AP Psych. Unit 0 Vocab

Critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions/involves making an assessment of something, and then providing a critique of that position and putting forward new positions

Hindsight bias

tendency to think that one could have anticipated the outcome of an event/experiment AFTER it has already occurred.

Peer reviewers

experts who assess the theory, originality, and accuracy of research articles

Theory

supported by data, explains a question/thought/phenomenon. based on an hypothesis

Hypothesis

specific, testable, prediction about relationship between 2+ variables

Falsifiable

ability for something to be proven wrong or be proven false

Operational definition

how we describe what we want to study/states exactly how a variable is measured in a study (exact, replicable, and others can understand)

Replication

process of repeating research to determine the extent to which findings generalize across time and across situations/repeating a study with new data to test if the original results hold up

Case study

examines individual, group of people, event, or situation to provide a detailed information and insight into topic of interest

Naturalistic observation

individuals in real world settings (observing people in their environments), goal is to gather authentic data

Survey

self-report method in which participants answer a set of questions designed to collect their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and opinions

Social desirability bias

respondents answer questions in a way they believe is socially acceptable or favorable, rather than truthfully

Self-report bias

problem that arises when researchers rely on asking people to describe their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors rather than measuring these directly and objectively

Sampling bias

problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn

Random sample

when the group of subjects in your experiment accurately depicts the population, every member of a population has the same chance of being selected for study

Population

total group of individuals from which the sample might be drawn

Correlation

measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other. main issue: cannot tell what cause and effect is. may only sometimes be truly related by causation

Correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (-1.00 to +1.00)

Variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dotes, each representing two variables’ values. the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation)

Illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists or perceiving a stronger than actual relationship

Regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores of events to fall back toward the average

Experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect of some behavior or mental process (dependent variable). by random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

Experiment group

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, one version of the independent variable

Control group

in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different group

Single-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which the research participants are ignorant (blind) about whether they have received the treatment or placebo

Double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or placebo. commonly used in drug evaluation studies

Placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone: any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Independent variable

in an experiment, a factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

Dependent variable

in an experiment, the outcome that is measured, the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Confounding variable

in an experiment, a factor other than the fact being studied that might influence a study’s result

Experimenter bias

bias caused when researchers may unintentionally influence results to confirm their own beliefs

Validity

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

Quantitative research

a research method that relies on quantifiable, numerical data

Qualitative research

a research method that relies on in depth, narrative data that are not translated into numbers

Informed consent

participants must receive clear information about the study's purpose, risks, and procedures so they can choose to join voluntarily without coercion

Debriefing

after the study ends, researchers must explain the true purpose of the experiment and clear up any deception (tricks or hidden goals) used during the test

Descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups: include measures of central tendency and measures of variation. main tool for summarizing the major characteristics of a large amount of data

Histogram

graph that shows how numeric data is distributed across value ranges

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 below and half are above it

Percentile rank

the percentage of scores that are lower than a given score

Skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack of symmetry around their average value

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Standard deviation

a computer measures how much the scores vary around the mean score

Normal curve

a symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data: most scores fall near the mean (about 68% fall within one standard deviation of the mean) and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes (also called a normal distribution)

Inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Meta-analysis

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

Statistical signifigence

statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. decision runs through the p-value (p < .05, meaning there's less than a 5% chance the result is a fluke/anything less than 0.05=results signifigent)

Effect size

the strength of the relationship between two variables. the larger the effect size, the more one variable can be explained by the other