Research Approaches
Research that focuses on one variable, and collecting data about the world as it is.
Descriptive Research
This perspective focuses on the causes and treatments of psychological disorders.
Clinical Psychology
The average of a group of scores.
Mean
The scientific study of mind and behavior.
Psychology
A researcher in this field might ask: what the most efficient way of learning a new skill?
Cognitive Psychology
The variable that you change in a research study to observe differences.
Independent Variable
This perspective studies the mental processes behind thinking, perception, learning, memory, etc...
Cognitive Psychology
The middle, or central number in a group of scores.
Median
Repeating a research study with the same population multiple times.
Replication
A researcher in this field might ask: Why can music make us feel happy or sad?
Emotional Psychology
Research that manipulates variables in a controlled environment to understand the effects.
Experimental Research
This perspective studies the biological underpinnings of how we think.
Biological Neuroscience Perspecitve
When there is a relationship between two variables that is measurable.
Correlation
Mental processes that we cannot directly observe.
Unconscious
A researcher in this field might ask: Why do we act differently when meeting new friends than we do with old friends?
Social Psychology
Research that measures two or more variables to understand the differences between them.
Correlational Research
This perspective examines how people change as they age.
Developmental Psychology
The amount of variability in a group of scores.
Standard Deviation
Evidence based on systematic observation and accurate measurement.
Empirical
A researcher in this field might ask: Why do humans generally enjoy sports and games?
Evolutionary Psychology
Ensuring each person in your population of interest has an equal chance of being selected for research.
Random Sampling
This perspective considers how values, rules, beliefs, and language affect our thoughts and preferences.
Cultural Psychology
The most common number in a group of scores.
Mode
Claims made about psychology that are not backed by evidence.
Pseudoscience
A researcher in this field might ask: How can we reduce the effects of childhood trauma?
Clinical Psychology