APpsych unit0.2

critical thinking

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

falsifiability

possibility that idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment

replication

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

meta-analysis

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

social desirability bias

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

self-report bias

bias when people report their behavior inaccurately

experimenter bias

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

sampling bias

flawed sampling process that produces unrepresentative sample

convenience sampling

research sample where participants are chosen based on their easy accessibility to researcher, meaning they are readily available and convenient to access, rather than being selected randomly from larger population, often leading to potential bias in results; essentially, researcher selects people who are simply “on hand” to participate

representative sample

smaller group of individuals selected from larger population that accurately reflects characteristics of that population, meaning sample mirrors demographics and treats present in wider group being studied, allowing researchers to generalize their findings to broader population w greater confidence

correlation coefficient

statistical index of relationship between two things (from −1.00 to +1.00)

variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

scatterplot

graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. slope of points suggests direction of relationship between the variables. amount of scatter suggests strength of correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation)

illusory correlation

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

regression towards the mean

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

double-blind procedure

experimental procedure in which both research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether research participants have received treatment or placebo. commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

single-blind procedure

experimental procedure in which research participants are ignorant (blind) about whether they have received treatment or placebo

placebo

substance w no known medical effects, such as sterile water, saline solution or sugar pill. in short, placebo is fake treatment that is some cases can produce very real response

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by administration of inert substance or condition, which recipient assumes is active agent

confounding variable

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

validity

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