Psychology Vocabulary Chapter 1 #2

Naturalistic observation

the study of people or animals in their natural environment

Observer effect

tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed

Observer bias

tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

Case study 

study of one individual in great detail

Survey method 

method of conducting research in the form on interviews

Representative sample

randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects

Informed consent

permission from a person (or a parent or guardian in the case of minors) to participate in an experiment after the risks and purpose of the experiment have been explained.

Independent variable

variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter

Dependent variable 

variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment

Experimental group

subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable

Control group 

subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment.

Random assignment

process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group.

Placebo effect

phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior.

Experimenter effect

tendency of the experimenters expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study.

Double-blind experiment 

study in which neither the experimenter nor the subjects know if the subjects are in the experimenter or control group.