Psychological Perspectives
Focuses exclusively on observable actions, conditioning, and environmental reinforcements rather than internal mental states.
What is behaviorism?
An in-depth observational technique used to gather detailed information about a single individual or small group.
What is a case study?
A statistical calculation ranging from -1.00 to +1.00 that indicates the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.
What is a correlation coefficient?
The primary division of the nervous system consisting exclusively of the brain and the spinal cord.
What is the central nervous system (CNS)?
Dr. Vance hypotheses that "watching violent cartoons increases child aggression." To test this scientifically, propose one valid way he could operationally define the variable "aggression."
What is any tangible way to quantify aggression?
Applies principles of natural selection to explain how specific behavioral traits evolved over generations to promote survival.
What is the evolutionary perspective?
A sample selection procedure where every member of a target population has an equal chance of being selected.
What is random sampling?
Calculated by summing all scores and dividing by the total count, this measure of central tendency is highly sensitive to extreme outliers.
What is the mean?
The branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for the "rest and digest" response, calming the body and slowing heart rate.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
This movement sought to encourage the reproduction of people with desirable traits (positive eugenics) and reduce the reproduction of those with undesirable traits (negative eugenics).
What is Eugenics?
Explains human behavior through unconscious drives, repressed desires, and unresolved childhood conflicts.
What is the psychodynamic (or psychoanalytic) perspective?
The factor in an experiment that the researcher directly manipulates to observe its effect.
What is the independent variable?
The simplest measure of variation, calculated by subtracting the lowest score from the highest score in a distribution.
What is the range?
The branch of the autonomic nervous system that is activated when watching a video of an idiotic climber.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
These twins share 100% genetic similarities and are used in twin studies to isolate the role of genetic influences from environmental ones.
What are monozygotic twins?
Examines how mental processes—such as encoding, storing, retrieving, and processing information—influence behavior.
What is the cognitive perspective?
An experimental control procedure in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who received the real treatment or placebo.
What is a double-blind study?
A standard calculation measuring how much individual scores spread out or deviate around the mean of a data set.
What is standard deviation?
The subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles.
What is the somatic nervous system?
On a scale of one to ten, with one being lame and ten being "Wow, this guy is really cool. I want him to sign my t-shirt", this is how cool Mr. Lucas is.
What is ten?
Emphasizes individual potential, self-actualization, personal free will, and unconditional positive regard.
What is the humanistic perspective?
An unintended external variable that systematically varies alongside the independent variable, clouding experimental results.
What is a confounding variable?
The cognitive bias of perceiving a relationship between two variables when no actual statistical correlation exists.
What is an illusory correlation?
Specialized neurons that carry outgoing commands away from the brain/central nervous system to muscles and glands.
What are efferent (or motor) neurons?
The field studying how environmental factors can turn genes "on" or "off" without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
What is epigenetics?