Psychology General
Studies
Theories
Key Terms
General
100
Psychology is the (blank) study of human behaviour and mental processes. (what word goes in the blank space?)
Psychology is the SCIENTIFIC study of human behaviour and mental processes.
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
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and ...?
mental process / cognitive processes / cognition / internal processes (any of these terms is fine).
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
What 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 neurotransmitter (at least one was mentioned in activities in this introduction unit).
Serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline, epinephrine are all correct.
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
How do we decide if a theory is a good theory?
The theory needs to be Testable, Empirical supported, Applicable, Concepts are well defined, Unbiased and Predictive in nature.
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 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.
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
Imagine that you want to test if Rememberol really causes an increase in test scores. What are 6 possible extraneous variables that you to control for?
For example; noise level in the room, diet, prior knowledge, academic ability, interest in the subject, language, age, gender, the speed of reading the word list, day and time of the experiment, etc.
500
What is it called when we're not sure of the direction of influence in a relationship between two variables?
Bidirectional ambiguity
500
Name 4 chapters from our textbook 'IB Psychology'...
Possible answers: 1. Introduction 2. Criminology 3. Social influence 4. Post-traumatic stress disorder 5. Love & marriage 6. Quantitative research methods 7. The Internal assessment 8. Extension topics 9. Qualitative methods 10. Exam preparation 11. The Extended Essay
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