indicating that the variables change simultaneously in opposite directions: as one becomes larger, the other gets smaller
Survey
A technique used in descriptive research, typically involving seeking people's responses to a prepared set of verbal items
Naturalistic observation
a form of descriptive research involving behavioral assessment of people or animals in their home surroundings
Case study
Research involving a single individual (or, at most, a few individuals)
Personal bias
the researcher allowing personal beliefs to affect the outcome of a study
Expectancy bias
the researcher allowing his or her expectations to affect the outcome of a study
Double-blind study
an experimental procedure in which both researchers and participants are uninformed about the nature of the independent variable being administered