AP Psychology : Unit 0

psychology

the scientific study of the mind and behavior

confirmation bias

the tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs

hindsight bias

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

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct — to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments

empirical evidence

information acquired by observation or experimentation

scientific method

a systematic approach to research where a problem is identified, relevant data is gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

falsifiable

capable of being disproved by experimental results

peer review

a process by which something proposed (as for research or publication) is evaluated by a group of experts in the appropriate field

replication

the action of repeating a study, using the same methods to see if the original results can be consistently reproduced

survey technique

a research technique that involved the collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to question

reliability

the consistency of a research study or measuring test

wording effect

the effect that question phrasing and order have on survey data

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to do

social desirability bias

a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself

american psychological association (APA)

a professional organization representing psychologists in the united states

naturalistic observation

observing subjects in their natural environment without manipulation or control by the researcher

quantitative data

information about quantities; that is, information that can be measured and written down with numbers

case study

an in-depth study of a single person, group, event, or community

qualitative adta

descriptive information, which often comes from interviews, focus groups, or artistic depictions such as photographs

correlational research

a type of non-experimental research method, which studies the relationship between two variables with the help of statistical analysis

likert scales

a psychometric scale commonly used in questionnaires and is the most widely used scale in survey research

third variable problem

a form of confounding in which a third variable leads to a mistaken causal relationship between two others

structured interviews

a quantitative research method where the interviewer asks a set of secqueced questions

scatterplot

a graphical representation of the values of two variables for a set of data

true

correlation is not causation. correlations predict

correlation coefficient

(-1 and 1 are strong, 0 is weak.)

a statistical index of the relationship between the two things (-1 to +1)

positive correlation (bottom left, top right)

a relationship between two variables in which both variables move in the same direction.

negative correlation (top left, bottom right)

a relationship between two variables that move in opposite directions

experimental method

a method of research where the researcher manipulates one variable, and controls or randomized the rest of the variables

independent variable

the variable that is manipulated or controlled by the researcher

dependent variable

the variable that is tested and measured in an experiment

confounding variable

a variable that influences both the dependent variable and independent variable, causing a spurious association.

single-blind study

a study in which the participants do not know whether they are in the control group or the experimental group but the researchers do

double-blind study

a study in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment

placebo condition

a condition in which treatment is not administered but the subject believes that it is administered

sample

a subset of individuals from a larger population, used to conduct research

operational definitions

specifically defining a variable in terms of how it is measured or manipulated in a study

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole

experimental group

the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested

control group

the group in an experiment that does not receive the test variable

random sample

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

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

experimenter bias

a process where the scientists performing the research influence the results, in order to portray a certain outcome

sample bias

a bias that occurs when a sample is collected in such a way that some members of the intended population are less likely to be included than others

generalizability

the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized or extended to others

mean

calculated by adding all the numbers together and dividing by the amount of numbers

median

arrange numbers in order and find the middle number

mode

identify the number that appears the most frequently

range

highest number — smallest number

regression to the mean

the phenomenon that if a variable is extreme on its first measurement, it will tend to be closer to the average on its second measurement

positive skew (peak on left, low on right)

this happens when more numbers in a list are on the lower side, but a few really higher numbers stretch the average higher

negative skew (peak on right, low on left)

this is when more numbers in a list are on the higher side, but a few really low numbers pull the average down

standard deviation

a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values

percentile rank

the percentage of scores in its frequency distribution that are equal to or lower than it

1 SD = 68%

2 SD = 95%

3 SD = 99.7%

1 SD = ?

2 SD = ?

3 SD = ?

bimodal distribution

a distribution that shows two different peaks or modes in the frequency of the occurrences

statistical significance

( p < 0.05 for statistical significance)

this tells us if the result of an experiment is probably true or just happened by chance. it checks if what we found in our experiment would happen often, or is rare when we think nothing special is going on

effect sizes

this measures how big the impact of something is in an experiment

meta analysis

a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies

institutional review boards (irb)

a committee that reviews and approves research involving human subjects, ensuring that ethical standards are met

informed consent

permission granted with the knowledge of the possible consequences, typically that which is given by a patient to a doctor for treatment with full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits

informed assent

agreement by a minor or other parties not able to give legal consent to participate in the activity

confidentiality

the requirement that private or sensitive information is not disclosed without the consent of the person who provided it

deception

the act of misleading or wrongly informing someone about the true nature of the situation

confederates

individuals who appear to be participants in a study but are actually part of the research team.

debriefing

providing participants in a study with a full explanation of the study after its completion, including the purpose and any deceptions used.