AP Psych - Chapter 0

Hindsight bias

tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (“I-knew-it-all-along“)

confounding variable

in an experiment, a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s results.

critical thinking

thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Scientific attitude

need to be skeptical but not cynical, open-minded but not gullible, and humility.

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study.

Statistic sig.

statistical statement of how likely it is that a result occurred by chance, assuming there’s no difference between the populations being studied.

independent variable

the factor being manipulated

dependent variable

The factor that may change

hypothesis

has to be reasonable (makes it measurable)

case study

test theory, deep-dive into an individual case

• Good: can learn everything about one person, data collection is easy

• Weakness: hard to use to apply beyond the case, can’t expand beyond the person, will take a long time (have to build trust, time intensive)

naturalistic observations

watching human behaviors without the people knowing

• Good: no bias, won’t change their behavior (authentic)

• Weakness: ethics, don’t know what the subject’s true intentions, the psychologist has no control over the situation

survey

questionnaire you send to the population

• Good: large population answering, cheap, target your population and hone in on a representative population

• Weakness: bias (respondents usually answer untruthfully (how they want to be seen)), just set numbers (get the answers but not the why), word bias (how you ask questions can change results).

correlation

measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other.

correlation coefficient

statistical index of the relationship between two variables

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 relationship

regression toward the mean

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

experimental group

in an experiment, the group exposed to treatment—that is, to one version of the independent variable

control group

in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to each group by chance, minimizing preexisting differences between different groups

single-blind procedure

procedure in which participants are ignorant about whether they received treatment or a placebo

double-blind procedure

procedure in which both participants and research staff are ignorant of if the participant received treatment or a placebo (used in drug-evaluation studies)

experimentor bias

bias caused when researchers may unintentionally influence results to confirm their own beliefs

validity

extent to which test/experiment measures or predicts what it’s supposed to

quantitative research

relies on quantifiable, numerical data

qualitative research

relies on in-depth narrative data that aren’t translated into numbers (interviews)

confederates

people who pretend to be a participant but are actually part of the experiment

informed consent

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

debrief

post-experimental explanation about the study (its purpose and any deception to the participants)

descriptive statistic

numerical data to measure and describe characteristics of groups (includes measures of central tendency and measures of variations)

percentile rank

percent of scores lower than given score

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

standard deviation

measure of how much scores vary around mean score

normal curve

a symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

inferential statistic

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

meta-analysis

statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach overall conclusion

effect size

strength of the relationship between two variables. The larger the effect size, the more one variable can be explained by the other.

positive coefficient

(0-1.00) indicate whether variables move in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together

negative coefficient

(0 to -1.00) indicate whether variables have an inverse relationship (ex. more games, lower gpa)

Range

highest number - lower number

histogram

bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

mean

average of the sets of numbers

mode

most common number

median

middle score

Scientific method

Employs a self-correcting procedure to evaluate ideas through observation and analysis.

peer reviewers

are scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy.

theory

is an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

falsifiable

is a possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation, or experiment.