Unit 0 AP Pysch

AP Pysch

Hindsight Bias

Thinking you knew what would happen all along after it already happened.

Critical Thinking

Looking closely at facts and evidence instead of just believing what you hear.

Theory

A big idea that explains why things happen and helps guess future events.

Hypothesis

An educated guess you can test.

Operational Definition

Exact instructions on how something is measured in a study.

Replication

Doing a study again to see if you get the same results.

Case Study

Studying one person or group in super deep detail.

Survey

Asking a group of people questions to learn about their opinions or habits.

Population

The whole group of people you want to learn about.

Random Sample

Choosing people for a study completely by chance so everyone has an equal shot.

Correlation Coefficient

A number showing how strongly two things are connected.

Scatterplot

A graph with dots that shows how two things relate to each other.

Illusory Correlation

Thinking two things are linked when they actually aren't.

Experiment

A test where scientists change one thing to see how it affects another.

Random Assignment

Sorting people into test groups completely by chance.

Double-Blind Procedure

A test where neither the participants nor the researchers know who gets the real treatment.

Placebo Effect

Feeling better or changing behavior just because you think you got a real treatment.

Control Group

The group in a test that does not get the special treatment, used for comparison.

Experimental Group

The group in a test that does get the special treatment being tested.

Independent Variable

The thing the researcher changes on purpose in a test.

Dependent Variable

The thing being measured to see if it changed.

Qualitative Data

Information described in words, like feelings or descriptions.

Quantitative Data

Information described in numbers, like counts or scores.

Descriptive Statistics

Numbers used to summarize and describe a group of data.

Experimenter Bias

When a researcher accidentally changes test results to fit what they expected.

Validity

How well a test actually measures what it claims to measure.

Skewed

When test results are pulled unevenly to one side instead of being balanced.

Percentile Rank

The percentage of people you scored higher than (or equal to).

Effect Size

A number that shows how strong a result or difference really is.

Histogram

A bar graph that shows how often different scores happen.

Inferential Statistics

Numbers used to make conclusions about a whole group based on a small sample.

Meta-analysis

Combining results from many different studies to find a bigger pattern.

Single-Blind Procedure

A test where the participants don't know if they got the real treatment, but the researchers do.

Sampling Bias

Picking a group in a flawed way that doesn't represent everyone fairly.

Self-Report Bias

When people lie or answer untruthfully on surveys.

Peer Reviewers

Other experts who check a scientist's work to make sure it's good before it gets published.

Social Desirability Bias

Answering questions in a way that makes you look good to others.

Variable

Anything in a study that can change or vary.

Falsifiability

The ability for an idea or guess to be proven wrong.

Regression Toward the Mean

Extreme results usually move back closer to average when tested again.

Correlation

How much two things change together and predict each other.

Confounding Variable

An outside factor that accidentally messes up the results of an experiment.

Range

The difference between the highest number and the lowest number.

Normal Curve

A balanced, bell-shaped graph where most scores gather in the middle.

Informed Consent

Giving participants enough information about a study so they can agree to join.

Mode

The score that shows up the most times.

Mean

The mathematical average of all the scores.

Median

The exact middle score in a list of numbers.

Standard Deviation

A measure of how spread out numbers are from the average.

Statistical Significance

A statement showing that results were very unlikely to happen by pure luck.

Debriefing

Explaining the truth behind a study to participants after it finishes.

Naturalistic Observation

Watching people or animals in their normal setting without interfering.