Psychology Research Jargon You Should Know

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At a Glance

There are specific terms and phrases that researchers use when they do psychological studies. Knowing the definitions of these words will help you understand how psychology research is done.

Psychologists use different research methods to investigate the human mind and behavior. The words that they use to design and report their studies can be very complex. You’ll find it easier to understand research papers if you know some key terms used in psychology.

Here are some examples of common psychology jargon, terminologies, vocabulary, and concepts that every psychology student should know.

Applied Research

Applied research focuses on solving practical problems. Rather than focusing on developing or investigating theoretical questions, researchers are interested in finding solutions to problems that impact daily life.

For example, researchers could investigate which treatments for a mental health condition led to the best outcomes. This research is directly applicable and can help people improve their day-to-day lives.

Baseline

A baseline is the starting point of a study. It gives the researchers something to compare the results of their study to.

For example, if researchers are going to be testing a new therapy, they need to establish a baseline for the participants before the study starts.

They might do this by asking participants to fill out a questionnaire about their symptoms before they do the treatment. At the end of the study, the participants can be asked about their symptoms again.

By comparing participant responses before and after the study, the researchers could get an idea of whether the treatment was effective.

Basic Research

Basic research explores theories to expand the scientific knowledge base on a psychological subject. While this type of research contributes to our understanding of the human mind and behavior, it does not necessarily help solve immediate practical problems as applied research does.

Case Study

A case study is an in-depth narrative about a single person or group. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject’s life and history is analyzed to look for patterns and causes for their behavior.

Causation

Causation is when there is a clear, direct cause-and-effect relationship between two things. When one variable in a study is changed, it changes another.

To establish causation between variables, researchers have to make sure that other variables could not have been responsible for the change they observed (confounding variable).

Correlational Research

Correlational studies are used to look for relationships between variables. There are three possible results of a correlational study: a positive correlation, a negative correlation, and no correlation.

The correlation coefficient is a measure of correlation strength and can range from -1.00 to +1.00.

Cross-Sectional Research

Cross-sectional research is often used in developmental psychology but can also be used in social science, education, and other branches of science.

This type of study examines a "cross-section" of a population (for example, first through fifth graders) at a single point in time.

Demand Characteristic

A demand characteristic is a cue that makes participants aware of what the experimenter expects to find out in the study or how participants are expected to behave.

These cues can be subtle—for example, a survey that asks participants if a particular piece of music they’re listening to during the study made them feel calm could suggest to them that the researchers expect the music to be calming.

To avoid these cues, the question could have been “How did the music make you feel?” which would not have led the participants toward making a specific response.

Dependent Variable

The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured in an experiment. Researchers alter one or more independent variables and then measure the dependent variable(s) to see if there are any changes.

Double-Blind Study

A double-blind study is a type of study in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment.

This type of research design eliminates the possibility that the researchers will give subtle clues about what they expect to find or influence the behavior of the participants.

Experimental Method

The experimental method involves manipulating one variable to determine if changes in one variable cause changes in another.

This method helps researchers determine if cause-and-effect relationships exist between different variables.

Hawthorne Effect

The Hawthorne effect refers to the tendency of some people to work harder and perform better when they are taking part in a research experiment.

This can affect the study because people may change their behavior in response to the attention they are receiving from researchers rather than the manipulation of independent variables.

Independent Variable

The independent variable is the variable of interest that the researcher varies systematically. The researcher will check to see if changing the independent variable changes the dependent variable(s) in any way.

This process helps determine if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between two different variables.

Longitudinal Research

Longitudinal research examines long-term effects and relationships. These studies take place over an extended time, be it several weeks, years, or even decades.

For example, researchers can start with a study population of children and continue to observe them throughout their lives.

Naturalistic Observation

Naturalistic observation involves observing subjects in their natural environments. This type of research can be used when doing lab research would be unrealistic, cost-prohibitive, or have an unwanted effect on the subject's behavior.

An example of naturalistic observation in a psychology study would be observing how children play at recess rather than putting them in an exam room where they might be too uncomfortable, scared, or distracted to play as they normally do

Placebo

A placebo is also called a “sham treatment” because it does not have any effect. For example, when researchers are testing medications, they may give some patients real pills and other patients placebo pills that have no medicine in them (often, they are just sugar pills).

In some studies, the researchers know which group got a placebo and which did not. Other times, they don’t know which group got the placebo until after the study.

Sometimes, people taking a placebo report feeling better even though there was no real medicine in the pill they took. This is called the “placebo effect."

Punishment

A punishment is a negative consequence for a behavior that is intended to make the behavior less likely to happen again. Punishment is meant to act as a deterrent for unwanted behavior.

A classic example of a punishment is sending a child to “time out” when they misbehave.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research does not focus on numbers and data. Instead, it focuses on the experiences, behaviors, attitudes, ways of thinking, and belief systems that people have.

An example of qualitative research in psychology could be doing a series of interviews with people who went through a traumatic event to better understand how they feel about what happened.

Quasi-Experiment

A quasi-experiment involves changing an independent variable without randomly assigning participants to random groups. Often, this design is necessary because people are already in groups that can’t be changed.

For example, let’s say researchers want to compare smartphone use between people who identify as women and people who identify as men. People are already in groups according to their gender identity, so they cannot be randomly assigned to one or the other.

Random Assignment

Random assignment is when researchers use chance procedures to group participants in a study. This means that every participant has the same opportunity to be assigned to any group, rather than the researchers assigning patients to specific groups.

For example, researchers may randomly assign participants to groups in a study that compares two treatments.

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method researchers can use to look for relationships between dependent and independent variables in their study.

For example, researchers may use regression analysis to consider the variables that can affect a person’s risk for depression, such as their socioeconomic background, relationships, and genetics.

Reinforcement

Reinforcement is a consequence of a desired behavior that is meant to increase the chances that the behavior will continue or happen again.

A common example of reinforcement is rewarding a child for doing their chores.

Reliability

Reliability means the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if researchers get the same result repeatedly.

For example, if a test is designed to measure a trait (such as introversion), then each time the test is administered to a subject, the results should be approximately the same.

It is impossible to calculate reliability exactly. Instead, researchers use several different methods to estimate reliability.

Replication

Replication means the repetition of a research study, usually with different situations and subjects.

Replication helps researchers determine if the basic findings of the original study can also apply (be generalized) to other participants and circumstances.

Selective Attrition

In psychology experiments, selective attrition is the tendency of some people to be more likely to drop out of a study than others. This tendency can threaten the validity of a psychological experiment if it skews the results of the study.

Stimulus

A stimulus is something that causes a response, like an object, event, or circumstance.

One of the most well-known examples of a stimulus in psychology is the bell in Pavlov’s experiment with dogs.

The dogs began to associate the sound of the bell ringing (stimulus) with the arrival of their food. Eventually, they would salivate in anticipation of the meal every time they heard the bell.

Validity

Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure. A test needs to be valid to ensure the results can be accurately applied and interpreted.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. APA. Applied research.
2. APA. Baseline.
3. APA. Basic research.
4. APA. Case study.
5. APA. Causation.
6. APA. Confounding variable.
7. APA. Correlational research.
8. Heath W. Psychology Research Methods: Connecting Research to Students’ Lives. Cambridge University Press.
9. APA. Cross-sectional design.
10. APA. Demand characteristics.
11. APA. Dependent variable.
12. APA. Double-blind.
13. APA. Experimental method.
14. APA. Hawthorne effect.
15. APA. Independent variable.
16. APA. Longitudinal design.
17. APA. Naturalistic observation.
18. APA. Placebo.
19. APA. Punishment.
20. APA. Qualitative research.
21. APA. Quasi-experimental design.
22. APA. Random assignment.
23. APA. Regression analysis.
24. APA. Reinforcement.
25. APA. Reliability.
26. APA. Replication.
27. APA. Attrition.
28. APA. Stimulus.
29. APA. Validity.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd
Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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