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67 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Scientific Method
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method of investigation involving observation and theory to test scientific hypotheses
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Critical Thinking
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thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions; examines assumptions and evaluates evidence to develop valid conclusions
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Hypothesis
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testable prediction of the relationship between variables
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Theory
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integrated set of principles that explains, organizes, and predicts behaviors or events
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False Consensus Effect
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tendency for a person to think his/her own views are representative of a general consensus
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Operational Definitions
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statements about the procedures or operations used to define research variables
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Replication
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repeating a research study, often using participants in different situations to see if the basic findings extend to different people and circumstances
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Naturalistic Observation
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observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulating or controlling the situation; can be overt or covert
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Case Study
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observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in order to reveal universal principles; can also apply to a group of people studied as one entity or community
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Survey Method
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using questionnaires to a random sample in order to ascertain the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group
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Nonresponse Bias
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individuals who choose to respond to a survey are different from those who choose not to
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Social Desirability Bias
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tendency of respondents to reply in a matter that will be viewed favorably by others
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Sample
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subset of a population
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Random Sample (Random Selection)
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sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
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Population
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all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn
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Longitudinal Method
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research method in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period of time
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Cross-Sectional Method
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research method that involves observation of people of different ages in order to compare them
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Correlational Method
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study which measures the extent to which two factors are related to each other and how well one factor predicts the other
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Correlation Coefficient
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statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to 1)
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Scatterplot (Scattergram)
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graphed cluster of dots representing values of two variables; slope suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables; amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation
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Illusory Correlation
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seeing a relationship in a set of data even when no such relationship exists
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Experimental Method
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research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
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Field Experiment
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experiment done in a natural setting
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Laboratory Experiment
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experiment done in a setting controlled by the researcher
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Independent Variable
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experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is studied; the treatment
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Dependent Variable
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the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response manipulations of the independent variable
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Experimental Group (Experimental Condition)
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in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment or the independent variable
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Control Group (Control Condition)
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in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; serves as a comparison against the experimental group to evaluate the effect of the treatment
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Confounding Variables
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factors other than the independent variable which may cause a change in the dependent variable
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Experimenter Bias (Experimenter Expectancy Effect)
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researcher's expectations or preferences about an outcome of a study influence the results
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Participant Bias (Demand Characteristics)
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participants may act in ways they believe the researcher is looking for and so not naturally
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Single-Blind Procedure
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research design in which the participants don't know which group (experimental or control) they are in
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Double-Blind Procedure
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research design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know who is in which group
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Placebo
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a substance or condition that a participant accepts as medicine or therapy, but which has no specific therapeutic activity
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Placebo Effect
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experimental results that are caused by expectations alone
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Hawthorne Effect
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tendency of research subjects to act atypically as a result of their awareness of being studied, as opposed to any actual treatment that was administered
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Random Assignment
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division of the sample into groups so that each individual has an equal chance of being put into the experimental or control conditions
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Between-Subjects Design
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participants in the experimental group and the control group are different individuals
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Within-Subjects Design
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each participant in an experiment acts as his own control comparison
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Quasi-Experimentation
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research design similar to an experiment in which the participants cannot be randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups
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Informed Consent
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participants must be informed of the general procedure of a study and of their right to withdraw at any point if they choose; participants must give explicit consent to be included in a psychological study
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Freedom to Withdraw
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participants have the right to leave a study at any time or choose to withdraw their data from the results
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Deception
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participants should not be lied to; if the true nature of a study could be easily guessed or influence behavior, then slight deception may be used pending IRB approval; deception cannot change participants' willingness to participate in the study
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Debriefing
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participants must be informed of what the study was for, what data was collected from them, and the results of the study upon its completion
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Protection from Harm/"Do no Harm"
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participants cannot be harmed in any way; if any harm is involved it must be consented to
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Confidentiality
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when research data is shared, participants' names cannot be associated with it; participants must remain anonymous
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Animal Research
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animals do not have the same rights as people, but any pain or suffering must be as minimal as possible and justified by the purpose of the study; animals should be treated humanely and have good living conditions
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Institutional Review Board (IRB)
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group at an institution which will examine research proposals and decide if they are ethical or not
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Descriptive Statistics
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branch of statistics dealing with summarization and description of collections of data
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Histogram
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graphical display of numerical data in the form of upright bars, with the area of each bar representing frequency
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Frequency Polygon
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graphic display of the frequency of a phenomenon that uses straight lines and points
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Normal Distribution
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symmetric, bell-shaped curve
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Negatively Skewed Distribution
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distribution in which only a few of the data points are in the lower range of scores; typically in this distribution the mode>median>mean
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Positively Skewed Distribution
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distribution in which only a few of the data points are in the upper range of scores; typically in this distribution the mean>median>mode
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Z Score
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a measure of how many standard deviation units from the mean a particular value of data lies
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Percentile Rank
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percentage of scores in a frequency distribution which are lower or equal to a given individual performance
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Measures of Central Tendency
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description of the average or typical score for a set of research data or distribution
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Mode
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most frequently occurring score of a set of data
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Median
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the middle score of a data set, when the data is ordered by size
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Mean
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arithmetic average of a data set; determined by adding all scores and then dividing by the number of scores
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Measures of Variability
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description of the spread or dispersion of scores for a set or distribution
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Range
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largest score minus the smallest score
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Variance
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measure of statistical dispersion; a way to capture its scale or degree of being spread out; standard deviation squared
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Standard Deviation
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measures the average distance between each score and the mean of the data set; square root of the variance
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Inferential Statistics
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branch of statistics drawing conclusions about a population by using a random sample drawn from that population
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Statistical Significance (p)
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the condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is less than 1 in 20 (p<.05); results are likely due to manipulation of treatment and not due to random chance
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Meta-Analysis
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A statistical technique in which the results of numerous studies are combined in order to improve the reliability of the results
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