Ap Psychology 2015 Unit 2 Research Methods Period D

Front 1

hindsight bias

Back 1

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that you already knew it

Front 2

critical thinking

Back 2

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions but rather examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

Front 3

theory

Back 3

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Front 4

hypothesis

Back 4

a testable prediction often implied by a theory

Front 5

operational definition

Back 5

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Front 6

replication

Back 6

repeating the study usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Front 7

case study

Back 7

an observational technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Front 8

survey

Back 8

technique for gathering attitudes or behaviors of a specific group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Front 9

population

Back 9

all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

Front 10

random sample

Back 10

fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Front 11

naturalistic observation

Back 11

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Front 12

correlation

Back 12

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other (does not prove anything)

Front 13

correlation coefficient

Back 13

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (closer to one the stronger it is)

Front 14

scatterplot

Back 14

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the value of two variables. slope suggests the direction of relationship, amount of scatter suggests the strength of correlation.

Front 15

illusory correlation

Back 15

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Front 16

experiment

Back 16

research method in which you manipulate one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Front 17

random assignment

Back 17

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Front 18

double-blind procedure

Back 18

both the researchers staff, and the participants are ignorant about whether the participants have the treatment or the placebo

Front 19

placebo effect

Back 19

experimental results caused by expectations alone

Front 20

experimental group

Back 20

the group that in exposed to the treatment, to one version of the IV

Front 21

control group

Back 21

the group that is not exposed to the treatment, serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Front 22

independent variable

Back 22

the factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied

Front 23

confounding variable

Back 23

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Front 24

dependent variable

Back 24

the outcome factor, the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the IV

Front 25

descriptive research method

Back 25

to observe and record behavior

Front 26

correlational research method

Back 26

to detect naturally occurring relationships, to asses how well one variable predicts another

Front 27

experimental research method

Back 27

to explore cause and effect

Front 28

mode

Back 28

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Front 29

mean

Back 29

average

Front 30

median

Back 30

the middle score

Front 31

range

Back 31

the difference between the highest and lowest scores

Front 32

standard deviation

Back 32

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Front 33

normal curve

Back 33

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data, most scores fall near the mean

Front 34

statistical significance

Back 34

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Front 35

culture

Back 35

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Front 36

informed consent

Back 36

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Front 37

debriefing

Back 37

the postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants