AP Psychology - Unit 0 Vocab

Simplified Vocabulary of Unit 0: Scientific Practices (53 Terms)

Case Study

Thorough examination of a sample/individual over a time period using information-gathering techniques

Confounding Variable

Variable apart from independent that contributes to change in dependent variable; can skew results

Control Group

Group in experiment w/o independent var. or change; used for comparison​

Correlation

Statistical relationship between two variables; may not imply causation​

Correlation Coefficient

Number between -1 & 1 that indicated amount of correlation (strength & direction) between 2 variables

Critical Thinking

Analytical evaluation of an issue/idea to form a judgement by examining evidence and questioning assumptions

Debriefing

Providing participants w/ information about experiment/study after participation, esp. If deception was used

Dependent Variable

Measured var. in an experiment expected to change due to independent var.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistical analysis of data to summarize data sets by using central tendency, variability, etc.

Double-blind Study

Experiment in which the observers and participants don’t know who is in experimental or control group, reduces bias

Effect Size

Measure of the magnitude of the relationship between variables or effect of treatment (regardless of sample size)

Experiment

Research method that manipulates variable(s) to understand behaviors and mental processes

Experimental Group

Group within a study that receives treatment/independent variable and is observed to determine effect & effect size of independent variable

Experimenter’s Bias

When researcher expectations of a result influence an experiment and cause unintentional bias in results

Falsifiability

Idea that a hypothesis must have possible evidence to be refuted to be deemed scientific

Hindsight Bias

Belief that an individual predicted an outcome after learning results of said outcome

Histogram

Graph utilizing intervals/bars with different heights to show amount in each interval to show distribution between intervals

Hypothesis

Educated guess about variable correlation that is tested/experimented

Illusory correlation

The belief that a relationship exists between two variables when in reality they are separate

Independent Variable

Variable manipulated in an experiment to cause an effect on the dependent variable

Inferential Statistics

Statistics that infer/predict information about a population from a sample

Informed Consent

Ethical property of an experiment, ensuring participants understand the risks/aspects of an experiment before consent is given

Mean

Average of a data set

Median

Middle value within a dataset when arranged in ascending/descending order

Meta-analysis

Combining data from multiple experiments over same topic to understand general trends/outcomes

Mode

Most occurring number value in a dataset

Naturalistic Observations

Research method of observing participants in a natural setting/conditions to understand how trends/outcomes occur without variable manipulation

Normal Curve

Symmetrical Bell curve to understand data distribution; mean, median, & mode all in center of curve

Operational Definitions

The specific/exact specifications research/experiments must be conducted by and how variables must be measured

Peer Reviewers

Analysis of work by those in the same field as an individual to ensure maximum efficiency and validity.

Percentile Rank

Percentage of scores equal to or less than a specific score

Placebo

Inert substance given to control group to evaluate psychological effects of receiving a “treatment”

Placebo effect

Trend of participants changing behavior under the belief that they received an active treatment

Population

Group that research is directed to understand by using a sample from the population

Qualitative Research

Research to discover non-numerical data; observations to understand quality

Quantitative Research

Research to gain numerical/concrete measurements to understand relationships

Random Assignment

Fairly assigning participants to either the experimental or control group; every individual has equal chance of being in either group

Random Sample

Sample size in which participants had equal chance of being selected relative to the rest of the population

Range

Difference of highest/lowest values in a data set to recognize spread of data

Regression towards mean

The trend of outcomes within an experiment to drift towards the mean as the experiment is replicated

Replicate

Repeating a study/experiment to test if outcomes are reocurring

Sampling Bias

Bias affecting outcomes when the sample is not accurately representative of the population the research refers to

Scatterplot

Graphical representation of correlation with each data point representing an individuals score of both variables

Self-report Bias

Distortion in responses given by participants due to social desirability, memory recall, or misunderstanding of questions

Single-blind study

Experiment in which either researchers or participants are made unaware of group assignment