Psychology key terms

A change in behaviour or thinking because of real or imagined group pressure.

An uncontrolled extraneous variable that varies systematically with the independent variable, providing an alternative explanation for the results.

The part of the mind containing thoughts and feelings a person is currently aware of.

An emotional or behavioural outcome following a person’s interpretation of an activating event.

Understanding that a quantity remains the same when its appearance changes, provided nothing is added or removed.

The ability to understand that the number of objects remains the same when their arrangement changes, provided none are added or removed.

Gregory’s explanation that perception is actively built from sensory information and knowledge gained through past experience.

The extent to which a measure captures the psychological concept it is intended to measure.

The surroundings in which information is learned or recalled; features of these surroundings can act as retrieval cues.

Numerical data that can take any value within a range, such as reaction time.

An observation usually conducted in a controlled environment, such as a laboratory, where the researcher can manipulate the independent variable.

The inward turning of both eyes when focusing on a nearby object; feedback from the eye muscles helps the brain judge distance.

Awareness of oneself and the surroundings in the present moment.

An association between two variables: their values vary together in a recognisable pattern.

Research that examines a relationship between measured variables without manipulating them. A correlation alone cannot establish cause and effect.

Varying the order of conditions across participants to balance order effects; for two conditions, half complete A then B and half complete B then A.

One of the two variables measured and compared in correlational research.

An observation in which participants are unaware of the researcher’s presence as an observer and do not know their behaviour is being studied.

Behaviour that breaks the law.

A trial in which the researcher creates the condition being investigated. In Asch’s study, the confederates unanimously gave an incorrect answer.

Research that compares different groups of people of different ages rather than following the same people as they grow older.

Collective behaviour involving a large number of people gathered in the same place at the same time.

A computerised tomography scan: an imaging technique that combines X-ray views to produce detailed cross-sectional images of brain structure.

Retrieving information with the help of a prompt or clue.

Using the standards of one culture to judge people from other cultures, potentially misinterpreting their experiences or behaviour.

The shared beliefs, customs and practices of a group of people.

A pattern of symptoms recognised and understood within a particular cultural setting.