Unit 1: Part 2 Psych Terms

hindsight bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.

replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

sampling bias

A flawed sampling process produces an unrepresentative sample.

random sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

random assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between different groups.

confounding variables

Other factors that can potentially influence a study’s results.

skewed distribution

A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value.

illusory correlation

Perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship.

validity

The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting

case study

study one individual in great depth

survey

asking people to report on their behavior and/or opinions

naturalistic observation

describing observed behavior

descriptive research method

to observe and record behavior

correlational research method

to detect naturally occurring relationships; to asses how well one variable predicts another

experimental research method

to explore cause and effect

double-blind procedure

neither the subject nor the experimenter should know who was assigned to each group

random assignment

subjects should be randomly assigned by chance to the different groups

positive correlation

when one variable goes up, so does the other (closer to +1.0)

negative correlation

when one variable goes up, the other goes down (closer to -1.0)

no correlation

no clear relationship indicated

standard deviation

a measure of how far a score differs from the mean (the larger the standard deviation, the more the scores are dispersed)

range

the gap between the highest and lowest score