AP Psych Chapter 2 quiz

Overconfidence bias

Characterized by excessive certainty in the accuracy of one’s beliefs

Confirmation bias

Tendency to favor information that supports pre-existing beliefs while disregarding or dismissing information that contradicts them.

Hindsight bias

Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we could have predicted it.

Empirical evidence

facts, relying on observation & experimentation (leads to proving or disproving a hypothesis)

Hypothesis

testable prediction, implied by a theory (often if/than statements)

Falsifiable

able to be proven false (combats confirmation bias by forcing researchers to seek out evidence that disproves them)

Experimentation

Involves the manipulation of an independent variable and random assignment to groups. Designed to be carried out in controlled methods.

Non-experimental 

Describes behaviors but doesn’t explain behavior. Cannot be used to establish a causal relationship. 

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study to get the same results. 

Observer bias

researchers’ expectations influence what they are observing (can happen in naturalistic observations)

Surveys

technique used to collect data in experimental or non-experimental designs. Not a research method but a data collection technique.

Representative sample

a group chosen from a larger statistical population according to specified characteristic in the process of representative sampling

Random sample

a group or set chosen in the process of random sampling from a larger population

Convenience sampling

individuals in the sample are selected not because they are most representative of the entire population, but because they are most easily accessible to the researcher.

Sampling bias

when the people or items chosen for a study don’t accurately represent the larger population, which can lead to distorted or misleading results (happens during convenience sampling due to non-probability sampling)

Wording effect

refers to how the way a question is phrased can influence how people respond

Self-report bias

people may not give answers that are fully correct

Social desirability bias

people may present themselves viewed more favorably by others

Correlation

non-experimental method; shows the relationship of 2 variables; predicts the possibility of cause and effect relationships but cannot prove causation 

Positive correlation

more is more relationship

Negative correlation

more is less relationship

Correlation coefficient

a number that shows how strongly two variables are related and the direction of that relationship (How strong is the relationship? The closer to the +/- 1 the stronger relationship)

Scatterplots

a graphic representation of the relationship between two continuously measured variables in continuously measured variables which one variable is arrayed on each axis and a dot or other symbol is played at each point where the values of the variables intersect. 

Directionality problem 

when it’s unclear which variable influences the other

Regression toward the mean

refers to the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average there, we must rely on the average, not outliers

3rd variable problem 

occurs when an observed correlation between two variables can actually be explained by a third variable that hasn’t been accounted for.

Quantitative measure

numerical; ask “what” and “how much"

Likert Scale (example of Quantitative measure methods)

rating scale that measures attitudes, opinions, or perceptions by asking respondents to choose from a range of answer options.

Qualitative measure

ask “why” and “how”

Structured interviews (example of qualitative measure methods)

a method for gathering information in which questions, their wordings, and their order of administration are determined in advance. The choice of answers tends to be fixed and determined in advance as well.

Descriptive statistics

summarizing & organizing the data (brief summary statements from a frequency distribution)

Examples:

• Skewed distribution - positive (positive direction to the right) or negative skew (negative direction to the left)

• Measures of Central Tendency - mean, median & mode

• Measure of Variability - range & standard variation

Frequency distribution

graphic representations showing the number of times the property takes on each of its possible value

How does your data skew?

when a frequency distribution is normal, the mean, median, and mode all have the same value, but when it’s positively or negatively skewed, these three measures of central tendency have quite different values.

Bimodal distribution

a set of scores with two peaks or modes around which values tend to cluster, such that the frequencies at first increase and then decrease around each peak.

Normal curve (normal distribution)

symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; (about 68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

Central tendency

a measure of central tendency points the researcher toward a centralized, repeated, or average number. There are 3 different ways to calculate it, each revealing different info about the number set. Drawback of central tendency is that a few extreme scores can distort the data. 

• mean: average score…sum of scores/# of scores

• median: middle score…half of scores are above it - half below. Most preferred.

• mode: most frequently occurring score

Range (1 measure of variance/spread)

difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution (calculated by subtracting the lowest value from the highest value)

Standard deviation (another measure of variance/spread)

measure of how much scores vary around the mean score. if it’s larger than it indicates that scores are dispersed from the mean.

Percentile rank

the percentage of scores in a distribution that are equal to or lower than a given score

Inferential statistics

drawing conclusions about a sample population to make generalizations about a population.

Statistical significance (in genre of inferential statistics)

the observed difference is probably not due to chance

Effect size

large effect size means that a research finding has practical significance

Conducting a psychological EXPERIMENT involves:

• manipulating independent variables

• random assignment

• measuring dependent variables

Random assignment

each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to the independent variable. They help control confounding variables (unknown variables) by accounting for known and unknown variables

Independent variable

a variable that the researcher changes. It is the cause. The experimental group is exposed to the independent variable.

Dependent variable

the effect

Control vs experimental group

Researchers compare the control group (who were not exposed to the independent variable) to the experimental group

Confounding variable

an unmeasured variable that may influence the effect

Experimental bias

systematic errors in the research process or the interpretation of its results that are attributable to a researcher’s behavior, preconceived beliefs, expectancies, or desires about results.

“single blind experiment”

the participants are unaware of which group they are assigned to (either control or experimental), but the researchers are aware of this info

“double blind experiment”

when neither the participant in the study nor the person giving the study knows who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group

Placebo effect

phenomenon in which individuals experience some type of benefit after the administration of a placebo or a medical treatment or psychological intervention that is believed to be “inert”

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

reviews and approves research conducted on human participants at that university. 5 members, at least 1 scientist and 1 person whose primary concerns are nonscientific.

Ethical code of APA (American Psychological Association)

• informed consent (18 or older/guardian)/informed assent (under 18): must be given, and participation must be voluntary. Individuals may not be coerced into participation. Participants can be offered compensation or credit. Participants always have the right to withdraw from the study. 

• use of deception: can be employed only under certain conditions when it is appropriate for what is being studied. Experiments may use confederates or an aide of the experimenter who poses as a participant but whose behavior is rehearsed prior to the experiment. 

• confidentiality: personal information about research participants must remain confidential. 

• debriefing: information about the study must be provided to participants, who should also be debriefed. Debriefing is the process of giving participants in a completed research project a fuller explanation of the study in which they participated than was possible before or during the research. 

• protection from harm: participants cannot be placed at significant mental or physical risk. This clause requires interpretation by the IRB.

IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)

reviews and approves research proposals involving animals

Considerations:

• minimize pain and distress

• provide appropriate housing and care

• justify the use of animals in the research