Psychological Research Strategies and Methods

Vocabulary flashcards covering core psychological terminology, research strategies, experimental design, bias, ethics, and learning techniques from Chapters 1 through 7.

Hindsight bias

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

Overconfidence

The tendency to think we know more than we do, causing individuals to be more confident than correct.

Disinformation

Fake news or information that is deliberately planted and spread.

Truth bias

The inclination or default disposition in humans to believe what others say.

Confirmation bias

The tendency that inclines people to expose themselves only to news, commentary, social media, and websites that support their existing views.

Prebunking

A strategy to preemptively forewarn people about manipulative techniques or falsehoods and equip them with pertinent evidence to protect against future misinformation.

Poison parasite

A prebunking strategy that involves creating and sharing a visual replica of a deceptive message with an embedded debunking message.

Scientific method

A self-correcting process for evaluating ideas that combines an attitude of curiosity, skepticism, and humility.

Peer reviewers

Scientific experts who evaluate a research article's theory, originality, and accuracy prior to publication.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Operational definition

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures or operations used in a research study.

Replication

Repeating the original observations or essence of a study with different participants, materials, and circumstances to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

Red team approach

A research approach in which investigators invite devil's advocate colleagues to spot possible research design and analysis flaws.

Preregistration

Publicly communicating a planned study design, hypotheses, data collection, and analysis prior to conducting research.

Meta-analysis

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

Case study

A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

Naturalistic observation

A descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without changing or controlling the situation.

Survey

A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

Random sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

Population

All of the cases in a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn.

Correlation coefficient

A statistical index of the direction and strength of the relationship between two things, ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$.

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more independent variables to observe the effect on a dependent variable.

Experimental group

In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, which is one version of the independent variable.

Control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment, serving as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Random assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the groups.

Quasi-experiment

A research design used to evaluate an intervention without the use of random assignment.

Placebo effect

Experimental results caused by expectations alone, where any effect on behavior is caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition assumed to be an active agent.

Double-blind procedure

An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are uninformed about whether participants have received the treatment or a placebo.

Independent variable

In an experiment, the variable that is manipulated and whose effect is being studied.

Confounding variable

An extraneous variable in an experiment, other than the variable being studied, that might influence a study's results.

Dependent variable

In an experiment, the outcome factor; the variable that is measured and that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.

Informed consent

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

Debriefing

The post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, given to its participants.

Testing effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information; also referred to as retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

SQ3R

A study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve (or Recite), and Review.