The science of Psychology is concerned with helping and improving people's lives.
Mass hysteria is an unusually dramatic example of how people do things that seem strange.
The science of psychology is dedicated to answering questions about why people think, feel, and act the way they do.
The broad range questions is psychology are addressed by a broad range point of views. These are called perspectives, or way of seeing and questioning.
Humanistic and positive psychology, cognitive-behavioral psychology, behavioral psychology, biopsychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology are all perspectives within psychology.
Correlation and Causation are two things that are related (for example, the sun comes up and the ground gets warmer).
Positive, negative, and weak correlations are often misunderstood.
Sometimes there is situations where there is non correlation. Other times correlation provide examples of possible hidden variables.
To prove causation, you must do an experiment in which you make changes in a variable to see what happens. For example, experiments have proven that exericse reduces depression.
Observational studies is a study that observes the world without trying to change anything.
An observational study has its own version of a prime directive, which is to try and learn how people really act, without a scientist's influence.
Many observational studies use a survey. These are a type of observational study based on asking people questions. For a survey to be accurate, it must interview a sample of people that represents the whole population.
Do think lazy people need to get jobs so they don't have to collect government assistance? This is an example of a biased survey question.
The term psychological experiment can bring to mind many scary images. For instance, experiments have shown the best ways to help people relax and to improve their relationship.
Like observational studies, experiments are designed around variables. Experiments have two types of variables. The independent variable is controlled directly by the researcher. The dependent is not directly controlled.
All research institutions, along with all agencies and organizations that grant funding for research, require that experiment designs be reviewed by a panel of experts in science and ethics before allowing the study to proceed. The panels are usually called the Institutional Review Board, or IRB.