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Culture
The distinctive customs, values, beliefs, knowledge, art, and language of a society or a community
Hindsight Bias
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
Critical Thinking
Thinking that analyzes and evaluates evidence rather than relying on blindly accepting arguments or opinions as facts
Theory
An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Operational Definition
A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study
Replication
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
Case Study
An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
Naturalistic Observation
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Survey
A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group
Sampling Bias
A systematic and directional error involved in the choice of units, cases, or participants from a larger group for study
Population
All the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn
Random Sample
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Correlation
A measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other.
Correlation Coefficient
A statistical index of the relationship between two variables
Variable
Something in an experiment that can change or be altered such as a characteristic or value
Scatterplots
A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables.
Illusory Correlation
The perception of a relationship where none exists
Regression Toward The Mean
The tendency of results that are extreme by chance on first measurement ie. extremely high or low than average to move closer to the average when measured a second time
Vaildity
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what its supposed to
Experiment
A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
Experimental Group
In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.
Control Group
In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment, serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
Randomly Assign
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance
Double Blind Procedure
Experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo
Placebo Effect
Experimental results caused by expectations alone
Independent Variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
Confounding Variable
A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
Dependent Variable
The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
Descriptive Statistics
Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.
Histogram
A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution
Mode
The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution
Mean
The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores
Median
The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it
Range
The gap between the lowest and highest scores
Skewed
One where frequency data is not spread evenly; data is cluster at one end
Normal Curve
A symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data
Standard Deviation
A measure of dispersion that shows the spread of scores around the mean
Statistical Significance
The degree to which a research outcome cannot reasonably be attributed to the operation of chance or random factors
Participant Bias
When the participants involved in research respond in a manner that suggests they are trying to match up with the desired result of the researcher
Informed Consent
The process by which researchers working with human participants describe their research project and obtain the subjects consent to participants in the research based on the subjects understanding of the projects methods and goals
Debriefing
A set of procedures including counseling and the giving of information aimed at preventing psychological morbidity and aiding recovery after a traumatic event
Skewed Distribution
One where frequency data is not spread evenly; the data is clustered at one end
Inferential Statistics
Ways of analyzing data using statistical tests that allow the researcher to make conclusions about whether a hypothesis was supported by the results
Meta Analysis
Where researchers combine the findings from multiple studies to draw an overall conclusion
External Validity
The extent to which we can generalize findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, and measures
Internal Vailidity
The degree of confidence that the causal relationship being tested is trustworthy and not influenced by other factors or variables
Nominal
Frequency or count data that consists of the number of participants falling into categories
Ordinal
A variable whose possible values have a clear rank order
Z-Score
A statistic that tells us where a score lies in relation to the population mean
P-Score
A number, calculated from a statistical test, that describes how likely you are to have found a particular set of observations if the null hypothesis were true
IRB
Federally-mandated, locally-administered groups changed with evaluating risks and benefits of human participant research at their institution
Coercion
The process of attempting to influence another person through the use of threats, punishments, force, direct pressure, and other negative forms of powers
Anonymity
There is no way for anyone (including the researcher) to personally identify participants in the study
