Apsych

• empiricism


  the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

  
• structuralism


  an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind

  
• functionalism


  a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish

  
• experimental psychology


  the study of behavior and thinking using the (scientific) experimental method

  
• behaviorism


  the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

  
• humanistic psychology


  historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

  
• psychology


  the science of behavior and mental processes

  
• nature-nurture issue


  the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

  
• natural selection


  the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival with most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

  
• level of analysis


  the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

  
• biopsychosocial approach


  an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

  
• biological psychology


  a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes

  
• evolutionary psychology


  the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection

  
• psychodynamic psychology


  a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

  
• behavioral psychology


  the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

  
• cognitive psychology


  the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicatin

  
• social-cultural psychology


  the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

  
• psychometrics


  the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

  
• basic research


  pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

  
• developmental psychology


  the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

  
• educational psychology


  the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

  
• personality psychology


  the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting

  
• social psychology


  the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

  
• applied research


  scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

  
• industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology


  the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

  
• human factors psychology


  the study of how people and machines interact and the design of safe and easily used machines and environments

  
• counseling psychology


  a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

  
• clinical psychology


  a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

  
• psychiatry


  a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy

  
• SQ3R Method


  method which includes survey, questions,

  read, recite and review reading passage

  
• testing effect


  enhanced memory after retrieving (for a test), rather than simply rereading, information

  
• community psychology


  a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

  
• positive psychology


  the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

  
• cognitive neuroscience


  the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

  
• hindsight bias


  The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
• double blind procedure


  An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

  
• independent variable


  The experimental factor that is manipulated--the variable whose effect is being studied
• dependent variables


  The outcome factor -- the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable
• mode


  The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution
• mean


  The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtaining by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores