Psychology final

• Double-blind procedure


  Research method where neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment. Used to avoid bias from expectations, ensuring that the outcomes are not influenced by either party's preconceptions.
• Operational Definitions


  Precise definitions of how variables will be measured or manipulated in a study. For example, defining "stress" in a study as a specific score on a stress questionnaire.
• Independent Variable (IV)


  What the researcher manipulates. For instance, the type of music played during a test.
• Dependent Variable (DV)


  What the researcher measures to see if it is affected by changes in the IV. In our example, this could be the test scores.
• Confounding Variables


  Factors other than the IV that might affect the DV, potentially making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions about cause and effect. Random assignment helps control for these variables.
• Random Assignment


  Randomly allocating participants to different groups to ensure that each group is similar at the start of the experiment. It helps improve internal validity, which is about establishing cause and effect within the study.
• Internal Validity


  How well a study can demonstrate a causal relationship between variables.
• External Validity


  How generalizable the study's findings are to real-world settings.
• Rosenthal Effect


  Also known as the experimenter expectancy effect, this is when researchers' expectations influence participants' behavior. Double-blind procedures help prevent this.
• Survey Research


  Surveys can be biased by social desirability bias, where participants give answers they think are socially acceptable rather than truthful ones.
• Case Studies


  In-depth analyses of an individual or group. They provide detailed information but are limited in how generalizable their findings are.
• Weber's Law


  The principle that the just noticeable difference (JND) for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus. For example, noticing a difference in weight depends on how heavy the objects are to begin with.
• Transduction


  The process by which sensory stimuli are converted into neural signals that the brain can interpret.
• Inattentional Blindness


  Failing to notice a fully visible object because your attention is engaged elsewhere. For example, not seeing a person in a gorilla suit walk through a basketball game while you are focused on counting passes.
• Subliminal Perception


  The processing of information by sensory systems without conscious awareness. For instance, brief, undetectable stimuli can influence behavior and attitudes.
• Broadbent's Filter Model


  Proposes that information is filtered early based on physical characteristics before it is processed for meaning.
• Treisman's Attenuation Model


  Suggests that unattended messages are weakened (attenuated) but not completely filtered out.
• Deutsch and Deutsch Late Selection Model


  All stimuli are processed for meaning before selection occurs.
• Top-Down Processing


  Guided by knowledge, expectations, and experiences. For example, interpreting ambiguous stimuli based on prior knowledge.
• Bottom-Up Processing


  Driven by sensory input, building up from the smallest pieces of sensory information.
• Classical Conditioning


  A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response. For instance, a dog salivating when it hears a bell if the bell has been repeatedly paired with food.
• Operant Conditioning


  A learning process where the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. For example, a rat learning to press a lever to receive food.
• Behaviorism


  This perspective focuses on observable behaviors and how they are learned through interaction with the environment. It emphasizes the importance of reinforcement and punishment.
• Encoding


  The process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory.
• Storage


  The process of maintaining information in memory over time.
• Retrieval


  The process of accessing stored information when it is needed.
• Confirmation Bias


  The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one's pre-existing beliefs.
• Availability Heuristic


  Making decisions based on how easily examples come to mind. For instance, fearing plane crashes more than car accidents because plane crashes are more memorable.
• Representativeness Heuristic


  Judging the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype. For example, assuming someone who is quiet and loves books is a librarian rather than a salesperson.
• Anchoring Bias


  Relying too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the "anchor") when making decisions. For instance, basing salary negotiations on an initial offer.
• System 1


  Fast, automatic, intuitive thinking. For example, recognizing a familiar face in a crowd.
• System 2


  Slow, deliberate, rational thinking. For example, solving a complex math problem.
• Milgram's Obedience Study demonstrated people's willingness to obey authority figures even when asked to perform actions conflicting with their personal conscience.
• Asch's Conformity Experiments showed the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could influence an individual to conform.
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory


  The mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values.
• Endowment Effect


  The tendency for people to ascribe more value to things merely because they own them.
• PERMA Model


  Developed by Martin Seligman; stands for Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.
• Cocktail Party Effect


  The ability to focus on one auditory stimulus while filtering out others.
• Task Interference


  The decline in performance on a primary task due to the presence of a secondary task.
• Change Blindness


  The failure to notice large changes in one's environment.