Psychology Chapter 1

Front 1

hindsight bias

Back 1

the inclination to see events that have occurred as more predictable than they in fact were before they took place

Front 2

critical thinking

Back 2

examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and accesses conclusions

Front 3

the scientific method-
theory

Back 3

an explanation using an intergrated set of principals that organize observations and predicts behavior of events

Front 4

the scientific method-
hypothesis

Back 4

a testable prediction often implied by a theory

Front 5

scientific method-
operational definition

Back 5

a statement of the producers(operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Front 6

scientific method-
replication

Back 6

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

Front 7

case study

Back 7

one of the oldest research methods. psychologist study one individual in great depth in hope of revealing things true of us all

Front 8

false consensus effect

Back 8

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Front 9

population

Back 9

all cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a stud. (Except for national studies this does not refer to a country's whole population)

Front 10

random sampling

Back 10

a sample that fairly represents a population cuz 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 of which two factors vary together

Front 13

scatterplot

Back 13

a graphed cluster of dots. the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. ( little scatter means there is a high correlation)

Front 14

illusory correlation

Back 14

a perceived nonexistent correlation. helps explain many superstitious beliefs

Front 15

experiment

Back 15

enable researchers to on the possible effects of one or more factors by 1 manipulating the factors of interest and 2 holding constant other factors

Front 16

double blind

Back 16

where both the giver and receiver are ignorant whether the subject had the actual treatment or a placebo

Front 17

experimental condition

Back 17

the condition that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to on version of the independent variable

Front 18

control condition

Back 18

serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of treatment

Front 19

random assignment

Back 19

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance

Front 20

independent variable

Back 20

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

Front 21

dependent variable

Back 21

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Front 22

mode

Back 22

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Front 23

mean

Back 23

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

Front 24

median

Back 24

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

Front 25

range

Back 25

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Front 26

standard deviation

Back 26

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

Front 27

statistical significance

Back 27

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

Front 28

culture

Back 28

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