Psych Vocab

Confirmation Bias

people seek out information that confirms their beliefs

Hindsight Bias

acting as if you knew something was going to happen before it did

Overconfidence

too much confidence in your own abilities

Empirical Evidence

observational experiment, results obtained with objective data

Scientific Method

systematic approach to psychology, research questions, hypothesize, answer

Hypothesis

specific testable prediction about the variables

Falsifiable

chance results will prove hypothesis wrong

Peer Review

experts review your work before publishing it

Replication

it must be possible to replicate results

Research Design

the plan that outlines the study

Methodology

systematic procedures used to conduct research

Quantitative Data

number based data, precise, gather specific information

Qualitative Data

non numerical data like interviews or observations, gives deeper insight on subject

Survey

technique where data is given from self-reported assessments

Wording Effect

effect where biased wording in questions can give skewed answers from subjects

Social Desirability Bias

wanting to be socially liked can bias results subjects give

Naturalistic Observations

observe real groups without interference

Case Study

in depth examination of a group/person/phenomenon

Cross sectional

study many people at once and compare their results

Longitudinal

study fewer people over an extended period of time

Likert Scales

scale where you pick your level of agreement, transitioning from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”

Third Variable Problem

there could be other factors at play, there’s a variable that has not been accounted for in an experiment

Scatterplot

graph used to show correlational research, scattered dots

Correlation Coefficient

ranges from -1 to +1, represented by “r”, shows strength and direction between 2 things

Positive Correlation

scatterplot goes right, when one variable increases the other decreases

Negative Correlation

scatterplot goes left, when one variable increases the other decreases

Experimental Method

method where you instigate cause and effect, variables are fully controlled

Independent Variable

variable manipulated by the researcher

Dependant Variable

variable that is observed and measured for changes

Confounding Variable

variable that is not accounted for, can skew data

Experimental Group

group experimented on

Control Group

group not exposed to independent variable, baseline to compare experimental group to

Placebo Effect

people in the control group believe they’re in the experimental group, experience improvement because they think they’re receiving treatment

Experimental Bias

researcher has certain expectations that affect results

Single-Blind Study

participants of an experiment don’t know what group they’re in, but researchers do

Double-Blind Study

neither the researchers or participants know what group anyone is in

Sample

small subset of individuals meant to represent bigger population

Representative Sample

sample specifically picked to best represent a demographic

Random Sample

randomly selected sample of people, no researcher bias

Sample Bias

bias where a sample is not representative of the larger population, has inaccurate results

Generalizability

the extent to which results of a sample can apply to a larger population