AP Psychology: Unit 0 Key Terms

critical thinking

the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

scientific attitude

The scientific method inclined toward inquiry, integrity, and humility

What are the three elements of a scientific attitude?

Curiosity, Skepticism, Humility

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

overconfidence

Tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

What are the three phenomena that illustrate why we cannot rely solely on intuition and common sense?

hindsight bias, judgmental overconfidence, the ability of humans to recognize patterns

cognitive biases

the tendency to make decisions, take actions ,or draw conclusions in a preferred way

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Monty Hall Problem (not necessary to know)

an example of an error in decision making in which someone fails to properly estimate the probability of an outcome after being given additional information

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

perceiving order in random events

People perceive patterns to make sense of their world

the scientific method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

peer review

A process by which the procedures and results of an experiment are evaluated by other scientists who are in the same field or who are conducting similar research.

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

falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

replicate

repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research's reliability

nonexperimental method

relationships are studied by making observations or measures of the variables of interest

gender binary

the classification of sex and gender into two distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine

experimental method

A method of investigation used to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor.

What are the 4 types of non-experimental methods?

case study, naturalistic observation, correlation, meta-analysis

case study

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

What are the benefits of case studies?

one person can tell us a lot about people in general

What are the cons of case studies?

often studies of rare disorders (not generalizable), application of gained knowledge is limited

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

observer effect

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

Hawthorne effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

What are the benefits of naturalistic observation?

You can observe natural behavior.

What are the cons of naturalistic observation?

difficult to set up -- what if no one shows up to the situation?, • observer bias -- researchers seeing what they want to see

methods

the specific ways that scholars collect and analyze data which they then use to prove or disprove their theories

methodologies

a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity

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

What are the benefits of a survey?

can gain a lot of info in a short amount of time, cheap

What are the cons of a survey?

wording effects, sampling error, low response rate, and people lie!!!

correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

social desiribility bias

when people lie on self report data to make themselves look good

self-report bias

systematic errors that can occur in self-report data because participants are unable or unwilling to answer accurately

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

convenience sampling

using a sample of people who are readily available to participate

random sample

a sample in which every element in the population has an equal chance of being selected

population

a group that is being studied

wording effects

The effect that subtle changes in the words or order of words can have on a study participant

Why is it important to apply a scientific attitude to psychological research?

to better completely understand and accept the truth

How might overconfidence be a problem?

it might cause people to be more inaccurate

What do humans do when faced with a random sequence?

search for a pattern

Why do humans search for patterns in a random sequence?

in order to make sense of it, thus relieving stress

What are the three pieces of criteria that determine the usefulness of a theory?

whether it organizes observations, if it's able to produce hypotheses, and if it triggers more research that improves the theory even more

Why is it important for an operational definition to be both precise and measurable?

it can help others replicate the research with different variables

Why are three reasons why using a survey as a technique to collect data is tricky?

it looks at cases not in-depth, some people may shade their answers, and some may misremember/report inaccurately

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

variable

A symbol used to represent a quantity that can change

scatterplot

a graphical depiction of the relationship between two variables

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

correlational studies

non-experimental method; a type of research that is mainly statistical in nature; determines the relationship between two variables

What does it mean if the number is closer to -1 or +1?

the closer it is, the stronger the correlation

Can correlation prove causation?

No

What do correlations help us do?

Helps us to predict and and look for relationships between to variables.

What does correlation indicate?

a cause/effect relationship but does not prove it

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

experimental group

the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested

control group

the group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

placebo

A harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.

placebo effect

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

single blind procedure

participants are unaware of, or blind to, the types of treatment they are receiving, but the administrator knows

double blind procedure

neither the experimenter nor the subject knows to what group the subjects are in

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

longitudinal study

a study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time

experimenter bias

a phenomenon that occurs when a researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

validity

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

How is correlational research different from an experiment?

only shows associations between variables, cannot manipulate variables

positive correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

No correlation relationship

-r values close to 0 indicate no relationship exists between the two variables

Negative Correlation

the relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable decreases

How does statistical evidence help with bias?

by having the outcome depending on outside factors rather than the researcher's choices/thoughts

directionality problem

a problem encountered in correlational studies; the researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable

third variable problem

the concept that a correlation between two variables may stem from both being influenced by some third variable

What are the two conditions required for an experiment to take place?

experimental condition and a comparison/control condition

experimental condition

Where you manipulate the IV. The condition is in a repeated measures design containing the IV as distinct from control.

control condition

The IV isn't changed and provides a baseline measure. the condition is in a repeated measures design that provides a baseline measure of behaviour.

quantitative research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

likert scale

a way of formatting a survey questionnaire so that the respondent can choose an answer along a continuum

qualitative data

methods that rely on in-depth, narrative data

structured interview

a research procedure in which all participants are asked to answer the same questions

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Ethics in Research

informed consent, harm, confidentiality, debriefing, deception

Institutional Research Board

a university or other institution appoints a panel of qualified judges who review all research proposals

informed consent

An ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

informed assent

For children to participate in a study, they must provide ____________ because they are minors.

debriefing

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

confederates

"fake subjects" that look & and behave like real subjects in study.

Why do researchers continue to use artificial (unnatural), controlled environments to test principles?

because these experiments help refine the principles in order to be able to be generalized to the world

Why is the statements "Humans are not like animals" incorrect when i t comes to psychological understanding?

humans have similar, and even some of the same mental processes as other animals

According to the APA, what are two examples of requirements expected for animal research?

researchers must provide "humane care and healthful conditions"; testing should "minimize discomfort"