Psychology Basics
The scientific study of the mind and behavior
What is psychology
He established one of the first psychology laboratories and is associated with the beginning of psychology as a separate scientific discipline.
Who is Wilhelm Wundt
This field studies thoughts, memory, perception, problem-solving, and other mental processes
What is cognitive psychology
A precise description of how a researcher will measure or manipulate a variable
What is an operational definition
The variable that a researcher deliberately changes or manipulates
What is the independent variable
Psychology’s four goals are to describe, explain, predict, and this.
What is control or influence behavior?
This school attempted to understand conscious experience by breaking it into basic components
What is structuralism
This field studies physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development across the lifespan
What is developmental psychology
An in-depth investigation of one person, group, or situation
What is a case study
The outcome that the researcher measures
What is the dependent variable
This method gains knowledge through observation and experimentation rather than relying only on authority or logical argument
What is the empirical method
This psychologist supported functionalism and studied how mental activity helps organisms adapt to their environment
Who is William James
This field studies how people interact with and relate to other people
What is social psychology
Observing behavior in its normal environment without interfering
What is naturalistic observation
The group that receives the treatment or manipulation being tested
What is the experimental group
This process involves identifying a problem, forming a hypothesis, collecting data, analyzing results, and drawing conclusions
What is the scientific method
This perspective focuses on observable behavior rather than attempting to study consciousness directly
What is behaviorism
This field focuses on diagnosing and treating psychological disorders and problematic patterns of behavior
What is clinical psychology
A research method that collects information by asking participants questions
What is a survey
Placing participants into experimental or control groups by chance
What is random group assignment
A researcher must use evidence and critical thinking rather than personal beliefs or unsupported claims.
What is scientific reasoning
This perspective emphasizes the unconscious mind’s influence on conscious behavior
What is psychoanalytic theory
This field applies psychological science to issues involving the justice system
What is forensic psychology
A relationship between two variables that does not, by itself, prove that one variable causes the other
What is correlation
A procedure in which neither participants nor the researchers interacting with them know who received the treatment
What is the double-blind technique