Psychology Research Methods and Scientific Thinking Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering fundamental terms from psychological research methods and critical thinking textbook readings.

Critical thinking

Thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Hindsight bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it; also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.

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.

Falsifiable

The possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment.

Operational definition

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. Also known as operationalization.

Replication

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