AP Psychology Unit 1B - Gumpf

operational definition

operational definition

A statement used to describe how variables will be QUANTIFIED and measured.

experiment

A research technique in which one variable is manipulated so the changes in another variable can be observed and measured.

correlation

A descriptive research method used to discover the extent to which two variables are related.

survey

A technique used to gather data by asking questions, may be a questionnaire or interview.

interview

a meeting of people face to face, especially for consultation.

naturalistic observation

Involved watching participants’ behavior in an unmanipulated environment.

participant observation

Technique involving watching participants’ spontaneous behavior by joining the group being studied.

structured observation

Occurs in a controlled environment, such as a lab and typically involves standard procedures.

case study

An retrospective, in-depth investigation of an individual’s past to study a psychological phenomenon or solve a current problem.

longitudinal study

a study of the same group of individuals  over an extended period of time

cross-sectional study

a study that collects data from many different groups of individuals at a single point in time, like a snapshot

quantitative vs qualitative research

• numbers-based, countable, or measurable

• interpretation-based, descriptive, and relating to language

single subject design (independent subject)

require the repeated measurement of a dependent variable or, in other words, the target problem.

matched pairs design

prior to group assignment, participant dyads are made along important characteristics (e.g. age, intelligence, mental health), then the dyad is split between groups and  each participants is exposed to one condition*

repeated measures

Single-subject designs require the repeated measurement of a dependent variable or, in other words, the target problem.

independent variable

the experimental element that the researcher manipulates*

dependent variable

the experimental element that the researcher measures*

random sampling

Technique used to make sure every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as a participant.

representative sample

A selection of participants that share characteristics with and proportionally mirror the “population of interest” *

experimental group

participants who receive the independent variable

control group

participants who do not receive the independent variable

random assignment

a control technique used to place participants in the experimental or control group in a way that ensures every participant has equal opportunity and independence  to be in either group*.* Avoids bias!!!!

single-blind technique

an experimental methodology in which the participants do not know if they are part of the experimental or control group*

double-blind technique

an experimental methodology in which neither the participants nor the experimenter know  which participants are in the experimental or control group**

reliability

the consistency of the findings or results of a psychology research study

validity

how well a test actually measures what it was created to measure

confounding variables

an uncontrolled outside/extraneous element that impacted the dependent measure so that the experimenter is not sure if the independent factor or the extraneous factor caused the change

extraneous variables

elements within the study that the researcher is not intentionally studying*

mean

Arithmetic average

median

middle value

mode

Most frequently occurring score

range

Span of scores in a data set, distance between high & low scores

positive correlation

The two variables move together in the same direction

negative correlation

The two variables have an inverse relationship and move apart  in opposite directions.

normal distribution

A bell-shaped curve describing the spread of characteristics across a population, 50% of scores fall on either side of the mean. You must be able to apply SD to distributions

skewed distributions

Data set with an extreme outlier & the remaining data clustered at one end.

positively skewed distributions

Data set has an outlier (tail) on the right side of the distribution and the majority of scores (mode)  fall on the left side

negatively skewed distributions

Data set has an outlier (tail) on the left side of the distribution and the majority of scores (mode) fall on the right side

statistical significance

a measure of the probability of the null hypothesis being true compared to the acceptable level of uncertainty regarding the true answer

variance

How widespread scores are from one another and the mean

standard deviation

Average distance from the mean for a set of scores

descriptive statistics

used to organize or summarize a set of data (ex. percentages, mean, median, mode, etc.)

inferential statistics

Drawing conclusions, determining causality and generalizability

frequency distribution

looks at how frequently certain things happen within a sample of values

histogram & bar chart/graph

With bar graphs, each column represents a group defined by a discrete measurement; with histograms, each column represents a group defined by a continuous measurement

polygon

a line graph made by connecting the top center scores of the columns of a frequency histogram

scattergram/scatterplot

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

informed consent

process by which researchers working with human participants describe their research project and obtain the subjects' consent to participate in the research based on the subjects' understanding of the project's methods and goals

participant’s right to withdraw

allows a research participant to drop out of a study at any time without penalty

justification for the use of deception

a) the use of deception is justified by the study’s value and nondeceptive procedures are not feasible; (b) the research is not expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress; and (c) the deception is explained as early as is feasible and participants who object are permitted to withdraw their data

confidentiality of findings

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 assessment, diagnosis, and treatment

debriefing procedure (additional notes: when it occurs, benefits for participant and researcher)

a short interview that takes place between researchers and research participants immediately following their participation in a psychology experiment

animal research (additional notes: reasons for use, advantages, disadvantages, care)

research involving non-human participants