Unit 0 - Science Practices and Introduction to Psychology

These flashcards cover Unit 0 Science Practices, Research Methods, Statistics, and Ethics based on the provided AP Psychology lecture transcript.

What are the three components of the Scientific Attitude?

Curiosity, Skepticism, and Humility.

Define the Independent Variable (IV).

The variable that the experimenter changes.

Define the Dependent Variable (DV).

The variable that the experimenter measures.

What is the primary purpose of an Experiment?

Adjusting different variables to make a conclusion; it must have a hypothesis and typically involves experimental vs. control groups.

What is a Correlation?

The linear relationship between $2$ variables, which can be either positive or negative.

State the fundamental rule regarding Correlation and Causation.

CORRELATION $\neq$ CAUSATION.

What is Naturalistic Observation?

Observing people in their NATURAL environment without interrupting their normal routine.

Define a Case Study.

Conducting multiple studies/experiments on someone in rare cases.

What is a Meta-Analysis?

A method that summarizes previous studies on the same research topic by gathering results from other people’s data.

What is the difference between Cross-sectional and Longitudinal research?

Cross-sectional compares different age groups or populations at one point in time, while Longitudinal follows the same participants over a long period of time.

What is a Survey?

A method that gathers self-reported information by asking people questions.

Define a Hypothesis.

A testable prediction about the relationship between variables.

What is an Operational Definition?

An explanation of how a variable is measured or manipulated.

What is a Confounding Variable (or Third Variable Problem)?

An outside factor that may affect results, making it unclear which variable caused the effect.

Define Population in the context of research.

The entire group a researcher wants to study and draw conclusions about.

What is Random Assignment?

Placing participants into groups by chance so the groups are as similar as possible.

What is Random Sampling?

Selecting participants so every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen.

Define Hindsight bias.

Also known as the "I-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon, it is the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.

What is Confirmation Bias?

The tendency to seek or favor information that supports one's existing beliefs.

Define Experimenter Bias.

When researcher expectations influence participants or the interpretation of results.

What is Social Desirability Bias?

The tendency to answer in ways that will be viewed favorably by others.

What is a Placebo?

A substance or treatment producing effects because participants expect it to work.

What is the difference between Single-Blind and Double-Blind studies?

In Single-blind, participants do not know their group; in Double-blind, neither participants nor researchers know who is in which group.

Define Qualitative vs. Quantitative measures.

Qualitative is non-numerical, descriptive information (words, observations, interviews); Quantitative is numerical information that can be measured, counted, or analyzed statistically.

In statistics, what is the Mode?

The number that shows up the most often or the most populated data point.

In statistics, what is the Mean?

The average (e.g., for the set $1, 1, 1, 3, 6, 9, 18, 42$).

In statistics, what is the Median?

The middle or central data point.

What does Standard Deviation represent?

The number that shows how far away data points are from the mean.

What is Statistical Significance?

The value of a DV that shows how much it depended on the IV and not by ambiguity; smaller significance equates to more reliance on the IV.

What is a Scatterplot?

A graphed cluster of dots, each showing the values of two variables.

What is the Correlation Coefficient?

The pearson value ($r$) that determines how much the DV and IV are related.

According to the transcript, what constitutes a Strong Correlation?

$r > 0.5$ or $-0.5$.

What is the role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?

A review board that must grant permission before experimentation to ensure research is ethical and permissible.

What are the five standards for Human Ethical Research?

1. Informed Consent, 2. Protection from Harm, 3. Confidentiality, 4. Deception/Confederates, 5. Debriefing.

Define Debriefing in ethical research.

Revealing the true purpose of the researcher's experiment to the participants.