Chapter 1: "thinking Critically With Psychological Science" - Psychology, Myers 9Th Edition

Front 1

hindsight bias

Back 1

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it; "knew-it-all-along" phenomenon.

Front 2

scientific attitude
[comprised of 3 main components]

Back 2

curiosity, skepticism, humility before nature.

"a curious eagerness to skeptically scrutinize competing ideas and an open-minded humility before nature."

Front 3

critical thinking

Back 3

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions.

Front 4

theory

Back 4

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

Front 5

hypothesis

Back 5

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Front 6

operational definition

Back 6

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables.

Front 7

replication

Back 7

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.

Front 8

case study

Back 8

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

Front 9

survey

Back 9

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

Front 10

population

Back 10

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

Front 11

random sample

Back 11

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

Front 12

naturalistic observation

Back 12

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

Front 13

correlation

Back 13

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Front 14

correlation coefficient

Back 14

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (+1 to -1)

Front 15

scatterplots

Back 15

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables.

Front 16

negative correlation

Back 16

two sets of scores relate "inversely," meaning one set goes up as the other goes down.

Front 17

positive correlation

Back 17

two sets of scores rise and fall together.

Front 18

illusory correlation

Back 18

the perception of a relationship where none exists.

Front 19

experiment

Back 19

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable).

Front 20

random assignment

Back 20

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups.

Front 21

double-blind procedure

Back 21

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo.

Front 22

placebo effect

Back 22

Latin for "I shall please;"
results caused by expectations alone.

Front 23

experimental group

Back 23

in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Front 24

control group

Back 24

in an experiment, the group that is NOT exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Front 25

double-blind procedure

Back 25

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo.

Front 26

independent variable

Back 26

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Front 27

dependent variable

Back 27

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulation of the _________ variable.

Front 28

mode

Back 28

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

Front 29

experimental group

Back 29

in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Front 30

mean

Back 30

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

Front 31

median

Back 31

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

Front 32

range

Back 32

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Front 33

standard deviation

Back 33

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean (average) score.

Front 34

skewed distribution

Back 34

when a few extremes "skew" the fulcrum point of a distribution.

Front 35

statistical significance

Back 35

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

Front 36

normal curve
(normal distribution)

Back 36

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data. Most scores fall near the mean (average) [68% fall within one standard deviation of it] and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

Front 37

culture

Back 37

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