psych unit 0

critical thinking

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

hindsight bias

tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it, aka I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon

peer reviewers

scientific experts who evaluate research paper’s theory, originality, accuracy

theory

an explanation using integrated set of principles that organizes observations, predicts behaviors or events

hypothesis

testable prediction, implied by a theory

falsifiable

possibility that idea, theory can be disproven by observation or equipment

operational definition

carefully worded statement of exact procedures used in a study

replication

repeating essence of research apartment, usually with different participants in diff situations, to see whether basic finding can be reproduced

case study

non-experimental technique where one individual/group studied in depth in hopes of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

non-experimental technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations w/o trying to manipulate or control the situation

survey

non-experimental technique for obtaining self reported attitudes/behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning random sample of the group

social desirability bias

bias from people’s responding in way they presume a researcher expects or wishes

correlation

measure of extent to which two factors vary together

correlation coefficient

statistical index of relationship between two variables (r value)

variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists, perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

regression toward the mean

tendency for extreme or unusual scores to regress toward average

independent variable

factor that is manipulated, variable whose effect is studied

confounding variable

factor other than factor being studied that might influence study’s results

dependent variable

outcome that is measured, variable that may change when IV manipulated

validity

extent to which test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Quantitative research

research method that relies on quantifiable, numerical data

Qualitative research

research method relies on narrative data, in-depth that is not numerical

Informed consent

giving potential participants enough info about study to allow them to choose participation

Debriefing

postexperimental explanation of study, including purpose and deceptions, to participants

Descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups include measures of central tendency and variation

Histogram

bar graph depicting frequency distribution

Percentile rank

percentage of scores lower than a given score

Skewed distribution

representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

Inferential statistics

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

Meta analysis

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

Statistical significance

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

Effect size

strength of relationship between two variable