Psych Col. Test 1 Ch. 2

Front 1

correlation coefficient

Back 1

a measure of the nature and strength of the relationship between 2 variables

Front 2

descriptive statistics

Back 2

use mathematical procedures in an objective, uniform way to to describe different aspects of numerical data

Front 3

frequency distribution

Back 3

a summary of how frequently each of the various scores occurs

Front 4

inferential statistics

Back 4

use probability and theory to make sound decisions about which results might have occured simply through chance variation

Front 5

mean

Back 5

the statisic most often used to describe a set of data. the AVERAGE

Front 6

measure of central tendancy

Back 6

a representative score that can be used as an index of the most typical score obtained by a group of participants

Front 7

measures of variability

Back 7

statistics that describe the distribution of scores around some measure of central tendancy

Front 8

median

Back 8

the central score

Front 9

mode

Back 9

the score that occurs more often than any other

Front 10

normal curve

Back 10

a bell shaped, symmetrical curve

Front 11

correlation coefficient

Back 11

a measure of the nature and strength of the relationship between 2 variables

Front 12

descriptive statistics

Back 12

use mathematical procedures in an objective, uniform way to to describe different aspects of numerical data

Front 13

frequency distribution

Back 13

a summary of how frequently each of the various scores occurs

Front 14

inferential statistics

Back 14

use probability and theory to make sound decisions about which results might have occured simply through chance variation

Front 15

mean

Back 15

the statisic most often used to describe a set of data. the AVERAGE

Front 16

range

Back 16

the difference between the highest and lowest values in a frequency distribution

Front 17

significant difference

Back 17

probability that the difference might be due to chance is less than 5 in 100

Front 18

standard deviation

Back 18

a measure of variability that indicates the average difference between the scores and their mean

Front 19

behavioral measures

Back 19

ways to study overt actions and observable and recordable reactions

Front 20

between-subject designs

Back 20

randomly assigned groups to either experimental or control conditions

Front 21

case study

Back 21

study of one individual or a small group

Front 22

confounding variable

Back 22

something which is not purposely introduced into an experiment, and changes a participants behavior and adds confusion to interpretation of the data

Front 23

control procedures

Back 23

methods that attempt to hold constant all variables and conditions other than those related to the hypothesis being tested

Front 24

correlational methods

Back 24

used to determine to what extent 2 variables , traits, or attributes are related.

Front 25

positive correlation

Back 25

+1 : as one set of scores increases, so does the other

Front 26

negative correlation

Back 26

-1 :if one set of scores increases, the other decreases

Front 27

no correlation

Back 27

0.0 : scores closer to zero mean there is weak or no realtionship between the scores

Front 28

debriefing

Back 28

the researcher provides as much information about the study as possible, and makes sure that no one leave feeling upset, confused, or embarrassed

Front 29

dependant variable

Back 29

what the experimentor measures

Front 30

determinism

Back 30

all events physical, mental, and behavioral, are the result of, or determined by, specific casual factors

Front 31

double-blind control

Back 31

both experimentors and subjects are unaware of which participants get which treatment

Front 32

expectancy effects

Back 32

whena researcher subtly communicated to the subjects the behaviors they expect to find, producing their dsired reaction

Front 33

experimental methods

Back 33

maipulating an independant variable to look for an effect on a dependant variable

Front 34

independant variable

Back 34

the factor that the researcher manipulates

Front 35

observer bias

Back 35

an error due to the personal motives and expectations of the veiwer

Front 36

operational definition

Back 36

standardizes meaning within an experiment , by defining a concept in terms of certain procedures used to measure it or define its prescence

Front 37

placebo control

Back 37

administering placebos

Front 38

placebo effect

Back 38

occurs when experimental participants change their behavior in the abscence of any experimental manipulation

Front 39

reliability

Back 39

the consistency or dependability of behavioral data resulting from psycological testing

Front 40

representative sample

Back 40

a representative sample of a population if it matches the overall characteristics of that population

Front 41

sample

Back 41

small sample of population

Front 42

scientific method

Back 42

a general set of procedures for gathering and interpreting evidence in ways that limit errors and provide dependable conclusions

Front 43

self-report measures

Back 43

verbal answers, either written or spoken, to questions the researcher poses

Front 44

standarization

Back 44

using unifrom, consistent procedures in all phases of data collection

Front 45

theory

Back 45

an organized set of concepts that explain a phenomenon

Front 46

validity

Back 46

the info. produced by research accurately measures the psychological quaility it's intended to

Front 47

variable

Back 47

any factor that varies in amount or kind

Front 48

within-subjects design

Back 48

uses each participant as his or her own control
ex: infant changing emotion based on facial expression