ap psych - methods of psychology (cont.)

Random Assignment

A method of assigning participants to conditions such that each participant has an equal chance of being placed into experimental groups. It is the process by which the participants are put into either an experimental or a control group.

Experimenter Bias

The unconcious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis.

Double-Blind Procedure

Method followed such that neither the particpants nor the researcher are aware of who is in the experimental or control groups while the experiment is going on. Controls for both experimenter bias and participant bias.

Participant Bias (Response Bias)

Tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways based on their perception of an experiment.

Hawthorne Effect

Being selected to be in a group of people to participate in an experiment will affect the performance of that group, regardless of what is done to those individuals.

Correlation

A statistical measure of a relationship between two variables. Does not imply causation: Just because two variables are \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* does not mean that one variable causes the other.

Scatter Plot

A graph of correlated data. Graphs pairs of values, one on the y-axis and one on the x-axis.

Survey Method

Involves asking people to fill out surveys. Often used to gather opinions or attitudes and for the correlation research.

Naturalistic Observation

Research method that involves observing participants in their natural habitats without interacting with them. The goal is to get a realistic and rich picture of the participants’ behavior. Cannot establish cause and effect relationships between variables.

Case Study

A research method used to get a full, detailed picture of one participant or a small group of participants.

Descriptive Statistics

Ways of describing a set of data. Measures of central tendency are a common \[word word\]. Three common measures of central tendency are the mean, median, and mode.

Measures of Variability

A type of descriptive statistical measure that attempts to depict the diversity of the distribution. Range, variance, and standard deciation are \[word word word\]

Inferential Statistics

Statistics that can determine whether or not findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected.

Statistical Significance

Scientists have decided that 5 percent (0.05) is the cutoff for statistically significant results. This means that in a statistically significant experimental result, there is less than a 5 percent chance that the results occured by chance.

APA Ethical Guidelines for Human Research

Established ethical guidelines for human and animal research. Coercion/informed consent/confidentiality/lack of risk/debriefing procedures

APA Ethical Guidelines for Animal Research

Have a clear scientific purpose/care for and house animals in a human way/acquire animal subjects legally/design expereimental procedures that employ the least amount of suffering feasible.

Cohort-sequential study

A research method in which a cross section of the population is chosen and then each cohort is followed for a short period of time.