AP Psychology- Unit 0

Experiment

A way of confirming the validity of psychological findings with consistent and repeatable results

Hypothesis

testable prediction, not yet confirmed or unconfirmed

Operational Definitions

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures, helps with future replication

Theories

explanations that organize and predict

Experimental Group

the group being tested/exposed

Control Group

the group NOT being tested/exposed

Independent Variable (IV)

manipulated factor

Dependent Variable (DV)

consistent factor

Random Selection

a random selection of a diverse population used to eliminate bias

Random Assignment

subjects placed in experimental/control groups at random to eliminate bias

Convience Sampling

technique where subjects are chosen based on proximity/accessibility (diminishes integrity)

Confounding Variables

factors that cause differences between the experimental group and the control group other than the IV (age, gender, home life, etc.)

Sampling Bias

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

Experimenter Bias

when the experimenter (intentionally or unintentionally) influences the results to portray a certain outcome

Social Desirability Bias

the tendency of survey respondents to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself

Correlation Study

study that determines the relationship between 2 variables

Naturalistic Observations

unhindered observations in a natural environment

Case Study

study of one individual in great detail

Meta-Analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

Scatterplots

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables, the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation

Quantitative

Data that is in numbers

Qualitative

Data in the form of words

Correlation Coefficient

measures the relationship strength between 2 variables ranging from -1 to 1

Positive Correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

Positive Skew

mean > median > mode

Negative Skew

mean < median < mode

Bimodal

data set with two peaks

Bell Curve

data set with one peak

Central Tendencies

the mean, median, and mode of a data set. these represent the typical or common characteristics of a data set

Mode

most frequently occurring score

Mean

average

Median

the middle score in a distribution

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores

Percentile

A point on a ranking scale of 0 to 100

Standard Deviation (SD)

measures the average difference between each score and the mean of the data set

Statistical Significance

how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Institutional Review Board

A committee at each institution where research is conducted to review every experiment for ethics and methodology.

IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)

committee that approves or denies permission for studies involving animals

Experimental Prerequisites

1) Obtain informed consent of the subjects
2) Protection from physical harm or discomfort
3) Confidentiality regarding subject information
4) A full debrief of the results for subjects afterwards

Informed Assent

-case in which child is informed about what is going to be required and they have the opportunity to agree to or disagree to treatment
-children of different ages require different levels of confidentiality

Critical Thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Hindsight Bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Falsifiable

the possibility that a hypothesized relationship can be shown to be incorrect

Survey

non-experimental method for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group

Self-Report Bias

bias when people report their behavior inaccurately

Random Sampling

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Population

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

Variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Illusory Correlation

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

Regresson Toward the Mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average

Placebo Effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Informed Consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Descriptive Statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

Inferential Statistics

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

Effect Size

the strength of a relationship between two or more variables

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct

Evolutionary Perspective

how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

Psychodynamic Perspective

the approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control

Biological Perspective

the psychological perspective that emphasizes the influence of biology on behavior

Behavioral Perspective

An approach to the study of psychology that focuses on the role of learning in explaining observable behavior. focuses on rewards and punishments

Cognitive Perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior

Social-Cultural Perspective

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Humanistic Perspective

the psychological view that assumes the existence of the self and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the freedom to make choices

Biopsychosocial Perspective

A perspective on psychopathology that emphasizes the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to mental illness.

Peer Review

A process by which the procedures and results of an experiment are evaluated by other scientists who are in the same field or who are conducting similar research.

Single-Blind Procedure

research design in which participants don't know whether they are in the experimental or control group

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 a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Protection from Harm

the right of research participants to be protected from physical or psychological harm

Confidentiality

the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals