Define Basic Psychology Terms Flashcards

An organized system of assumptions and principles that purports to explain and specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships.

A statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena; scientific hypotheses specify relationships among events or variables and are empirically tested.

: A precise definition of a term a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being defi nition. The principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen but also what will not happen.

The tendency to look for or pay attention only to the information that confirms one’s own belief. A group of subjects, selected from a population study, which matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex.

Methods that yield descriptions of behavior but not necessarily causal explanations.

A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated.

A study in which the researcher carefully and systematically observes and records behavior without interfering with the behavior; it may involve either naturalistic or laboratory observation.

Procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values.

In test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test

In test construction, established standards of performance.

In test construction, the consistency of scores derived from a test, from one time and place to another.

The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.

A shortcoming of findings derived from a sample of volunteers instead of a representative sample; the volunteers may differ from those who did not volunteer.

A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena.