AS PSYCHOLOGY
Individual and situational explanation: this is the debate about the relative
influence or interaction of a person’s unique physiology or personality (individual)
and the factors in the environment (situational) on thinking behavior.
Controlled/naturalistic observation: a controlled observation is where the
researcher watches and records the behavior of the participants in artificial
environment in contrast to in contrast to naturalistic observation that takes place
in the individual’s natural settings.
Nature: innate, genetic factors which influence behavior.
Nurture: environmental influences on behavior.
Inter-rater reliability: the extent to which two observers rate the same activity
which they have seen or heard in an interview in the same way. This is judged by a
correlation between the two ratings, which will be high if they are reliable.
Quasi-experiment: quasi means ‘almost’ and it refers to the fact that these
experiments have lots of control over the procedure, but not over how
participants are allocated to conditions.
Pilot study: a small scale test of the methods and the procedures to use on a
larger scale.
False memory: a piece of stored information an individual believe to be accurate
memory but is a consequence of later additional and untrue information.
Eyewitness testimony: evidence provided by a person who has seen a crime being
committed.
False positive response: giving an affirmation but incorrect answer to a question.
Model: a person who inspires or motivate other to imitate positive or negative
behavior.
, Social learning: the learning of a new behavior that is observed in a role model
and is imitated in the absence of the model.
Aggression: behavior aimed at harming others either physically or psychologically.
Socialization: the process of learning to behave in a socially acceptable way. This
may differ somewhat for two genders and in different cultures.
Localization of brain function: refer to the way particular brain areas are
responsible for different activities.
Mindfulness: is a state achieved through meditation that aims to increase
awareness of the present moment and enables a person to view themselves in a
compassionate non-judgemental way.
Ceiling effect: this occurs when a test is too easy and all the participants in a
condition achieves a very high score. It is problematic as it doesn’t allow the
researcher to differentiate between the results.
Foil: a foil is something that is used as a contrast to something else.
Sex-typed behavior: action that are typically performed by one particular sex and
are seen in society as more appropriate for that sex. For example, aggression is
seen as masculine-typed behavior and was more commonly imitated by boys in
the study.
Operant conditioning: learning through the consequences of our actions.
Positive reinforcer: a reward for behavior that fulfills a biological need is known as
primary positive reinforcer, a stimulus associated with primary positive reinforcer
can also be learned and is known as secondary reinforcer.
Positive reinforcement: a form of operant conditioning. It involves rewarding
desirable behavior to encourage it to be repeated. For example, praising a child
for saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to reinforce a positive behavior.
Secondary positive reinforcement (SPR) training: training in which a secondary
reinforcer such as sound marker is used and is followed with administration of a
positive reinforcer (typically food).
Individual and situational explanation: this is the debate about the relative
influence or interaction of a person’s unique physiology or personality (individual)
and the factors in the environment (situational) on thinking behavior.
Controlled/naturalistic observation: a controlled observation is where the
researcher watches and records the behavior of the participants in artificial
environment in contrast to in contrast to naturalistic observation that takes place
in the individual’s natural settings.
Nature: innate, genetic factors which influence behavior.
Nurture: environmental influences on behavior.
Inter-rater reliability: the extent to which two observers rate the same activity
which they have seen or heard in an interview in the same way. This is judged by a
correlation between the two ratings, which will be high if they are reliable.
Quasi-experiment: quasi means ‘almost’ and it refers to the fact that these
experiments have lots of control over the procedure, but not over how
participants are allocated to conditions.
Pilot study: a small scale test of the methods and the procedures to use on a
larger scale.
False memory: a piece of stored information an individual believe to be accurate
memory but is a consequence of later additional and untrue information.
Eyewitness testimony: evidence provided by a person who has seen a crime being
committed.
False positive response: giving an affirmation but incorrect answer to a question.
Model: a person who inspires or motivate other to imitate positive or negative
behavior.
, Social learning: the learning of a new behavior that is observed in a role model
and is imitated in the absence of the model.
Aggression: behavior aimed at harming others either physically or psychologically.
Socialization: the process of learning to behave in a socially acceptable way. This
may differ somewhat for two genders and in different cultures.
Localization of brain function: refer to the way particular brain areas are
responsible for different activities.
Mindfulness: is a state achieved through meditation that aims to increase
awareness of the present moment and enables a person to view themselves in a
compassionate non-judgemental way.
Ceiling effect: this occurs when a test is too easy and all the participants in a
condition achieves a very high score. It is problematic as it doesn’t allow the
researcher to differentiate between the results.
Foil: a foil is something that is used as a contrast to something else.
Sex-typed behavior: action that are typically performed by one particular sex and
are seen in society as more appropriate for that sex. For example, aggression is
seen as masculine-typed behavior and was more commonly imitated by boys in
the study.
Operant conditioning: learning through the consequences of our actions.
Positive reinforcer: a reward for behavior that fulfills a biological need is known as
primary positive reinforcer, a stimulus associated with primary positive reinforcer
can also be learned and is known as secondary reinforcer.
Positive reinforcement: a form of operant conditioning. It involves rewarding
desirable behavior to encourage it to be repeated. For example, praising a child
for saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to reinforce a positive behavior.
Secondary positive reinforcement (SPR) training: training in which a secondary
reinforcer such as sound marker is used and is followed with administration of a
positive reinforcer (typically food).
