Psychology 2035A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Dependent And Independent Variables, Clinical Psychology, Empiricism

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2035A/B
• Professor: John Campbell

Document Summary

Psychology: the science that studies behavior and the physiological and mental processes that underlie it. The profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems. Behavior: any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism. Clinical psychology: the branch of psychology concerned with the diagnosis and treatmen of psychological problems and disorders. Adjustment: refers to the psychological processes through which people manage or cope with the demands and challenges of everyday life. Empiricism: the premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation. Experiment: a research method in which the investigator manipulates one (independent) variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second (dependent) variable as a result. Independent variable: a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable (variable being controlled or manipulated) Dependent variable: the variable that is thought to be effected by the manipulation of the independent variable (the outcome)