Psychology General
Studies
Theories
Key Terms
General
100

Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and ...?

mental process / cognitive processes / cognition / internal processes (any of these terms is fine).

100
What is the name of the variable that is measured in a study?
The dependent variable.
100
What is the name of one theory in psychology?
social cognitive theory, realistic group conflict theory, social identity theory (you may know others, but these are listed as examples on page 26 of the textbook).
100
What is the definition of "psychology?"
The scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes.
100
The group in an experiment that receives a treatment that is expected to have an effect is called the ....(what)... group?
Treatment group
200

What is one thing that can be both a behaviour and a mental process?

emotions, prejudice, studying

200
What is the name of the variable that is manipulated by the researcher/s in a study?
Independent variable
200
What do psychological theories and studies have in common?
They both try to explain how variables influence behaviour.
200
When one variable increases, so does the other. What's this called?
A positive correlation.
200
What is it called when you give someone a treatment (e.g. pill or injection) that has no biological effects, but may have an effect if the person believes it will?
A placebo.
300
In psychology, is anecdotal or empirical evidence more valuable?
Empirical
300
What is the name given to a variable that might affect the dependent variable, but is not what the researchers are interested in studying?
Extraneous variable.
300
Why is one reason why it's important to understand the relationship between studies and theories?
One reason is because studies form the important pieces of evidence that support the theories.
300
When one variable increases, the other decreases. What is this called?
Negative correlation.
300
Name one part of the brain that we will study in Criminology in our second unit (at least one part of the brain was mentioned in activities in the workbook)
frontal lobe or prefrontal cortex are both acceptable answers, as is the amygdala.
400
In the scientific approach to studying psychology, after we gather data and form a hypothesis, what's the next step?
Test the hypothesis.
400
Why are laboratory experiments used to investigate causational relationships?
Because extraneous variables can be controlled in a laboratory, so the IV can be isolated as the only variable influencing the DV.
400
What are two models in psychology?
The working memory model, the multi-store model of memory, the dual processing model of decision making (there are others, but these are the key ones in IB Psychology: A Student's Guide).
400
What is a "phenomenon" in psychology?"
Anything that is commonly observed, especially if there is some uncertainty about its origin. Basically, if people commonly act or think in a particular way, it probably has a name and is an example of a phenomenon.
400
Name one neurotransmitter (at least one was mentioned in activities in this introduction unit).
Serotonin. Others include acetylcholine and dopamine.
500
What is the difference between a mental process and a cognitive process?
There is none.
500
What are two reasons why we might not be able to conclude a causational relationship from a study?
1) There are too many extraneous or confounding variables. 2) We do not know the direction of the relationship in the study (i.e. which variable is affecting which).
500
What is the difference between a psychological theory and a model?
Whereas a psychological theory attempts to explain relationships between variables and behaviour, a model describes how a particular psychological phenomenon happens - there is not necessary an explanation for the phenomenon in a model, but it's component parts are just diagrammed or described.
500
What is it called when we're not sure of the direction of influence in a relationship between two variables?
Bidirectional ambiguity
500

Who were the researchers in the "car crash" study?

Loftis and Palmer

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