| behavior | Everything we do that can be directly observed. p. 7
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| behavioral approach | Emphasizes the scientific study of behavior and asserts that behavior is shaped by the environment. p. 23
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| case study | An in-depth look at a single individual. p. 14
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| cognitive dissonance | A concept developed by Festinger that refers to an individual's motivation to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) caused by two inconsistent thoughts. p. 512
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| control group | A comparison group that is treated in every way like the experimental group except for the manipulated factor. p. 14
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| correlational research | Research with the goal of describing the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics. p. 14
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| critical thinking | The process of thinking reflectively and productively, as well as evaluating evidence. p. 29
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| dependent variable | The factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable. p. 17
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| double-blind experiment | An experiment that is conducted so that neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the placebo control group until after the results are calculated. p. 18
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| evolutionary psychology approach | Emphasizes the importance of functional purpose and adaptation in explaining why behaviors are formed, are modified, and survive. p. 25
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| experimental group | A group in a research study whose experience is manipulated. p. 17
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| experimenter bias | The influence of the experimenter's own expectations on the outcome of the research. p. 18
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| humanistic movement | An emphasis on a person's capacity for personal growth, freedom to choose a destiny, and positive qualities. p. 26
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| hypothesis | An idea that is a testable prediction, often arrived at logically from a theory. p. 10
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| independent variable | The manipulated, influential, experimental factor in an experiment. p. 17
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| mental processes | The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly. p. 7
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| natural selection | The principle that the organisms that are best adapted to their environment are the most likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes to their offspring. p. 8
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| naturalistic observation | Observations of behavior in real-world settings with no effort made to manipulate or control the situation. p. 12
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| positive psychology movement | A strong emphasis on the experiences that people value subjectively (such as happiness), positive individual. p. 26
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| psychology | The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. p. 7
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| random assignment | Assignment of participants to experimental and control groups by chance. p. 18
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| research participant bias | The influence of research participants' expectations on their behavior within an experiment. p. 18
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| science | In psychology, the use of systematic methods to observe, describe, predict, and explain behavior. p. 7
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| social cognitive theory | States that behavior, environment, and person/cognitive factors are important in understanding personality. p. 364
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| sociocultural approach | Emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior. p. 25
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| standardized test | An oral or written assessment for which an individual receives a score indicating how the individual reponded relative to others. p. 12
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| theory | A broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempt to explain and predict observations. p. 9
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