Unit 0 - AP Psychology

Flashcards about Scientific Thinking and Research Methods in Psychology, covering key concepts, biases, and research designs.

Psychology

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Critical Thinking

Thinking that examines assumptions, assesses the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Behavioral Perspective

How we learn observable responses.

Biological Perspective

How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences.

Cognitive Perspective

How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

Evolutionary Perspective

How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes.

Humanistic Perspective

How we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment.

Psychodynamic Perspective

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts.

Social-cultural Perspective

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

Hindsight bias

The tendency for people to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were.

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory. It needs to be falsifiable

Operational Definition

The definition of a concept in terms of the actual procedures used by the researcher to measure it.

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.

Survey

Obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually through questioning a random sample.

Social desirability bias

A type of response bias in which people answer questions in a way they believe will be viewed favorably by others, rather than how they truly feel or behave.

Self-report bias

A methodological problem that arises when researchers rely on asking people to describe their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors rather than measuring these directly and objectively.

Population

All individuals who can potentially participate in the study.

Random Sample

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

Sample

A smaller group of individuals that are selected from a larger population in order to represent and generalize findings about the entire population.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample.

Convenience Sampling

A non-probability sampling method that involves selecting a sample of individuals or cases based on their availability or proximity to the researcher.

Representative Sample

Sample that has the characteristics that are similar to those in the population.

Types of Research

There are five different types of research: case study, naturalistic observation, meta-analysis, experiment, and correlation

Case Study

Studying one person or group in-depth in hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in natural situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation.

Meta-Analysis

Process of analyzing the results of many studies that have measured the same variables.

Experiment

A research method where an investigator manipulates one or more variables to observe the effect on a dependent variable, allowing for cause-and-effect conclusions.

Correlation

Measuring the extent to which two factors vary together and how well one factor can predict the other

Experimental Methodology

Type of research method where the researcher manipulates one variable (independent variable) to determine its effect on another variable (dependent variable)

Non-Experimental Methodology

Research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable.

Correlation coefficient

A number (symbolized by r) between -1 and +1, which represents the strength and direction of the correlation between two variables

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Scatter Plot

Graphs used to plot the scores and show the correlation

Directionality Problem

A limitation of correlational research that occurs when it's unclear which variable is causing the other.

Third Variable Problem

A type of confounding variable in which a third variable causes two other variables to appear causally related when they are not.

Regression Toward the Mean

The tendency for extreme scores to become more moderate, or closer to the mean, when retested over time.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested.

Control Group

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

Independent variable (IV)

Variable that the experimenter manipulates- Cause (what you are studying)

Dependent variable (DV)

Variable that researchers measure -Effect (result of experiment)

Random assignment

Ensures all members of the sample have an equal chance of being placed into either group

Single Blind

The subjects do not know which group they belong to (either experimental or control group), but the researchers know who is in which group.

Double blind

The subjects and the researchers do not know which group they belong to (either experimental or control group).

Placebo effect

A real response to an action or substance based solely on expectations, not actual properties of the action or substance.

Confounding Variable

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect.

Experimenter Bias

The unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis.

Ethical Guidelines

There are four types of ethical guidelines: Informed Consent or Assent, Protection from Harm, Confidentiality, and Debriefing if there is deception

Informed Consent

Participants sign indicating they understand the components and the potential risks of the study and agree to take part

Informed Assent

A process through which minors agree to participate in clinical trials

Protect from Harm

An ethical principle that ensures that research participants are not subjected to physical or psychological harm.

Confidentiality

The experimenters will not release any information about subjects without their consent

Debriefing

Must debrief the participants by explaining the deception at the conclusion of the study

Quantitative Research

An approach used in psychology to collect and analyze numerical data

Qualitative Research

Rely on observations and descriptions

IRB

Institutional Review Board - is a committee that reviews, approves, and monitors biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects.

Research Confederates

Person who participates in an experiment but is not the focus of the researcher's observation

Mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and dividing by the number of scores

Median

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a distribution

Percentile Rank

The percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a particular score.

Skewed Distribution

A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

Bimodal Distribution

Data distribution with two Peaks

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Normal Curve

The symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes.

Statistical significance

Measure of how likely the result of an experiment is due to the manipulation of the IV or due to chance.

Statistical inference

Generalizes from a particular sample to an entire population

Effect Size

Is a quantitative measurement of the strength of the relationship between two variables or the difference between groups