Key Terms

bar chart

used for nominal data or for plotting the average scores for the groups of data collected; the x-axis should always have the categories of data while the y-axis should always have the frequency of occurrences of the average value that is to be represented

biological psychology

the science that deals with the biological basis of behavior, thoughts, and emotions and the reciprocal relations between biological and psychological processes

case study

an in-depth investigation of a single individual, family, event, or other entity; multiple types of data (psychological, physiological, biographical, environmental) are assembled

cognitive psychology

the branch of psychology that explores the operation of mental processes related to perceiving, attending, thinking, language, and memory, mainly through inferences from behavior

concurrent validity

the extent to which one measurement is backed up by a related measurement obtained at about the same point in time

confidentiality

a principle of professional ethics requiring providers of mental health care or medical care to limit the disclosure of a patient’s identity, his or her condition or treatment, and any data entrusted to professionals during the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment

confounding variable

an independent variable that is conceptually distinct but empirically inseparable from one or more other independent variables; makes it impossible to differentiate that variable’s effects in isolation from its effects in conjunction with other variables

construct validity

the degree to which a test or instrument is capable of measuring a concept, trait, or other theoretical identity

context

generally, the circumstances or conditions in which a particular phenomenon occurs

control

the regulation of all extraneous conditions and variables in an experiment so that any change in the dependent variables can be attributed solely to manipulation of the independent variable and not to any other factors

controlled observation

an observation made under standard and systematic conditions rather than casual or incidental conditions

correlation

the degree of a relationship between two variables, which may be quantified as a correlation coefficient

counterbalancing

arranging a series of experimental conditions or treatments in such a way as to minimize the influence of extraneous factors on experimental results

criterion validity

an index of how well a test correlates with an established standard of comparison

cross sectional study

a  type of observational study, or descriptive research, that involves analyzing information about a population at a specific point in time

debriefing

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

deception

any distortion of or withholding of fact with the purpose of misleading others

demand characteristics

in an experiment or research project, cues that may influence or bias participants’ behavior

dependent variable

the outcome that is observed to occur or change after the occurrence or variation of the independent variable in an experiment

developmental psychology

a scientific approach that aims to explain growth, change, and consistency through the lifespan

double-blind procedure

both researcher and participants are unaware of the control vs. experimental group; a third party sets up the procedure

ecological validity

the degree to which results obtained from research or experimentation are representative of conditions in the wider world

ethics

the brand of philosophy that investigates both the content of moral judgments and their nature

*informed consent, confidentiality, protection from harm, deception/debriefing*

ethnocentrism

the practice of regarding one’s own ethnic, racial, or social group as the center of all things

event scan

every time the behavior the researcher wants to see happens, they mark it off

experimenter (researcher) bias

any 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

extraneous variable

a measure that is not under investigation in an experiment but may potentially affect the outcome or dependent variable

field experiment

a study that is conducted outside the laboratory in a “real-world” setting; participants are exposed to one of two or more levels of an independent variable and observed for their reactions

generalization

the process of deriving a concept, judgment, principle, or theory from a limited number of specific cases and applying it more widely

hindsight bias

the tendency, after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen

histogram

a graphical depiction of continuous data using bars of varying height; blocks on the x-axis are adjoining

holism

any approach or theory holding that a system or organism is a coherent, unified whole that cannot be fully explained in terms of individual parts or characteristics

hypothesis

an empirically testable proposition about some fact, behavior, relationship, or the like, usually based on theory, that states an expected outcome resulting from specific conditions or assumptions

independent/between-subject measures

participant only takes part in one level of the independent variable

independent variable

the variable in an experiment that is specifically manipulated or is observed to occur before the dependent, or outcome, variable, in order to assess its effect or influence

informed consent

a person’s voluntary agreement to participate in a procedure on the basis of his or her understanding of its nature, its potential benefits, and possible risks, and available alternatives

instantaneous scan

only the first behavior that occurs in the set time frame is marked

inter-rater/scorer validity

the extent to which independent evaluators produce similar ratings in judging the same abilities or characteristics in the same target person or object

jargon

specialized words and forms of language used within a particular profession or field of activity

laboratory experiment

scientific study conducted in a laboratory or other such workplace, where the investigator has some degree of direct control over the environment and can manipulate the independent variables

learning approach

belief that all learning happens by general law and theories that can be applied to all species

longitudinal study

a type of observational and correlational study that involves monitoring a population over an extended period of time

matched pairs

an experimental design where pairs of participants are matched in terms of key variables, such as age or socioeconomic status

measures of central tendency

describes average scores of the distribution; what the middle of the data is

measures of deviation

a measure of difference between the observed value of a variable and some other value, often that variable's mean

method

the procedures of a system or research study used to conclude or complete their purpose

*setting, measures + why, data collection*

methodology

the science of method or orderly arrangement; specifically, the branch of logic concerned with the application of the principles of reasoning to scientific and philosophical inquiry

natural experiment

the study of a naturally occurring situation as it unfolds in the real world

naturalistic observation

data collection in a field setting, without laboratory controls or manipulation of variables

nature v. nurture

the debate concerned with the relative contribution that both nature and nurture influences make to human behavior

negative correlation

a relationship between two variables in which the value of one variable increases as the value of the other decreases

normal distribution

a theoretical distribution in which values pile up in the center at the mean and fall off into tails at either end

null hypothesis

a statement that a study will find no meaningful differences between the groups or conditions under investigation, such that there is no relationship among the variables of interest and that any variation in observed data is the result of chance or random processes

one-tailed/directional hypothesis

a scientific prediction stating that (a) an effect will occur and (b) whether that effect will specifically increase or specifically decrease, depending on changes to the independent variable

one-zero scan

a type of time sampling in which when the time comes, the researcher marks a 1 if the desired behavior occurs, and a 0 if it doesn’t

opportunity sample

any process of selecting a sample of individuals or cases that is neither random nor systematic but rather is governed by chance or readily availability

order effects

the influence of the order in which treatments are administered, such as the effect of being the first administered treatment; as individuals participate in the first one and then another treatment condition, they may experience fatigue, boredom, and familiarity with or practice with reacting to the independent variable

overconfidence

a cognitive bias characterized by an overestimation of one’s actual ability to perform a task successfully, by a belief that one's performance is better than that of others, or by excessive certainty in the accuracy of one’s beliefs

parallel form reliability

a set of test items that are developed to be similar to another set of test items, so that the two sets represent different versions of the same test

participant observation

a research method in which a trained investigator studies a preexisting group by joining it as a member, while avoiding a conspicuous role that would alter the group processes and bias data

participant variable

the ways in which each participant varies from the other, and how this could affect the results, such as mood, prejudice, intelligence, concentration, etc.

physiological psychology

the science that deals with the biological basis of behavior, thoughts, and emotions and the reciprocal relations between biological and psychological processes

population

the total number of individuals in a given geographical area

population validity

the degree to which study results from a sample can be generalized to a larger target group of interest

positive correlation

a relationship between two variables in which both rise and fall together

predictive validity

evidence that a test score or other measurement correlates with a variable that can only be assessed at some point after the test has been administered or the measurement made

predominant activity scan

a type of time sampling in which the most frequent behavior is marked

projective test

an indirect measure of attitude that involves presenting a person with an ambiguous or incomplete stimulus that requires interpretation from that person

psychology

the study of the mind and behavior

psychology of individual differences

traits and other characteristics by which individuals may be distinguished from one another

psychometric

any standardized instrument used to measure behavior or mental attributes such as attitudes, emotional functioning, intelligence, and cognitive abilities

qualitative data

information that is not expressed numerically, such as descriptions of behavior, thoughts, attitudes, and experiences

quantitative data

information expressed numerically, such as test scores or measurements of length or width

random allocation

giving all participants an equal chance to take part in each independent variable condition

random sample

a type of sampling in which everyone has an equal chance of being chosen

reductionism

the strategy of explaining or accounting for some phenomenon or construct by claiming that, when properly understood, it can be shown to become another phenomenon or construct, where the latter is seen to be simpler, more basic, or more fundamental

reliability

the trustworthiness or consistency of a measure, that is, the degree to which a test or other measurement instrument is free of random error, yielding the same results across multiple applications to the same sample

repeated/within-subject measures

an experimental design in which the effects of treatments are seen through the comparison of scores of the participant observed under all the treatment conditions

restricted sample

the limitation of the full range of total possible scores that may be obtained to only a narrow portion of that total

sample

a subset of a population of interest that is selected for study with the aim of making inferences about the population

sample technique

the way in which the researcher obtains the participants who will take part in their research

scatter graph

pictorial representation of a correlation

self-reports

a statement or series of answers to questions that an individual provides about his or her state, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, past behavior, and so forth

single-blind procedure

a procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental conditions under which they are operating

situational variable

things that happen during a study that was unplanned and are temporary in nature

snapshot survey

a survey carried out in a very short period of time

social psychology

the study of how an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by the actual, imagined, or symbolically represented presence of other people

split-half reliability

assesses the internal consistency of a test by randomly splitting the test in half and comparing the results of each half

standardization

the use of uniform procedures in test administration to ensure that all participants take the same test under the same conditions and are scored by the same criteria, which in turn ensures that results can be compared to each other

standard deviation

a measure of the variability of a set of scores or values within a group indicating how narrowly or broadly they deviate from the mean

stooge

a person who is secretly working for the researcher, unknown to the study participant

survey

a study in which a group of participants is selected from a population and data about or opinions from those participants are collected, measured, and analyzed

target population

the population that a study is intended to research and to which generalizations from samples are to be made

test-retest reliability

gives the test to a group of people and then at least 2 weeks later gives the test again; the results should be the same

theory

a principle or body of interrelated principles used to explain or predict a number of interrelated phenomena

time sampling

a data collection strategy that involves noting and recording the occurrence of a target behavior whenever it is seen during a stated time interval

two-tailed/non-directional hypothesis

a hypothesis that one experimental group will differ from another without specification of the expected direction of the difference

uncontrolled variable

a characteristic factor that is not regulated or measured by the investigator during an experiment or study, so that it is not the same for all participants in the research

validity

the degree to which empirical evidence and theoretical rationales support the adequacy and appropriateness of conclusions drawn from some form of assessment

volunteer sample

a type of sampling in which the researcher actively recruits participants