What is meant by population in psychological research?

In psychological research, the term "population" refers to the entire group of individuals that researchers are interested in studying and drawing conclusions about. This could encompass all individuals within a certain demographic, such as adults, teenagers, patients with a specific diagnosis, or any other defined group that shares common characteristics relevant to the research question.

Understanding the population is crucial because it sets the context for generalizing the research findings. When researchers conduct studies, they often collect data from a smaller sample that represents the broader population. This allows them to make inferences regarding the population based on the results of their sample.

The other options describe different aspects of research design but do not accurately capture the concept of population. A specific sample used in studies is merely a subset of the population, while a randomly chosen subset of participants refers to sampling methods rather than the population itself. The control group typically comprises participants in an experiment who do not receive the treatment and are compared against those who do receive it, further illustrating that it constitutes a small portion of the broader population rather than the whole group of interest.