Psychology Chapter 2

Front 1

a procedure for gathering scientific information by studying a single individual

Back 1

Case Method

Front 2

the group of people who are exposed to a particular manipulation, as compared to the experimental group, in an experiment

Back 2

Control Group

Front 3

two variables are said to “covary” or be “correlated” when variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other

Back 3

Correlation

Front 4

a mathematical measure of both the direction and strength of a correlation, which is symbolized by the letter “r”

Back 4

Correlation Coefficient

Front 5

a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study

Back 5

Debriefing

Front 6

those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects

Back 6

Demand Characteristics

Front 7

the variable that is measured in a study

Back 7

Dependent Variable

Front 8

an observation whose true purpose is hidden from both the observer and the person being observed

Back 8

Double-Blind

Front 9

a set of rules and techniques for observation

Back 9

Empirical Method

Front 10

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

Back 10

Empiricism

Front 11

a technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables

Back 11

Experiment

Front 12

the group of people who are exposed to a particular manipulation, as compared to the control group, in an experiment

Back 12

Experiment Group

Front 13

an attribute of an experiment in which variables have been defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way

Back 13

External Validity

Front 14

a graphical representation of measurements arranged by the number of times each measurement was made

Back 14

Frequency Distribution

Front 15

a falsifiable prediction made by a theory

Back 15

Hypothesis

Front 16

the variable that is manipulated in an experiment

Back 16

Independent Variable

Front 17

a written agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail

Back 17

Informed Consent

Front 18

anything that can detect the condition to which an operational definition refers

Back 18

Instrument

Front 19

an attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships

Back 19

Internal Validity

Front 20

changing a variable in order to determine its causal power

Back 20

Manipulation

Front 21

a technique whereby each participant is identical to one other participant in terms of a third variable

Back 21

Matched Pairs Technique

Front 22

a technique whereby the participants in two groups are identical in terms of a third variable

Back 22

Matched Samples Technique

Front 23

the average value of all the measurements

Back 23

Mean

Front 24

the value that is in the middle, that is, greater than or equal to half the measurements and less than or equal to half the measurements

Back 24

Median

Front 25

the value of the most frequently observed measurement

Back 25

Mode

Front 26

a correlation observed in the world around us

Back 26

Natural Correlation

Front 27

a technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments

Back 27

Naturalistic Observation

Front 28

a mathematically defined distribution in which the frequency of measurements is highest in the middle and decreases symmetrically in both directions

Back 28

Normal Distribution

Front 29

a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms

Back 29

Operational Definition

Front 30

a complete collection of participants who might possibly by measured

Back 30

Population

Front 31

an instrument’s ability to detect small magnitudes of the property

Back 31

Power

Front 32

a procedure that lets chance assign people to the experimental or control group

Back 32

Random Assignment

Front 33

a technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has unequal chance of being included in the sample

Back 33

Random Sampling

Front 34

the value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement

Back 34

Range

Front 35

the tendency for an instrument to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing

Back 35

Reliability

Front 36

a partial collection of people drawn from a population

Back 36

Sample

Front 37

a procedure for finding truth by using empirical evidence

Back 37

Scientific Method

Front 38

a problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether he or she will be included in the experimental or control group

Back 38

Self-Selection

Front 39

a statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution

Back 39

Standard Deviation

Front 40

a hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon

Back 40

Theory

Front 41

two variables are correlated only because each is causally related to a third variable

Back 41

Third-Variable Correlation

Front 42

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

Back 42

Third-Variable Problem

Front 43

the goodness with which a concrete event defines a property

Back 43

Validity

Front 44

a property whose value can vary across individuals or over time

Back 44

Variable