AP Psych - Unit 1 pt. 2 (research methods)

hindsight bias/I-knew it all along phenomenon

tendency to believe, after learning on outcome, that one would have froseen it

scientific method

a method of investigation involving observation and theory to test scientific hypotheses

theory

explains behaviors or events by offering ideas

hypothesis

a testable proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

operational definitions

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures(operations) used in a research study

replicate

reproduce or make an exact copy of (in this case an experiment)

descriptive methods

describes behaviors, often by suing case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations

correlational

method associate different factors or variables

variables

anything that contributes to a result

experimental method

manipulate variables to discover their effects

case study

examines one individual or group in depth in hope of revealing things true of us all

case study strengths

gives us insight, can show us what can happen

case study weakness

misleading mistaken judgement; anecdotal cases can overwhelm general truth(ex: just because one persons grandpa lived a long age while smoking, does not mean smoking is not bad. studies show smoking is bad for health)

naturalistic observations

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

naturalistic observation stenghts

revelations that may not have been found in a lab setting, shows complexity, describes behavior

naturalistic observation weakness

does not explain behaviors

Hawthorne effect

when we know we are being watch, we change our behaviors

overconfidence

we think we know more than we do

false consensus effect

a person overestimated how many people agree with them (political views, interest, etc.)

the basic scientific attitudes

skepticism, curiosity, humility

surveys

looks cases in less depth, asking people to report their behavior or opinions

survey benefits

broad range of opinion

survey weakness

sampling bias, response bias, social desirability bias, wording effect

sampling bias

generalize from a few valid but unrepresentative cases

anecdotal fallacy

use of anecdotal evidence

population

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

random sampling

what has to happen to make the samples not bais

random sample

a sample in which every element in the population has an equal chance of being selected

wording effect

the phrasing of the word can change the opinion of people (ex: "gun safety" vs "gun control"

correlate

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

correlation coefficient

a statistic representing how closely two variables co-vary; it can vary from -1 through 0 to +1

correlation research strenghts

can predict how well one variable predicts another

correlation research weakness

does not specify cause and effect

illusory correlation

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

regression toward the mean

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

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variables) By random assignment of participation, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

experimental group

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

experimental research strenghts

control variables, determine effects

experimental weaknesses

confounding variable. ethical on some issues, lack ecological validity

control group

the group not exposed to the treatment

random assign

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

placebo effect

any effect that seems to be a consequence of administering a placebo; the change is usually beneficial and is assumed result from the person's faith in the treatment or preconceptions about what the experimental drug was supposed to do (ex: phony drug makes people have better moods)

independent variable

factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

confounding variables

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results

dependent variable

the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

operational definitinos

specify the procedures that manipulate the independent variable or measure the dependent variable

validity

experiment will test what it is suppose to test

placebo

introduce something fake to the control group to keep anominity

quasi-experimental design

subjects not randomly assigned to groups

ethical guidelines

informed consent, rights to withdraw, avoid deception, debrief, confidentiality, privacy, protect from physically & mental harm, advise participants when psychological or physical problems are discovered, consider implication and psychological consequence, monitor work of other colleagues

informed consent

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

debrief

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

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics if group, includes measure of central tendency and measures of variation

histograms

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

mode

most frequently occurring score (s) in a distribution

mean

average of a distribution; add the scores then divide by number of scores

median

middle score in a distribution

skewed

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

range

differences between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score; better for averages

dimodal distribution

it has two peaks or humps (modes)

normal curve/distribution

bell-shaped distribution often symmetrical

inferential statistics

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

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

scatterplot

show us relationship

ex: 2, 5, 8: mean = 5, 2-5 = -3, 5-5 = 0, 8-5 = 3, -3^2 + 0^2 + 3^2 = 18, 18/3 = 6

how to calculate standard deviation

data clustered around the mean

What does a small Standard Deviation mean?

mean

What measure greatly affects measure of central tendency

central tendency

single score that represents a whole set of scores

range (i believe idk)

What measure greatly affects measure of central variation/dispersion

Measure of central tendency shows where the center or middle of the data set is located, whereas measure of variation shows the dispersion among data values.

Central tendency vs measure of variation

positive correlation

negative correlation

no correlation