unit 1 vocab - approaches and research

APA

american psychological association

behaviorism

learning process, conditioning

bimodal distribution

distribution with 2 peaks

biopsychosocial

combination of genetic, mental, emotional, and environmental aspects → holistic approach to treatment

case study

monitor individuals social unit, may be too narrow to be of general use (not truly representative)

> use for unique circumstances (hard/unethical to replicate)

central tendency

tendency for second set of data to trend towards the mean of the first set

cognitive

mental activities (thinking, knowing remembering)

confederates

aides of researcher who poses as participant but have rehearsed behavior to set up actual experiment

confidentiality

info and data protected unless permission to release

confirmation bias

when researchers only gather data that prove their hypothesis

confounding variables

any factors other than IV that influence DV

control group

group in experiment with factors not being tested

convenience sampling

selecting sample of ppl/cases that are easily accessible

correlation

show how 2 variables are related, doesn’t prove causation

correlation coefficient

represented by r, shows how much correlation is between the 2 variables

positive → one increases, other also increases

negative → one increases, one decreases

closer to 1 (or -1) → stronger correlation

correlation vs causation

correlation refers to a relationship or connection between two variables, indicating they change together

causation implies that one variable directly influences or brings about a change in the other

> just because two things occur together does not mean one causes the other.

cross sectional study

studying different groups at the same time

cultural norms

how behavior is shaped by history, culture, and society

debriefing

must include a full explanation of goals in the experiment

deception

may be used if benefits outweigh risks → subjects must be informed at the end

dependent variables

variable changed based on individual variable → often is what’s being studied

directionality problem (in correlation)

problem where we don’t know whether A caused B or if B caused A

double-blind study

where both the researchers/subjects don’t know the objective of the study → eliminates biases

effect sizes

empirical evidence

evolutionary

darwinian natural selection, what people to do increase survival and reproduction

experimental group

group that’s being tested

experimental method

a type of research procedure that involves manipulating variables to determine if there is a cause-and-effect relationship

experimenter bias

aka researcher bias, unconscious tendency for researchers to treat groups differently to increase support for hypothesis

falsifiable (hypotheses)

a hypothesis that can be proven false

hawthorne effect

where subjects alter their behavior because they know they’re being watched

hindsight bias

people perceiving past events as more true than they originally thought

humanistic

individual choice and free will, rational beings, potential for growth, self-actualization

hypothesis

an assumption that can be tested

independent variables

variables being altered that change other variables (DVs)

informed assent

where researcher gains parent/guardian consent for a minor

informed consent

where the researcher has to tell the subjects about the details of the experiment and gain their approval

institutional review

study sent out for institutional review to determine if it’s ethical or not

likert scales

scale to put not quantifiable variables onto a numbered scale

longitudinal study

studying one group of subjects for a long period of time

mean

average

median

middle value in a set of data

meta-analysis

drawing conclusions based of several past studies and their conclusions

mode

value that appears the most in a set of data

naturalistic observation

observing subjects in their natural habitats

negative correlation

as one variable increases, one decreases

negative skew

skewed left

normal curve

bell curve

68% for 1 SD

95% for 2 SDs

99.7 for 3 SDs

operational definitions

defining experimental procedures with enough detail that they could be recreated

overconfidence

a person's confidence in their judgments is reliably greater than the objective accuracy of those judgments

peer review

another group of researches checks study

percentile rank

ex. 65th percentile → value is higher than or equal to 65% of data

placebo

substance that has no effect on the subjects

population

group of people/things

positive correlation

as one variable increases, the other also increases

positive skew

skewed right

protection from harm

ethical pillar - makes sure subjects aren’t physically or emotionally harmed

psychoanalytic

composed of childhood and past experiences

qualitative research/measures

can’t be put into numbers

quantitative research/measures

numerical values

random assignment

assigning individuals as control/experimental for a study

random sampling

picking subjects at random to get the best representation of the population

range

highest value - lowest value

regression toward the mean

phenomenon where if one value is an extreme, the next value will be closer to the mean

replication

recreating a study

representation of participants

how generalized the conclusions of a study can be

representative sample

a sample that’s used to make assumptions about a more general group of people

sample

group of individuals used in the study

scatterplot

data points plotted

usually shows correlation

single-blind study

where only the researcher knows the purpose of the study → helps prevent bias

social desireability bias

behave differently because of social norms

standard deviation

average distance from the mean

statistical significance

how significant the studies results are

high statistical significance → less likely to be due to chance

p < 0.05 → significant

structured interviews

third variable problem

confounding variables can conflict with IV/DV

validity

how well a test measures what its supposed to measure

variation

the differences and diversity that exist within a population, specifically in terms of traits or characteristics