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45 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
empiricism
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the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation
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scientific method
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a set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas and evidence
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theory
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a hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon
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hypothesis
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a falsifiable prediction made by a theory
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empirical method
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a set of rules and techniques for observation
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operational definition
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a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms
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measure
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a device that can detect the condition to which an operational definition refers
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electromyograph (EMG)
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a device that measures muscle contractions under the surface of a person's skin
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validity
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the extent to which a measurement and a property are conceptually related
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reliability
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the tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing
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power
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the ability of a measure to detect the concrete conditions specified in the operational definition
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demand characteristics
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those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think they should
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naturalistic observation
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a technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments
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double-blind
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an observation whose true purpose is hidden both from the observer and the person being observed
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frequency distribution
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a graphical representation of measurements arranged by the number of times each measurement was made
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normal distribution
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a mathematically defined frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the middle
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mode
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the value of the most frequently observed measurment
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mean
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the average value of all the measurements
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median
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the value that is "in the middle"
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range
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the value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement
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standard deviation
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a statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution
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variable
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a property whose value can vary across individuals or over time
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correlation
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two variables are said to "be correlated" when variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other
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correlation coefficient
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a measure of the direction and strength of a correlation, which is signified by the letter r
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natural correlation
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a correlation observed in the world around us
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third-variable correlation
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the fact that two variables are correlated only because each is causally related to a third variable
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matched samples
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a technique whereby the participants in two groups are identical in terms of a third variable
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matched pairs
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a technique whereby each participant is identical to one other participant in terms of a third variable
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third-variable problem
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the fact that a causal relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from the naturally occurring correlation between them because of the ever-present possibility of third-variable correlation
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experiment
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a technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables
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manipulation
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the creation of an artificial pattern of variation in a variable in order to determine its causal powers
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independent variable
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the variable that is manipulated in an experiment
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experimental group
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the group of people who are treated in a particular way, as compared to the control group, in an experiment
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control group
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the group of people who are not treated in the particular way that the experimental group is treated in an experiment
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dependent variable
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the variable that is measured in a study
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self-selection
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a problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether he or she will be included in the experimental or control croup
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random assignment
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a procedure that uses a random event to assign people to the experimental or control group
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internal validity
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the characteristic of an experiment that establishes the causal relationship between variables
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external validity
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a property of an experiment in which the variables have been operationally defined in a normal, typical, realistic way
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population
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the complete collection of participants who might possibly be measured
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sample
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the partial collection of people drawn from a population
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case method
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a method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual
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random sampling
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a technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
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informed consent
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a written agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail
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debriefing
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a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study
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